In the name of Christ Jesus, dear Christian friends,

So many things change. By the time I get used to a computer, somebody tells me it's out of date. First, there were these cassette tapes. Then they had huge, floppy disks. Now, my computer won't take either one. The little floppies were the best thing, but now I need a special attachment to use them. By the way, what have you done with your 8-track tapes? If you are old enough to know what I'm talking about, are you willing to admit that you might have had some once? I'm afraid that pretty soon the same thing will happen to all the VCR tapes too. The next generation will laugh at the primitive VCR tapes in the basement. What if God kept changing his Word that way? What if he kept changing his mind? We would be in serious trouble! We would need to keep getting updates and revisions! Thank God that God doesn't do that! The Lord said in Malachi 3:6, "I the LORD do not change. So you...are not destroyed." God's Word doesn't change. God's will, and its meaning, remain the same. So then, I urge you to:

{1} "Keep on loving each other as brothers." This is our Savior's will, that we "love one another." One way to do this is verse 2: "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." In those days, when Christians traveled, they stayed with other Christians. But, let us consider here how we treat visitors at church. Do you welcome them, or expect others to do it? When the Seminary choir comes, what do you do to welcome them? It is unlikely that we will entertain angels, but Abraham did. Our Savior wants us to be hospitable.

Then God's Word says, {3} "Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." Here, we should not immediately think of murderers and thieves who are rightfully serving time for committing crimes. Remember that at that time, Christians were put into prison for being Christians. There was real persecution! It was very easy to stay away from such fellow-believers. It could be dangerous! Someone might learn that you are a Christian! Yet, God says to treat such people as if you were in their position. Sometimes, teenagers face persecution for their faith. When they won't do what other kids do, they can fall out of favor and become objects of ridicule. If you see that happen, what do you do? Do you befriend that person, and encourage them, or pass by on the other side and ignore them? Adult Christians suffer too. They might suffer because they will not cheat. We should remember them as if we were going through that. Sometimes pastors or teachers suffer for doing what is right. They get in trouble because they take a stand based on God's Word. They call a sin a sin. They call false doctrine false. Soon, certain people don't like them anymore and cause trouble for them. When you see Christians suffering for their faith, don't ignore it, just because it is easier! Encourage them. Pray for them. Remember them. Be like the Good Samaritan who cared for a neighbor in need. Have you always done this? Let us repent of our sins.

God's Word continues: {4} "Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral." This is a big issue in the political campaigns this fall. Let's put our party loyalties aside, and listen to what God says about this. God instituted marriage to be a life-long union between one man and one woman. Scripture is very clear about this. Check out Genesis chapter 2, and Matthew chapter 19. Marriage is to be held in high honor. It is just as clear that homosexuality is always sinful. Homosexual unions are detestable to God, and he will punish them. Even if the majority of people in the U.S.A. vote in favor of gay marriage; and even if the Congress and the President would be in favor of gay marriage; and even if the Supreme Court would rule in favor of gay marriage; that would NOT make it right in God's sight. It would mean that they are all wrong. God demands that marriage be honored, and he will judge those who don't! Marriage is not honored when couples live together without being married. Marriage is not honored when there are sexual relations before marriage, or outside of marriage. Make no mistake about it: "God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral." They are not going to get away with it. God says that people who live in such sins will not go to heaven, unless they repent (1 Cor 6). May all repent and seek God's forgiveness! May we repent of all the times we have sinned against God, and seek his gracious pardon through Christ.

We hear more of God's Word in verse 5, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have..." God has provided for our needs. We should be content with what we have. But too often, we are not content. We complain. We always want something else. We become greedy, hoarding things for ourselves. Greed is a sin. Loving money too much is a sin. Not being content with what God has provided is a sin too. We should be content, though, "because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'" He will not forget about us, and leave us alone and wanting.

Money should not be the driving force in our lives. Don't let the desire for money get the best of you. But, by the same token, money should not be the driving force in a congregation either. It must not influence how we preach God's Word or carry out church discipline. We must love God more than money. The Lord will take care of us. He will provide us with daily bread. From time to time, believers might be tempted that following Christ and his Word might mean financial loss. And sometimes, the persecutors did take the Christians possessions. Yet, God's Word urges God's people to be strong in faith, and to say "with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'" (6) That takes faith. Here I think of the words of "A Mighty Fortress" as I learned them, "And take they our life, goods, fame, child, and wife, let these all be gone, they yet have nothing won, the kingdom ours remaineth" (TLH 262).

Verse 7 continues: "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith." Remember your leaders who preached God's pure Word to you. In Hebrews chapter 11 we see the "Hall of Faith," that listing of great believers from the Old Testament. Here, the inspired author of Hebrews urges the people to remember the men who had preached God's Word to them in the past. After reminding them of all the leaders of old, he says, "Remember your own past leaders, your own preachers of God's Word." Now, it just might be that these words were written shortly after Peter and Paul were put to death as martyrs. Peter and Paul would certainly qualify as leaders who spoke God's Word. They were faithful apostles who spoke God's Word and even wrote it down by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. But, they were not alone. There were others too.

It is good to remember those who faithfully declared God's Word in the past. For this reason, many remember Martin Luther. God used Luther to preach the Gospel in the Reformation. It is good to remember his bold faith when the whole world seemed against him. It is good to remember the pastors and teachers who faithfully taught us God's pure Word in the past. Remember the messages they delivered from God's Word. Consider how things turned out with them, and imitate their faith. None of us is perfect. Only Jesus is. Even Peter and Paul did some things we wouldn't want to imitate. There are some things that we should not imitate in our past pastors or teachers too. But don't miss the most important point of all.

Every faithful servant of God points to the same Savior. {8} "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." In the past, Jesus lived a perfect life for you, and died on the cross to pay for all your sins, and rose from death with your forgiveness. Because he did that, now whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved and live forever in heaven. Jesus is our eternal, unchanging Savior! He isn't going to change. On the Last Day, he will return as Judge of all people. He will take us, and all believers, to be with him in heaven. Thank God that Jesus isn't going to change the way to heaven! For all time, there is only one Savior, one way to heaven. Believe in Jesus as your Savior from sin, and you will live forever in heaven. This is God's Word. Amen.