I love the old joke of a light-hearted man that walked into the personnel office of a potential employer. The HR manager conducting the interview asked him, “Why are you looking for work?” The interviewee replied, “I left my last job over creative differences.” The HR manager replied, “Tell me more about that.” The interviewee then revealed, “My boss didn’t know what to make of me!”[1]
We sometimes don’t know what to make of each other, but we are supposed to make the best of it. That’s true in life and in a local church.
Two weeks ago we looked at a failure to gather that was occurring among the people (Heb 10:25a), and last week we looked at the first of three aspects of fidelity to the gathering of a local church (Heb 10:23–24, 25b). The first fidelity to the gathering of a local church relates to our doctrine, specifically, holding fast to our confession of faith. The second fidelity to the gathering relates to our deeds, specifically, how we stimulate others to loving actions. The author of Hebrews tells us, “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds” (Heb 10:24, NASB). [2]
This verse tells us that stimulating others to loving actions should be community focused. Did you notice the words, “let us” and “one another”? The two words “one another” are what’s called a reciprocal pronoun[3] which is used to indicate an interchange between two or more groups.[4] (There are only two reciprocal pronouns in English: “each other” and “one another.”) The author is addressing multiple people in this letter. He does this to emphasize that when we gather as a group we are supposed to love the members of that group, even if it might be difficult.
I find Charles Swindoll’s words to be helpful here, “Ministry is not limited to theological matters—most ministry has to do with translating those profound theological concepts into people’s everyday lives and experiences. It’s in that realm where ministry gets complicated. A better word is messy. Yes, ministry has its miraculous and joyous moments. But, as I’ve said for years, God is much easier to get along with than His people. And the most difficult are those who can be characterized as unrepentant troublemakers.”[5]
The author of Hebrews tells us that our job is to encourage each other in doing good deeds. Hebrews 10:24 is not God speaking to one person about being more loving. Hebrews 10:24 is written to a group of people to encourage them to love other members of their group. In other words, this verse tells us that stimulating others to loving actions should be community focused.
This verse also tells us that stimulating others to loving actions should be continually directed. Notice in the text the word, “consider.” That word is translated from the Greek word, katagomen, which can be translated as, “notice,” “look,” “consider,” or “contemplate.”[6] The word here is in the present tense indicating that the people “keep on doing so.” It denotes an attentive and continuous care.[7]
Notice in the verse that the word, “stimulate,” is the direct object of the verb, “consider.” This Greek word, paroxusmon, is used here to mean “rousing to activity” and can be translated as “stirring up” or “provoking.”[8] The verb form of that word, paroxuno means “to cause a state of inward arousal” and can be translated as “urge on” and “stimulate.”[9]
As we read Hebrews 10:24 it is clear that operating in love is only possible when there are opportunities for love. As Warren Wiersbe has said, “ministry is built on basic principles, not clever methods.”[10] The basic principle of loving others requires us gathering with others. I agree with the Scottish theologian William Barclay who writes, “There is no man that can live the Christian life and neglect the fellowship of the church.”[11]
Cooking for my son requires serving food that’s not hot. He’s always been sensitive to food that is warm. So I’ve learned a simple strategy: separate the food from itself to cool it off. For example, after I steam broccoli I spread it out across a plate. To keep my food warm while his cools off, I keep my food grouped together on a plate.
Like my food that stays warm when grouped together, the author of Hebrews tells us that when we gather together we keep each other “hot” in our passion and fervor for God. We encourage each other and stimulate each other in our walk with God and our work for God. We gather together as Christians not just because it’s what we’re told to do, but we gather regularly with other Christians because it’s what we need. It encourages us and stimulates us to perform loving deeds for others.
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Christopher L. Scott is a pastor and author of the book, Walking Straight When Life Goes Sideways: Essential Christian Truths for Enduring Life’s Trials (Wipf and Stock). He provides hundreds of free articles, videos, and Bible study resources at his website ChristopherLynnScott.com.
[1] Inspired by and adapted from Frank & Earnest, January 10, 2022. Bob Thaves.
[2] 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.
[3] “A pronoun (as each other) used when its referents are predicated to bear the same relationship to one another.” MW Collegiate Dict., 1039.
[4] Daniel Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1996), 351.
[5] Charles Swindoll, What If God Has Other Plans (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale, 2019), 161.
[6] BDAG, s.v. “katanoeo.”
[7] Marvin Richardson Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament, vol. 4 (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887), 502.
[8] BDAG, s.v. “paroxusmos.”
[9] BDAG, s.v. “paroxuno.”
[10] Warren Wiersbe, On Being a Servant of God (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2007), 12.
[11] William Barclay, The Letter to the Hebrews, rev. ed., The Daily Bible Study Series (Philadelphia, PA: Westminister Press, 1976), 122.