Hebrews as Muse -- Do Not Forsake Meeting -- Hebrews 10
I was intrigued a few years ago with a book entitled, “Why Men Hate Going to Church” (David Murrow, author). I agreed with much it said. For me, regular church attendance has been normalized through my growing up years, but for the average man who hasn’t grown up in church, it can be different. Why? Because, in all honesty, the typical church service has been feminized a lot. We sing songs to make us “feel good.” We socialize to foster intimate relationships. We dress up (well, we used to) to honor God by looking our best. We decorate the church with paintings of Jesus holding a child or displaying some catchy phrase. We do church through meetings and programs. All good things, but not as attractive to men – in general – as women. That’s why some churches have men focused events like “Roadkill Night” or “Rock Climbing with Jesus” or, well, you get the idea. Men want action.
But then we come to Hebrews chapter 10, and we are challenged with these words. “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus (last chapter) …since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Let us consider how to spur 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” (19-25).
Why is it so important to not neglect meeting? Listen to the words that follow the above, “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment” (26-27). Part of our salvation is repentance, or turning away from sin to live as Christ instructs. But that won’t happen if we don’t regularly engage ourselves in Bible study, and if we don’t gain the challenge and encouragement of the preached word and fellowship with other believers. Experience shows we all drift when we go it alone, when we disregard the discipline needed to live as a disciple of Christ. We will not gain such discipline by skipping church services.
We need what church provides. Oh, I know, it’s full of hypocrites, they say. The truth is, there are plenty of hypocrites, but the church is not full of them. There are also plenty of good, sincere, honest, humble Christians in most churches, that we can learn from and be encouraged by. And if we say we are a Christian but refuse to go to church, aren’t we being a hypocrite, by claiming a standard we don’t live by ourselves? Part of that standard was reflected in verse 26 where we are warned not to go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth. It takes focus on God’s Word to gain that knowledge of truth, to know if we are sinning or not, and to find the right path away from sin.
Notice something else. We saw in verse 24 that we should spur one another to love and good works. Stop to think about that word: spur. That’s what you do when a horse won’t move, you spur him, and it hurts, but it gets him going. Sometimes we all need that. Hey men, generally you’re better at this than the average woman. In the first century “meeting together” was usually a small group in a house. Yes, there was prayer and possibly singing, a message (or lesson) from God’s Word was given, communion was taken, but there was also a focus on “what do we need to do?” to impact this community. Men, here is our need for action! Men are good at taking a stand based on principle. We need strong Christian men, who will fight the good fight of faith. And we all need to “not neglect meeting together.”
Cross Point: “We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls” (Heb. 10:39). The body of Christ involves all Christians. Let’s each do our part.
But then we come to Hebrews chapter 10, and we are challenged with these words. “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus (last chapter) …since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. Let us consider how to spur 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” (19-25).
Why is it so important to not neglect meeting? Listen to the words that follow the above, “For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment” (26-27). Part of our salvation is repentance, or turning away from sin to live as Christ instructs. But that won’t happen if we don’t regularly engage ourselves in Bible study, and if we don’t gain the challenge and encouragement of the preached word and fellowship with other believers. Experience shows we all drift when we go it alone, when we disregard the discipline needed to live as a disciple of Christ. We will not gain such discipline by skipping church services.
We need what church provides. Oh, I know, it’s full of hypocrites, they say. The truth is, there are plenty of hypocrites, but the church is not full of them. There are also plenty of good, sincere, honest, humble Christians in most churches, that we can learn from and be encouraged by. And if we say we are a Christian but refuse to go to church, aren’t we being a hypocrite, by claiming a standard we don’t live by ourselves? Part of that standard was reflected in verse 26 where we are warned not to go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth. It takes focus on God’s Word to gain that knowledge of truth, to know if we are sinning or not, and to find the right path away from sin.
Notice something else. We saw in verse 24 that we should spur one another to love and good works. Stop to think about that word: spur. That’s what you do when a horse won’t move, you spur him, and it hurts, but it gets him going. Sometimes we all need that. Hey men, generally you’re better at this than the average woman. In the first century “meeting together” was usually a small group in a house. Yes, there was prayer and possibly singing, a message (or lesson) from God’s Word was given, communion was taken, but there was also a focus on “what do we need to do?” to impact this community. Men, here is our need for action! Men are good at taking a stand based on principle. We need strong Christian men, who will fight the good fight of faith. And we all need to “not neglect meeting together.”
Cross Point: “We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls” (Heb. 10:39). The body of Christ involves all Christians. Let’s each do our part.
Posted in Cross Points