Follow The Rules Of Jesus

When I was in high school our coach would get us fired up for the game in the locker room.  He would give his motivational speech but before leaving the room he would say, “Whose house is this? Our house!”  Then repeat it, “Whose house?” and we’d say, “Our house!”  The cheer would progressively get louder until we were shouting it to shake the building and head out to the field all fired up.

Have you ever done that at your house?  I don’t mean you get up in the morning and look into the mirror and say, “Whose house is this?  My House!” However you may have thought it. Whose house? My house! Whose rules?  My rules!  Whose life? My life! Whose choices? My choices!  Whose right?  I’m right! While shouting like this might get the football team all fired up to play a game, it probably won’t work so well in order to win the game of life.  “Whose marriage? My marriage.  Whose friends?  My friends!  Whose work?  My work!  Whose heaven?  My heaven! . Having such an attitude toward our life won’t work because it doesn’t recognize whose house it really is.  Today the inspired writer to the Hebrews wants us to recognize Jesus who has Absolute Authority in God’s House and encourages us to

Follow The Rules Of Jesus

For it’s His House

I hope you noticed the house I’m talking about.  Verse 6 “We are his house.” The picture of believers being a part of God’s house is found throughout the Bible. Peter said in his first letter, “You also, like living stones, are being built as a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, in order to bring spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Pet 2:5).  The apostle Paul, said this in his letter to the Ephesians said, “¹⁹ So then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of God’s household…. ²² In him you too are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Eph 2:19-22).  God’s Word is clear on this point.  “Whose House?  God’s House!”  God builds believers into a spiritual house. Each of you as a uniquely shaped and sized stone are built together upon the foundation of God’s gospel promises as a place for God to proclaim his love to his people in Word and Sacrament.  “We are his house, if we hold on firmly to our confidence and the hope about which we boast until the end.”  Members of God’s house are faithful believers of Christ Jesus who is our hope until the end!  So, while it is true that God has created and form each of us with spiritual gifts, we are not created so much for rugged individualism as we are created and formed to be built together into a house.  So take another look at God’s house and realize that Jesus is your Savior, but that doesn’t mean you are an individual follower of Christ as much as you are part of something bigger. We are built together, connected to one another by a common faith in Jesus to support and encourage and strengthen one another.  We are called to Follow The Rules of Jesus For It’s His House.  So we trust in his law/rules and to trust in his gospel/gracious forgiveness. You are built To Follow The Rules Of Jesus For It is His House! Whose house? God’s house!

God gives us his rules to follow because it is his house.  For instance, a teenage daughter wants to use the family car to go out with friends. Her father is willing to allow this, but there are rules attached to the permission: text where she’s going, put some gas in the tank, no more than two friends in the car, and home by her 11 pm curfew.  She might even be tempted to say, “I hate all these rules.”  And dad responds, “My house, my rules.”  Isn’t that true? The owner of the house is the one in charge and you have to follow their rules. If your friend doesn’t want shoes on in their house, you take them off by the door. If your brother keeps the temperature in his house set at 63 degrees during the winter, you better remember your sweater.  My house, My Rules!  Likewise we joyfully and faithfully follow the Rules of Jesus for It’s His House!  We also recognize that following Jesus’ rules will be

For Our Benefit

When we understand that believers are built into a spiritual house, we also need to recognize who’s in charge. The reading from Hebrews gives us two examples – Moses and Jesus. “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, focus your attention on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. ² He was faithful to the one who appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in God’s whole house.”  Remember, Hebrews was written to the believers of Jesus who were living in Jerusalem.  After following the rules God gave his people through Moses for the past 1,500 years, having a change of whose in charge was a real struggle. The early Christians were very familiar with Moses, who he was and what he represented. Moses was a special leader over Israel, appointed by God to lead God’s people from bondage in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land.  God spoke to the people of Israel through Moses, most importantly bringing to them his commandments and laws, how they were to live in a relationship with God.  And Moses was a faithful leader both to God and to the people of Israel. Sadly, as time went on, God’s people began to view Moses and the laws as the way to get God’s benefits and have eternal life. It was all about what they had to do.  In Jesus’ day if you asked them, “Whose house?”  they would be eager to say, “Moses’ house!” 

The writer to the Hebrews builds on the example of Moses, but points them to following Jesus. “focus your attention on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. ² He was faithful to the one who appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in God’s whole house.” Like Moses led God’s people to the Promised Land built by God, Jesus came to lead people from bondage of sin and death to the Promise Land of heaven built by God.  Jesus didn’t come to give more laws, but to fulfill all of the laws God gave through Moses and to fulfill them for your benefit so that he could give to you an eternal relationship with the Lord.  The house God built through Moses as great, but the house God built through Jesus was by far greater!  Whose House?  God’s House!

You see the point.  Jesus is greater than Moses. Why?  “³ In fact, Jesus is worthy of greater glory than Moses, in the same way that the builder of a house has more honor than the house. ⁴ For every house is built by someone, and God is the one who built everything.” God sent his Son Jesus to die on the cross and pay the penalty of all our sins, so that everyone in God’s house lives as his dearly loved and forgiven members of God’s House.

We see new housing developments all around the DFW area.  Last week I learned that every 3 minutes a new family is moving into this area!  When you drive around these new areas you look at the new homes, but you can’t help notice who built them with their big signs and banners hanging at the entrance.  Who gets the praise for this new neighborhood and the houses?  The Builder!   Now look at God’s House, the Holy Christian Church, and soak in these words, “God is the one who built everything.”  Jesus is the builder of everything. As both God and man, Jesus is the almighty Creator.  He is the Savior.  He created you.  He formed you.  He redeemed you.  Jesus did it all in order for you to receive the benefits!  Jesus lived, died, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven to rule all things for the benefit of his House. Whose house? God’s house!

Another benefit we receive is mentioned in the comparison between Moses and Jesus.  “⁵ Moses was faithful as a servant within God’s whole house by testifying to the things that would be spoken. ⁶ But Christ is faithful as a Son over God’s house.”  Moses was a faithful servant who lived in God’s house and was used by God to bring us his rules so we would know God’s will. That’s awesome.  Jesus is God’s Son who is over God’s House for our eternal benefit.  So there is a servant and son.  The servant may be faithful and a great blessing for the house, true.  But the son has Absolute Authority over the house.  Whose house? God’s house!

I think we’ve got the picture.  We are God’s House and Jesus is in charge.  But, what benefits are there for us today? “Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, focus your attention on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.”   You know how important this is because of the challenges that attack our lives.  Too often we act like a rebellious teenage who wants to make her own driving rules.  Too often do our eyes fall on our neighbor’s house with coveting thoughts?  Too often we want to follow society’s idea of a good life and follow sinful pleasures and earth’s temporary thrills.  The advice of the devil hasn’t changed, “You don’t want to live in God’s House and follow his rules!  No!  Be your own God and make up your own rules!”  God’s Word is clear against such sinful thoughts as Hebrews 3:15 warns: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.”  Rebellion against God’s rules lead to destruction, but God’s blessing rests on those who submit to God’s rules from thankful hearts for all Jesus has done for them.  Can we really talk about being members of God’s house without recalling Jesus’ encouragement in Matthew 7:

“²⁴ Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on bedrock. ²⁵ The rain came down, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house. But it did not fall, because it was founded on bedrock. ²⁶ Everyone who hears these words of mine but does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. ²⁷ The rain came down, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—it was completely destroyed”

Today, as God’s House, we fix our eyes on Jesus who decorates your life with great furnishings.  Look in the living room is a fire place (not hell), but a place of peace and hope.  In the kitchen is bread and wine where Jesus comes in his holy supper to assure you of forgiveness of all your sins.  There in the bathroom is plenty of water where Jesus washes us clean of sin’s curse.  And in the garage is a beautiful car we get to use to go out and proclaim Jesus’ love to the world.  What a great place to live!  For Jesus’ sake you live there.  With thankful hearts let’s joyfully Follow the Rules of Jesus!  For It’s His House for Our Eternal Benefit! “Whose house? God’s house!” Amen!