This is our last study for the
time being in the book of Hebrews. This is message number 16 from chapter 13, and these messages
are approximately 45 minutes each in length or less, and Brother
Ronnie Trabant has them on eight cassette tapes, or we'll have
them, on eight cassette tapes in a set, studying in the Hebrews. And we're going to try to get
this in some special folders, and in the next, I'm not going
to set a time, you see them glance up. In the next five minutes we're going
to have them. In the next little while we'll
have them available for a purchase for $20, 16 messages on 8 tapes,
cassette tapes, to be given to friends or sent to people that
may be interested. Maybe it would make a nice gift,
but it's been a blessing to us, this study in the Hebrews. All
right, tonight, chapter 13, verse 1, let brotherly love continue. We are to follow peace. You remember
Sunday morning we talked about pursuing peace and kindness with
all men. But now the Apostle is talking
about something else here. He is talking about brotherly
love. The Apostle speaks here of love between believers, of
the same Father and the same family. That's us folks here
who know Christ. Let brotherly love. And he says,
let it continue, it's already there by the grace of God. When
the Lord saves us, he sheds abroad his love in our hearts by the
Holy Spirit, love for Christ, love for one another. And this
love, like all the fruits of grace, faith, joy, peace, meekness,
kindness, gentleness, love, groweth exceedingly. So let it continue
and grow. cultivate it. And then verse
2, he says, Be not forgetful to entertain strangers. Now again,
I don't believe that Paul is encouraging us to throw our homes
open to everybody who comes down the railroad. I believe again
we're talking about strangers in the brotherhood, to entertain
strangers. Now we entertain people and help
them and But he's talking here about taking them into your homes
and into your arms and into your fellowships and entertaining
them, supplying their needs and helping them along the way. So
strangers in the brotherhood, sons of God, daughters of God,
whom we've never met before, are still our brothers and sisters
in Christ. And so that's what he's saying
here, to embrace them. I'm going to show you that in
Matthew. chapter 25, in Matthew 25. Our Lord says here in verse 38, the believer, as he said in verse
35 of Matthew 25, I was hungry and you gave me meat. I was thirsty
and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took
me in. You are familiar with that. Look down at verse 37.
Then shall the righteous answer him, and say, Lord, when saw
we thee hungering, fed thee, and thirsting, and gave thee
drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in, a stranger,
or naked, and clothed thee? When saw we thee sick and present,
and came to thee? And the king shall answer and
say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done
it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, You've done it unto
me, my brethren." And that's what we're talking about there.
Like Abraham, when the angels came in Genesis 18, he recognized
them as being men of God. He never met them, of course,
he'd never seen them. But he had his servants kill
a lamb and prepare a feast, and he welcomed them, he received
them. So be not forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby
some have entertained angels unaware. And that refers us to
Genesis 18, where Abraham entertained the angels. Verse 3, Remember
them that are in bonds. The word remember there has a
threefold meaning. Remember them that are in bonds.
Down here in verse 7, it says, Remember them that have the rule
over you. Now the word remember means just
be mindful of them. Be mindful of them. Think upon
them. And thirdly, reach out to them. And he says remember them that
are in bonds. Now at this particular time Paul
was in bonds, in prison. He talks about his bonds. Let's
look at that in 2 Timothy. He talks about being in prison,
in barns, in fetters. In 2 Timothy 1, verse 8, he says,
2 Timothy 1, verse 8, Be not thou therefore ashamed of the
testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but be thou
partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power
of God. And then in chapter 2, he says, verse 8, remember that
Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according
to my gospel. For he and I suffer trouble as
an evil deer, even under bonds. I'm in prison, in chains, but
the word of God's not bound. They can put in chains your servant,
but they can't change the word. Put the word in chains, in fetters.
So remember them that suffer for the gospel's sake. Think
upon them. Be mindful of them. Reach out
to them. All those who suffer for the
gospel. But that goes a little further too. Remember the brethren
who suffer affliction and think upon them and be mindful and
reach out to them. Remember those who go through
adversity and trials. They need encouragement. Think
upon them. Reach out to them. Then there
are other bonds. There's the bonds of old age,
when people get older. There's the bonds of loneliness.
There's the bonds of weakness. There's just all kind of human
afflictions and adversities and trials that our brethren and
sisters go through. And he tells us to remember them.
That is to be mindful of them. Don't forget them. Think upon
them. And all that is within you, reach
out if it's possible. Reach out and give a little hand
and help along the way. Encourage them. All right, verse
4, marriage. And we're talking to believers
here. We're talking to believers. I can't do anything about the
attitude of Americans today about marriage. Because to most people
it's very little regarded anymore, it's just a trial basis, and
if you want out of it, you get out of it, you make up your mind.
But I'm talking to believers now, and I'm talking to people
who may have been divorced before they were saved. But now marriage
is to be held in the highest honor, the highest honor and
regard among believers. Marriage, he says, is honorable.
It's honorable in all things. The marriage bureau is undefiled.
You see, this is a union ordained by God. Turn to Genesis 2. God is going to judge people
and make a mockery of marriage. If you want to judge this nation,
make a mockery of marriage. In Genesis 2, verse 22. which the Lord had taken from
a man, he made a woman. You make another man, he made
a woman. There's not any way under God's heaven you can bring
together two men and two women in any kind of relationship and
have God to honor it. It's an impossibility. It's not
so. A man and a woman, and he brought
her to the man. Adam said, This is now bone of
my bones, flesh of my flesh, she shall be called woman, she
is taken out of a man, therefore shall a man leave his father
and mother, cleave to his wife, cleave to her, stay with her,
love her, protect her, cherish her, provide for her, till death
do them part, and there be one flesh. God Almighty ordained
that. Paul used it as a symbol of Christ
and his church. Wife, as the Church is obedient
to Christ, let the wife be obedient to her husband. And as Christ
loves the Church, let the husband love his wife. I hear people say, well, it's
important that we find the right person. Well, it's equally important
to be the right person. That works both ways. I'm going
to find me the right person. It won't do you any good unless
you're the right person. It works both ways. And he says
God will judge. Marriage is honorable, it's sacred,
it's holy, it's ordained of God. Our Lord Jesus Christ honored
it with his presence at our marriage. It's a type of Christ in the
church. But whoremongers and adulterers, God's going to judge.
He's going to judge people who make a mockery of marriage, no
matter who it is. He's going to hold them accountable
and responsible. So it's honorable. It's serious business. All right,
verse 5 now, and verse 5 and 6. Let your conversation be without
covetousness, and be content with such things as you have
Well, he has said, I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake
you. So we can boldly say, the Lord's my helper, and I'll not
fear what man shall do to me. Now, the word conversation, you
can write this right above it there, it's behavior. It's behavior,
that's what conversation is. It's the manner of life. It's
my behavior, my manner of life. That's my conversation. And there's
four things said about it here. The first thing is this, he says,
let your conversation, your manner of life, your behavior be without
covetousness, without greed, without lusting for materialism,
material things. Lust of the eye and the lust
of the flesh and the pride of life. Don't lust after those
things. Avoid covetousness. God says
that's idolatry. Covetousness is idolatry. It's
worshiping something else besides God. A man can't have two masters.
And those two masters that Christ is talking about, there's God
and riches, God and man, God and mammon, God and materialism. You can't worship both. You just can't do it. So let
your behavior and your manner of life be without covetousness.
Secondly, be content with what you have. It's what our Lord
has provided. It's what our Lord has given
us. Having food and raiment, he said, they were to be content.
Be content with such things as you have, that God has given
you and provided you in the place where he's put you. And then
the third thing, he says this, he said, I won't leave you. I won't forsake you, I'll not
in any way fail you. Has God ever failed you? Has
he ever failed me? I've never known what it is to
be hungry, or cold, or naked, or even uncomfortable to mouth
too much. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not walk. I shall not want. I'll never
leave you without support. That's what he says here. Listen.
Don't you let your life be dominated by covetousness. You be content
with what you have, fine. I will not fail you. I will not
leave you without support. I will not forsake you. I promise
you. I will not. Here's the fourth
thing. So, because that being true,
I can boldly the Lord's my provider, he will provide. I can boldly,
confidently, publicly, the Lord's my helper. I'm not going to fear
what man shall do to me, what man take away from me. I'm not
going to fear because God's my helper. My God shall supply all
your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. That's
If you being evil know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly father give good things to his
children? Now here's that word remember
again. Remember, that is be mindful of. Think upon them, reach out
to them. Those that have the will over
you, who is that? That's those who lead you in
worship, in spiritual matters, who preach the gospel to you.
who teach you the word of God, he identifies them here, he says,
be mindful, think upon, reach out to those who have the will
over you, your guides who have spoken to you the word of God. Now here's what you do, listen
to them, whose faith follow. You're not commanded to follow
them, you're commanded to follow their faith, their example. their message, their gospel,
follow their gospel, follow the truth they preach, follow the
word they proclaim, considering the end of their conversation,
the end, what's that conversation again? The end of their conduct,
conversation, manner of life. The end of their ministry. What
is my life? What is my ministry? Forty some
odd years. Here it is in verse 8, it's Jesus
Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. That's my message, the message
of these elders, the message of the other preachers that have
gone out from this church, the message of the grace preachers
all over this world, the message of our missionaries, it's Christ. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday,
eons ago, the same today, in these last days, the same forever. That's the goal of our ministry.
That's the end of our ministry. It's the object of our ministry
for you to believe on Christ, to receive Christ, to rest in
Christ. I'll be moving along one of these
days and there'll be another preacher by God's grace and will
standing here. Don't follow me. Follow the message. I saw something this one time,
a fellow said this. They were riding down the street
and they looked at a new church going up and one of the men in
the car said, who preaches there? And the other one said, it doesn't
matter who preaches there. The main thing is who is preached
there. That's who is Jesus Christ. Same yesterday, today, and forever.
I remember them. listen to them and follow their
faith, their gospel. And that's Christ Jesus the same
yesterday, today and forever. Now watch this. Don't be carried
about with different and strange doctrines. Different and strange
doctrines. It's a good thing that the heart
be established with grace. Why are they called different
and strange doctrines? What are different, strange doctrines?
Well, here's the first thing. They're not taught in the scriptures.
Anything that's not taught in the scriptures is different and
strange. And we're not to hear it. We're
not even to give an ear to it. We're not to bid them Godspeed.
We're not to be friends with them. We're not to invite them
into our homes, people who teach that which is not taught in the
scriptures. They're strange in that they're
contrary to free and sovereign grace. They're not according to grace.
It's salvation by works or by free will or by man's doings
or by the law. It's contrary to Christ. And
if it doesn't glorify Christ and magnify Christ and have as
its end and goal the glory of Christ, it's strange. It's different. You don't have to hear it. And
you don't have to be persuaded or caught up and carried along
with it. And then thirdly, it's contrary to grace and then
it doesn't exalt the Redeemer himself. It's contrary to scriptures,
contrary to free and sovereign grace, it doesn't exalt and magnify
Christ. Now back 400 years ago, 500 years
ago, 600 years ago, back in 14... The Catholic Church reigned and ruled
over this world, Europe and everywhere else. And there was a reformation,
an upheaval. The Catholic Church was given
over entirely to heresy and apostasy and indulgences and free will
and worship of idols and pictures and saints and all of these things. And there was a mighty reformation
in that time, a mighty reformation, upheaval. God raised up people
out of the Catholic Church, like Martin Luther, like John Calvin,
and like Huss, and Zwingli, and all of these great reformers.
And they came out of that system, out of that person. It's like
Martin Luther. was a monk and so involved in
trying to win his way to heaven and appease God by his works
and deeds that often they would find him on his cell, and all
these monks lived in cells, and find him on that stone floor
almost dead from fasting and whipping himself with thorn bushes
to keep himself from thinking evil thoughts. Just terrible. led a reformation, and it was
based on these three things, the scriptures alone. What did
I say? Any doctrine that's different,
strange, is contrary to scripture. Scripture is our only rule of
faith and practice. Secondly, grace alone. Salvation
is by grace through faith. If that's not of yourselves,
it's the gift of God. It's by grace, and not of works. If it's by works, it's not of
grace. If it's grace, it's not of works. They don't mix at all
in redemption. Those men believe grace alone,
and Christ alone. Not the scriptures and what the
church says, the scriptures alone. Not grace plus works, but grace
alone. Not Christ plus Mary, or Christ
plus Jude, or Christ plus the priest, or Christ plus anything.
It's Christ alone. And back in those days there
were only these, these groups. Call them denominations if you
want to, but these groups. Henry VIII took England out from
under Catholic dominion and domination. And founded the Church of England.
He was a rascal, but God uses rascals if it's his purpose. He was a rascal, no good violent. But God used, he was the king.
And he could do what he pleased. And he brought England out from
under idolatry and Catholicism and established the Church of
England. Church of England. And they wrote down 39 articles,
these reformers, 39 articles of the Church of England. And
they still got them today. Don't believe them, but they
still got them. I've read them thoroughly. And I could adopt
those 39 articles as the confession of faith of this church without
any problem except three points. The governor of the church, Henry,
was the head of the church. And this Henry ain't the head
of the church. And secondly, sprinkling infants. This covenant thing where if
you're born to save mom and daddy, you're automatically in the covenant.
That's not so. We don't sprinkle infants. Baptisms
for believers. Baptism was for believers alone.
I could not go over that. The government of the Church,
or the baptism, or the Lord's Table, some of these men believed
that when you took the bread and the wine, they brought this
over from Catholicism, that when the priest blessed the bread,
it became the Body of Christ. And when he blessed the wine,
it became the Blood of Christ. But it doesn't, it represents,
they call it a sacrament. That you're saved by doing this.
We're saved by his blood on the cross and his broken body. This
is in remembrance of him. But they heralded, and the Dutch
were formed, they were the Dutch people. They adopted a Heidelberg
catechism. You would embrace it 100%, except
for those three things. You would embrace it, it gets
beautiful. The Presbyterians came up with the Westminster
Confession about the same time. It's beautiful. Except for that,
baptism, the Lord's Table, church government, synods, ruling elders,
where people were under bondage to these church leaders. Christ
is the head of the church. And then there was the Lutherans,
the Presbyterians, the Dutch, the Baptists. Baptists in 1620
wrote the London Confession of Faith, later the Philadelphia
Confession of Faith. Beautiful. But there wasn't any
Nazarenes and Church of God and Pentecostals and Seventh-day
Adventists and Christian Science. These things never existed. There
was Catholicism and Protestantism. There was works and grace. There
was scriptures alone, and grace alone, and Christ alone, or the
church alone. Salvation in the hands of the
church. And that was back in those days.
Well, it's gone now. You know, we've got a hodgepodge
of every potpourri of everything you can imagine in this. And
today, it's different and strange doctrines. But you get a hold
of any of those, the 39 Articles, the Heidelberg, the Westminster,
the London Confession of Faith, or some of Luther's books, The
Bondage of the Will and these things. You've got some reading
material. You've got some men, you just got through reading
about those men, and you found some brethren, didn't you? You
found some men to embrace and love. They're not despots! Don't
you reckon we do too? They have their failures, but
we do too. They have their parts on which
they were wrong, but I tell you this, they loved Christ and they
died for Christ. They went to prison for Christ.
One time in England, I can't call the date, either 16th or
17th century, 2,000 preachers were put out of their pulpit
because they would bow to the head of a church in England,
Episcopalian church, who was maybe, wasn't it, Queen of Scots,
one of those one of those rulers, 2,000 preachers, able men, preaching
the gospel, refused to be the slaves and the servants of a
domineering church head, the crowd of England. And some of
those men starved, their families did without them. They had no
place, no labor. They'd go preach in barns and
go preach out in the fields and go just preach anywhere, but
they were put out. Those men suffered, and I'm not
going to stand here and say they didn't know God. I've never resisted
unto blood. They knew God. But listen to
verse 9. Don't be carried away with divers
and strange doctrines. It's a good thing. Let your heart
be established. I'm not talking about your head
now. You read these confessions of faith and catechisms, and
they'll be a blessing to you, because if it ever gets to the
heart, it'll start in the head. If you ever believe anything,
you'll have to hear it first. If you ever believe anything,
you'll have to learn it here first. That's where it comes in here.
But here's where we're established. The heart established with the
grace of God. Not with meats. Not with eating
certain meats and certain days and doing certain rituals and
ceremonies and their deeds and duties and days. They never profited. Israel, listen, they never profited
those that were occupied there and didn't do them all a bit
of good, because their hearts weren't right with God. Here's
where it starts, in the heart. Keep thy heart out of the issues
of life. Out of the heart the mouth speaketh.
As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. With the heart man
believeth unto righteousness. Let your heart be established
with grace. The scriptures alone, grace alone,
Christ alone. We don't have an altar. Oh, we
sure do. It's Christ Jesus. I have an
altar. Those old Jews back then had
an altar. I have the one that altar represented. I have a high
priest, Lord Jesus Christ. I have a tabernacle. I have a
place where I meet God. I have a mercy seat. I have a
sacrifice. I have a sin offering. I have
a scapegoat. I have a Sabbath. I have an atonement
with Christ Jesus. Let me show you something in
Galatians 5. If you pick anything else but him, or in addition
to him, or along with him, you've got problems. Galatians 5.2.
Behold, I, Paul, say unto you, if ye be circumcised, Christ
profit you nothing. Christ has become no effect, verse 4. under you who serve you are justified
by the law, you've fallen away from grace. So we have an altar,
and listen to verse 10 again of Hebrews 13. We have an altar
whereof they have no right to eat who serve the law. If a man's still wrapped up in
his own righteousness, and in his own deeds and duties, and
back to the law, and Sabbath days, and ceremonies and rituals,
He has no right to come to Christ. Isn't that something? We have
an altar, we have a high place, we have a Sabbath, we have a
circumcision, we have all those things, it's Christ. Well, they
have no right to eat who still serve that old tabernacle. who
served that old organization, that old bondage, that old slavery,
that old domination on the part of men who organized religion
and whipped people into line and sold indulgences and promised
rewards for deeds and duties. You have no right to Christ if
that's still your hiding place. No right. You've got to come
to him 100%. My hope, my life, my all. But
the bodies of those beasts, let's look at this, the bodies of those
beasts whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high
priest for sin are burned without the camp. Wherefore the Lord
Jesus also that he might sanctify the people, he's our sin offering,
he's our scapegoat, he's our blood sacrifice, with his own
blood suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto
him. without the camp, bearing his reproach. Now, on the Day
of Atonement, you can read this in Leviticus 16, 27 and 28, on
the Day of Atonement, the bullock and the goat were slain, and
the blood was brought by the high priest into the holiest,
sprinkled on the mercy seat. Then that bullock and goat were
taken outside the camp and burned. Well, our Lord Jesus Christ Our
sacrifice for sin, our bullock, our lamb, was crucified outside
the city of Jerusalem, outside the walls. Why? He was unclean
before God. That's right. That's an awful
thing to say about your Lord, isn't it? That he was unclean
because he was bearing our filth and guilt and shame. Now then,
he's without the camp. Let us go away from the tabernacle,
away from the law, away from the services, away from the ceremonies,
away from the meets, away from the circumcision, away from the
legalism, away from the days, away from these things. Go to
him! That's the key word. Unto him. Unto him. And where he is is without the
camp. It's not the law anymore. Now it's not the law, it's not
the works, it's not the ceremonies, it's not the sacrifices, it's
not organized religion. Our escape goes without the camp.
We go, leave these things and go to him, and what's this? Bury
his reproach. What is his reproach? His reproach
is his gospel. It's offensive. It's called the
offense of the cross. It's his suffering. It's our
Lord Jesus Christ taking our place under the judgment and
wrath of God and bearing our sin and our shame and reproach. He was reproached of me. And
we believe that gospel and love that gospel and we bear reproach
for his sake. Let us go therefore unto him
without the calf. Leave all of this dependence
on the flesh and go to him. bearing his reproach, reproach
of the free grace of God and the gospel of God. For here we
have no continuing city. Jerusalem, the holy city, the
temple's gone. All of those fragments are gone.
The priesthood's gone. The twelve tribes are gone. All
of these things are gone. The holy city's gone. The temple's
gone. The blessed seat's gone. The
ark's gone. Everything's gone. Our bodies
are going. Our bodies are corrupting and
dying. This frail tent is going to be
laid aside. Our world is marked for the burning.
We don't have anything here. We don't have anything that continues. We have no continuing city, physically
or spiritually. We have no continuing dwelling
place, a hiding place, a foundation, a continuing city, a permanent
dwelling place. We have nothing to build on or
hold to in this life, nothing. We seek one. We seek one. Listen. If this tent be desired,
we have a building, a house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens, whose builder and maker is God. This dwelling place,
our Lord says, in my Father's house are many dwelling places.
If it were not so, I would have told you. And I go to prepare
a place. I've got a place. Not here. It's where he is. I've prepared
a place for you. I have a city. Abraham looked
for a city. He's prepared for us a city.
There's a city. There's a kingdom. It's going
to come down out of heaven. It's a new Jerusalem. It's a
heavenly Jerusalem. It's a holy city. I'm looking
for it. And there's a new heaven, new
earth. I thought sitting out the other afternoon watching
my birds. I'm going to enjoy watching the
birds in his new kingdom. That's right. Feeding my squirrels. Seeing the deer walk around through
the woods. I'm looking for a kingdom whose
builder and maker is God. We don't have here, have we,
nothing. Nothing. We came in this place
naked, we're going to leave this place naked. But I've got a dwelling
place, a house not made with hands, a city. Oh, that city
will bind you if you look at it with these eyes. It's so wonderful. And a new heaven and new earth.
God's creation, I'm looking forward to that with great expectation,
anxiety, to that day when everything will be perfect, perfect. So
verse 15, let me show you something here. By him, by him, by him. There's no relationship
with God except by him. There's no coming to God except
by him. There's no serving God except by him. By him let us
offer the sacrifice of praise continually. We don't offer any
blood sacrifices or burn any candles or do anything like that,
but we're kings and priests and we offer a sacrifice. But it's
not the fruit of our fields, it's the fruit of our lips. Read
it. By him, by Christ, let us offer
to God. The sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving
continually, that is to say, the fruit of our lips. The fruit
of our lips. Not our labors, but our lips.
In my hands no price I bring, but in my heart I do. In my mouth
I do. That's right. The fruit of our
lips. Bring a sacrifice. Bring an offering. Let us offer. You know that scripture in Psalms,
it says, Come let us worship the Lord, bring an offering,
and come worship the Lord. I don't think that's bringing
anything in his hands. He said thousands of years ago,
I wouldn't ask you. But as a priest, bring an offering. Offering to
God, praise continually the fruit of our lips. By the grace of
God, I am what I am. They don't bring anything. In
my hands no price I bring. But now verse 16, bet, don't,
watch it now, bet to do good and to communicate. Don't forget
that now. Let's don't swing this pendulum, you know, somebody's
been working for heaven so long and then he swings over to grace
and he don't do nothing. I'm saved by grace to live in
this grace. I'm saved without works and I
don't need to work, now wait a minute. He said by Christ let's
offer to God a sacrifice of praise, fruit of our lips, praise, heart,
but to do good and to communicate, to be generous, help others,
to share. Don't you forget that because
with such sacrifices God's well-pleased. I'll show you that in Philippians
4, you've got to turn around and look at this. God's well
pleased. God's well pleased. Philippians
4, verse 18, listen. Paul was in prison and this church
sent their pastor to him, Epaphroditus with some good things for Paul,
some food and his books and a blanket to sleep under. Verse 18 of Philippians
4, he says, I have all, I have received all, and I abound, I'm
full, I'm just so blessed, having received of Epiphadimus the things
which you sent, which were sent from you, an odor of sweet smell,
a sacrifice acceptable and well-pleasing to God. Now, you're not owed
anything, because verse 19, he said, my God supply all your
need according to his riches and glory of the cross. to do good. We grace people,
preachers, ought to really preach good works. We really should. Because grace
of God, not to be saved, but like James says, prove you are.
That's evidence you are. But if there's anybody ought
to be gracious, it's a person to whom God has given grace.
If there's anybody that ought to be forgiven, it's one who
has been forgiven. If there's anybody that ought
to set an example, it's a fellow who knows him who is our great
example. All right, I covered verse 17.
Obey them that have the rule over you and submit yourselves.
Watch for your souls as they must give an account. Now verse
18, pray for us. Pray for those who preach. We
trust we have a good conscience in all things, willing to live
honestly. Verse 20, I want to read this,
and let me paraphrase it out of the Amplified Bible, verse
20 and 21. You follow in your Bible and
listen. This is Amplified. May the God of peace, who is
the author and giver of peace, and who brought again from among
the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, that great shepherd of the sheep,
by the blood that sealed and ratified that everlasting covenant,
strengthen complete, perfect, and make you what you ought to
be, and equip you with every good thing, everything good,
that you may carry out his will, while he himself works in you
and accomplishes that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through
Jesus Christ the Messiah, to whom be the glory forever and
ever. Now verse 23 says that Timothy
has been set at liberty. Timothy says, I've been released
from prison. If he comes to you, Paul said, I hope I can too.
And then salute them that have the rule over you. Greet your
pastors and your elders for me and all the saints. And they
up here in Italy, they salute you. Grace be with you all. Amen. I pray that will be a blessing.