In our New Zealand wintertime, I was usually on fireplace duty in our home. One of the obvious tasks was to ensure the fire didn’t go out. One year we unknowingly purchased a load of damp pinewood. I confess, I was frustrated—the fire never really got going. All winter long I was shuffling the embers around, blowing on them, trying to keep the flames burning. An ember sitting by itself couldn’t survive, but once it was repositioned to sit alongside another ember, then it had a fighting chance. In fact, it even became the source of energy needed to keep other embers glowing.
Christians are the same. We need to
regularly assemble ourselves together in order to allow our spiritual ‘heat’ to
warm one another. We need fellow believers around us so that we can survive the
dampening effect of discouragement and temptation.
R. C. Sproul writes:
It is both foolish and wicked to suppose that we will make much
progress in sanctification if we isolate ourselves from the visible church. Indeed,
it is commonplace to hear people declare that they don’t need to unite with a
church to be a Christian. They claim that their devotion is personal and
private, not institutional or corporate. This is not the testimony of the great
saints of history; it is the confession of fools.[1]
The author of Hebrews noted this reality in
Hebrews 10:24–25 when he wrote, “Let us consider how to stimulate one another
to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the
habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the
day drawing near.”
This is a passage that church-haters (as
defined several weeks ago) avoid. Somehow they believe their particular
situation falls outside these instructions—their circumstances make it
impossible to keep these commands—and anyone who says differently, just doesn’t
understand. But is that really the case?
It’s certainly possible that a Christian
could find himself in a town where no existing church preaches the gospel, or
where the established churches are led by charlatans. But in this case, we’re
forced to ask, “What led the option-less Christian to move to that town in the
first place?” It certainly wasn’t a promising ministry opportunity. It had
nothing to do with a spirit-filled decision to pursue Christ-likeness in a
Christ-honoring church.
In almost all Western-world locations
there’s a church within driving-distance that at least propagates the gospel,
baptizes converts, celebrates the Lord’s Supper, worships the Lord, and enjoys
Christian fellowship. You may well be frustrated with other elements of church
practice but at least the essentials are present. In these cases, there’s no
justifiable reason to cease church attendance entirely. We all know that no
church is perfect. Our own presence makes this even truer.
In the case of the author of Hebrews, he
“had observed a weakening of the fellowship and interpreted the loss of
physical presence as a sign of diminishing love for one another. A lack of
concern for the well-being of other Christians is a symptom of self-love.”[2]
To put it another way, “Selfishness and divisiveness go hand in hand,” and
“Self-love breeds the spirit of isolationism.”[3]
If you’re not weekly listening to sermons in the context of a real church,
alongside real people, it could be that you’ve developed a heart of
selfishness—you may have chosen to stop loving others. To be sure, some
Christians are hard to live with. A few are difficult and hard to love. But it’s
through these kinds of people that God causes our own Christian growth.
Remember, they’re also maturing in their own Christian walk through their
attempts to love you. Don’t curtail God’s method of producing righteousness in
you. Don’t forsake the church gathering.
Someone might retort
curtly, “Well, I’m attending church, so this passage doesn’t apply to me,
because I’m there every week.” Okay, it’s good that you’re there, but as Wayne
Mack and Dave Swavely explain, “The meaning of the
passage is much fuller than that, as revealed by the other commands it contains.
If we are not considering (or planning) how to stimulate others to love and
good deeds, involved heartily in that process, and encouraging others more and
more all the time, then we are disobeying the Lord.”[4]
The instructions of Hebrews 10:24–25 are a packaged deal. We can’t satisfy
ourselves with mere external compliance—namely, church attendance. What about
the issue of stirring one another up to love people and to do good deeds? Try
these questions on yourself: When did you last consider how you might stimulate
a friend to walk in a Christ-like manner? When did you last make a plan to
encourage someone in the church family to walk more obediently? When did you
last bring the Word of God to bear on a relationship you enjoy with a close
friend? These are important questions. How do you measure up? Your answers to
these questions reveal, in part, your commitment to live according to God’s
revealed will.
Walter Kaiser puts it plainly: “Scripture
asserts that I indeed am my brother’s keeper.”[5]
Kaiser’s statement seems a little exaggerated, but think it through—we have
numerous spiritual responsibilities toward one another. Our brothers and
sisters need our help. Far be it that we would walk away from those whom God
has called us to love. Tim Challies writes, “In his wisdom, God has ordained
that Christians are not to be isolationists and are not to hide themselves away
in private enclaves. Rather, Christians are to participate in spiritual
communities and are to be accountable to one another.”[6]
When it comes to sermon-listening, consider
yourself an ember which must be located right alongside other embers. Properly
located, think of yourself as God’s instrument in other people’s lives. They
need your spiritual stimulation before, during, and after the sermon event. You
need their spiritual stimulation before, during, and after the sermon event. We
all need one another.
[1] R. C. Sproul, The Soul's Quest for God: Satisfying the Hunger
for Spiritual Communion (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2003), 151.
[2] Tim Challies, The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital
Explosion (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 2011), 106–7.
[3] Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the
Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 1977), 415.
[4] Wayne A. Mack and David Swavely, Life in the Father’s House: A
Member’s Guide to the Local Church, 2nd ed. (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R
Publishing, 2006), 38.
[5] Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Preaching and Teaching from the Old
Testament: A Guide for the Church (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003), 175.
[6] Tim Challies, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment (Wheaton,
IL: Crossway Books, 2007), 156.
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