Hebrews 10:19-25
Last week I showed you a picture drawn by Dr. Tokunboh Adeyemo illustrating his impression of the church in Africa. While I was doing it, our own Mark Houston, an architect here in our church family, drew his impression of the American church. His impression is that though our head may more knowledge of the faith than the church in Africa, and not as much heart or numbers, we may be particularly vulnerable in the area of obedience to what we know. And... I think he is right.
But, this imbalance is not what God as intended. And, the New Testament is very clear in telling us that the local church is God's central vehicle by which he intends for our lives to be transformed to become what God has made us to be. And that brings us to the second message this fall about how our lives can be connected to the church in such a way that God's life-transforming power can flow to us and then through us.
Let me show you again that this is what is to happen because of our participation in the church. The Apostle Paul said in Col. 1:28: "We are to preach Christ, admonishing each one and teaching each one with all wisdom so that we may present each one complete in Christ." And in Eph. 4:12-13, We are to serve one another with the gifts God gives each of us "so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all... become mature attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."
So, how does this growth toward wholeness actually happen? Last week, we took time to see how important it is for us to worship regularly with the church family in order for us to be draw from the life-changing power that God intends to come to us when we are connected to his church. But, today we will see a second essential way to be connected to the family of God. I call it community. The Bible talks about it in many places but I want us to focus today on Hebrews 10:19-25. I find it to be the clearest text on what a church community should be anywhere in the world and anytime in history.
What is biblical community?
The word we find in 10:25 is episunagogen – we may hear the word "synagogue" there which has to do with a coming together. Most preachers apply this text to our gathered worship times and that's partially right. But, the context tells us that it adds something to a larger gathering of people. It is a call to the church family to be involved in one another's lives. I usually put it this way: There is a world of difference between diverse people being in vicinity of one another and people living in community with one another.
Tim Keller says it a bit differently. He says, "A congregation is more than an aggregation. An aggregation is like a bunch of marbles in a bag. A congregation is like grapes organically connected to one another on a vine." A bag of marbles may be close to one another but there is no organic connection. But grapes on the vine share a source of life. In a sense, every part of each grape, though distinct in some ways, has a connection to the other grapes on the vine.
So, a church community is not simply a group of people who have come together for an event or for a speech. God intends for the church to have each member connected to the rest – praying together, learning together, singing together, correcting and encouraging together... And the key to finding the Bible's teaching about community is to look for two words found often in the New Testament including both Heb. 10:24 & 25: one another. In v. 24 we must "spur one another" and in v. 25, we must encourage one another.
According to the Bible, the church is a community (I call it a family or household of faith) – not just a place we go just to be taught or inspired. The Bible calls us to live life with our church family – teaching one another, weeping with one another, praying for one another, building up one another... V. 25 is about the gathered worship service. We surely are distinct from one another – but we are organically connected to one another through Jesus. Great things are to happen in our worship gatherings together -- but not everything can happen. If we are going to become Christ-like, we need one another. We dare not miss out on it. But, biblical community is not some shallow relationship. So, let me also say this: As much as people talk about wanting "community", they often are not really open to what it takes to be deeply committed to God's people. So, let's see what God's Word says about how it's formed. What holds God's people together?
What do we have in common? (10:19-23) We have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus.
Community has to do with what a group of people have in common and Hebrews 10:19-23 tells us what we share together as well as any place in the Bible. It begins with "therefore" so we should ask what "therefore" is "there for" – but the problem is that we've jumped into Hebrews 10 without reading what's gone on before it. What has gone on before is almost 10 chapters of telling us that everything is better now that Jesus has come than what was before Jesus had come. Specifically, before Jesus came, people could not draw near to God. And, that's a big problem because according to Genesis 1-2, people were made to be near to God – to walk and talk with God. But, in Gen. 3, people sinned and had to hide from God. But, God loves people – yes, sinful people – and began to bring into history a way for us to be near to him again.
But, before Jesus came, even the children of Israel could not draw near to God. Instead, only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place on behalf of all the people – and he could only do it once a year, on Yom Kippur. There was a curtain that separated people from drawing near to Jehovah God. But the only thing that can really change us is to be near God and have our lives shaped by him.
In Hebrews, because of the perfect life and sacrificial death of Jesus, we who trust him now have the privilege to draw near to God. In v. 20, Jesus' body became the curtain that once separated people from God but now opens up access to God. He broke through that curtain that had to be there because of our sin and because God is holy and says to us all, "I am the door. Come through me and you will not be destroyed – you will be saved."
I could say so much about this but will only make this point: We have these things in common:
*We were made to walk with God. Our relationships with people and with our world will only be in order when we are drawing near to God and having him shape and direct our lives. If something is messed up in your life, then you will find just as all of us here have found, i.e., that God is not at the center of your life.
*We have sinned and, on our own, have no personal access to God. We sense there is more to this world than what we see. We think there is probably a god but we do not know him on our own. We who are in Christian community have all owned that we are sinners.
*We now have access to God – but only through faith in Jesus who shed his blood to bring us to God. Do you see how it's put in v. 21? We all had to have our hearts cleansed. We all had guilt on our consciences. But, we found cleansing and forgiveness through faith in Jesus. In other words, we who follow Jesus should be an awfully humble bunch. We know it took his death to rescue us. We know it's only by God's grace and mercy that we're in this community. All of us who belong to God share this in common.
*Not one of us is perfect yet but we have a certain hope that God will keep his promise and bring us to completion in Christ. As v. 24 puts it, "We hold unswervingly to the hope we profess for he who promised us is faithful." And that brings us to the necessity of life in community. How will God bring us to that completion? The main place is life in his church.
I want you to know that I am fully aware of the fact that the inability of many churches to be the grace-filled and personal places that allow for community is something many people are criticizing the organized church for in our day. Sometimes, local churches are criticized for being too corporate in nature and interested only in getting big and becoming successful. At other times, we are criticized for being too self-righteous so that people cannot open up their lives, find welcome in spite of our sin, and on the basis of that kind of honest confession, find healing.
To the extent that we either of those criticisms are true of us or of me as your pastor, I sincerely apologize and declare to you 1) that the church that names Jesus Christ as Lord is always to be characterized by the graciousness of Jesus. We do not condone sin but we humbly know that we all need forgiveness from our own. And, 2) there is no place anywhere else in the world that you can find a community of rescued sinners called together to help one another grow – and empowered by the presence of God himself to have our lives become whole.
What must happen in a church community? (10:24-25) Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds...
These two verses point us to some of the essentials of Christ-centered community. We learn other things about it in other passages of Scripture but these verses take us to the heart of the matter.
#1: We must know one another well enough to be able to consider the direction of one another's lives.
The word translated "consider" means to stop and think – to reflect. The Bible is calling us to places in our church family in which we can watch one another, talk to one another and see how we might help a person move toward greater godliness. When I read v. 24 again this past week, I thought, "Hmm. We men don't do this very well. Women are better at this than men." I don't know if that's true – but that's something many people say, i.e., that men do things together while women can enjoy simply being together.
Then, I thought, "Some cultures do this better than others. I come from the hills of West Virginia. There is a long tradition in taking pride in being rugged individualists there. "Those sophisticated people in Virginia may need to ask others for help," hill people have said, "but not us!" And, those of you who have grown up in so-called shame-based cultures know that admission of weakness in a public setting has never been easy. And, of course, I'm a pastor. Most pastors feel like we need to come across as having everything perfect so that we can just tell others what to do – right? People expect perfection from their pastors – right? So, I don't need to do this, do I? I'm a pastor, a man and a person from a culture that doesn't do this kind of "considering." I have all the excuses.
But excuses are all I have. The Bible says that if I will grow, I need to be involved in community so that I can "consider" the directions of others' lives and they can consider mine. This cannot – and sometimes dare not – happen in a huge public setting like the gathered worship serves – but there must be smaller gatherings where we can get to know one another, trust one another, and speak into one another's lives.
I met with our pastoral sermon preparation group on Tuesday and the others spoke into my life. I told them that when my friend Jamie was here last week, he said, "You know, the last 4-5 times we have gotten together, we haven't engaged in any kind of confession or considering or earnest prayer for one another. We need that. We've always done that. Why aren't we doing it?" I wanted to say, "Well, I'm a pastor and a man and a West Virginian." But, I couldn't. I knew... I had to obey Scripture and thank God for this brother with whom I could consider the directions our lives are heading in community. And, you do too. No excuses. All of us are to be in relationships close enough in the church community that we can "consider" the directions of one another's lives.
#2: We must have enough love for one another that we are willing to confront our sins.
Here, I want us to think about that phrase, "spur one another on". It is a very strong word. It has to do with confronting a person when they are going the wrong direction. It's the word for a rider on a horse seeing the horse running toward danger and digging in the heels to re-direct the path the horse is on. We often don't even see the destructive path of our lives – but others sometimes do. We try to hide the things in our lives so we need to have a place where we need to hide no more. And this is not easy. It takes a lot of qualities:
*The trust that allows us to be open about what is real inside. (This takes time and honesty to develop.)
*The humility that is open to correction.
*The respect for others that allows us to receive their words without defensiveness.
*The courage to speak into others' lives even when we know we need to be "spoken into" too.
*The love to take the risk to say, "I think you are living in a way that will harm yourself, those around you, and your walk with God."
We need this – and we all know it. We're all like Odysseus in the Odyssey who knew he was nearing some islands with beautiful women sirens that would beckon him – but that if he followed their call he and those around him would be dashed on the rocks. He knew he needed his men to help him – to tie him down firmly on the mast and to refuse to set him free when the sirens called. He knew that he was so weak that he would fail without the firm support of those around. And we do too. God gives himself to us for the temptations of this world – but he also gives us his church.
We have to have the love, humility, and courage to say to someone, "We know you want to hold on to that grudge but you must forgive." "We know you want to engage in sex outside marriage but you must be faithful to God and your partner – or your future partner." We must move from our cultures thought that a good relationship is one in which we think, "Give me what I want in this relationship" to the much deeper, "Give me what I need." We need a community in which we can be spurred and we engage in spurring.
The world will fight this. The world will say, "That's too personal. You should decide for yourself." The Bible says, "Help one another decide. Live for God." The world says, "A good community will accept the way anyone wants to live." The Bible says, "A good community will be build up by people helping one another live for God." Which will you believe?
#3: We must be willing to walk alongside one another in the midst of life's temptations and trials.
In v. 25, we are told that in our community we are not only to "spur on" one another but also to encourage one another. The word is the beautiful "parakaleo" – meaning to be called to walk alongside. It's what the Jesus says the Holy Spirit does in John 14. This tells me what I know deep down inside, i.e., for me to grow I need both confrontation and support. I'm sure you know that some people are better at one of these or the other. But, a community must engage in both. We need both. When we struggle or even fail, we must know that the community will not give up on us. "Do not forsake meeting with one another..." That's what the Bible commands. Jesus never gives up on the sinner who wants tomorrow to be different. He offers hope for a new future to prostitutes, tax collectors – and to us. And so should his family.
Last Tuesday, Pastor Albert said that I would have to tell you, "This is what the whole world is writing about and longing for. This is what Jesus gave his life to bring into being. You have an invitation to the most beautiful thing in the world. And, by the way, it's the hardest thing you'll ever do." We long for it but we resist it. It takes time and it means we must open our lives. But, it's God's place of doing his redeeming work.
And, Pastor Jeff Liou said, "You're not going to ignore this phrase in v. 25, are you? That we are to meet and do all this "all the more as you see the Day approaching." This is not just a suggestion. God will complete his work. We are not to delay for the day is coming when Jesus will come – or we will be called home. I love the way the gospel song puts it, "If you tarry 'til you're better, you will never come at all."
Let me close with a thought from CS Lewis:
Jesus works on us in all sorts of ways: through Nature, through our own bodies, through books, sometimes through experiences . . . But above all, He works on us through each other. People are mirrors, or "carriers" of Christ to others. Sometimes unconscious carriers... For the Church is not a human society of people united by their natural affinities but the Body of Christ, in which all members, however different, (and He rejoices in the differences and by no means wishes to iron them out) must share the common life, complementing and helping one another precisely by their differences.
