Useful Bible Studies > Hebrews Commentary > chapter 13
The author has urged his readers to imitate those people who have faith (active belief and trust in God) – Hebrews 6:12. And he has given many examples from the Bible (Hebrews chapter 11). But people with faith do not just belong to past centuries. All Christians, and especially their leaders, should live by faith. So Christians can learn much from the way their leaders have remained loyal to God. They trusted God through their lives, and they were still trusting God at their deaths.
In the first Christian churches, many people wanted to be leaders. But they did not all want to teach God’s word, that is, the Bible (1 Timothy 1:3-7; James 3:1). Often, those people only wanted to impress other people with their opinions. And often, their lives showed that they were not really loyal to God (Romans 2:17-23; 1 Timothy 6:3-5).
So the best Christian leaders teach God’s word; and they live by faith. Perhaps their speeches do not impress people; and perhaps other people do not consider them important. Some good Christian leaders only have a few members in their churches. And there are some good Christian leaders who have many troubles in their own lives.
Most people in this world would not want to imitate such leaders. But they are the leaders that the author of Hebrews urges Christians to imitate. Those leaders continued to trust God, even when their troubles were great. They were constantly loyal to God. They believed the Bible, and they taught its message. And their relationship with God remained strong, even when their bodies were weak.
Next part: Jesus Christ is always God (Hebrews 13:8)
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© 2014, Keith Simons.