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Our God Preserves and Perfects His Persevering People
Hebrews 13:20-25
We’re always looking for a solution. We want a fix to life’s issues. In education, we get tutors. But there’s no guarantee. In health, we seek specialists. But their treatment isn’t always effective. For companionship, we invest in people. But people fail us. Beloved, our only comfort in life and death is that we’re not our own, but belong, body and soul, to our faithful savior Jesus Christ. Only Christ gives the solution. Only he can fix life’s problems. He promises all good things in heaven. Now? He offers contentment. But when we won’t receive contentment, we lust. To us, the good is never good enough. And trials are more than we can bear. The Hebrew Christians struggled with that. They hoped for a better life. They wanted an immediate solution and some were willing to trade Christ for it. But that’s dangerous.
Christ said “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). That’s why the author desperately pointed them to Christ. Jesus is better than anything. And you can’t reject him without great penalty. So he called them to persevere in Christ. If you do, you’ll reach the end. And you can persevere because God preserves you. As we come to the end of Hebrews, there are two lessons for us. Firstly, God will preserve Christ’s people. Secondly, Christ’s people will persevere in God. Our struggles are no different from the Hebrew Christians’. The only difference is intensity. They had it far worse. So his words to them are words to us. If you’re Christian, you must persevere in your faith. You can’t look to other solutions.
Because God will preserve Christ’s people. That’s the first point. Verses 20-21 - “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” This is a benediction. The author blesses these struggling people, asking God to preserve and perfect them. But it’s also a doxology. He praises God for what he is and does. In these final words, he points the struggling people to God’s character. You’re struggling? You want to give up? You want to sin? But why?! Don’t you know the kind of God we have? He’s the God of peace. And that’s remarkable! Why? We just learned he’s a consuming fire. In Old Testament times, he was called the Lord of Hosts; captain of God’s armies. He’s not a man of peace. At the Red Sea crossing, Egypt was judged. Israel sang - “The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name. Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea” (Exodus 15:3-4). Psalm 5 says God hates all workers of iniquity. Psalm 7 says he’s angry with the wicked every day. Psalm 11 says he’ll judge them with fire. In Genesis, after driving man out of Eden, God posted an angel to guard it, who waved around a fiery sword. Our Lord also warned his disciples in Matthew 10:28 - “fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather, fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell.” Beloved, God’s not a God of peace to those who reject him. But to his people in Christ, he is the God of peace. God is for us.
Consider who he is in our struggle. Philippians 4:6-9 says in times of anxiety, we can pray. What happens? God’s peace that passes all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ. And when we think on things true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good, and virtuous, the God of peace will be with us. This title shows God’s attitude to us. He’s at peace with us. Because Christ died to reconcile us to God, we’re no longer his enemies. Romans 5:1 says, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” We’re friends. And if he’s for us, who can be against us?
But remember clearly. This God of peace is a God of war to his enemies. Romans 16:20 says “…the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly…” This God of peace will also put his feet on the necks of his enemies. Those who won’t submit to him will be his footstool. But he’s the God of peace to his sheep.
And as God of peace, he’s powerful to help us. “He brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus.” He resurrected Jesus from the dead. And he’ll do that for us. Romans 8:11 says, “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.” We’ll live forever! But that power also works in us now. Acts 1:8 - “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me…” As God’s people, we can be godly witnesses! We don’t have to give into sin. We can be holy! Yes, in this world, we worry about money, health and career. But can we repent of worry and be content? Yes. How? By letting God’s power work in us. In our marriages, many believers battle with bitterness, pettiness, unforgiveness. But can our marriages thrive? Yes. How? By letting God’s power work in us. We can be joyful, content, and holy through Christ’s power - when our hearts are subdued by him to love and serve. When we learn surrender and submission to him.
Just consider the disciples. They always argued who’d be first. This attitude affected their service. They weren’t servants. They chased away children, they weren’t at peace with each other, and they refused to wash feet. Consider Paul. He persecuted the church, authorized Stephen’s stoning, and breathed out threats. But what happened? All were subdued by Christ’s power. There in the Upper Room, when Christ appeared to them; there on the road to Damascus, when Christ appeared to him - they all finally understood. Thomas fell down and cried - “My Lord and My God!” Paul fell down and was speechless. But when Christ poured his Spirit on them, they were empowered to serve. They became friends and lived only for Christ. But how did this happen? How did they have peace with God and power to change?
Because God is a promise-keeping God. God did all this “through the blood of the everlasting covenant.” From the start, God promised a perfect sacrifice to save a people for himself. He promised that the seed of the woman would destroy sin and Satan. That’s why when Adam and Eve sinned so badly and should’ve surely died, God forgave them! It’s all because of Christ’s sacrifice. Through his blood, he ratified the promise. All those who trust in him, have peace with God. We who believe, are covered by Christ’s sacrifice. So when God looks at us, he doesn’t see enemies, but friends with whom he’s at peace, and children he will empower.
That’s why he works in us. To keep his promise, God preserves and perfects us. Verse 21 - the God of peace will “make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” He perfects us. The word “perfect” means to fix up. It means to put back in joint; to restore. For example, if your arm dislocates, it’s useless. It has to be reset into joint. Or wooden pieces for a house are useless unless they’re fixed together. All of us are broken and sinful. We’re weak and ineffective. We have marital problems. We’re covetous. We’re disobedient. We’re worldly. We’re lustful. We are content with respectability instead of desiring true spirituality. And we’re difficult people. But God works in us to fix us - to be holy and useful. He does that through Christ - that Great Shepherd of the Sheep. As shepherd, Christ uses his rod and staff to comfort us. Sometimes to receive comfort, we must first be chastised. By his staff, the shepherd’s crook, he snatches us out of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. It’s not pleasant. But he’s not harsh. He’s “that great shepherd.” He’s the promised shepherd who cares for his people. Beloved, God helps us to be holy. That’s his work in us.
But to be clear, he doesn’t do this work for all. He’s not the shepherd of the wolves. Neither is he the shepherd of goats. He’s that Great Shepherd of the Sheep. Who are the sheep? Those who hear his voice and follow him! As Christ said - “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). He won’t perfect them that won’t come to him. But those that follow him, he will perfect. But how long will it take? Beloved, we all have struggles. Some of these struggles are caused by besetting sins. And for some of these things, it takes a life time.
But until then, he preserves us. That’s also his work.“Working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” He’ll so work in us to be pleasing in his sight. He doesn’t save us half-way and let us do the rest of the work. He saves us and helps us live the Christian life. To continue in the good works of repentance - to put off sin and put on holiness. Philippians 2:13 says, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.” And when we’re weak and want to stop working on holiness, God doesn’t stop working in us to make us pleasing. Until the day we die, he’s still at work in us. Philippians 1:6 says, “being confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the Day of Jesus Christ.” So this gives us 2 assurances. Firstly, even if we fall into sin, we won’t fall away. We will repent one day. He’s working in us. Provided we’re sheep. And secondly, the trials he sends to us to purify us won’t destroy us. He preserves us. We won’t give up. We’ll continue to repent. That’s how we know we’re his sheep.
God’s people will persevere in Christ. That’s the second point. Beloved, there’ll be time to time those who call themselves believers, but they won’t persevere. They’ll either reject the gospel - saying they’re not Christian anymore; or by their lives, they reject God’s grace. They won’t abandon their sins or persevere in repentance. So we must be clear. Sheep hear Christ’s voice. Goats don’t. For those who forsake God by profession or life, the church simply has to acknowledge that. They’ve forsaken God. They never continued in the covenant. They never received the kingdom like little children. But what does this passage say about Christ’s sheep? They will persevere. How? We see their work - they’ll accept difficult words. Verse 22 - “And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words.” He called them brethren. He told them to bear with the word of exhortation, to receive it. And what he had taught them was in few words - meaning, he wrote briefly all the things he wanted to say. Sure, his letter wasn’t short, it had 13 chapters. But he touched on many subjects, and couldn’t go in depth. But they were hard things he taught them. And he pleaded with them to bear with his exhortation - to receive and submit. As with most epistles, this letter would’ve been read out as a sermon in church. The people would’ve come to worship feeling discouraged, tempted to reject Christ, struggling with sin, fearing persecution, anxious because of trials, conflicted in marriage, covetous, angry, lustful, etc. So these were words they needed to hear! Words that challenged them to keep following Christ. Words of comfort with needful doctrines. But these were also heavy, convicting, and offending words to those who wanted to sin. The fact he said suffer the Word, or bear with it, means there were doctrines that were opposed to their thinking. They didn’t want them. They found them too hard to accept. But if they never bore with them, how could they be fixed? Similarly, some of you here have been challenged. You’ve been comforted because you’ve received the Word. Yes, some have been angered and wounded. But if you reject it, you’re rejecting God’s solutions. How can your issues be fixed? So what should be done? Should the author not give it to them? Should they not be preached? Should I refrain from giving difficult words? Ezekiel 3:17-18 says, “Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the Word at My mouth, and give them warning from Me. When I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die: and thou givest him not warning, nor speaketh to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life; the same wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at thine hand.” The word must be preached.
But what will you do with them? You must respond. You must listen and bear with them. You may ask - why should I? Christ said - my sheep hear my voice and follow me. And they were “brethren.” Better things were expected of them. Better things are expected of you. To persevere, we must hear and do. Hear and put away covetousness. Hear and put away sin and lust. Hear and fix your marriages. John Calvin said that because sinners don’t want to change, they hate rebuke. Goats ignore but sheep listen. Sheep desire to be reset, to do God’s will; to let him work in them to be pleasing in his sight. Goats will not. Sheep want to give Jesus Christ glory forever and ever. Goats will not.
And here we see the character of those who are sheep. These brethren would humbly demonstrate that grace. Verses 23-25 - “Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, I will see you. Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute you. Grace be with you all. Amen.” The writer had written to them difficult things. Things hard to be uttered. He told them to receive them. As sheep, they would. But here, the author fully expected they’d obey and even continue to bear with more words. The author revealed that Timothy was freed from prison, and would accompany him to visit them. He said, “I will see you!” Despite the tough words he gave them, he was fully intending to go to them to exhort them. And he fully expected them to receive him. The brethren knew his words were good for them. They also knew he’d only preach Christ to them. They also knew that if they received hard things, they’d be perfected, reset, and comforted in this life.
Beloved, who is Christ to you? Is he your shepherd? As your shepherd, he comforts with the Word - with his rod and staff. And his Word is not always pleasant. You have to bear with his exhortation. Perhaps we have misunderstood Christ. We see him as a shepherd who is only forgiving. But we forget that he’s that Great Shepherd of the Sheep. We see him as the God of peace, and think he will simply overlook our sins. But the God of peace will subdue his enemies and Satan. Is Christ your shepherd? He will save you. At the cross, one thief mocked him; the other pleaded with him - Remember me! At the cross, Christ prayed that God would forgive the Roman soldiers - many mocked him, but the centurion declared - truly, this was the Son of God. Why? My sheep hear my voice and follow me. Don’t ever leave Christ. You can never trade him for a better life, or for your sins. He’s better than the angels, the prophets, Moses, Joshua, the priests, the temple, and everything else. He’s better than your job, your travels, your money, your education, your children. There are severe penalties for rejecting him, but there are wondrous blessings awaiting his sheep.
1. God Will Preserve Christ’s People
A. His character - peaceful, powerful, and promise-keeping
B. His work - preservation and perfection through Christ
2. Christ’s People Will Persevere in God
A. Their work - accepting difficult Words
B. Their character - humbly receiving Grace
Conversation for Change:
- Are you making Christ and the Christian life your chief pursuit?
- How long do you have on earth? How are you making the best of the short time here in preparation for eternity?
- What have been the challenges for you in this series of messages?
* As a matter of courtesy please advise Rev. Mark Chen, if you plan to use this sermon in a worship service. Thank-you.
(c) Copyright 2025, Rev. Mark Chen
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