If one of the marks of an authentic disciple of Jesus Christ is encouraging other disciples, then it makes sense that disciples gather regularly with one another. That topic is addressed by the author of the book of Hebrews in Hebrews 10:23–25.
Apparently, there was a failure to gather. The author writes, “not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some” (Heb 10:25a).[1]It appears some people deliberately decided not to gather[2] and had been absent from the church. These people were capable of attending the worship gatherings but had decided not to attend them.
It appears this deliberate decision not to gather was habitual. The word “forsaking” is translated from the Greek word, egkataleipontes. This word means “to separate connection with someone or something”[3] and is often translated as “forsake,” “abandon,” or “desert.”[4] The verb is used here in what’s called a “customary present participle,” which describes a regular action that is iterative or repeated.[5]
The decision not to gather was deliberate, habitual, and it appears this decision to not gather was also communal.This is not one person but a group. Perhaps there was a community of believers that left the Christian faith and returned back to a form of Judaism.[6]
Choosing not to gather with other Christians was a dangerous choice for first-century Christians. Thus far we have seen the problem addressed in Hebrews 10:25a, but was this also a problem in that first-century culture? The religious culture of the Greeks and Romans believed in many gods. People sought to please and appease those gods for health, prosperity, protection, and victory in wars. This attempt to make the gods happy was done as a community, not as individuals. Thus, when people became Christians and departed from the Greek and Roman community effort to appease the many gods, those Christians were often blamed when bad things happened. An example of this was when a massive fire broke out in the city of Rome in AD 64 and the Roman Emperor at that time, Nero, quickly blamed the Christians for the fire.[7]
In the first century, Christians were seen as having drawn away from society and had neglected their obligation to appease the various Greek and Roman gods. This meant Christians relied on one another for protection and survival against the persecutions they received from non-Christians. The idea of a private decision and private life following Jesus Christ was almost impossible in the first century. In his commentary on Hebrews, Donald Guthrie writes, “The New Testament lends no support to the idea of lone Christians. Close and regular fellowship with other believers is not just a nice idea, but an absolute necessity for the encouragement of Christian values.”[8]
Now that we’ve seen the problem addressed in that culture and in Hebrews 10:25a, let’s look at the same problem in our times. In the last several decades we have seen a massive departure from the American Protestant church.
In his article, “The Church Is Losing Its Gray Heads: Why Are Boomers and Gen X Dropping Out of Church at Higher Rates than Younger Christians,”[9] Adam Macinnis cites Barna’s research that found the biggest decline in church attendance over the past three decades has been among adults 55 and older.[10]
What are the reasons for this departure? I believe there are two reasons people are not actively involved in a local church assembly.
One reason is people’s priorities. Often so called Christians allow other priorities to override their time for church involvement. A few years ago I was talking with the pastor of a church in another state. He told me about various members of his church that he hadn’t seen gather for worship for months or even a year. Often when he talked to them during their impromptu meetings at restaurants, the mall, or coffeeshops, they would tell him, “We want to be a church, but we’re so busy.” This pastor shared with me that he struggled to listen to the “we’re so busy” excuse because he knew these families weren’t too busy to go on a two-week vacation to another country. They weren’t too busy to have their kids in multiple sports at the same time. They weren’t too busy to have their hair done at a salon and their nails professionally painted and manicured. They weren’t too busy to play golf every week. The pastor told me that it wasn’t that those people were “too busy for church,” but instead the problem was that they had prioritized other items over church.
Another reason people are not involved in the local church is pride. We could call this the “John Wayne” mentality: ““I can get what I want by myself.” Perhaps our American individuality mindset tells us we don’t need people and that we can go life alone. Therefore we don’t need to be involved in a local church.
With all that in perspective, we must recognize that the author of Hebrews says that a Christian’s ability to persevere in the faith is dependent on meeting with other Christians for worship and encouragement. Essentially, Hebrews 10:25a says that it’s impossible to be a Christian in isolation.
[1] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.
[2] There is a problem in the book of Hebrews. When reading Hebrews, it’s clear the assembly was in crisis. Some people defected from the assembly, as described here. Some stopped listening to God’s Word preached in an attentive way (Heb 2:1; 3:7b—4:13; 5:11; 12:25). Some of the believers became lethargic and discouraged in their faith in a hostile culture (Heb 12:3–4). Some were in danger of turning away from Jesus and returning back to the safe haven of Judaism (Heb 3:12).
[3] BDAG, s.v. “egkataleipo”.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Daniel Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 521–22.
[6] This is the reason we see several “warning passages” in the book of Hebrews. Here’s a list of those famous warning passages: “The Danger of Drifting“ (Heb 2:1–4); “The Danger of Disobedience“ (Heb 3:7—4:13); “The Danger of Degeneration“ (Heb 5:11—6:20); “The Danger of Despising“ (Heb 10:26-39 or Heb 10:19–39); and “The Danger of Denying“ (Heb 12:25–29).
[7] The Roman historian, Tacitus, records this in his work, Annals 15:44.
[8] Donald Guthrie, Hebrews, Tyndale New Testament Commentary, vol. 15 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1983), 218.
[9] Adam Macinnis, “The Church Is Losing Its Gray Heads: Why Are Boomers and Gen X Dropping Out of Church at Higher Rates than Younger Christians,” Christianity Today (March 2022), 47–52.
[10] This is contrary to the popular belief that the church is shrinking because young people are abandoning their faith. In fact, The Barna Group has conducted research that shows that weekly worship attendance is highest among Millennials According to Barna, in 2022 approximately 39 percent of Millennials attended church regularly. See “The Turn of the Millennial” in Christianity Today (October 2022), 19.