The Letter to the Hebrews
Don’t Neglect Encouraging Each Other
Hebrews 10:24-25
Let’s turn to Hebrews 10. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Hebrews 10 is on page 1007 in the Bibles we are passing out.
In today’s passage the author is going to give us a surprising description of church life. It’s surprising, because many people think church is a meeting which will function just fine without you. That if you don’t go it’s no big deal, because church will happen whether you are there or not.
But that’s not what God says. God says that church means being part of a community that needs you to function. It will not function as well without you. See, church is like your body. Your body is made up of different parts. And each part of your body is important if your body is going to function as it’s supposed to. So if this morning your knee decided to stay home, you’d notice. Your whole body would be affected. Your body is not fine with or without your knee.
In the same way, church means being part of a a group of people who need you -- who need you in order to function.
And that’s what we are going to see in today’s verses from chapter 10. But before we go there let’s get the big picture of what the author has been saying.
The author has told us that we’ve all sinned against God and face His judgment. And he’s told us that the only way we can be forgiven by God is if we have a perfect priest who represents us before God with a perfect sacrifice.
And in chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and the first half of ch.10 the author has told us that God sent Jesus to be this perfect priest who could bring us to God, and that He did this through a perfect sacrifice, His own death on the Cross for our sins.
And then in ch.10 vv.19-25 he says that because of what Jesus has done we have three THEREFORE’s.
The first is in v.22 – because we have forgiveness through Jesus, therefore let us draw near to God (v.22). You can have the joy of knowing God through Jesus. So draw near to Him!
And in v.23 he says – therefore let us hold fast to the confession of our hope (v.23) – which means let’s continue to trust God’s promise of forgiveness, of help for all our needs, and of the reward of knowing Him forever.
So these first two therefore’s involve how we relate to God. But the third therefore involves how we relate to each other. Look at what he says in vv.24-25 --
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25 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.
So how should we relate to each other? Read v.24 again –
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
So look at the people around you. The author calls us to consider how we can stir each other up to love and good deeds.
Now what does that mean? What does he mean by love and good works? We could come up with all kinds of ideas on our own. But we want to know what this author meant. And the best way to figure that out is by looking at other places he uses these same words.
And I found a helpful verse in ch.6 vs.10. Turn there and look at what he says --
For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do.
So here the word “love” has to do with love for God’s name. And the word “work” has to do with serving people. So that’s probably how he’s using these same words in ch.10.
So how should we relate to each other in the body of Christ? Read ch.10 vs.24 again --
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love [love for God] and good works [serving others]…
We should consider – how can I stir others to love God more – which would include how to trust Him more, desire Him more, seek Him more in prayer and the Word.
And we should consider – how can I stir others up to good works – which would include how to serve others more – how to love their spouse, serve their kids, encourage their brothers and sisters in Christ, and share the Gospel with the lost.
So this is church life. Church means having a group of people whom you are seeking to stir in loving God and serving others.
Now this is huge. A lot of us think people grow on their own. That they are to stir themselves up to love God and serve others. And there’s truth to that. But God also calls you to stir them to love God and serve others more.
He calls you to think – how can I stir Sally to trust Jesus more? How can I stir George to read God’s Word more? How can I stir Jane to love her kids more, or Bill to share the Gospel more?
Picture it like this. Church is like a garden. Some of us are zucchinis and some are peas and some are lettuce and some are tomatoes. And God wants all of us to be watered so we grow in loving Him and serving others. So how does God bring us water?
It’s not mostly by setting up the pastors as a central sprinkler which does all the watering. No. The pastors are to train every member of the body of Christ to do the ministry. God wants each of you to be part of a drip system which brings water to each individual plant. So how’s that zucchini going to get watered? Through one of you. That tomato plant? Through one of you. That eggplant? Through one of you.
So church means having a group of people whom you are seeking to stir in loving God and serving others.
But there’s a problem. There’s too many people here on a Sunday morning for you to think about everyone. Which is why we have organized our church around home groups – because home groups are the size in which we can do this.
So join a home group. Get to know the people. And ask God how you can stir them in loving God and serving others. Maybe someone needs to hear Psalm 16:11. Maybe someone needs to be encouraged in evangelism. Maybe someone needs help with parenting, or their marriage. Maybe someone needs to hear what God did in your heart through Ephesians 3.
Think of what would happen if each of us was thinking about how to stir the other home group members to love God and serve others? Think of how much we would grow in loving God and serving others!
But the author knows there is something that can keep this from happening. So let’s ask -- what can get in the way of this? Look at what he says – starting in v.24 --
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some…
What gets in the way is a having a habit of neglecting to meet together. Having a habit of not meeting with our home group, or not meeting here Sunday mornings with our home group and other home groups. What gets in the way is a habit of neglecting to meet together.
And one of the reasons we neglect to meet together is because we don’t understand how the church functions. We think that we can neglect meeting without affecting anyone else. We think that if we miss – everything will be fine.
But it won’t be fine, because we are part of God’s drip system. God has plants He wants to water through you. So if you have a habit of not meeting – then as far as you are concerned, that zucchini won’t get water, that lettuce will start to wilt.
Now there are times when we will have to miss home group or Sundays. There are times when you get sick or have to be out of town or emergencies come up. And when that happens, there will be less watering at your home group, and less watering here Sundays. But sometimes that has to happen, and we can trust God for it.
But what we want to avoid is a habit of neglecting to meet together. So here’s what I’d encourage you to do. Have your default mode that you will be at home group – that you will be here Sundays. Don’t wake up Sundays and think – should I go this morning? Don’t drive home from work thinking – should I go to home group tonight? No. You are part of the drip system. The plants need water. Do all you can to gather with your brothers and sisters – because they need you. They will not be as stirred up in love and good deeds without you.
So the author urges us – don’t neglect meeting together. But then the author answers a third question – what should we do instead? To answer that, read vv.24-25 again --
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another …
So if we are not going to neglect meeting together, what should we do instead? We might think the answer is obvious – meet together! And that’s right, but the author says something more – something more that the church today desperately needs to hear.
What we should do instead is not just meet together. What we should do is encourage each other. See, the purpose of believers meeting together is that we encourage each other. The purpose is that one believer encourages another, and another believer encourages another, and another believer encourages another.
And this is crucial because we tend to put all the emphasis on up front leaders. So someone can go to church, be led in worship, hear a sermon, and leave – and do the same thing week after week – and think they’ve experienced church. But they have not experienced church.
Because church is a group of people who are all involved in encouraging each other. The sermon and worship help teach and strengthen them so they can do that. But church is more than a sermon and worship. Church means being part of a group of people who are all involved in encouraging each other.
So how might that happen?
- It can happen as you share a spiritual gift during worship.
- It can happen as you share a testimony during our sharing time.
- It can happen as you lead our in prayer as we worship.
- It can happen as you raise a question during our Q&A time after the sermon.
- It can happen as you urge a struggling brother – don’t sin!
- It can happen as you urge a discouraged sister – God will be faithful!
- It can happen as you pray for someone who needs wisdom.
- It can happen as you listen to someone and share God’s promises with them.
So church is a group of people who are all involved in encouraging each other. But if we neglect the gathering – Sunday morning and home group -- your brothers and sisters won’t get the encouragement God wanted to give them through you.
But it’s not easy meeting together. It was not easy for the first readers of this letter – because when they met they risked persecution, losing their jobs, and prison. Thankfully we don’t have those problems. But we have other reasons it’s hard – because we are busy, we work long hours, we have long commutes.
And the author knows this is hard. So he ends by answering this question -- why is this so crucial? Read all of vv.24-25 to see what he says –
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25 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.
It’s because the Day is drawing near. The “Day” refers to the day when Jesus Christ returns to earth – to save those who have persevered in the faith, and to judge the rest.
And we can see how this should motivate us by reading vv.24-25 with the next two verses –
24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25 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.
26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,
27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.
Why is it so crucial that we gather regularly to encourage each other? It’s because of the danger of falling into deliberate sin. If one of us goes on sinning deliberately – there no longer remains a sacrifice for our sins – which means we will face God’s judgment forever.
That’s why we must gather regularly to encourage each other – because God will use our stirring and encouraging to keep your brothers and sisters from falling into deliberate sin – because falling into deliberate sin could mean facing God’s judgment forever.
Next week I’ll explain how that fits with eternal security. But for this morning – let this stir you to not neglect meeting. Because one of the ways God keeps your brothers and sisters eternally secure is by you stirring them up to love and good deeds, and by you encouraging them.
So don’t neglect meeting together.