A
Vote of Confidence (No. 9 in Series)
Before we leave the Hebrews 10
passage (this is the last one, I promise), I would like to point out one more
positive note. In the context, the
exhortation to not forsake the assembly is sandwiched between a call to draw
near to God relationally with great confidence (vv. 19-23) and a fearful
warning against the willful sin of apostasy (vv. 26-31). My friend, Dave, is the one who has called
attention to this bracketing and how it suggests that routine Christian assembling serves to (1) shore up salvific confidence
and assurance (vv. 19-23) on one hand, while also (2) helping to inoculate from apostasy (vv.
26-31) on the other.
In this article, I would like to
focus on the connection with the surrounding verses. How interesting it is to see the link between
drawing near to God and drawing near to one another. God has made us relational creatures. We thrive when we are together. Some of us are built in a way that we do well
on our own, and some have a hard time with interaction, but I think we all know,
deep down, that we need our church community.
Our Christian friends are the ones
who can encourage us when we are down, confront us when we are backsliding,
comfort us when we are hurting, teach us when we are lacking, and provide us
the boost of confidence we need in our salvation. It is difficult to imagine a person losing
his or her salvation when thoroughly involved in the life of the church. How rare it must be for people to lose their
faith when they are gathering each week with the church, praying together,
worshipping together, participating in the Lord’s Supper, listening to messages
from the Scriptures, and fellowshipping with brothers and sisters. Surely, it must be nearly impossible!
The key for the Christian life is
being involved in the life of the church on a consistent basis. Now, remember what we said last week: This is
not a call to “live at the church building.”
Yet, it is a call to be thoroughly
involved. How involved are you? Are you fully engaged? Are you participating in the life of the
church on a regular, even weekly basis?