"And let us consider one another to provoke to love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more as you see the day approaching."
Attending worship services at church at the appointed hours for your church is important, but it is not an end in itself, it is a means to an end. What do I mean? Just sitting on a pew in church on Sunday is not the fulfillment of the call to Christian service. It is important to be there, but why we are there is of more importance. If you are there to chalk up "brownie points" with God, you are going to be disappointed. The point is that going to church should make a difference in your life. When you are in church, you are singing, giving, listening and responding. All of this is supposed to help you to live a better Christian life and to be a better Christian servant. Hebrews 10:24-25 gives three good reasons why we should attend church. First, attending church should "provoke to love." Being together in fellowship with Christian friends should help us to love them more. I can't say that this is always the case. There can be as many unloving acts and words at church as there are in secular clubs. But that does not diminish the fact it is, after all, a church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The church is made up of human beings who are given to human foibles. But my experience in churches over the last fifty-five years has been to predominantly experience love. Of course, there have been negative moments, but overall the positive has outweighed the negative. At any rate, our aim should be to “provoke to love” no matter what the prevailing attitude of the church might be. Does attending church provoke you to love? Second, attending church should lead to "good works." In other words we should leave church ready to serve the Lord in the world. For example, we should be provoked to do works of love in the world. There is a saying that I have read in many church bulletins: "Enter to worship. Depart to serve." As familiar as that saying has become, it gives us one of the good reasons for assembling with fellow Christians. Third, we are told to "exhort each other." The word exhort means to encourage. Attending church should make us encouragers. It should make us encourage each other at church. It should make us encourage people with whom we work on a daily basis. People should be able to say, "Man, I can tell ‘Suzy’ went to church Sunday, because her attitude is really encouraging me today." Is this reality? It could be for some but not so for others. Fourth, attending church should make us look forward to Christ's coming, which is the "day" that is referred to here. Going to church is important as a means to an end. Be sure that attending church makes you a more loving person, a better servant of Jesus Christ, and encourager to other people and among those who look forward to Christ's coming. What are your reasons for attending church? What effect does it have on your life? What does it provoke you to do? It's at least worth thinking about. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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