Remember Teachers of Grace

June 15th, 2026
by Lance Waldie

Hebrews 13:7-9 Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be carried away by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

Five spiritual fruits that are imperative for the true believer in Christ are presented in Hebrews 13:1-6. In v. 7, a sixth fruit is given: respect for leadership, specifically those leaders “who spoke the word of God to you.” This “word of God” would be the gospel of Jesus Christ along with the doctrines of God—His triunity, grace, omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, omnibenevolence, and sovereignty to name only a few. Having been lovingly taught such wonderful doctrines, Christians are to “remember” such leaders, being mindful of them. Then, “considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith.” This means that Christian leaders worth their salt are those who preach the word of God, not the word of men, doing so out of love, all the while living out the truths they preach to God’s glory. Being genuine in their own faith, their way of life accurately reflects their love for Christ. In short, they sincere, not charlatans.

Christians who are blessed to have such leaders are to “imitate” (Gr. mimeomai), or mimic them. Christian leaders worth imitating run their businesses honestly, love their spouses perceptibly, and raise their children diligently with love and discipline. They read Scripture daily, pray persistently, and give generously. They love God’s people and all else that God loves, but they also hate what God hates (Rom. 12:9). They might be dead or alive, but they exist for us to imitate. The Apostle Paul, for example, was so confident in his behavior that he put himself out there for the Thessalonians to imitate, telling them to “follow our example” (2 Thess. 3:7, 9).

A Christian leader worth following is (or was) himself a follower of Christ, and as v. 8 indicates, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” Swindoll says, “In contrast to His creatures and His creation, God is immutable. He is an immovable Rock. He never has a bad day, doesn’t learn things He never knew before, isn’t fickle or moody, doesn’t go back on His word, and doesn’t start something He can’t—or won’t—finish.” Of Himself, God says, “I, Yahweh, do not change” (Mal. 3:6, LSB). As the “Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (James 1:17), it is clear that God is immutable—forever unchanging. How logical! For if God, by the ontological argument for His existence, is that than which nothing greater can be conceived, then how could He ever change? He is already the greatest conceivable Being. There is no change that can make Him greater. God can thus never change!

As to how God became man (Jesus) in the incarnation without changing, clearly the Son of God was always divine while in flesh, never separate from His divine nature. This truth ensures that Christians can never be moved by the ever-changing trends in the world in which we live. Though there will always be a new preacher, book, or newfangled idea that people rush to, these “varied and strange teachings” mentioned in v. 9 are always eventually exposed as ideas of men stemming from their imaginations; they are not the “word of God” our leaders taught us—that which we are to imitate (v. 7). Good leaders and word of God thus go hand-in-hand.

Since it is “good for the heart to be strengthened by grace” (v. 9), a false teaching is easily exposed when it attacks the grace of God, exchanging grace for works. Here the works are presented as “foods, through which those who who were so occupied were not benefited.” The writer has in mind Jews who were trying to lure his audience out of God’s grace and back into the obsolete dietary regulations of Judaism Hebrews believed granted them strength. But clearly, it is grace that strengthens the Christian heart, not rules, and not food. That old system is gone!