DO NOT FORSAKE

Heb 10:25 We should not stop gathering together with other believers, as some of you are doing. Instead, we must continue to encourage each other even more as we see the day of the Lord coming.

In all probability this verse has been used by your church to encourage you to come to the Sunday morning meeting. In some cases, they might imply that you should come because you spirituality is measured by your attendance.

I have found that a few other words that are not there have been inserted as in “we should not stop gathering together on Sunday morning in such and such church.”

Or “we should not stop gathering together with other believers in the midweek fellowship meeting”

In some cases it has even been interpreted as “you should come to as many meetings as possible and support the professional staff because that is what this scripture says.”

All these are interpretations that are the product of cultural conditioning. In other words, how we see the church today. Such methodology does not allow us to discover the biblical context of the words, so let’s look at it.

First, we see that the New Testament church at its inception met daily in homes. No mention of Sunday morning meetings or liturgical buildings where people gather to see a select few perform for the masses. Their fellowship was daily mostly over a meal. On that basis to meet just Sunday morning is far from fulfilling this command of scripture. In fact, if that is the only meeting we attend, we are positively disobeying it.

This is against a backdrop where they did not meet every Sunday morning or regularly as a whole church. The second part of the verse says that the purpose of gathering together was to encourage each other.

What I want to know is how can you encourage Mrs Jones who sits on the other side of the room and who you never talk to? If, as the New Testament Church did, you met daily in homes around the meal table, everyone hears what is said, everyone knows who said it, everyone knows what the problem is and everyone hears what the solution is. In all probability, everyone gets involved according to the gifting given them by God, i.e. hospitality, shepherding, prophecy, word of knowledge etc all of which can be used to encourage a person.

It is very hard to sit in a building looking at the back of each others heads and being the cheer squad for a select few to encourage anyone. I can’t tell you how many lonely people I have met who attend a local church. This is due to the fact that everything revolves around the ministry of a handful of so called gifted people and the main intention is to serve the institution rather than the institution serving you.

As a result people do not connect in a meaningful way that enables them to encourage each other. Even mid week home groups can be a waste of time for two reasons. One, they are only a miniature version of the Sunday morning meeting or the leader uses it as platform for his ministry so the rest are just spectators again.

Next time someone says something about not forsaking meeting together with others, ask them when they are going to invite you round for a meal.