Let Us Consider

"...let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 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." -Hebrews 10:24-25

"Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus Christ, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." -Hebrews 13:20-21

Many of us are likely very familiar with those verses in chapter 10. In fact, if you have ever done a membership interview with me, those verses have come up. Normally, as the interview concludes I will say two things: 1) Part of being a member at our church includes the "obligation" and commitment of regularly gathering with the saints in Neenach for Sunday worship and 2) One of the best gifts you can give to the people that God has called you to "do life with" is your regular presence with them, in particular in the weekly gathering.

As those very familiar verses were in my mind, I eventually came to the end of chapter 13. We see there a reminder from the author of Hebrews that God will "equip" His people, by His grace, to "work in us that which is pleasing in His sight." But I couldn't help but to see a connection between those verses and the command in Hebrews 10:24-25. One of the fundamental ways that God equips His people to "do His will" is by having us "stir up one another", seen most clearly in the weekly gathering. 

You see, "going to church" is a command from the Lord. It is an obligation that is placed on every Christian, especially those who have made a formal covenant with the saints in a local church, and it is an obligation that shouldn't be spurned or taken lightly. We have been commanded to "not neglect meeting together." The fact of the matter is, far too many Christians today see the weekly gathering as a nicety, but not a necessity.

However, going to church is far more than simply obeying a command.

I recently heard one person in our church (who because of sickness wasn't able to come to our Sunday gathering) say something like, "When I miss church, my whole week is thrown off." They didn't see the weekly gathering as an optional nicety, but as a God-given necessity for the thriving of their soul. 

Though we must not treat the weekly gathering as a legalistic burden that we check off to try to appear righteous before God and others (in fact, if the only reason you gather with the saints is to "perform your duty", you have missed the point entirely), but we dare not spurn the expectation God has placed on His people, or else we may find ourselves on the wrong side of the greatness of God. After commanding Christians to gather, the author of Hebrews stated shortly after, "The Lord will judge His people.' It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:30b)

So, we gather as His people, intentionally and even sacrificially as we say no to the allures of the world and the busyness of our lives at times. Yes, in obedience to His commands, for our Lord said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (John 14:15). But we gather for so much more than just that. The three primary ways God grows His people is through Prayer, Bible reading, and Fellowship. Two of those we can kind of do privately, one of those we cannot.

Philip Doddridge, a puritan from the early 1700s prayed, 

"Gracious Emmanuel, send down your spirit of love on all your followers, that we may no longer glory in the little distinctions of any faction or denomination. Instead, may we show we are Christians, standing together under your glorious banner!  May we wear your mark of honor on our shoulders, or like a crown on our heads. In that way may the spirit of hatred, disgrace, and persecution vanish like a noxious mist before the sun. And may it again be said everywhere, as it once was: 'Look how those Christians love each other! Amen."

I give a hearty 'Amen!' to Doddridge's words.

When we "go to church" we realize that it is there where we are given a primary opportunity of "being the church" to each other. After all, "church" isn't necessarily a place you go to, but rather a people we belong to. Church is a "we" not a "me." A church is a blood-bought, Spirit-wrought people. Christians go to church, because Christians are the Church.