The Need for Weekly Fellowship
24 And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, 25 not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Yesterday, we saw two exhortations from the author of Hebrews for believers to do since they are anchored in Christ Jesus: to draw near to God and to keep their spiritual walk pure. The third exhortation involves the interaction between fellow believers, being responsible for the well being of one another, as seen in verse 24, “let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works.” Believers should help one another stay the course and help one another, especially when they fail. This involves not having a judgmental attitude, for every believer was saved through Christ Jesus and experienced forgiveness. We can see this in Matthew 7:2-4: “2 For you will be judged by the same standard with which you judge others, and you will be measured by the same measure you use. 3 Why do you look at the splinter in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the beam of wood in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the splinter out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a beam of wood in your own eye?” Instead, believers should be open, confess their sins and pray for one another, as seen in James 5:16, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” In order to “provoke love and good works,” there must be personal interaction with fellow believers, “not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.” It seemed that some believers during the author’s time was in fact neglecting fellowship with other believers, and therefore, were limited in their ability to give and receive encouragement towards good works. Christ created this body of believers, knowing that regular fellowship with other believers would help strengthen and encourage one another in difficult trials. The challenge of this passage is quite straightforward: believers must gather together in regular fellowship to not only receive nourishment from the Word of God, but to also give encouragement and pray for fellow believers to stay faithful in their walks with Christ.
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
