“Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.”
to one another
“One to another” means to others of the same kind. This means that believers are to give hospitality to fellow believers. If Christians do not treat each other well, we surely will not treat those without Christ very well.
Ro 12:13, “Distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.”
He 13:2, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.”
Think of entertaining an angel. Angels usually appear as men, not women, in the Bible. “Angels” means messengers. It may be that these messengers were those who were spreading the gospel around the world.
PRINCIPLE:
If Christians do not treat each other well, we surely will not treat those without Christ very well.
APPLICATION:
God expects Christians to give to Christians. Selflessness is at the core of the character of Christianity. Jesus established this model.
This is the complete opposite of the philosophy of the world. The world’s philosophy is “me first,” “the survival of the fittest,” “the law of the jungle,” “might makes right.” That is not Christian. We think that if we say that I am number one loud enough and long enough, people will believe it.
When Christians conflict with each other, we accentuate emotions of distrust, hatred, and fear. In this, we lose sight of our real goals and turn to focus on undermining each other. Strife on football teams ruins many great teams. Our real goal is to live and share the wonder of the glorious gospel of our wonderful Lord and glorify God with this.
A significant accusation against many churches is that they are not friendly. They are like country clubs that exercise discrimination. If you are not the right color, do not dress appropriately, or are not from the suitable strata of society, they give you the cold shoulder. “I will not attend there again. They are not friendly.” Do people say that about your relationships?
Sometimes teens are clannish and catty. If you do not look like them and dress as sharp as they do, they will cut you dead. This is non-Christian.
