And let us consider
how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet
together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the
more as you see the Day drawing near.
(Hebrew 10:24-25)
In Sunday's message, we noted once again the three tools of
sanctification (the Word, prayer, and fellowship) as well as how essential they
are to our growth in valuing Christ above all things. As I mentioned then, the first two are ingrained in us – we
know we must spend time in the Word and in prayer. But we tend to neglect the third – fellowship or meaningful
relationships with other believers.
It could be the case that some of us are unaware of what
this should look like. We may know
that God has designed the church to grow by mutual edification, but what
qualifies as mutual edification.
How do we go about building up the body of Christ? This post will be the first in short
series seeking to answer that question.
Hebrews 10:24-25 calls us to stir one another up to love and
good deeds. I would suggest that
this is one of the clearest indications of what biblical fellowship should
entail. We are called not merely
to hang out and have fun together, although there is nothing wrong with that. But this is a call to a specific
activity and destination. We are
to help one another grow in love and good deeds.
I find it interesting that v24 reads, “Let us consider how to stir one another up to love and
good deeds,” and not merely, “stir one another up to love and good deeds.” What difference does that make? A couple of things. First, it assumes that we should stir one another up. Second, it commands us to devote
thought to how to do this. It
indicates that we are to concern
ourselves with one another’s love and good deeds.
Many of us spend a great deal of time trying to figure out
how to stir ourselves up to love and
good deeds. This passage asks us
to make a priority of doing that for others. And I believe the reason for this is that when we are all
doing this, everyone is stirred up.
As I am stirring someone else up, they are stirring me up. This fosters the kind of
others-centeredness that is so prominently encouraged in the New Testament.
Most people in the modern church don’t think this way, but
rather think with a self-centered bent (“how can I stir myself up to love and
good deeds”), which is what enables so many people to justify cutting
themselves off from the church and pursuing an isolated Christian life. We need to reject a
solitary view of sanctification and adopt a corporate view. Certainly we should be concerned about
our own growth, but the Bible calls us to be concerned with the growth of
others around us as well.
The command of Hebrews 10:24-25 is not directed to a subset
of believers. It is given to all,
which means that involvement in this kind of relationship is not some kind of
extra-credit for spiritual over-achievers. If we’re not doing it, we’re disobeying. If we are
not actively stirring others up to love and good deeds, we are sinning.
Before we consider what a Heb 10:24-25 kind of interaction
might look like, let’s think about what kind of “involvement” with others
doesn’t qualify as obedience to this command.
First of all, regular church attendance doesn’t qualify. We use v25 frequently to make the point
that believers should attend church regularly, and we use it to confront those
who stop coming to church. However,
that grossly lowers the bar of this passage. The writer of Hebrews was not shooting for believers to come
into a building and warm a pew for two hours a week. Merely showing up is not what he was looking for.
What did He have in mind? Stirring one another up. That is the main verb in the verse – “let us consider how to
stir one another up to love and good deeds.” Then there are two participles modifying that main
verb. The first is “not neglecting
to meet together.” That’s a
negative qualifier. Then the
second is a positive qualifier: “but encouraging one another.” You see, the opposite of “not
neglecting to meet together” is not “showing up at church,” but rather is
“encouraging one another.”
Consider this: if you come to church every Sunday of the
year, and you do the normal greeting time, and you stay afterward for a few
minutes and have a conversation or two about whatever, and that’s the extent of
your involvement in the church, can you say that you’ve been obedient to Heb
10:24-25? Surely not.
Is it possible that there are people at Providence Bible
Fellowship who come to church every Sunday and never miss but who have
absolutely no meaningful interaction with others in which they stir them up to
love and good deeds? I would dare
to say that this is the habit of many of us. We need to repent of this.
Coming to church, coming to Sunday School, coming on Wed
nights – these are not things to which Heb 10:24-25 calls us. These are good things that we should do
so that we might be equipped to serve, but they should not be the extent of our
involvement in the church. And if
that is the extent of our involvement in the church, we cannot say that we are
a functioning member of the body of
Christ. It would be more
appropriate to consider ourselves dead weight, like a leg or arm that is
paralyzed. We’re a drag on the
body rather than a vibrant, obedient vessel contributing to the body building
itself up in love.
Another activity that does not qualify as obedience to Heb
10:24-25 and Eph 4:7ff: Some may think, “well, I do this in my family. I do all this one anothering at home.” It’s great that you obey the one
another commands in your home.
Praise God for that. But
Eph 4:7-16, which explains that sanctification is a corporate activity, wasn’t written to families.
Family instruction is at the end of Eph 5 and the beginning of Eph 6
There has been a movement in recent years among some to
think of the family as a church.
That just isn’t biblical. We
need the church. And if you are
not involved in relationships in the church, stirring others up to love and
good deeds, you are sinning. The family is the family and the church is the church. The Bible gives explicit and distinct
direction for involvement in both, and involvement in one does not count as
involvement with the other.
Next time, we’ll consider one other kind of involvement that
may not qualify as obedience to Heb 10:24-25. Then we’ll consider some ideas about what would
qualify. Until then, consider your
weekly routine. Your monthly
routine. Do you have any regular interaction
with other believers for the specific purpose of stirring them up to love and
good deeds?
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