10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
10 For
The author here gave the reasons for his confidence in his readers (previous verse):
—God is just in His dealings with believers
—The readers’ actions as believers
God is not unjust
God would not unjustly forsake genuine believers. He is a faithful God to those who follow Him (Ge 18:25). He is true to His promises. He will reward believers who produce spiritual fruit.
to forget your work and labor of love
The readers of Hebrews had suffered and served the Lord. God would not forget their situation. God is a God of grace in this case. They had a proven track record of service to the Lord. They did it because they loved the Lord.
which you have shown
The subjects of Hebrews had demonstrated “work” and “labor of love” for God’s “name.” The kind of love that these readers had was a love that could be seen; it was a manifested love. We can see the evidence of it (Jas 2:18; 1 Jn 5:2).
toward His name,
What they did for the saints was done for God’s glory. What we do for others, we do for God. The word “toward” means directed to. Everything a believer does should be directed toward God.
in that you have ministered to the saints,
Past ministry to the saints will be honored by God. God takes notice of those who minister to His family.
The “saints” here are not people who are personally holy but those who are set apart as God’s own. A “saint” is anybody who is a believer or belongs to the Christian community.
and do minister.
The unstable or immature Christians of Hebrews had not completely distorted their lives. They had ministered and even still ministered to the saints at the time of the writing of Hebrews. Their ministry to the saints was untiring.
PRINCIPLE:
Divine justice is at the core of what God does for believers.
APPLICATION:
God is no man’s debtor. It is God’s promise, not our merit, that makes it unrighteous for God not to honor what we do. God is “just” in dealing with sins of believers (1 Jn 1:9). We can be sure that God will be just in not forgetting what we are and do for Him (1 Th 1:3).
Love for believers is the fruit of the Spirit (Ga 5:22-23). Faith produces this kind of love. This love did not come from sentiment; neither was it to satisfy personal glory. Genuine Christian motivation is not to gain a reputation for giving to others. No, it is for “His name”; it is for God’s glory.
