By Rev. Peter Eck

Rev. Peter Eck is the Pastor of New City Fellowship of Atlantic City, NJ.

Hebrews 13:7–8 — “Because Jesus Christ Is the Same”

If you’ve been with us this summer, you know we’ve been studying Hebrews 13 on Sunday evenings. But in case you haven’t been with us—or if your memory is anything like mine and forgets things easily—we’re going to begin with a brief review.

Hebrews 13 contains an overarching command: “Let brotherly love continue.” That command is followed by thirteen exhortations, and we’ve been walking through them one by one. These exhortations were first spoken to a confused church—a church facing suffering and persecution, and at the same time in danger of being lulled to sleep by the surrounding culture for the sake of an easier life. In this clash of cultures—better yet, this clash of kingdoms—the writer of Hebrews calls them to stand firm in the kingdom of God and to come out of the kingdom of this world. Jesus and His kingdom are better. That’s one of the great messages of this book.

So far, we’ve looked at topics like hospitality, remembering those in prison for their faith, marriage, and keeping our lives free from the love of money. Tonight, we turn to the topic of leadership—the importance of leadership in the Christian life.

Please turn with me to Hebrews 13:7–8:

“Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

A Story of Leadership and Presence

As we begin, I want to tell you a brief story. It happened on a dark night in the parking lot of a McDonald’s off Highway 74. We had gotten together for what our college ministry called a “one-on-one”—a time to talk about my life with God. I don’t remember all the details, but I do remember talking about my struggle with sin and the battle raging in my soul. Every Christian has moments like that—moments when the weight of sin feels heavy and the fight feels fierce.

That night, tears rolled down my cheeks as my mentor, Clint, prayed with me. I don’t remember what he said, but I remember his presence—his willingness to sit with me, listen, and pray. His presence was not only a comfort; it was a model. An example he hoped I would one day imitate with others.

There’s another story—this one humorous. I asked a child recently, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” She replied, “I want to be God.” I tried to clarify: “You mean you want to be like God, right?” She looked at me seriously and said, “No. I want to be God.” Imitation is part of who we are—but even imitation has been affected by the fall. Instead of imitating, we try to replace.

Tonight, I believe the Lord wants us to understand one very important principle from Hebrews 13:7–8: Because Jesus Christ is the same, we are to imitate the faith of our God given leaders.

I. Remember Your Leaders

Look again at the first half of verse 7: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God.”

Why remember? Why not skip ahead to considering their lives or imitating their faith? Because we forget. We become overly familiar with things, and familiarity breeds neglect. That’s when the enemy loves to whisper lies.

Scripture is full of commands to remember—especially in the Old Testament. When my wife and I first got married, we read through the Old Testament together, and the theme of remembrance was everywhere. Remember, remember, remember—because it is so easy to forget.

We didn’t get here alone. We had models. We had examples. We had people who taught us the gospel, who opened the Word of God to us, who showed us how to pray, how to study Scripture, how to share the gospel, how to walk with God. They stayed up late with us, listened to us, prayed for us, and taught us what a life with God looks like.

Who are these men and women in your life? I’m asking you to call them to mind. God’s call for us tonight is to remember them.

II. Consider Their Lives and Imitate Their Faith

The second half of verse 7 says: “Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.”

Two verbs shape our response: consider and imitate. We are called to consider—not just observe—the outcome of their way of life. Look at how their lives played out over time. Many leaders start well but do not finish well. We are called to consider those who persevered to the end.

Take John Wesley, for example. During his lifetime of itinerant ministry, he traveled 250,000 miles on horseback, preached 40,000 sermons, and gave away over 90% of his income. Talk about finishing well.

But we’re not just to admire them like judges on American Idol or The Voice. We are to imitate them. What better way to honor someone than to follow their example? But notice what we imitate: their faith. Not their personality. Not their ministry techniques. Not their charisma. Their faith. This reminds us of Hebrews 11—the Hall of Faith. Those who, by faith, trusted Christ, followed God into the unknown, believed His promises, suffered for His name, and even died for Him. So I ask again: Who are the people God has placed before you to imitate?

III. Fix Your Eyes on Christ

As good as our leaders are, they are just men and women. They will fail you. They will fail me. They are not perfect examples. So what then? What happens when they fail? Verse 8 gives the answer: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Your elders, deacons, pastors, and leaders—even at their best—are still just people. They will not always love you perfectly. They will not always serve you sacrificially. They will not always have your best interest in mind. But Jesus Christ will. Jesus Christ is your true leader. He will never fail you.

We talk a lot about how our country is falling apart, how churches are splitting, how political leaders can’t get anything done, how our kids walk away from God, how our budgets shrink. But we forget who is in charge. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. And you may say, “Peter, I hear you on the big stuff, but what about my life?” What about when I lose my job? What about when I have a miscarriage? What about when I’m persecuted at work? What about when my child is diagnosed with a disability? What about when my parents die of cancer? Loved ones, the answer is the same: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Persecution, suffering, and distress do not change our mission—and they do not change our God. In fact, they often strengthen our mission by driving us to humility, dependence, and weakness, where God’s power is made perfect.

IV. Three Implications

Richard Phillips offers three implications from this truth:

1. Jesus’ call has not changed.

“If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” The mission is the same.

2. The Christian life has not changed.

Tozer said, “As the times change, the church must not change with them.” Times may change, but Jesus does not.

3. We represent Jesus to our generation.

The goal of imitation is not to honor our leaders, but to honor Christ. Are you a model worth imitating? Would someone know you represent Christ if they followed you for 24 hours?

Conclusion

God has given us models in the faith. If we would take the time to remember, we could name the men and women who shaped us, taught us, prayed for us, and walked with us.

Please don’t make the mistake of thinking you got here alone. You didn’t. Neither did I. Consider the outcome of their way of life. Imitate their faith. Fix your eyes on Christ. Because Jesus Christ is the same, we are to imitate the faith of our God given leaders. The decision is yours—and the decision is mine.

May we, by the grace of God, follow their example until the Lord brings us home.

This article was based on a verbatim transcript of a sermon by Rev. Peter Eck. It has been edited to this format by the theological staff of Third Millennium Ministries, as well as Copilot AI.