Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
We have a tree in our backyard that was combined through grafting so that three different types of fruit can grow out of the same tree. It’s an amazing idea for multiple fruits to come from the same tree! Sadly, for us, the tree has yielded no fruit. I have to tell you, as deep as my disappointment is that our little tree seems to be failing at its design, I would be pleased in equal measure if it somehow began producing fruit!
Hebrews 13 tells us that two forms of worship emerge as fruit from the life of the believer: praise and service.* These are the sacrifices that God sees as pleasing.* These are not one-time sacrifices, however. They are to be continual.* We are to never stop praising His name and we are to never stop serving one another. How is that possible?
The author of Hebrews clarifies that the praises we are to offer include confessing God’s name.* The Greek word homologeō is used in this verse… it means “to speak the same.” When we praise God, confessing His name back to Him, we are choosing to come into agreement with who He says that He is, and we are speaking back to Him the same thing that He says about Himself. This is a practice that we must engage in continually because we need continual reminding of who He is. When we come into agreement with who He is, we will see our lives change. This pleases God.
When we continually serve and meet the needs of one another, we are expressing the Kingdom nature of the covenant community of people who are joined to Christ.* This kind of engagement with the people of God must be continual because it’s how the body of Christ is designed to reflect His headship and His love. We must never stop expressing the love of Christ to one another in practical ways. This pleases God.
What makes these things sacrifice? It’s sacrifice because it’s continual. Meaning, we are to praise His name and serve others even when life is hard. We are to praise God’s name even when we experience loss. We are to serve others even when they are not serving us. We are to praise His name even when we see no path ahead. We are to serve others even when they speak ill of us. It’s a sacrifice, but it’s worth it.
Can you imagine how excited God would be to see His people producing these two fruits in their lives as He designed? Can you imagine how pleased He would be to see His people offering sacrifices of praise and service? I’d like to see that kind of excitement.
There have been times in my life that have been so incredibly hard, that I sat in a time of worship, with others singing and lifting hands around me. As tears streamed down my silent face, the pain in my heart served as the only worship that I had. These times were sacred. These times were grieving, and I know that God caught every tear in a bottle in heaven (Psalm 56:8). He met me where I was at.
There were other times, though, when something inside of me looked at the pain in my life and said, “I don’t care! I’m going to praise anyway!” These times were special as well. These times were sacrificial in a very pleasing way to God.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to lift up a sacrifice of praise to His name. Perhaps today God wants you to serve someone you know in the body of Christ in some practical way. Perhaps today God wants you to stop waiting for praise and service to be easy. Maybe today God wants you to go for it.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus.
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*Stedman, R. C. (1992). Hebrews (Heb 13:7–19). IVP Academic.
Grindheim, S. (2023). The Letter to the Hebrews (D. A. Carson, Ed.; pp. 688–691). William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.
France, R. T. (2006). Hebrews. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Hebrews–Revelation (Revised Edition) (Vol. 13, pp. 189–190). Zondervan.
Guthrie, G. (1998). Hebrews (p. 441). Zondervan Publishing House.