5. “I go to church for fellowship”. Hebrews 10:25 after all does state, “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.” So, Christians need to meet with other Christians. Yes. But, in fairness, there is much more than the cut out of context Hebrews 10:25 used by most who claim one must “go to church.” Here’s the rest of the thought leading up to verse 25.
19Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21And having an high priest over the house of God;
22Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
23Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
24And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25Not 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.
First, this book was written to Hebrews. The main argument developed throughout the book is that Christ is the Hebrew Messiah, and Salvation is through Him alone. He is the Prophet, Priest, and King spoken of throughout the Old Testament. He is the One who fulfills all prophecy. He is the Savior that Israel is seeking. Keeping the overall book context helps keep the reader from confusion.
Jewish religious groups often became sectarian. Unity was a real problem amongst Jews and is still a problem today. True Christianity, however, does not allow for such division. (Denominations today would be/are condemned as Carnal see I Cor. 3 “I am of Paul, I am of Appollos… sounds like I am of Calvin, I am of Luther, I am of Bob Jones… Notice, most Pastors or “religious workers” first question is “Where did you go to school?” What a ridiculous question, which would by the way rule out all New Testament Christians, except for Paul – who was a trained Pharisee!) James warned that wars and fighting comes from ourselves, which is pride. All recognized denominations have some historic record of contention. Some go so far as to postulate that their “church” is the only place in its respective city where God meets. Though there are true believers in many places throughout the world, they can and do freely meet with fellow believers anywhere. Yes, this does reference the universal church, not the Catholic (which means universal) Church, which is full of doctrinal error. The Body of Christ is as local as each member (those who are saved, see Hebrews 10:19-21). It can meet whenever and wherever (cf. Acts 2:46 which shows that believers went from house to house daily, not only on Sunday or Wednesday, they also had a daily visitation program “daily in the Temple” more on all of this later). New Testament believers were commanded to be unified (again Acts 2:46), and if any “leaven” were found therein, that leaven was to be purged. Why? For the sake of unity. (cf. I, II, III John). Today’s “churches” are amazingly disunified. They try to cater to the needs of everyone, which in turn halts the churches purpose, spreading the gospel! In the physical realm an army illustrates this point. An army may have many “divisions” but they are all working together under one leader. If one division wanted to attack one way, and another wanted to attack a different way, those two divisions would cause confusion, and even death. If, they, however, follow their leaders direction and goals, the objective will be met. Our leader is not the sergeant or the general, it’s the King!
If the church were to maintain unity, how could that be done with unbelievers attending? Simple, Biblically speaking, no one “Goes” to church; they become part of it at Salvation. Acts 2:47 illustrates this point, “…Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” The Lord adds members, only He has that authority, and it’s only extended to the SAVED. A saved person cannot be unified with an unsaved person spiritually speaking. Amos states “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” I John mentions that “Light hath no fellowship with darkness.” Yea, I John was written to distinguish between Light and Darkness, so God must expect His true followers to adhere to the “be unified” command. It cannot be done with unsaved sitting next to the saved. Being part of the true church is an exclusive membership only granted by Christ.
With all of this in mind, with whom are Christians to fellowship in church? Other Christians. A common response to this assertion is “how then do the lost get saved?” As with previous posts, so with this… what a lazy statement! Go out and bring them in… Saved, not lost.
What type of fellowship is to be done? Hebrews 10:24 tells the believer to “consider one another…” A believer is to concern himself with other believers (not gossiping or backbiting), to lift them up, to encourage, to exhort, to pray for, to assist, to teach and so on. Basically, to concern myself with other believers is to humble myself in order to help bare other’s burdens. In so doing, when others hurt me, it will not affect me as much or hopefully at all, because I’ve laid down my life for friends who are part of the same Body.
“…to provoke unto love…” A far cry from what takes place in most churches. But can it be done? Yes, certainly it can be done. Though, it is impossible once churches become too large. There is the modern movement today that churches should be large and “grow” constantly. What is meant by grow is that numbers must get larger, not that members should grow spiritually, or that the body of Christ should grow – which does include numbers, but not necessarily a local church’s numbers. Many Pastors boast, example Jack Schaap or Jack Hyles, that they’ve got large numbers for their churches. (The way such churches accomplish this is rather nefarious, and sends many to Hell - by preaching a repentanceless false-gospel). Programs are done, shops are opened, and the Law is forsaken in these mega-churches. If, per chance, the Law were mentioned as it should be, sin would be condemned, and the unsaved would flee in droves. (Mark 4:16-17 – Stony ground hearers who are offended at the gospel). This is not love, and it does not provoke. Love would warn the lost of a certain Hell and punishment for eternity. Love would tell the lost the way to be saved. Love would tell the lost that Christ died for their sins, and Repent! Not pray this pray so you can get to Heaven, and never deal with sin. My meeting with any true believe, my further fellowship should and does provoke me to witness “…so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
“…good works:” Again, if a “church” does not provoke unto this, it’s a waste of time. If all the church wants is attendance and money, it’s no better than a social club of which you’re paying to be a part. Fellowship with the believers must have a vital impact on everyone. The New Testament Churches vitally needed this, because they were suffering mortal persecution. Without such refreshing fellowship in Christ, which Christ promised, enduring would have been severely difficult.
“…exhorting one another…” We are commanded to judge. “He that is spiritual judgeth all things.” (I Cor. 2:15). This is not a haughty, super-pious, holier-than-thou attitude. This is done in humility “each esteeming others better than themselves” (Philippians 2:3). In so doing, fellow-believers should take humble exhortation to heart. They must do as the Bereans did in Acts 17:11 and search the scriptures whether those things were so. Exhortation is vitally important, and can only be done through proper fellowship. This level of fellowship takes spending a lot of time together. It is not the fellowship done in churches today. It is not the “Hi brother so and so, how are you? How ‘bout them Cubs? Ok, talk to you later” small talk that pervades time before and after services. Fellowship of this magnitude requires knowing the person. It requires much more than the token aquaintanceship that is falsely so-called fellowship. In truth, this level of Biblical fellowship is impossible in all present day Catholic-based church models. (Yes, this includes your church most likely. The set up was established centuries ago under Constantine, who took that set up from Pagan Temples, and made it “Christian.”) The New Testament Church was conducive for all members to be involved, not just a select few as the rest sit in a pew. This type of a church was immensely involved in every aspect of the service. They all encouraged, they all exhorted, they all taught. This is how fellowship was done. If this is what one means by saying he goes to church for fellowship, are these things being accomplished? If so, then Praise God! If not, then find a place where this can be and is being done.
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