“Remember them which have the rule over you (are the guides), who have spoken unto you the Word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.”—Heb. xiii. 7.
God’s gifts to His Church are manifold. He has given Christ and eternal life in Him. He has given the Word of Christ, the precious casket which enshrines Him and His salvation. He has given the Holy Ghost to lead us by the Word Inspired to the Word Incarnate. And He has given Christians indeed—men and women saved by Christ—living embodiments of a living Saviour and a living Word, through the living Spirit.
In all these gifts He has a special purpose in view. They are not thrown at random into the world. God does nothing aimlessly.
When He called this world of ours into being, and gave it its proper place in the universe as the habitation for man,—when He gathered up the light into the light-bearers, and commanded them to be for signs, and for seasons, for days, and years,—when He put the topstone to creation, and set man upon the earth to be His representative,—in all this there was nothing without design. “He hath made His wonderful works to be remembered.”
And so, brethren, has He dealt in things of higher moment. When He gave His Son, His Word, His Spirit, His people, there was a meaning in each of these gifts. They are no accidents. His choosing is for our using. His mercies are for our minding. His gifts are for our gain, as well as for the glory of His own grace.
Now, this is specially true of that great, but often little-regarded, gift—a Christian indeed. It is a mistake to suppose that such an one is here merely to work out his own salvation, and heap up treasure for himself in the world to come.
He is not here for himself. As an unconverted man an end is to be served by his being. As a converted man a far higher end is to be served by his being in Christ. He is God’s workmanship, God’s appointment for others;—a privilege for those amongst whom he is placed; a light to see by; salt to be savoured by; a leader to be marked; a guide to be followed.
The apostle recognises this truth in the scripture before us. He is writing to a people whom he wishes to establish in the faith. For this he plies them with motives, and suggests means. In so doing he comes to set before them those who were their guides in the faith. He urges them to follow their example whilst living, to treasure their memory when dead. They would find this a mighty help towards standing fast.
Brethren, we are called to a like duty this day. We are met together, the poorer, most of us, by a friend; the richer, all of us, by a memory and an example. We have had—we still have—a gift of God, in the person of His sainted servant. We have had a real Christian to look upon and live by.
Let us listen, then, to these words of earnest exhortation, and “remember those who are the guides—following their faith, and considering the end (the termination), of their conversation.” Will you not pray that God the Holy Ghost may clothe His Word with new power, and enable me to speak so as to glorify God—to quicken, to comfort, to edify souls?