{"id":90745,"date":"2021-03-12T05:45:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-12T10:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/hospitality\/"},"modified":"2023-10-07T22:46:23","modified_gmt":"2023-10-08T02:46:23","slug":"hospitality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/keriritenour.com\/grace\/hospitality\/","title":{"rendered":"Hospitality"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">I\nPeter 4:9: Use hospitality one\nto another without grudging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Hospitality\ncan be defined as \u201cthe quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests\nand strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.\u201d&nbsp; For the Biblical view, we examine:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Historical Context:&nbsp; Written\nbetween A.D. 60 and 65, 1 Peter 1:1 identifies the author of the Book of 1\nPeter as the apostle Peter.&nbsp; 1 Peter is a\nletter from Peter to the believers who had been dispersed throughout the\nancient world and were under intense persecution. If anyone understood\npersecution, it was Peter. He was beaten, threatened, punished and jailed for\npreaching the Word of God. He knew what it took to endure without bitterness,\nwithout losing hope and in great faith living an obedient, victorious life.\nThis knowledge of living hope in Jesus was the message and Christ&#8217;s example was\nthe one to follow.&nbsp; <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Grammatical Usage: \u201chospitality\u201d in the Greek is \u201cPhiloxenos\u201d meaning, \u201cloving;\nserving; faithfully administrating\u201d; \u201cone to another\u201d is \u201cAllelon\u201d meaning,\n\u201creciprocally, mutually\u201d; \u201cgrudging\u201d or \u201cGoggusmos\u201d means, \u201cmurmuring in the\nsense of a secret displeasure.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Literal Application:&nbsp; You must love by serving one another without\ngrumbling or secret displeasure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Contextual Interpretation:&nbsp; Hospitality\nis a virtue which is both commanded and commended throughout Scripture.&nbsp; To gain the correct insight, it is essential that we\nunderstand V. 8: <em>And above all things\nhave fervent charity among yourselves<\/em>\n<em>for charity shall cover the multitude of\nsins<\/em>. Here is a noble rule in Christianity. Christians ought to love one\nanother, which implies an affection to their persons, a desire of their welfare\nand a hearty endeavor to promote it. This mutual affection must not be cold,\nbut fervent, that is, sincere, strong, and lasting. This sort of earnest\naffection is recommended <em>above all things,<\/em> which shows the importance of\nit.&nbsp; Why?&nbsp;\nBecause its effect is that it will <em>cover a multitude of <\/em>sins.&nbsp;\nThree basic points are underscored:<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">(1.)\nThere ought to be in all Christians a more fervent charity towards one another\nthan towards other men: <em>Have charity among yourselves.<\/em> He does not say\nfor pagans, for idolaters, or for apostates, but among yourselves. <em>Let\nbrotherly love continue,<\/em> Hebrews 13:1. There is a special relation between\nall sincere Christians, and a particular amiableness and good in them, which\nrequires special affection; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">(2.)\nIt is not enough for Christians not to bear malice, nor to have common respect\nfor one another, they must intensely and fervently love each other; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">(3.)\nIt is the property of true charity <em>to cover a multitude of sins.<\/em> It\ninclines people to forgive and forget offences against themselves, to cover (or\nforgive) and conceal (not gossip about) the sins of others, rather than\naggravate them and spread them within and without the fellowship.&nbsp; It teaches us to love those who are but weak,\nand who have been guilty of many evil things before their conversion; and it\nprepares for mercy at the hand of God, who hath promised to forgive those that\nforgive others (Matthew 6:14).&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Hospitality\nis frequently commanded in the New Testament; but in the context of the book\nand v. 9, with the looming persecution and the disorders that would inevitably\nflow out of it, the grace of hospitality would not only be especially\ncommendable but absolutely necessary to the survival of some.&nbsp; Hospitality that is extended in a grudging or\ncomplaining manner would not fulfill the apostolic desire expressed.&nbsp; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Comparison: In the Old Testament, it was specifically commanded by God: \u201cWhen an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. <em>Love him as yourself<\/em>, for you were aliens in Egypt\u201d (Leviticus 19:33-34, emphasis added). <br> During His public ministry, Jesus and His disciples depended entirely on the hospitality of others as they ministered from town to town (Matthew 10:9-10). Likewise, the early Christians also depended on and received hospitality from others (Acts 2:44-45; 28:7). In fact, travelers in ancient times depended heavily on the hospitality of strangers as traveling could be dangerous and there were very few inns, and poor Christians could not afford to stay at them anyway. This generous provision to strangers also included opening one\u2019s home for church services. Hospitality was indeed a highly regarded virtue in ancient times, especially for Christian leaders (Titus 1:8; 1 Timothy 3:2). <br> The writer of Hebrews reminds us not to forget to \u201centertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it\u201d (Hebrews 13:2). Positioned at the end of the book of Hebrews, this verse has perked many folks attention.&nbsp; It is in a list of commands that draw the \u201cexhortation\u201d of the writer to a close.&nbsp; The point of the verse is the command in the first half, \u201cDo not neglect to show hospitality.\u201d&nbsp; The second half simply provides a reason why.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">However, the part\nthat is talked about most often is the second half.&nbsp; Specifically, can we\nentertain angels today?&nbsp; Three points of\nconsideration:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>Whether we can or cannot it doesn\u2019t change the\nvalidity of the command.&nbsp; The command is still for us to be hospitable to\nstrangers. If that stranger could potentially be an angel, or not, it shouldn\u2019t\nchange our zeal to obey;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The clause is primarily designed as a reflection: looking\nback in history.&nbsp; I think the verse is meant to draw the reader back to\nthe Old Testament accounts of men helping out strangers, who were actually\nangels.&nbsp; Specifically, the account of Abraham comes to mind (Genesis\n18).&nbsp; It fits in line with the Hebrew writing using \u201cheroes of the faith\u201d\nas a means to motivate us to good works (Hebrews 11).&nbsp; Thus the main point\nof the clause is that people in the past have entertained angels. <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>To the point of angels, there is no New Testament\npassage prohibiting the entertainment of angels.&nbsp; I do not believe we will\nknow we are doing it.&nbsp; (Wouldn\u2019t it defeat the purpose if we knew which\nencounters were with angels and which were not?)&nbsp; Nor am I convinced it\nhappens often (in fact I think it is rare, and that it will not happen to most\npeople, namely because of the lack of these type of accounts recorded for us in\nScripture).&nbsp; The reason, though, I believe we can is&nbsp;the way the\nverse reads lends itself to being understood that this can happen today as\nwell.&nbsp; In fact that makes the \u201creason\u201d of why we should help out all\nstrangers even more forceful. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Whether\none agrees or disagrees with this assessment, we all can agree that we could do\na better job of showing hospitality \u2013 leaving their nature to God.<br>\n<br>\nChristians are \u201cGod\u2019s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works\u201d\n(Ephesians 2:10). As followers of Christ, we emulate His love and compassion\nwhen we show hospitality, not only to fellow Christians, but even more so to\nstrangers and the less fortunate. In fact, we honor God when we are kind to the\nneedy (Proverbs 14:31; 19:17). As Jesus said, \u201cWhen you give a banquet, invite\nthe poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed\u201d (Luke\n14:13). Christ also taught us the second greatest commandment, to \u201clove your\nneighbor as yourself\u201d (Matthew 22:39), and the Parable of the Good Samaritan\nteaches us that \u201cneighbor\u201d has nothing to do with geography, citizenship, or race.\nWherever and whenever people need us, there we can be neighbors and, like\nChrist, show mercy. This is the essence of hospitality with its purpose to\ndemonstrate the living Christ within us.<br>\n<br>\nIn the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus discusses the hospitable behavior of those who\nwill inherit the kingdom: \u201cFor I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I\nwas thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you\ninvited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked\nafter me, I was in prison and you came to visit me\u201d (Matthew 25:34-36). In fact, Christ entertained\nin various homes: &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"has-medium-font-size\">\n<li>In the home of\nMatthew (Matthew 9:10)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Of Simon the\nLeper (Mark 14:3) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Of a Pharisee (Luke\n7:36) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Of Martha (Luke\n10:38) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Of one of the\nchief Pharisees (Luke 14:1) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Of Zacchaeus (Luke\n19:7) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At Emmaus (Luke\n24:29) <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>At Cana of\nGalilee (John 2:2) <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">Conclusion:\u00a0 1 Peter 4 instructs, in view of Christ\u2019s return we must be calm &amp; collected, prayerful (v.7), full of love for others, tolerant (v.8) and cheerfully accommodating (v.9).\u00a0 In these days we often don\u2019t think much about entertaining \u2013 strangers or otherwise, but hospitality is still an important part of Christian ministry (Romans 12:13; 1 Peter 4:9). By serving others we serve Christ (Matthew 25:40) and we promote the spread of God\u2019s truth (3 John 5-8) fulfilling the Great Commission one act of kindness at a time. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I Peter 4:9: Use hospitality one to another without grudging. Hospitality can be defined as \u201cthe quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.\u201d&nbsp; For the Biblical view, we examine: (1.) There ought to be in all Christians a more fervent charity towards one another than towards [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[526,534],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Hospitality - Grace Evangelical Free Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hospitality - Grace Evangelical Free Church\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I Peter 4:9: Use hospitality one to another without grudging. Hospitality can be defined as \u201cthe quality or disposition of receiving and treating guests and strangers in a warm, friendly, generous way.\u201d&nbsp; For the Biblical view, we examine: (1.) 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