If, like most pastors, you are reluctant to deal with church members who, by all accounts, are constantly plotting against the unity of the church, know that you are not alone. No matter what council they belong to, what group they lead, or who they associate with, they seem to be constantly provoking others into discontent, complaints, and even conflict.
You may be surprised to learn that the book of Hebrews calls on church members to constantly incite and provoke. But this call is for incitement and provoking for good!
At our church in Louisville, Kentucky, my pastors and I often remind our members of the guidance in Hebrews. Here's what we tell them.
A LITTLE BIT OF CONTEXT
Much of Hebrews is a sublime theological treatise on the person and ministry of Jesus Christ. Over the course of nine chapters, the author examines in detail the sacrificial system and priesthood of the Old Testament, arguing that all of this was fulfilled in the life and death of Jesus Christ. However, from chapter ten onwards, the author clearly applies these reflections to the lives of his readers.
«"Considering all this," he tells them, "you must live a certain way.".
A LITTLE EXEGESIS
The verses in Hebrews 10:19-25 are the basis for this appeal. In these verses, the author urges his readers to do three things:
- Draw Close to God. Since Jesus, through his death on the cross, has secured for them access to God’s throne, they should worship God not with fear and anxiety, but with full and joyful confidence.
- He urges them to hold on to their confession, not to backslide and be destroyed, to have faith and thus save their souls.
With these two exhortations, the author urges these Christians to carefully monitor their hearts, minds, and souls.
- Here is another call in which he urges them to look beyond themselves and focus their attention on their brothers and sisters in Christ—the church.
The author writes in verses 24 and 25:
«Let us consider one another to incite to love and fine works, not forsaking the gathering of ourselves together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day approaching.».
Because of all that Jesus did and all that He is, Christians should incite (encourage) one another to love and good works.
But how should we do this? By what means can Christians encourage one another to virtue and holiness?
The text itself suggests two ways—not to neglect meeting together (our gatherings) and to encourage one another.
Now this phrase—«not forsaking our own assembling together»—is perhaps the clearest statement in the Bible about the obligation of Christians to attend a local church. If we are part of the body of Christ, then we are indeed to covenant and share our lives with the local body of believers. This verse could not be clearer. But notice that the command not to forsake our own assembling together does not stand alone. It is actually a dependent clause hanging on the main clause of the verse. The command to assemble together is given as a means to another end. We Christians are to assemble together in order to stir up (encourage) one another to love and good works.
WARNING
So we must say that it is not optional for every Christian to attend church meetings. The author of Hebrews—and therefore the Holy Spirit—commands Christians to be present when the believers to whom they belong gather.
In practical terms, this means that we may have to rearrange our schedules to find time to gather the saints. We may have to adjust our work schedules. Homework may have to be done at a different time. Reports may have to be submitted earlier or later. Most churches meet for no more than two or three hours a week, which still leaves about 145 hours for other things to do. According to Hebrews, encouraging and supporting other believers should be at the top of every Christian’s priorities, and that means participating in the church’s corporate gatherings.
BUT DON'T JUST VISIT
But the writer of Hebrews is calling for more than just church attendance. Often, Christians view church attendance as just another item on a list of «Christian things to do.» They arrive at the service, sit quietly in the back of the room, listen indifferently to the sermon, leave during the last hymn without speaking to anyone, and mentally mark the week with the words, «The church has been visited. Hebrews 10:25 fulfilled.» But that is not what the writer of Hebrews meant. He is not simply saying, «Go to church.» No, he is emphasizing that church attendance should be in the context of being attentive to one another, loving and supporting other believers. He sees it as a call to incite one another to love and good works.
The local church gathering is more than just a gathering of people to hear the Word of God preached—though that is certainly critical. It is also about living together with other believers who have made a covenant to support and encourage one another as Christians. It is during the church gatherings that we pray for one another, weep and rejoice together, bear one another’s burdens and sorrows, listen to God’s Word together, and work to apply it to one another’s lives. In short, the church gathering is the most important time for believers to stir one another up to love and good works.
PLANNING AND PROVOCATION
Notice two important things in this text.
First, the author of Hebrews writes, «Let us consider one another to provoke to love and good works.» In other words, he is calling us to be vigilant and to think about it constantly! A Christian must plan, to think about how he can encourage his brothers and sisters to good works—and this is simply impossible to do if his life is not intertwined with theirs.
Second, notice the word «encourage,» which is translated «provoke» in the KJV and NRSV. A person’s presence in church should have a tangible effect on others, calling or stimulating them to action. That’s when love and good works begin to abound in the lives of those around them!
In closing, Pastor, we simply want to encourage our church members to plan, encourage, and even «provoke» others—for good!
ILLUSTRATION
This summer I started a big project: laying slate tiles on my porch and sidewalk. On one side, under the tree, I kept a blue cooler filled with water that I used to rinse dirty tiles after they were cut to size. After a while, I realized that all the dirt I was washing off the tiles was settling to the bottom of the cooler, leaving clean water on top and a thick layer of dirt on the bottom. Now, if I wanted to stir up that dirt from the bottom of the cooler and make it «explode» with life in that water, how would I do it? Just walk over and push the cooler with my knee? That wouldn’t work. The water might shake, but the dirt would stay on the bottom. No, if I really wanted to lift that dirt, I would have to dip my hands in the water. I would have to consciously and directly stir the dirt.
This is not a perfect analogy, of course, but church is somewhat like that. No true church of Jesus Christ should be a place where believers simply meet once a week, casually touch each other, and then go back to their own business. What a shame when Christians, let alone non-Christians, think that is the essence of church gathering! I can’t think of many things that would make church more sluggish or less worthwhile.
The call to «not forsake our meetings» is not so lifeless and boring. It does not call Christians to sit passively in their chairs. On the contrary, it calls them to a life that sparkles with energy. It calls them to live together with other Christians—to love them, to encourage them, to incite them to good works, and, perhaps most importantly, to always point them to the Day when their Lord will return. «Going to church» will not be enough. Only «being the church» will enable us to fulfill what Christ intended for us as his people.
