“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
There are four main points that follow the four uses of “Let us” in verses 23-25 in the book of Hebrews, which shows how important it is to put into action what we know to be true. These commands are directed to each of us, and that they are impossible to keep unless we are in community with other believers.
1. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess (v:23).
Believers back then, as well as believers today, face so many distractions and problems. The word “unswervingly” means to “get fast hold of something.”
And we’re given an incentive in the last part of this verse: “For He who promised is faithful.” Because God is faithful to us, we also can be faithful to Him.
God never breaks His promises. He never over-promises and he never under-delivers. Let us learn to apply God’ great promises to our lives.
2. Let us consider how we may spur one another on (v:24).
The word “consider” means to “think about with affection and attentiveness.” This is quite challenging, because most of us by default focus on what we can get, not on what we can give to others. The idea here is to determine how best to minister to them.
The word “spur” is translated as “provoke” in the King James and is used in two ways. One is more negative: “to incite or irritate.” The other is more positive: “To rouse one to action; to excite.” We are to create a convulsion or action in others toward “love and good deeds.”
We’re to personally hold fast to hope and we’re to excite others to action. That’s a good reminder for us believers. Hold on to Jesus and then look for ways to challenge our brethren to love more and serve more. Proverbs 27:17: “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
Some on said, “The church is not like a store. It’s not like you go, get what you came for, and then head home again. The church isn’t just about you getting what you need. It’s about you participating in what everyone needs. It is a community of believers all working together, so that the church can be all God wants it to be.”
3. Let us not give up meeting together (v:25a).
That reminds me of a church signage with these letters: CH__CH. Underneath was this question: “What’s missing?” The answer: UR.
In the NT, it says, Jesus saw the value of attending synagogue every Sabbath, then shouldn’t we be meeting with fellow believers every week?
Luke 4:16: “And on the Sabbath, Jesus went into the synagogue, as was His custom.”
We’re created for community but, here’s the weird truth about us people. While we long for community, we also run from it. It has been said that when humankind fell from grace, we inherited not only a tendency to hide from God (like Adam and Eve), but a tendency to hide from one another as well. We sometimes desire to be close to one another, and at times, we want to hold others at arm’s length.
Understand that there are really only two options available to us in relationships. We can embrace people, do life with them, and open our heart to them. Or, we can exclude others and grow cold and distant as we shut people out of our life.
Brethren are we doing life with others by embracing them – or are you intentionally, or unintentionally excluding people? If we want to be a caring church or community, we need embracers, not excluders.
The next phrase in the verse: “As some are in the habit of doing.” It’s easy to get out of the habit of church participation. Too many of us plug-in and then we back-off. Non participation can become habit-forming.
A churchgoer wrote a letter to the editor of a church newsletter and complained that it made no sense to go to church every week-ends. “I’ve gone for 20 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time I have heard something like 2,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So, I think I’m wasting my time, and the pastors are wasting theirs by giving sermons at all.”
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