“Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:43-47
As you read the above passage, you can see some of the things this group of Christians did in the early church and what happened as a result of what they did together.
Why is being active in a church so important?
“And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Hebrews 10:24-25
The writer of the Book of Hebrews directed Christians “not to forsake the assembling of themselves” (Hebrews 10:25). The writer gave two reasons for Christians to come together.
1. To stimulate each other to service
In Hebrews 10:24, the writer used a strong word in this text that carries with it the idea of provoking someone to action. It carries the idea of spurring another person on as one might do while riding a horse. It should be noted that this spurring is a mutual action. It is not one person pushing everyone else to do acts of service, but rather each individual stimulating others to do acts of service as they are being stimulated to service by the ones they are stimulating. Solomon described this same kind of idea in terms of “iron sharpens iron” [Proverbs. 27:17]. When a person sharpens a knife or tool, it requires the use of another instrument of equal or greater strength. It can not be sharpened of and by itself. Solomon implied that we as individuals need others to help us become all God intends us to be.
2. To encourage each other
It may seem like the writer of Hebrews was repeating himself in Hebrews 10:25, but there is a difference in encouraging and stimulating. This encouraging appears to relate to being true to the Christian faith and gaining strength when facing difficulties. The trials of everyday life can be enough to keep us from being all God wants us to be, but the writer noted that this encouragement would be more important as “the day,” the return of Christ, approached. Later in this letter, the writer will note that some of the Hebrews had already experienced persecution for their faith [Hebrews 10:34]. Other writers of the New Testament note persecution of Christians as escalating as the return of Christ draws near. That appears to be the case in our world today as more and more Christians are being persecuted and killed because of their faith in Christ. As we face potential persecution and deal with the difficulties of life, we need encouragement to continue to trust God in our lives. This kind of encouragement can only come from other Christians.
What about the hypocrites?
“When a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Luke 12:1
It is obvious that Jesus valued the assembling of God’s people and being a part of that assembly. Luke described this as being Jesus’ habit. It should be noted that Jesus went to the synagogue on a regular basis even though he did not agree with their leadership.
Jesus confronted the Pharisees on several occasions and was very plain with them. However, Jesus did not allow His evaluation of the religious leaders to get in His way of assembling with God’s people. He set the example for us to follow. The church will never be perfect, but that is no reason for us to miss out on what God has for us by refusing to be involved in a church.
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