"God Lifts You Up" (Sermon on Hebrews 13:1-6) | September 28, 2025

Sermon Text: Hebrews 13:1-6
Date: September 28, 2025
Event: Proper 21, Year C

Hebrews 13:1-6 (EHV)

Continue to show brotherly love. 2Do not fail to show love to strangers, for by doing this some have welcomed angels without realizing it. 3Remember those in prison, as if you were fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated, as if you yourselves were also suffering bodily.

4Marriage is to be held in honor by all, and the marriage bed is to be kept undefiled, for God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers. 5Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have. For God has said:

I will never leave you,
and I will never forsake you.

6So then we say with confidence:

The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid.
What will man do to me? 

God Lifts You Up

Have you ever had a coworker who seemed to make everyone around him better, or at least look better, at their job? Have you ever had a friend who always just elevated the group, came up with the best ideas for things to do or brought hightened levity or sincerity to any conversation? Do you have a family member who particularly skilled at navigating and bringing peace to inter-family strife and conflict? They can elevate the entire family dynamic.

Perhaps you’ve known and experienced all of those; perhaps none. Perhaps you fill that role in your job, or friend group, or family. Whatever your experience has been, having someone like that who lifts up a group is a blessing to everyone involved, and everyone benefits. But if you find those sorts of gifts and blessings lacking in a given group, perhaps you work to equip yourself with some of those skills—expanding what you know through professional development or gaining tools by studying conflict resolution.

That kind of growth can be good, but there are ways in which that can get out of hand and go south. You, as an employee, should not have to learn how to do your boss’s job (or your boss’s boss’s job) in order to bring competency to the workplace; that should be on those it has been entrusted to. How sad it is if a young child feels the need to do whatever she can to ensure there is food on the table because, for whatever reasons, the adults in her life are failing her. Certain tasks have been delegated to certain people, and those people should be faithful to those responsibilities for the good of all involved.

What happens if they’re not? Or if they’re perceived not to be doing what they should? Chaos can ensue. Imagine, for instance, if no one here this morning trusted that the pastor would have a sermon to share, so everyone not only worked up a message to deliver but then actively fought over each other to get into the pulpit to follow through. What a mess of a service we would have! And it would be primarily centered on the reality that preparing a sermon is not your job or your calling, and the responsibility of it should not fall on you.

But sometimes, we try to take on things that we shouldn’t or can’t. We try to lift ourselves and others up, and it can lead to trouble. It’s problematic if you put yourself in the position of doing things that are your boss’s, your parents’, or your pastor’s responsibility, but those problems are magnified when we start taking on what is uniquely God’s responsibility.

God has promised to bless you and take care of you. Last week, we heard how the material blessings we receive from God—in whatever measure—are truly blessings from him and should be used and enjoyed to his glory. We were also reminded that the best way we can use them is to wisely and shrewdly share the gospel of sins forgiven in Jesus with others.

And that is the goal of both how we use our material blessings and how we live our entire lives. In our Second Reading this morning, the writer to the Hebrews gives us a rapid-fire rundown of what the life of a Christian does and should look like: Continue to show brotherly love. Do not fail to show love to strangers, for by doing this some have welcomed angels without realizing it. Remember those in prison, as if you were fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated, as if you yourselves were also suffering bodily. Marriage is to be held in honor by all, and the marriage bed is to be kept undefiled, for God will judge sexually immoral people and adulterers. Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have.

Why do we want to live like that? Because Jesus has forgiven our sins. For all the many times that you and I have failed to be loving to those we know or to strangers; for the times we have failed to show kindness to those mistreated or downstrodden; for the times that we have misused and abused God’s gifts of sex and marriage; for the times that we have been greedy, selfish, and discontent with what we have—all of those sins are forgiven. And while different parts of that list will resonate with each of us more strongly, we can find places where we haven’t lived as we should here.

But all of those things have something in common: they are trying to exalt ourselves to something different from what God has lifted us to. If I survey the blessings that God has given me and decide, “Nope, that’s not good enough. I want something more, something different,” and don’t care what I have to do to make it happen, that will bring trouble. That’s not to say that self-improvement is bad or that pursuing a new career path or educational avenue is wrong. But if that discontent leads me to sin—to greed, to coveting, to lust, or anything else—that’s where things just fall apart.

Because in those moments, we take on the responsibility God has reserved for himself. The atrocious notion that “God helps those who help themselves” is so tempting. God might use my ambition or my hard work to bring blessings into my life, certainly, but we ought not think that my sin is justified or commendable if we think we will reap material gain from it, or that God would actually want us to do such a thing.

That was the problem the rich man in Jesus’ parable in our Gospel had. He exalted himself over everything else, especially someone like the poor beggar, Lazarus. But what good did it do him at his death? Nothing. His money did earn him favor with God, nor did it buy his way out of the punishment for his sins in hell. He wasn’t in hell because he was rich, but because he viewed earthly riches as a complete replacement for spiritual blessings—a mistake that is all too easy for us to commit today as well.

Where do we look to raise ourselves up in this life and ignore eternity? Where do we look to raise ourselves up at all costs, disregarding what God says is right and wrong? Where do we make our will or desires a replacement for God? In all of these things, there is idolatry, because I am worshiping myself as my god. Obviosuly we don’t want to be doing any of that.

So what is the solution? The writer to the Hebrews points us to it: let God do the work that he has reserved for himself, because in him we have the certainty of blessings and for things to be worked out for our eternal good. Quoting from the Old Testament, the writer sums it up this way: Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have. For God has said: I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you. So then we say with confidence: The Lord is my helper, and I will not be afraid. What will man do to me? 

So what is our takeaway here? God’s love for us means that he always has our best interests in mind. No matter what happens here, he will be by our side protecting, guiding, and working all things for our eternal good. The world can never separate us from God, nor can it ever offer an alternative to God’s loving care that will be worthwhile in the long run—the eternal run. You don’t need to exalt yourself over others or look to others to raise you higher. No, God lifts you up.

And God’s exaltation might not be peace and comfort here in this life. By his own promise, God’s exaltating you will probably involve bearing crosses and difficulties in this life. But that’s only because God continually has the ultimate good in mind—eternal life. So whatever happens to us here (what we would call good or bad), whatever we have to our name here (what we might call a lot or not enough), whatever sense of fulfillment or joy or happiness we have right now—if any—is all pointing ahead to the time where we will be perfectly provided for, perfectly lifted up, and perfectly protected from any harm that could come to us. Everything God does for you is in service of preparing you for eternal life, keeping my focus on my Savior who is my true, lasting, and eternal treasure.

That all is easy to say and much harder to live. How do we navigate this world that not only has crosses and other difficulties but also a constant barrage of temptations promising us the easier, the better, and the more comfortable, all of which threaten to pull our focus off of eternity and to instead zero in on this life alone? Again, I think we can look to Jesus’ teaching in our Gospel and the words provided to Abraham in that story: “They have Moses and the Prophets. Let them listen to them” (Luke 16:29).

God promises in his Word help to bring us peace with what is happening around us and also help to guide us toward God-pleasing decisions when we look to make changes. When we have his love, forgiveness and the certainty of eternal life in heaven in clear view, we will also have the true way that God lifts us up in view. You are his own, dearly loved child and he will being you home to himself when your time comes. Being heirs of heaven provides far greater blessings than all the money in the world or any sin-guided motivation for self-exaltation could possibly provide. Let us look forward to that day and, while we are still here, enjoy and appreciate the ways that God has chosen to exalt us even today.

God bless your walk toward peace and contentment. May it always be focused on Jesus’ eternal love and forgiveness, which means eternal life! Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria

Sermon prepared for Gloria Dei Lutheran Church (WELS), Belmont, CA (www.gdluth.org) by Pastor Timothy Shrimpton. All rights reserved. Contact pastor@gdluth.org for usage information.

"One for All Won for All" (Sermon on Hebrews 9:24-28) | November 17, 2024

Sermon Text: Hebrews 9:24-28
Date: November 17, 2024
Event: Proper 28, Year B

Hebrews 9:24-28 (EHV)

For Christ did not enter a handmade sanctuary, a representation of the true sanctuary. Instead, he entered into heaven itself, now to appear before God on our behalf. 25And he did not enter to offer himself many times, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own. 26Otherwise he would have needed to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once and for all, at the climax of the ages, in order to take away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27And, just as it is appointed for people to die only once and after this comes the judgment, 28so also Christ was offered only once to take away the sins of many, and he will appear a second time—without sin—to bring salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for him.

One for All Won for All

It can be very difficult to look beyond right now to the future. If things are going well right now, it can be hard to think of a time when maybe they will be more difficult. If life is challenging and complicated right now, it can feel almost impossible to think of a time when things will be going better and easier.

This morning on the second-to-last Sunday of the church year, we are attempting to look beyond right now to what is coming. We heard the promise of Jesus in our Gospel that there will come a time when he will return and call us to himself. Daniel also pictured this final rescue and resurrection, when God will deliver his people from a life corrupted by sin to a home in heaven where we will shine like the brightness of the sky and … like the stars forever and ever (Daniel 12:3).

Our focus this morning, though, is on our Second Reading which is no less future-looking, but it also offers us some very specific direction and encouragement for us right here, right now. The last day and rescue are coming, but what do we do until then? How do we stay focused until then? As it so often is, the answer is to keep our focus on Jesus. His victory means our eternal security and even our temporal comfort and peace.

The writer to the Hebrews takes us back to Old Testament worship. There was a special day, one of the (if not the) highlights of the Israelites’ worship life. It is a holy day that is still obsereved in our day, which you probably will see marked on your calendars in the fall, Yom Kippur, or in English, the Day of Atonement.

The Day of Atonement was a celebration focusing on the forgiveness of sins and what the Messiah would provide. This was the one day of the year that anyone was allowed in the Most Holy Place, the most inner room in the Tabernacle or Temple, where the Ark of the Covenant sat. Only the high priest could enter there on this day, and only with blood. He would offer two special sacrifices: first, a bull sacrificed for his own sins, and then one of two goats as an offering for the people's sins. The goat that wasn’t sacrificed was known as the scapegoat, and the high priest would place his hands on this animal to symbolically transfer the people's sins to the goat and send it out to wander away into the wilderness (see Leviticus 16). It served as a picture of how God would send away sin, never to be seen again.

There’s a weakness to this celebration that was present from its establishment. You can even see the weakness as you find Yom Kippur on your calendars—this was an annual event. It happened over and over and over again. If it has been observed annually since it was commanded, it has been celebrated roughly 3,500 times up to this day. And that’s because this holy day is promise, not fulfillment. This was not the actual removal of sins but a picture of how God would remove the sins. And so, while it was undoubtedly important for the Old Testament believers looking forward to the promised Savior, the Day of Atonement always carried with it the idea of something that would happen later that hadn’t been accomplished yet. It was future-pointing to something bigger and better than the high priest, the temple, the sacrifices, and the scapegoat.

This is a constant theme throughout the letter to the Hebrews because it was written to Jewish converts to Christianity who were finding it challenging to stay connected to Jesus. They were tempted to “backslide” into the promises of Judaism while ignoring Jesus' fulfillments. So, the writer repeatedly points out how Jesus fulfilled and is far superior to everything that came before him.

And this idea of repetition looms large in that discussion. If you have to do something repeatedly, it means there is a continual wear and tear. There’s a decay that hasn’t been fixed and a problem that hasn’t been solved. You must do car maintenance with tires, brakes, and fluid changes because things wear out. What if you had brake pads that never wore out? What a blessing that would be! Likewise, the repetition of the sacrifices, specifically on the Day of Atonement, meant that something was still wearing out and broken. If things had been really fixed by the animal sacrifices and other ceremonies, well, then there wouldn’t have been a need to do them over and over again. But they did have to do them over and over again because they weren’t actually fixing things—they pointed ahead to the full repair that God would eventually accomplish.

The writer to the Hebrews latches on to this point at the beginning of our Second Reading and shows how different Jesus is from all that came before him and pointed to him: Christ did not enter a handmade sanctuary, a representation of the true sanctuary. Instead, he entered into heaven itself, now to appear before God on our behalf. And he did not enter to offer himself many times, as the high priest enters the Most Holy Place year after year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise he would have needed to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once and for all, at the climax of the ages, in order to take away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Jesus’ work didn’t take him into the temple in Jerusalem to offer a sacrifice; he entered God’s true temple in heaven to provide the sacrifice. And it wasn’t something done over and over again. Instead, this sacrifice was once for all, over and done.

On the cross, Jesus offered the singular and complete payment for sin before God in heaven. His life was the payment that had been promised and that we all desperately needed. And Jesus’ work is truly one for all. There is nothing left to do. No further sacrifices have to be made. We are not here this morning trying to make things right with God; we don’t go about our day-to-day lives trying to “earn points” with God. The work is done. Sin is forgiven. We have a perfect relationship with God because Jesus paid for every sin.

We can know and cherish this, but it can be difficult to remember. The problems and heartaches of this life are a constant distraction from this reality. As we slog through this life of sin, heartache, illness, and sorrow, we can start to lose our grasp of it, and the “so what?” question about Jesus’ work starts to loom large.

And then you can again sympathize with the original audience of this letter to the Hebrew Christians. The “so what?” question is especially hard to wrestle with when you are undergoing persecution for the faith, and the temptation to retreat from it. The pull to find solace and comfort somewhere, anywhere, is powerful. And because we can’t see and interact directly with Jesus on a daily basis, our human nature starts to pull us away from him to something more concrete in this life.

We’ve seen this struggle a few times in our readings toward the end of this church year. Satan is relentless in trying to separate us from what God has said, done, and promised. This is nothing new, but it is our lived reality.

And so the writer to the Hebrews encourages us with a look ahead, a reminder of what is coming: And, just as it is appointed for people to die only once and after this comes the judgment, so also Christ was offered only once to take away the sins of many, and he will appear a second time—without sin—to bring salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for him. That last verse of our reading is our theme and focus for this morning. Why is this important? What do we want to stay committed? Because while Jesus’ work was one for all, his visible, direct interaction with this world was not a one-time thing. He’s coming back. But unlike the priests dealing with the sacrifices in Israel’s worship system, he’s not coming a second time to deal with sin—that’s done!—instead, he’s coming this second time—without sin—to bring salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for him.

And the end, we will see the proof that Jesus won the victory for all through his one-for-all work. Jesus promised in our Gospel for this morning, “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and will come out” (John 5:28-29). This Judgment Day will be the unavoidable, undebatable public proclamation of what Jesus did and who will benefit from it. Jesus said that those who have “done good” (John 5:29) will rise to live, and we know that the only way to do anything God considers good is to be perfect. So those who will rise to live, those who have “done good,” are those who cling to Jesus by faith for the forgiveness of every sin. They are those that God himself as purified in the blood of Jesus, shed for us.

This is open to anyone and everyone. Jesus didn’t pay for a limited amount of sins or die for only a special, select group of people. No, he died for all, which means the victory over sin, death, and hell has been won for all—you included!

And so on that day when he returns (or at the end of our earthly life, whichever comes first), we can look confidently toward our Savior who loves us because that will be the end of this horror show of a sin-corrupted life. Instead, that will be when Jesus bring[s]salvation to those who are eagerly waiting for him. At that moment, we will experience and enjoy in full what Jesus won. Then, we will be free from sin. Then we will be with our Savior forever.

Until that day, my dear sisters and brothers, find comfort in knowing that your salvation is complete, your sins are totally forgiven, and that Jesus finished all the work that you needed him to do. Jesus has truly won salvation for all by his one-for-all sacrifice of sin. Find comfort in that for yourself, encourage each other with that certainty, and seek to share this victory with others because no matter who they are, Jesus won it for them too. Thanks be to God! Amen.

Soli Deo Gloria

Sermon prepared for Gloria Dei Lutheran Church (WELS), Belmont, CA (www.gdluth.org) by Pastor Timothy Shrimpton. All rights reserved. Contact pastor@gdluth.org for usage information.