I was challenged recently to come up with some thoughts and applications for a passage in Hebrews. The verses in chapter 10:23-25, address how we as Christians can stimulate one another’s faith in persevering. Below are some ideas I compiled on the passage.
Hebrews 10:23-25
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.”
Faith
The first thing to point out is that the goal is to stay steady in our faith. Hope is based on our faith. Our faith is not based on our ability, but on Christ and His ability. The writer tells us that it is Christ who is making the promise, and He can be depended upon.
Just a few verses later the author defines faith for us. He says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”1
Our confidence and certainty in God’s promises fuels our hope concerning that which we cannot see or touch. Ultimately we are trusting that God is who He said He is, and will do what He said He will do. He reveals both of these throughout the pages of the Bible and in our lives.
The certainty of our faith then, gives us a platform to affect the lives of those around us. We can speak without this certainty, but are less likely to do so. Our growing faith helps our confidence in God working in our lives and the lives of those around us.
Based on all of this, we are encouraged to do several things in the rest of the passage. We will walk through the passage looking at some of the phrases and directives given. The first item to discuss is to ‘consider.’
Consider
Verse 23 says to “consider how.” Think about, pray, plan, and look for opportunities, are some of the things I contemplate in light of this phrase.
Sometimes I am in a situation where a spur of the moment conversation is at hand. If I have been reading or meditating on the scriptures, I have a ready source of possible topics.
It might be as simple as saying, “I have been thinking about this passage…”; or, “God has been teaching me…” Pointing people to the scriptures provides encouragement for others to consider God’s word. It also can provide a personal testimony of God working in the lives of His people.
At other times, when I know I will be with an individual or with a group of people, I can make a plan. Usually I pray about what God may have for me to say. I come into the situation then, looking for the opportunity to speak that which God has given me.
Many times I can approach these topics casually so that it doesn’t seem like a formal teaching time. The content may be the same, but it makes the event more conversational and it invites dialogue.
Stimulate One Another
The Greek word translated ‘stimulate’ is paroxysmós, (par-ox-oos-mos’). It is used in the negative sense in Acts 15:39, when Paul and Barnabas were in contention.2
Here, the word is used in the positive sense. Instead of the provoking to anger, we are to provoke love. The impetus is to encourage another to take positive action.
The thought is that we would do or say something that would produce a like kind response in the other person.
Love and Good Deeds
Speaking words in love and performing positive acts toward each other demonstrates our redeemed life. The world knows we are Christ followers when we do this.
Affirming the new creation within each other is one way to encourage righteous behavior. Another way to speak love to someone is to find a godly trait already expressed in our fellow believer and mentioning it to them. Both of these types of remarks affirms their faith.
Not Neglecting to Meet
Our anonymous digital society can remove us from the benefits of being together. We need the personal interaction that online connection cannot replace.
Reminding each other that we too benefit from seeing them in person fosters the attitude that we’re in it together. We become more united in the faith.
Also, we can talk about the working of the body of Christ and ‘that which every joint supplies’.3 This body-life conversation helps individuals see the benefit that they provide toward the growth of the body. They may not perceive it, but they have a direct impact on those around them. Without them, the church is lame, and cannot function properly.
Encouraging All the More
The world is full of negativity and discouragement. We have a great need for bolstering one another to faith.
We know that only the light of Christ can illumine the darkness of the world. It does not seem that the world is getting any better. This may be why we we are instructed to encourage each other all the more.
Conclusion
We should not approach this as if we have arrived and are trying to bring others up to our level. Our encouragement of others is actually serving the body. One commentator says about this passage,
“Believers are to consider how they can be of service to each other.”4
Humbling ourselves as a servant of the body is serving Christ. We are working to attain the unity of the faith. We can do this by getting others excited about love and good deeds. As Albert Barnes points out,
“Men are sometimes afraid of excitement in religion. But there is no danger that Christians will ever be excited to love each other too much, or to perform too many good works.”5
So then, we should think about how to prompt each other to love and doing good. We should encourage each other to stay in close contact with our local body of believers. Lastly, we should expand our efforts to build the faith of those around us.
Appendix
In a related post, I give four reasons for Christians to pursue holiness in their lives. Please see, Persevering in the Faith.
1 Hebrews 11:1
2 Acts 15:39 “And there arose such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus.” The sharp disagreement, or contention, is the same word used in our passage. We could say they were provoked, incited, or stirred up in the negative sense.
3 Ephesians 4:16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.
4 Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary
5 Barnes’ Notes on the Bible