"Building our Ministries" - a reflection on Hebrews 10:19-25 (in light of our church expo on Aug 14)

1.       Relationship with God

Verses 19 to 23 of our reading from Hebrews 10 basically encourage us to confidently grab a hold of our relationship with God and run with it as effectively as we can.

We can be assured of our salvation because of what Jesus has done for us. As we have sincerely accepted God’s grace-filled offer of forgiveness, then we know that we have moved from the old into the new, and that God’s own Spirit abides with us. Because our heart has been fully turned toward God, we are in the process of being changed into the person we were designed to be in the image of God’s Son Jesus.

This is our state of being now – we are still human with all the fallibilities and vulnerabilities, yet we are fully inclined towards God’s ways, and all our hope is centred, not on the material and temporary, but rather on the spiritual and eternal.

If we are struggling in any way with experiencing life with this mindset, then here and now is the time to correct this. The way forward will require prayer, bible study, as well as various support and accountability mechanisms ... and an absolute desperation to get the right result; for, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for right living, for they will be the ones who are filled” (Matthew 5:6).

Once upon a time it seemed that the presence of God was restricted. There was a curtain in the temple that only the high priest could go behind on specific occasions. God was seen as fearsome and distant. People were naturally tentative in their approach to God (Brown). Yet this was a concept that humanity imposed on themselves, for God was always seeking close relationships with people (both individually and collectively). Sometimes it has been our own sense of shame that has been the most significant thing that has created a point of separation and distance from God. This is where we think that there is no way that we can honestly face God.

But when Jesus, in his great love for us, died on the cross for us, that separating curtain in the temple was torn asunder and rendered redundant. God is only a breath away. What hope this gives us! Sometimes the difficulties of life really press on us; but we should not waver in our hope, because God has not changed or moved, and God can never love us any less than has always been the case. We should feel completely at home with God.

2.       Belonging to the Family

So this is all good news, not only for us, but for the ailing world we live in. This is because God has adopted us into his family, and united us into a ‘body’ with Jesus being the head. The way we are able to express this reality in everyday life is through participation in a church community. This is where a great diversity of people come together with their own variety of backgrounds, personalities, resources and giftedness with one thing in common – Jesus is their Lord.

Yet at the same time, these people are at different stages of the Jesus-following journey, some just starting, some having been on the road for a long time. Also, at any given time, some of these brothers and sisters will be struggling with life (more than others are) for any number of reasons, e.g. illness, employment and financial issues, loneliness etc. So this is where a high level of mutual concern will be necessary, and this is where cooperative forms of ministry will need to be built.

So for this reason, it was a good idea to arrange next week’s expo ... to try to celebrate and develop our various ministries within the church. We ourselves become more familiar with the opportunities and responsibilities we share in a variety of forms; and also we offer the opportunity to a wider audience to understand the nature and purpose of being the church. If we can encourage one another to grow in love and good deeds, we would be fulfilling the biblical mandate contained in Hebrews chapter 10.

3.       “Provoking” love and good deeds

There is a very curious word in verse 24 ... “And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds”! The word “provoke” is normally used in a negative sense, where people are unfairly threatened towards a reaction that might not be in their best interests (like provoking someone through harsh words into a fight). Yet clearly the word is used here in a positive sense toward a positive outcome.

Other translations use the word “spur” – “spur one another”, or “stimulate one another”, but these don’t have the same edge that the original Greek word (“paroxysmos”) brings. Closer might be “stir one another” or even going further “incite one another” or what about “ruffle one another” or even “irritate one another to love and good deeds”. Clearly this activity that we are supposed to have among one another, that promotes “love and good deeds”, is meant to be particularly proactive and provocative.

One old commentator writes: “We are to affect each other acutely to love and good works [and to the joys and privileges of public worship]” (Hastings). So “love and good deeds” don’t just happen, they have to be worked at. So “awaken one another...” might be a worthy translation, with the idea that “love and good deeds” lie deep within all of us but need to be actively drawn out. So we could also translate, “call forth” or “bring out” from one another “love and good deeds”.

Now “love and good deeds” can become a very powerful sign of faith with integrity. This is how important the writer to the Hebrews thought this was. Many churches of old, and this is something being revisited now in many places, adopted covenant statements to describe the nature of their communal life. One such statement read: “We engage to watch over one another in love” (Brown). How we do this in practice requires considerable thought, prayer, wisdom and commitment.

4.       Communal activity

Highlighted in verse 25 is one particular element of collective church life, i.e. “not neglecting to meet together”. One wonders what got in the way of people gathering together in the first century church that was being addressed here. This would not just concern attendance at formal worship gatherings, because these were very different then than they are for us – for they met in homes (and sometimes in secret because of possible persecution). This is more about the desire to be together, and the thought of not missing out on being together, as a local expression family of God.

Now we have other friends to spend time with, and also family responsibilities to attend to. Now with a more 24/7 society, and a lot of part-time, casual and shift work, simply earning a living can put restrictions upon our availability. Yet what is being addressed here in Hebrews is deeper than that. These verses are testing where our heart really is. We have all the assurances of God’s availability to us – but what will be our (true) response?!? Where will our priorities sit? Does this text ask us to re-evaluate ourselves, to make sure that we are giving enough priority to meeting together ... for the purpose of encouraging others and being encouraged.

And this is where this scripture goes broader than just a weekly gathering. Of course the early church were meeting on a daily basis. And there are many options and opportunities for members of the modern church to connect in between weekly worship services (for the purpose of growth and encouragement).

Now I admit that I am largely talking to the ‘converted’ here, but this may still help us all consider the impact of Hebrews 10:25, and thus, where helpful, assist other people in their understanding. Let’s go back to the question of what might have kept people away in the first century of the church, and see if there would be any connection to the present day:

(a)    Fear of persecution would have been a real issue then, as it is for thousands if not millions of Christians today in other countries; and we can understand how putting one’s life in danger is a real deterrent to leaving home. This is not the case in Australia, but even if it was, I reckon that it would be worth the threat involved to offset the isolation of staying away and trying to go solo. I can say this on the basis of those many thousands who do risk their lives across the world today just to gather for worship.

(b)   “We don’t need them” > There are those who have not yet come to understand that, although there is the very obvious personal element of faith, Christianity was never and will never be a solitary pursuit. In coming to Jesus you are, by definition, joining a family and a movement. This is in line with God creating us as relational beings. And it is only as God’s people join together that God’s mission in the world can be addressed. The gifts of the Holy Spirit divided amongst the Jesus followers are brought together in the church community for the common good (refer 1 Corinthians 12). The same tie that binds us to God, binds us to each other.

(c)    “I’m all right the way I am” > Those who try to remain separate will eventually lose their way – their faith will lapse toward non-existence. There is no support for the notion of lone Christians in the new testament (Guthrie), therefore there are no guarantees applicable to them either. John Wesley often quoted, “The Bible knows nothing of solitary religion” (Brown). Close fellowship in the church is an absolute necessity for the development of true Christian values (Guthrie). 

(d)   “We don’t get anything out of the gathering” > Of course, “meeting together” is not just about the content or style of any given worship service, but more so about the nurturing of the relationships that exist within the church family. The “love” that verse 24 talks about “provoking” is never self-seeking and tied to one’s own agenda. This “agape love” is much more interested in the needs of others and involves sacrifice (just like Jesus “love” from the cross), and can only really be experienced in community. It is the best interests of the whole (not any individual) which needs to be primary. It is often true that the more you put into something, the more you get out of something; and also the more open you are to something good happening, the more likely it is to work out that way.

(e)   “It’s not that important” > When you unite together with others in the bond of common faith, I don’t think you can consider it unimportant to participate in the occasions of meeting. One can only be alert to the needs of others by spending time with them. I think we can clearly draw from the book of Acts (and from Paul’s letters) that collective worship and gathering together were always meant to be an integral part of the Christian life. Not discounting the most precious times of personal devotion, we all need the rich stimulus that comes from communal gatherings.

(f)     “We are too tired” > Now I know that I’m very old-fashioned, and my parents were even more old-fashioned, but for what it’s worth, I’ll tell you how I was brought up ... and you can do with this what you want. If what I planned to do on a Saturday night in anyway put at risk my presence at Sunday worship, then I wouldn’t do that thing on a Saturday night. That’s why you’ll find me sneaking off home from events early on a Saturday night. Or, if it happened that I did get home late Saturday night, I got myself out of bed anyway! We often talk about the great privilege we have in this country to freely meet together and offer ministry, but of course such ease can be taken for granted.

(g)    “There’s something better on” > Well I’d want to assume by that you mean that you have a real opportunity of helping somebody, which is why Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, and not man made for the Sabbath! We are not talking about law or rules or attendance registers, for Jesus has brought a freedom that operates in grace, but rather this Hebrews text is talking about our heart attitudes.

(h)   “Life is too hard at the moment” > In reality, the harder life gets, the more you need collective worship and encouragement, not less. If you find the complexity of your life drawing you away from the gathered church, this is when you need to do a major re-assessment. A whole week of watching the news on television would certainly provide enough despair to need a fresh injection of God’s love. Otherwise you put yourself on a very slippery slope (with no brakes). Ray C Stedman writes: “We (too) need to gather to encourage each other and renew our hope by sturdy reaffirmations of the eternal truths of God’s Word”.

If the responses though are more along the lines of “we don’t fit in”, or “we’re not sure we belong”, or “we are not wanted”, then we have to assess whether we need to adjust the way we operate in the church to address this. When God’s people gather in the church, whether it be for worship, decision-making, bible-study, ministry or social reasons, each occasion should be uplifting, encouraging, purposeful, challenging, and absolutely inclusive.

5.       Encouragement

Now the thought here behind the need to meet together is the need we all have to be encouraged. How else will we survive, and how else we will have the resources through which to share our faith. This is why we develop areas of ministry within church life to try where possible to meet the variety of needs that present in human lives.

Indeed, building such ministry areas, although sometimes seen as a burden, and sometimes seen as just another thing needing volunteers, is actually the source through which we receive our encouragement. It is in getting involved, and trying things, and mixing with other people, that we start to feel a greater sense of worth, and a greater sense of hope, and a greater sense of being gifted, and a greater sense of being involved in something worthwhile.

There are certainly endless opportunities for encouragement within a church community; and although some will have the special gift of encouragement (and will become known for this), everyone is called to be involved in the encouragement of others (in whatever ways open up). And certainly, a “full house” will better provide for the encouraging, strengthening and energising of all who attend (Montefiore). As well, since it is God who actually builds the church, God will need access to all the bricks (so that the mortar can be applied and the walls solidly built)!

Encouragement involves a kind word, a supportive action, a good example. Encouragement operates in the context of people’s struggling faith, developing of skills, and coping with life’s trials. Encouragement is about sharing life in all its ups and downs in the knowledge of God’s love.

This passage closes with a reference to “as you see the Day approaching”. For all the new testament writers there was a sense of the imminent return of Jesus, the end of things, and the “day” of judgement ... such was the state of their society. God’s people within most generations since have probably felt the same way.

Although we don’t know what “day” it will be, and we aren’t to waste time wondering too much about it, it is not unhealthy for us to consider the general concept of “the Day approaching”, as this adds a little urgency to our thinking. Do we want to be thinking about that missed opportunity after the moment has passed?!? This reference to “the Day approaching” would have suggested the “day” of giving an account for one’s actions or inactions (in terms of love, good deeds and encouraging others). We are to live our lives as if this “Day” is just around the corner.