Let Us Exhort One Another -- 4/1/07 (The Lord's Church)

Sunday, April 1, 2007

LET US EXHORT ONE ANOTHER
Heb. 10:24-25; 3:12-13

Last week we began to turn our attention to the church, the assembly of brothers and sisters. We looked at that passage in Matthew 16, where Jesus asked His apostles, "Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?" Then, after some varying answers, Jesus became more personal and asked, "But whom do you say that I am?" Peter boldly proclaimed, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus congratulated Peter on his answer, but He didn’t stop there. He then said… (Matt. 16:17-19)
…Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. 18. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Jesus said without hesitation, "I will build my church." So regardless of what we see happening around us, we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is doing exactly what He said He would do. He is building His church. Jesus is not erecting a great physical building; He is not putting together an elaborate institution or organization. No, He is calling people into the family of God; He is arranging a spiritual body under one Head; He is using His little ones as the building blocks for a building that is growing into a holy temple in the Lord.

I. The Purpose of Meeting Together

This morning I would like us to read from the 10th chapter of Hebrews. This passage is the culmination of much that has been discussed in this letter. The theme that is emphasized again and again in chapters 7-10 is Jesus’ sacrificial death and how His death was the fulfillment of the so much that was written in the Old Testament. Now let’s read from Heb. 10:19-25…
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20. By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21. And having an high priest over the house of God; 22. Let 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. 23. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) 24. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 25. 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.

Let me simplify it a bit. On the basis of two of our great possessions – the boldness we have to enter into His presence by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which Jesus established and because we have a high priest (Jesus) over the house of God – on the basis of these two possessions, let us do these three things…
1. Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith…
2. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, remembering that that even when we
are weak, the One who promised is faithful
3. Let us consider one another to provide unto love and to good works.

It is in association with this third "Let us" that we find that verse which some of us have heard all of our lives, "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is…" (25). How many of you heard that verse when you were growing up? Regardless of what other groups do, we must not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. Even if the rest of the professing church quits meeting together, we won’t do so. By the grace of God, we will continue to assemble ourselves together. Amen!

That is an example of how we can take scripture out of context. Don’t misunderstand me, the Lord certainly wants us to assemble ourselves together, but that is not the main point of this verse. Let me remind you of two things about these words. First of all, it isn’t a command. Rather, it is a servant of the command in verse 24, "Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works." That command tells us that we are to take stock of the people around us and think about how we may stir one another up to love and good works. Then in verse 25, he tells us something of how to go about it – "forsaking not the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is…" In other words, if you are going to stir one another up to love and good works, you are going to have to continue to meet together. But understand that this meeting together is to serve the purpose of spurring one another on to love and good works.

The second thing we notice is that most of us never heard the rest of verse 25. We only heard, "Forsaking not the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is…" But now let’s read the entire verse: "Forsaking not 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." This is vitally important, because here we find out what we are supposed to do when we meet together. When we come together, it is for the purpose of exhorting one another. And as the day (the last day) approaches, this will become more and more important.

Here is the point I’m making. There is no great merit in simply meeting together. The key is what we do when we meet together. Let us consider how we may stir one another up to love and good works, as we exhort one another. We must not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, because if we do that, we won’t be able to exhort one another. And if that is the case, how will we stir one another up to love and good works?

II. What Does It Mean to Exhort One Another?

That much is very clear. Now let me ask you a question: What does it mean to exhort one another? We don’t use that word exhort much any more. If we do, our usage comes straight out of the scripture. We don’t have anything in our common conversation with which to compare it. Most often we probably take our meaning from what we find in various translations. I have in my hands The Precise Parallel New Testament. It is a useful tool. It includes eight translations. The first is the Greek New Testament. The second is the King James. We have already read the King James translation, which says, "Exhorting one another." I won’t read the Greek to you, because it wouldn’t be helpful to many of you. So let me read five of the others…
NASV…. encouraging one another
NIV……. but let us encourage one another
Rheims… comforting one another
New Am Bib.. encourage one another
NRSV… encouraging one another

Obviously, the most common translation utilizes the word "encourage," while the Rheims uses the word "comfort." Many of the older translations retain the term "exhort." The one other translation of the eight in this volume is the Amplified, which reads like this… "but admonishing (warning, urging, and encouraging) one another." That is a bit different than the other five which we read. This translation uses the term "admonish," which it defines with the words "warn," "urge," and "encourage." The Amplified is much broader than the other five translations. You may have noticed that in our day the term "exhort" is almost always reduced to "encourage."
Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary defines exhort like this: "to incite by argument or advice; urge strongly; to give warnings or advice, make urgent appeals." So it seems obvious that the King James translators had in mind more than simple encouragement.

I try not to make a practice out of boring you with Greek terms, but I think we will find it very helpful in this case. The Greek term used here is parakalew. It is a compound word made up of the preposition para, which indicates "close proximity." Kalew means "to call," or "to summon." So the word here translated "exhort" literally means "to call to one’s side," or "to call alongside."
Now for what purpose would we call another person to our side? We can think of all kinds of purposes. It is for that very reason that this word is subjected to a wide variety of translations, from "comfort" to "pray." The most common idea is that of pleading or urging. In the King James, the word often used to translate it (especially in the gospels) is "beseech" or "besought." Other translations often render it "beg" or "plead with."

Now let’s go back to Heb. 10:25, "Nor 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." Note also that this same term is used in Heb. 3. Let’s read it in Heb. 3:12-13…
Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 13. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. [Note: While "one another" is italicized in 10:25, indicating that it is not in the original text, it occurs here in 3:13]

Notice here that the idea of warning is probably more prominent than the idea of comforting or encouraging. Do we not need to warn one another about the danger and deceitfulness of sin, which is always threatening to harden our hearts?

Let’s think specifically about the concept of calling another to our side. It is very possible to meet together without calling another to your side, is it not? It is not difficult to meet together and remain isolated from one another. I dare say that some of you here meet here regularly, but you are almost completely unknown by those around you. You haven’t called others alongside you.

Let me talk to you about one of the noun forms of this term parakalew. It is paraklhtoV. If the verb literally means "to call alongside," what do you think this noun form might mean? Yes, "one called alongside." It is used five times in the New Testament. Let’s look at them briefly…
John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever."
John 14:26 "But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."
John 15:26 "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me."
John 16:7 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you."
1 John 2:1 "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:"

What is the word we are talking about in these references in the Gospel of John? Yes, it is the word "Comforter." It is rendered differently in the various translations. The NASV and the NKJV consistently translate it "Helper," while in the NIV it is "Counselor." The Amplified itself includes a wide variety, reading like this in each one of the verses: "the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby)." Surely there is truth in all of these. The Holy Spirit is the Comforter. He is also the Helper, as He is the Counselor, the One who strengthens us. In short, the Holy Spirit is the One who stands by us. In I Jn. 2:1, the same word is used (translated "Advocate" in the KJV), but here we are specifically told that it refers to Jesus.

Don’t miss the fact of the closeness of the Holy Spirit. He is so close to the believer that He dwells within. Jesus said in John 14:17 "Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." When Jesus was on the earth, the Spirit dwelt with them, in the presence of Jesus. But after Jesus went back to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, He sent the Spirit to dwell in them. Praise God that the Spirit is the One Jesus called into close proximity, even to live within us.

Let’s apply this in a practical way. Just as the Spirit is the One called alongside us, so we are to be called alongside one another. While it is true that one of us can not live within another, the use of this term speaks of a very close relationship. God has designed the body in such a way that its members are to come alongside one another to help, to urge, to plead with, to encourage, to comfort, to do whatever is necessary to stir to love and good works. This cannot be done by simply meeting together in the same room. This calls for intimate, caring relationships among the members of the body of Christ.

III. A Scriptural Example of This Exhortation

Let’s read again from Heb. 3:12-13, "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. 13. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Now I want to read you a scriptural example of this exhorting one another. It comes from the lips of our Lord Jesus. And the passage we are going to read is associated very closely with Matthew 16, where Jesus said, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Mt. 16:18-19). You will see that in this passage Jesus repeats some of those words, addressing them not just to Peter, but the twelve apostles. Let’s read it from Matt. 18:11-20…
For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. 12. How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? 13. And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. 14. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish. 15. Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican. 18. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. 19. Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. 20. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Listen to me. This is a perfect example of one believer exhorting another believer, but it isn’t what we usually think of. Why? Because we have been so influenced by the dominance of the idea of encouragement. In reality, this is encouragement. This is the example of one strongly encouraging a brother to repent and return to the narrow way. But too many times we have been conformed to the worldly philosophy that everything must always be positive. Anything negative is bad. Have you ever known a parent who absolutely refused to spank his/her children? That is a good example of the results of eliminating the negative.

Don’t misunderstand me. Much of the exhortation needed is positive indeed. Positive encouragement is a vital part of this exhortation. However, if rebuke and discipline are eliminated, the encouragement and comfort will not be effective. It is as true in the Lord’s church as in the home He established.

Please allow me to remind you of some of the Proverbs…
Prov 10:17 "He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth."
Prov 12:1 "Whoso loveth instruction loveth knowledge: but he that hateth reproof is brutish [NKJV – stupid]"
Prov 13:18 "Poverty and shame shall be to him that refuseth instruction: but he that regardeth reproof shall be honoured."
Prov 15:5 "A fool despiseth his father's instruction: but he that regardeth reproof is prudent."
Prov 15:10 "Correction is grievous unto him that forsaketh the way: and he that hateth reproof shall die."
Prov 15:12 "A scorner loveth not one that reproveth him: neither will he go unto the wise."
Prov 15:31-32 "The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise. 32. He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul: but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding."
Prov 17:10 "A reproof entereth more into a wise man than an hundred stripes into a fool."
Prov 19:25 "Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge."
Prov 27:5-6 "Open rebuke is better than secret love. 6. Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful."
Prov 29:1 "He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."
Prov 29:15 "The rod and reproof give wisdom: but a child left to himself bringeth his mother to shame."

I am not reading these Proverbs to inspire us to rebuke others. Rather, I want to urge us to let God cultivate within us a heart that will receive correction from others. One of the reasons for the hesitation to exhort is the fact that we have been contaminated with the philosophy that says "each to his own;" "mind your own business." You can’t get that from the scriptures. We are indeed our brother’s keeper. And when we don’t live it out, the church suffers.

Conclusion

We are beginning to look at the church. For the Christian, the church is not an option. Every believer is a part of the Lord’s church, a member in the body of Christ, a building stone in His holy temple, a child in the family of God. As we travel through this pilgrim land together, we are seeking to discover how to live our identity as the church.

One may say, "But that is the church universal. Jesus is building His big church." Yes, that’s true. However, as we read the rest of the New Testament, we see that the expression of the church is lived out through local assemblies. That is where the world will learn that we are His disciples, as we love one another.

This exhorting of one another is a huge part of what it means to be a part of the Lord’s church. I challenge you to be thinking about this. Are you willing to submit yourself to the brothers and sisters in the body of Christ?