BY GREG CRUM
“Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto 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 ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:23-25
Here in the book of Hebrews, the Holy Spirit speaks to believers in Jesus living under the New Covenant of some of our New Covenant privileges. Chiefly, a new way to God that provides greater access to Him, freedom from a guilty conscience due to our sins being forgiven, and the blessing of having the “law” of God now imprinted in our hearts, instead of on tablets of stone.
Hebrews is full of the explanation of the blessings that are available to us because of the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf. If you’ve not read it in a while, I encourage you to go back and refresh your memory and stoke your faith. It does a body good!
With that said, Hebrews also contains some warnings to believers in Jesus, and we’d do well to heed the alerts God provides in these pages. Warnings? Yes, some “watch outs” and “avoid this” are given by the Holy Spirit to protect us from the traps that our enemy tries to lay for us. An example? Sure, let’s look at an important one that was given to the earliest church that is, sadly, still very applicable today.
We find it in Hebrews 10:25 where we are warned to not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. In other words, God told the earliest Christians to be sure to gather consistently at set times to worship and learn together. Friends, that’s church! I know the way it’s conveyed by some today would lead you to believe that church was an institution of man, but it wasn’t man’s idea—it was God’s idea, and a New Testament institution that He set up for us to participate in together!
Wow, right? Think about that for a few moments, especially in light of this “new” relationship we can have with God through the death and resurrection of Jesus. Even though God is now in us and we have better access to a personal relationship with Him than we’ve had since the Garden, even though now (as opposed to the Old Covenant), we all can personally, at any time and anywhere, come boldly to the Throne of Grace and connect with God.
Even though this commandment to these particular early believers could have been, and often was, dangerous to their physical well-being, God still commanded that they congregate as a collective—that they “church”! Think about that! Surely, the act of “churching” must be important to God and for New Covenant believers!
Brothers and sisters, you’ve seen it, I know, especially in the last five years. The world and many misguided believers in Jesus have tried to minimize the importance of church. They’ve said it’s just an institution of man. They’ve cited its abuses. They’ve noted that we can serve God just as well without going to a building made with man’s hands. They’ve said going to church doesn’t get you into Heaven (true, but they’ve forgotten how they met Jesus and committed their heart to Him at a physical church). They’ve even said church is really outside the four walls as an argument for the lack of need for the four walls of a church.
Now, there’s a flicker of truth in most all these arguments, but then again, there’s always some truth mixed in with deception.
My question to all those that would minimize the importance of a time and place for believers to consistently gather to worship and learn about God is this: Why? Why are you so concerned? Why so mad about “church”?
Here’s the reality of the matter. It wouldn’t be a problem, and the world and misguided believers wouldn’t put up such a fuss, if it weren’t a problem for the kingdom of darkness.
Friends, understand this: Church done right is the devil’s worst nightmare.
Greg Crum is the pastor of Calvary Temple of Lovely.