Let Us Be Grateful
Hebrews concludes this section by pointing out that the appropriate
response to God for all the wonderful things He has done for us is to
show gratitude by offering Him an appropriate type of worship.
Compare Hebrews 12:28 and Hebrews 13:15, 16. How do we offer
God acceptable worship?
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In the old covenant system, the sacrifice of animals was the way
people showed repentance and gratitude, but these sacrifices were to be
but a token of the gratitude and repentance in the heart of the worshiper.
Thus, God made clear in Psalms and through the prophets that what
really pleased Him was not the blood of animals but the gratitude, good
deeds, and righteousness of the worshipers (Ps. 50:7–23, Isa. 1:11–17).
Thus, Paul invites us to worship God in the heavenly sanctuary by
offering sacrifices of praise, confession, thanksgiving, and good works,
which is the true worship that delights Him. We offer these sacrifices
on earth, but they are accepted as pleasing to God in heaven. This
exhortation embraces all the calls that Paul has made throughout the
letter for the confession of Jesus’ name (Heb. 3:1, Heb. 4:14, Heb.
10:23) and his exhortations that we continue to do good works (Heb.
6:10–12; Heb. 13:1, 2, 16).
The invitation of Paul to the audience to “offer to God acceptable
worship” (Heb. 12:28, ESV) implies that believers are truly now a
priestly nation that has been perfected and sanctified through the
sacrifice of Jesus (Heb. 10:10–14, 19–23). This fulfills God’s original
purpose for Israel, that it would be a priestly nation through which He
would be able to announce the good news of salvation to the world
(Exod. 19:4–6; 1 Pet. 2:9, 10; Rev. 1:6; Rev. 5:10).
Hebrews 13:1–6 describes in practical terms what it means to do
good and share what we have. It means to show brotherly love, just as
Jesus showed brotherly love to us (Heb. 2:11, 12). It means to be hos-
pitable, to visit those who are in prison or have been mistreated (Heb.
13:3), and to reject adultery and covetousness.
Why is it important to consider good works and sharing what
we have as part of our worship to God? At the same time, what
are the very real ways that our spiritual sacrifices to God may be
corrupted (Isa. 1:11–17)?