Hebrews 13:1-6
Love, Hospitality, and Contentment
1Continue in brotherly love.
2Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it.
3Remember those in prison as if you were bound with them, and those who are mistreated as if you were suffering with them.
4Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.
5Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”
6So we say with confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?”
Berean Standard Bible
After the letter's great argument, the writer gives ordinary instructions. Continue in brotherly love. Do not neglect hospitality to strangers; some have entertained angels without knowing it. Remember prisoners as though bound with them and remember the mistreated as though suffering with them.
The commands turn attention outward. Love is not only a feeling for people already close to us. It notices strangers, prisoners, and people whose suffering could remain invisible to everyone else.
Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept undefiled. The writer takes sexual faithfulness seriously, but the command is not a tool for humiliating people or controlling a spouse. Marriage honors covenant, mutual dignity, and truthful commitment.
The writer then addresses money. Keep life free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God has promised never to leave or forsake His people. Contentment is not resignation to poverty or a ban on wise ambition. It is freedom from treating possessions as the source of security.
The response is confidence: “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.” People can cause real harm, and seeking protection is wise. But no human being is the final measure of our worth or the final power over our future.
Questions
1 Whom should believers remember as if sharing their suffering?
AnswerThey should remember prisoners and people being mistreated as if they were suffering with them.
2 What does the writer say about hospitality?
AnswerHe tells believers not to neglect hospitality to strangers because unexpected blessings can come through welcome.
3 What should marriage be among all people?
AnswerMarriage should be honored by all, with the marriage bed kept faithful and undefiled before God.
4 Why can believers resist the love of money?
AnswerThey can resist it because God has promised never to leave or forsake them, making His presence their security.
What This Means for Us
Love becomes visible in who gets remembered. Make space for strangers, prisoners, mistreated people, and lonely neighbors without pretending that hospitality requires unsafe access to your home.
Contentment frees a person to pursue wise work without asking possessions to provide identity or safety. God Himself remains the believer's help. Use resources wisely, share freely, and ask for help when needs are real.
Prayer
God, keep our love active and our homes attentive to people who are overlooked. Help us honor marriage, resist the love of money, practice wise hospitality, and trust that You will not abandon us. Amen.