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Religious directions follow the moral ones and this segment of the Epilogue extends through verse 17. The call, “Remember your leaders,” perhaps referred to former leaders who had passed away. The outcome of their way of life could be contemplated with good effect and the readers were to “imitate their faith.” The joy for us is that no matter what comes and goes in our life, Jesus Christ remains continuously the same. This is why new doctrines which conflict with the unchanging message about Jesus Christ should be rejected.

No blood sacrifices were needed in the light of Jesus’ death, but to offer constant praise and “to do good and to share” with others were indeed sacrifices that God desired (cf. 10:25).

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The Epilogue can be distinguished from the body of the epistle in that the latter contains only broad, general admonitions, while the Epilogue contains specific ones.[1] In some ways, these specific instructions suggest ways “to worship God acceptably” (cf. 12:28). The Epilogue also contains the writer’s personal comments and farewell to their readers.

Hebrews concludes with directions for Christian living. Love other Christians with special needs. Be morally pure, and keep a right attitude toward money. Offer to God sacrifices of praise. Follow joyfully those who lead your churches. Pray for one another. Listen carefully to the words of Scripture.

The first section of the Epilogue contains moral directions for the readers. Obeying these would instill personal kindness to brothers and sisters (v. 1), strangers (v. 2), and prisoners (v. 3). The writer then called for sexual purity in which marriage is held in high regard (v. 4). The readers were also to avoid monetary greed and to be content with what they have (v. 5; cf. Luke 12:15; Phil. 4:11; 1 Tim. 6:6–10). Even if they had little on the material level, they had the Lord (Heb. 13:5) and His help (v. 6).

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Two spiritual truths are emphasized in this chapter. Those who faced discouragement from multiple trials and afflictions needed to “fix [their] eyes on Jesus.” We can find encouragement from Jesus’ refusal to compromise or turn away from God. Realize that God is permitting discipline in your life for a benevolent purpose so that you may share in His holiness.

Those who were presumptuous and careless in their actions were challenged to pursue holiness (v. 14), to take advantage of the privileges of the new covenant (v. 24), and to worship God acceptably with reverence and awe (v. 28).

The writer of Hebrews combined the two themes of athletics and citizenship in this important twelfth chapter. The atmosphere is that of the footraces in the arena. We can see the runners laying aside their training weights and striving to run their races successfully. Some get weary and faint, while others endure to the end and win the prize. First the writer pictures the race (Heb. 12:1–13), and then emphasizes citizenship in the heavenly city (Heb. 12:14–29). In the minds of the readers, these two themes would go together; for no one could take part in the official games unless they were a citizen of the nation.

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God is speaking to us today through His Word and His providential workings in the world. We had better tune our lives to Him and listen! If God shook things at Sinai and those who refused to hear were judged, how much more responsible are we today who have experienced the blessings of the New Covenant! There are things that shake us almost daily in our world. Earthquakes, riots, wildfires, tsunamis, terrorism, sickness, and senseless violence all take their toll on us. God wants to tear down the shakable things and reveal the unshakable realities that are eternal. Unfortunately, too many people (including Christians) are building their lives on things that can shake.

The “shaking” quotation in verse 26 is from Haggai 2:6 and refers to that time when the Lord shall return and fill His house with glory. As events draw nearer to that time, we will see more shaking in this world. But a Christian can be confident, for they shall receive an unshakable kingdom.

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The contrast here is between Mt. Sinai and Mt. Zion. Mt. Zion refers to Zion in the kingdom age (cf. Psa. 2:6; 48:1-2, 8; 102:12-22; 132:11-18; 146:10; Isa. 2:1-5).

The heavenly Jerusalem is in existence now and will be related to the millennial earth and on the eternal earth (Gal. 4:24-31; Heb. 11:10, 16).

After referring to the heavenly Jerusalem in verse 22, the writer describes its inhabitants in verses 22b to 23. Five categories are given: (1) Myriads of angels in festal assembly, (2) the church of the firstborn (the church of Christ in the N.T. age), (3) God, (4) the spirits of righteous people made perfect (O.T. saints), and (5) Jesus.

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As we run the Christian race, what is our goal? The writer explained the goal in Hebrews 12:14: Peace with all people, and holiness before the Lord. (Remember “the peaceable fruit of righteousness,” Heb. 12:11.) These two goals remind us of our Lord’s high priestly ministry—King of peace and King of righteousness (Heb. 7:1–2). It requires diligence to run the race successfully or else we “come short of the grace of God” (Heb. 12:15). God’s grace does not fail, but we can fail to take advantage of His grace. At the end of the chapter, there is another emphasis on grace (Heb. 12:28).

Several observations need to be made about verses 15-17. (1) The congregation was to watch out for individuals in the group who might begin to lapse. (2) The expression "root of bitterness" looks back to Deuteronomy 29:18 and apostasy. (3) The sin involved someone who was like Esau, a man who was profane and without spiritual insight or interest. He was only concerned with fleshly gratification (cf. Gen 25:27-34; 27:1-40).

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The writer of Hebrews combines the two themes of athletics and citizenship in this important twelfth chapter. The atmosphere is that of the footraces in the arena. We can see the runners laying aside their training weights and striving to run their races successfully. Some get weary and faint, while others endure to the end and win the prize. First, the writer pictures the race (Heb. 12:1–13) and then emphasizes citizenship in the heavenly city (Heb. 12:14–29). In the minds of the readers, these two themes would go together because no one could take part in the official games unless he was a citizen of the nation.

Verse 4 puts the struggles of the readers of Hebrews in perspective. Although they had experienced intense hardship, they had not yet faced resistance to the “point of shedding blood.” None of them had suffered martyrdom. Their sufferings had by no means reached the severity of those that Jesus endured. Verse 4 implies that they had not truly shown serious commitment in their resistance to the sin of apostasy. Others had remained faithful to Jesus in the face of far worse sufferings than theirs.

In verses 9-11, the author draws on the analogy of the discipline of earthly fathers and encouraged a submissive spirit to the discipline of the Father of our spirits which is life-preserving as well as productive of an experience of His holiness, which involves a rich harvest of righteousness and peace. But Christians must let this discipline have its full effect and be trained by it.

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As you recall chapter 11 is the work of faith and now we will see that chapter 12 is a patience or the endurance of hope. Hope produces endurance as we’ve seen before.

This section lays out ways we need to remove the obstacles and hindrances in our life so that we can run our race. Our focus should be on nothing else than Jesus, who showed us how to live by faith and endured the cross. He chose God’s will over His own comfort. Finally, we are to consider or dwell on all that Christ endured and went through and all that He has promised us so that we will not grow weary.

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The fact that Christ is a superior Person (Heb. 1–6) and that He exercises a superior Priesthood (Heb. 7–10) ought to encourage us to put our trust in Him. The readers of Hebrews were being tempted to go back into Judaism and put their faith in Moses. Their confidence was in the visible things of this world, not the invisible realities of God. Instead of going on to maturity, they were going “back to destruction."

In Hebrews 11 all Christians are called to live by faith. In it, the writer describes faith and provides relevant demonstrations of faith.

Faith is to a Christian what a foundation is to a house: it gives confidence and assurance that the believer will stand. When a believer has faith, it is God’s way of giving them confidence and assurance that what is promised will be experienced.

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Faith caused God’s people to win battles, endure persecution, and anticipate the life beyond. Joshua led his people to circle Jericho for seven days in what must have appeared to the pagan onlookers as something completely futile and ridiculous (Josh. 6). Faith strengthened the Israelites with the conviction that their God could do the impossible.

The pagan prostitute Rahab had heard of the mighty feats of Israel’s God (Josh. 2:10–12), and her faith in God moved her to welcome the spies. Her faith enabled her to see them as divine agents rather than as enemies.

The list of faithful servants in Hebrews 11 consists of six names (v. 32) which were typical of the period of the Judges and the early monarchy along with some of the prophets, including Gideon, Barak, Samson, and Jephthah (Judg 4-16). The faithful deeds of Samuel and David were engraved in Israel’s history. Samuel was a link between the Judges and the monarchy. David was the most revered and outstanding representative of the monarchy.