Verse 4 says, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and the bed undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” Apparently this is unrelated to the church life. However, marriage is a very important factor in the church life. Whether a church is sound and healthy or loses its element and essence is very much dependent upon the marriage life. Do not consider the matter of marriage to be a light thing. We must hold it in honor. This means that we must possess our body, our vessel, in sanctification and honor (1 Thes. 4:3-4), that “no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter” (1 Thes. 4:6). In the church life, the brothers and sisters must contact one another in a holy way. This means that we honor our marriage and others’ marriage. To honor marriage means to possess our body in sanctification and honor and to flee fornication.
In the church life, contacts between the brothers and sisters are unavoidable. Hence, for our protection from falling into defilement, we must hold marriage in honor and not behave loosely. This is a matter which seriously affects our birthright in God’s economy. Reuben lost it due to his defilement (Gen. 49:3-4; 1 Chron. 5:1), and Joseph received it because of his purity (1 Chron. 5:1; Gen. 39:7-12). God will judge fornicators and adulterers, and the church also must judge them (1 Cor. 5:1-2, 11-13). Nothing damages the saints and the church life so much as this defilement.
Verse 4 says that God will judge the fornicators and adulterers. Hebrews is a book concerning God’s holiness. The holy God will never tolerate any defilement among us. He will judge His people (10:30; 12:23).
Verse 5 says, “Let your way of life be without love of money, being satisfied with your circumstances.” Surely money-lovers cannot enter into the reality of the church life. Every money-lover is a Judas, a traitor, betraying the Lord, the Lord’s testimony, and the church life. It is impossible for such a person to live the church life.
Verse 5 also tells us to be satisfied with our circumstances, for the Lord has said, “I will by no means cease to uphold you, neither by any means will I forsake you.” We must be satisfied with whatever we have and with whatever circumstances we are in, knowing that we have the Lord and that we can trust in Him for our living. We should always be satisfied with our circumstances that we may not be distracted from the church life by mammon. Since we have the Lord as our helper, we should be content and at peace that we may be fully kept in the enjoyment of the church life.
By the Lord’s mercy and grace, I, an old man, can give a strong word of testimony to the young people. I can assure you that you have no need to worry about your living. Our God is our Father, and He knows all we need. I can still remember the day when the Lord forced me to give up my job for His ministry. I had been struggling with the Lord about this for approximately three weeks. On that last day, August 23, 1933, I went to the Lord at midnight. Before that time, I had received from Him the word in Matthew 6:33, which says that if we seek God’s kingdom and righteousness, the Lord will add to us whatever we need for our daily living. That night I went to the Lord to make a thorough deal with Him about whether it was His will that I leave my job for the sake of full-time ministry. But when I went to Him, He did not give me time to pray. He just rebuked me, telling me that He had already given me a word from Matthew 6. The Lord said, “If you believe it, take it. If you don’t believe it, that’s all.” Suddenly I had the feeling that the Lord had left me and that His presence was gone. I was unable to pray any further. I could not even say, “In the name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.” As I was kneeling there, I wept and said, “Okay, Lord, I take Your word.” From that day until now, I have never lacked anything. The Lord knows our need. We may have the peace to sacrifice everything for the Lord and for the church life, not worrying about our living. As long as we enter within the veil and go outside the camp, the Lord will take care of our needs. He is our Helper and He never forsakes us. Our responsibility is to live in the Holy of Holies. Our life is in Him, and our living is in His hands. Praise Him that He is so living and real!