Hebrews 13:1  Let brotherly love continue.
2  Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
3  Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

Brotherly love is important among Christians. One of the ways Christians can testify to the world of the goodness of God is by showing true brotherly love for one another. We know that Jonathan and David had brotherly love for one another. They cared deeply about each other’s well being. Brotherly love is not a sensual love, but rather a love that desires to help another brother to know God’s blessings to the fullest.
Paul was directed to write that brotherly love was to continue. It was already there. It is a gift that God gives to His children when they are saved. We saw the exhortation to this love in chapter 10 where we are encouraged to provoke one another unto love and good works. True Christians care enough for each other to help each other to grow closer to God. We need to encourage this in the day in which we live. You cannot express brotherly love when you stay away from the house of God where true brothers meet around God’s Word.
In verse 2 Christians are exhorted to entertain strangers. To entertain here is to be hospitable to strangers. In Bible times people travelled on foot much of the time. The apostle Paul travelled to many different places as did other apostles. They needed places to stay as they travelled. Motels were not available, and they did not have much money to spend. Christians saw the importance of the work of God and they appreciated those who were called of God to travel and spread the Gospel. They were not travelling as tourists or even as our PM who is wasting taxpayer dollars to fly to Europe to discuss what is next for Russia. He and those he meets with are clued out anyway. We are seeing the consequences of their foolish decisions at home.
The strangers God is talking about are those who are serving the Lord and doing important work. We know in Acts 10 that Peter was staying at the house of Simon the tanner. He was not at home and Simon took him in. He would then travel to be with Cornelius. The apostles in particular did not have a settled place to live and they were directed by God to travel from place to place to advance the cause of Christ and establish true churches.
The word translated as “angels” means “messenger.” We know in the Old Testament that God sent an Angel to speak to Abraham. It was on occasion that God did this. The book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ tells us that the pastors of the local churches were referred to as the angels of the churches. They were the messengers that God had appointed to the churches to proclaim God’s Word. Thus we know that an angel does not always need to be a heavenly being. It can also be an earthly messenger that God has chosen to be involved in His Work in a special way. It is important for Christians to be discerning and willing to entertain strangers as God directs them.
In verse 3 we are reminded that it was quite common in Bible times to hear of a Christian that was imprisoned. We have heard of preachers that have been imprisoned in recent times in Canada. Most if not all of them have been false teachers to this point. This may change as time moves on. If the Lord tarries His return, and our current governments have their way, it will change. Those who are saved need to treat those who are in prison as though they themselves were in prison.
From what I have read, the authorities do not treat religious prisoners very well. They use the strong arm of the “law” to make life miserable for them. They punish them more than they punish those who are true criminals. The current brand of officials has a hatred for religion in general. God’s people need to understand that we are living in a time when true men of God could be imprisoned for preaching the truth. As the officials bring more restrictions out and as our governments continue to pass oppressive laws, true Christians will find themselves in defiance of those laws. The current law against “conversion therapy” puts any true child of God at odds with the law. There are a couple of new laws that are before Parliament right now and very little is being said about them. The news is still talking about the government action of bringing in the Emergency Measures Act and now about what our response should be to the war in Ukraine. These are both important issues, but while they are going on the government appears to be trying to sneak in other legislation that will greatly interfere with the freedoms that we should have in our own country. The committee that has been set up to look into the abuse of power with the Emergency Measures Act is looking like the fix is in for the government to get away with criminal activity. We will see what actually comes of this, but it does not look good for the freedom of this country.
Prison could become much more of a reality for those who will stand true to the God that saved them.
Together with prison there will also be those who suffer adversity. The government is also talking about withholding EI from those who lose their jobs for not taking the illegal and dangerous shots. There is also talk of the government trying to withhold pension cheques from those who do not fall in line with what they want us to believe. There is the potential for tough times coming. We know the government has already proven the power to tell banks to seize bank accounts of those it does not like.
Things have definitely changed very quickly in a very short time. Things have been building up to this for a long time. The government has created diversions to cause many to be asleep while they plotted their evil plans. Certainly our PM has been groomed over the past number of years at Davos for the dictatorial role he is fulfilling more and more in Canada. He is working very carefully with the goals of the World Economic Forum. His deputy PM is also involved in that as is most of his cabinet. Depending on how long the Lord tarries His coming, there could be some real testing ahead for those who serve God faithfully.
Those who are saved should not turn their backs on their brothers. They should be there to help each other through these times so that the Word of God can continue to be proclaimed in spite of the increased attacks against It.
Pastor Bartel