Encouraging one another
Hebrews 10:23-25 We should be more committed than ever to assembling together in the community of God.
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and 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.”
Hebrews 10:23-25 NASB1995
I was surprised to find that in over 850 devotionals here at Heaven On Wheels, there was only one that examined a verse from Hebrews. There is a lot of wisdom in this epistle in the New Testament, traditionally attributed to Paul. But in truth, nobody is sure who wrote the epistle… it could have been Luke, Apollos, Priscilla (from Corinth), or Clement of Rome. What was the subject of this long letter? From Wikipedia:
It sets before the Jew the claims of Christianity – to bring the Jew to the full realization of the relation of Judaism to Christianity, to make clear that Christ has fulfilled those temporary and provisional institutions, and has thus abolished them. This view is commonly referred to as supersessionism. According to the theology of supersessionism, the church replaces Israel, and thus the church takes the place of Israel as the people of God.
The focus is on the place of the church — the body of Christ — in the lives of followers of our Lord. The first sentence is quite powerful: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” The early Christians were becoming discouraged in their belief, faced with persecution by both Jews throughout the Mediterranean region and by the Romans.
So the author is reminding the readers that they need to be confident in both the life and resurrection of Jesus, and in His New Covenant, which will strengthen their faith in the face of lies and hatred from the outside. From Charles Spurgeon:
“That exhortation, ‘Let us hold fast,’ might well be written on the cover of every Christian’s Bible. We live in such a changeful age, that we need all to be exhorted to be rooted and grounded, confirmed and established, in the truth.” 1
In the original Ancient Greek, the word for “without wavering” is ἀκλινής (aklinēs). The word also means “not leaning,” so the author is stating that Christians should never stray from their faith in Jesus — they can’t be strong at one point, then show doubt at other times. They need to remain upright in their faith! We can stay faithful because Jesus promised us so much, and He is always faithful to us.
Next, we are tasked with considering “how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds”. These early Christians were discouraged by the persecution they were experiencing, so instead of joining together as a church to experience each other’s love and to do good works in the community, they withdrew to their own homes.
The word ἀλλήλων (allēlōn — “one another”) refers to a mutual activity with believers encouraging one another. It’s not pointing to a situation where the church leaders are giving directions on what to do. The author of Hebrews was advising the church to continuing to meet as a group, to share fellowship and love, and to work together to show their community the love of Jesus in a tangible way.
British biblical scholar Henry Robinson said of this part of today’s verses,
“Love needs stimulation and society. Faith and hope can be practiced by a solitary, in a hermit’s cell or on a desert island. But the exercise of love is possible only in a community.”2
If you ever needed encouragement to get to church, the next phrase “not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another” should be what gets you to set down the coffee cup and head to the church. From Enduring Word,
Forsaking the assembling of ourselves together: Forsaking fellowship is a sure way to give place to discouragement. This discouragement festers where God’s people are not exhorting one another.
i. Some only go to church if they feel they “need it” at the time. But our motivation for fellowship must be to obey God and to give to others. We can and should gather with believers to encourage someone who needs to stand strong against a tide of discouragement.
We gather to receive something from God.
We gather to give something to God.
We gather to encourage each other by our shared faith and values.
We gather to bless one another.
We gather to work together.
Never be discouraged about joining with others for worship and learning God’s Word, but rather be encouraged in that you’ll be with a group of fellow Christians who share your faith and values.
As the author of Hebrews notes, as the day of Jesus’ return draws ever closer, we should be more committed than ever to assembling together in the community of God.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Father in Heaven, I thank You that I am part of the Body of Christ. Remind me as I pray to You that seeking fellowship with my brothers and sisters in Christ is critically important, especially if we are the generation of the end time. Set in my heart and mind the goal of meeting frequently with other Christians so that we may be motivated to show godly love toward each other and perform good works in Your name. In these increasingly dark times, I pray that we all grow in wisdom, grace, and a knowledge of You through godly fellowship and sound teaching. I pray this in the name of Jesus, AMEN.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org.
Quotations of commentary from Enduring Word are used with written permission of the author.
Spurgeon, Charles Haddon "The New Park Street Pulpit" Volumes 1-6 and "The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit" Volumes 7-63 (Pasadena, Texas: Pilgrim Publications, 1990)
Robinson, Theodore H. "The Epistle to the Hebrews" (The Moffatt Commentary) (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1948)