Pastor Dr. Abraham ObadareHebrews 10:24 says, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,” –
This verse implies that all Christians are interdependent: I need to spur you and you need to spur me to love and good works. With this verse we see that no christian can survive the road alone. Adam needed a help-meet; though different parts, but one body.
A song writer says, “I need you to survive”
Let’s take a moment to define and understand some of the words in this Hebrews 10:24 exhortation (persuasion / encouragement).
1) Let us (a call for action)
When we see this verse, one may think that Christians are being admonished to touch the lives of unbelievers, but I want to draw attention to the fact that this particular scripture / text is referring to the church, that is, brethren (fellow worshipers of Christ); this is what “us” and “one another” imply – we who have Jesus as our High Priest and who gather in His presence. You will see these two words: ‘ Let us’ in the previous verses – indicating that the writer is speaking to Christians.
If we read this scripture from verse 19, we hear the writer saying that, since we have come to the presence of God through the blood of Jesus, and our High Priest, Master Jesus is present with us,
A) “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.” (Hebrews 10:22 NKJV)
B) “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23 NKJV)
C) “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works,” (Hebrews 10:24 NKJV)
D) Never forsake the assembly of one another as some others do.
This scripture encourages us to do these things because the coming of our Lord is fast approaching (verse 25).
2) Consider
This word means to think about, ponder upon, focus on, pay attention to how to encourage fellow believers in loving and doing good works.
3) One Another
The other person, not myself; doing away with selfishness.
4) Stir up
To stir up is to motivate, encourage, arouse, stimulate or spur fellow Christians towards love and good deeds.
5) Love
Putting others first (1 Cor. 13; Phil. 2:2-4)
6) Good Works (godly works)
Getting involved, being active, participating, positive thinking, serving God, giving time to serve people
Putting all these words together, I’ll use the word ‘ENCOURAGE‘
This is definitely one area of my life where I need God’s help as a leader – to know how to encourage people. I suspect that you too might need help in this area and that’s what brings about this discussion. May we receive help from the Holy Spirit in Jesus name.
WHY SHOULD WE SPUR ONE ANOTHER TO LOVE AND GOOD WORKS?
1. We all frequently experience pressures from fear, persecution, family difficulties, health challenges, financial challenges, fatigue, etc. (Eccl. 7:20; 1 Cor. 10:13)
2. It is commandment from the Lord (John 15:12-13; Heb. 3:13; 1 Thess. 5:11)
3. Showing love and spurring people to good work is the proof that you know God (1John 4:7-8)
Now as we focus our attention on verse 24 of Hebrews 10 which tells us to spur / encourage one another towards love and good works, we may need raise at least three questions:
- What does it mean to spur others into love and good works?
- Who can do this?
- How can it be achieved?
A)WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SPUR OTHERS TO LOVE AND GOOD WORKS?
* It means we should do or say something that encourages other brethren to say or do something loving and good:
* To be kind to brethren: Kindness is good work and it encourages others to do the same.
Please give more examples or give more examples on this.
WHO CAN SPUR OTHERS TO LOVE AND GOOD WORKS?
1) Someone who isfilled with the Holy Spirit.The Holy Spirit is the only one who could move us to care about and for others enough to want to encourage them to love or do good works. Jesus says in John 6:63that, “the flesh profits nothing…”
2) A person who is strong in their own personal faith.This would be necessary before you can stir up someone else. That’s why verse 23 say, we should hold onto (hold fast) our confession of faith in Christ Jesus. Before you tell somebody to hold on, you too must first be holding on.
3) A person who is ready give and accept accountability to others.
The Evangelist Billy Graham in one of his writings titled, “The power to live a holy life” suggested that we need to be accountable to others in order to help us grow. This means we have to be humble enough to allow other brethren to correct, motivate or mentor us towards doing the right things and thereby growing in godliness. I believe that this is tied also to the presence of Holy Spirit in each of us. Eph. 5:21says we should submit ourselves one to another in the fear of God.
4) Someone who is patient with people (Prov. 15:18)
5) Someone who is persistent (does not give up easily (Gal. 6:9)
6) Someone whose love is set on Christ and whose motive is right (Phil. 2:3)
7) Someone who comes with a true heart (Heb. 10:22)
8) Someone who attends fellowship (Heb. 10:25)
B. HOW TO STIR UP ONE ANOTHER FOR LOVE AND GOOD WORKS
1) Live by example. As people see you serve and live holy unto the Lord, brethren will be encouraged to join you. Jesus commands us in John 13:34-35that we should love one another as He loves us.
2) Continuously teach the true and undiluted words of God. We can be spurred to good deeds through sound teachings (Titus 2:1).
Let us pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to fill our teachers and ministers – that we may always receive sound doctrines through them – for Sanctification. See Titus 3: 1-8which encourages us to speak up.
3) Frequentand continuous schedule fellowship / church meetings-(Heb. 10:25) for prayers, study of the bible, training and sharing of information that lead to healthy living and live-improvement methodologies. We should ask the spirit that enjoys fellowshipping with brethren, instead of minding other issues that do not profit.
4) To speak pleasant words to brethren: Pleasant word is good work, it encourages others to want to be around and fellowship (Eph. 4:29; Prov. 16:24).
4) Make goals clear (Hab.2:2)
5) Give constant reminders (2 Peter 1:12; 1 Thess. 5:17)
6) Be tolerant with others (Eph. 4:2)
7) Avoid causing troubles among brethren (Titus 3:10-11)
8) Maintain Integrity / Honesty: Whatsoever thing are true … (Phil. 4:8)
9) Care for people
10) Share your testimonies
11) Be an encourager
12) Develop friendly relationships with brethren
We pray for God’s enablement
