Why We Gather as the Church

Why We Need to Gather as the Church Will you be in church this Sunday? For almost two months, we have been staying home. Even the church has not been gathering. At salvation, each believer becomes a member of the church, the body of Christ. Why is it important for Christians to gather as His body? How does active involvement in a church help us to grow as followers of Jesus Christ? Now that we are reopening on Mothers’ Day, why should you return to church? Let us start with a passage from Hebrews 10:19-25: Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching. The primary reason we gather as Christians is to grow in grace. It is essential that once we receive salvation as a gift from God, that we apply it to life. Two of God’s blessings are stressed in our text as motivations to action: Since we have confidence to enter God’s presence by the blood of Jesus and since Jesus has become our High Priest, representing us before God. These blessings should lead to several actions: Let us draw near to God Let us hold on to our hope Let us consider how we may spur one another on Let us not give up meeting together But rather let us seek to encourage one another. Notice that we are to gather together as followers of Jesus with a purpose, to spur and to encourage. We are to relate to each other to spur one another on. The Greek word for spur is a combination of words meaning sharp and beside. A rider uses a sharp spur beside the horse to encourage it to move forward. We are to make each other uncomfortable if we are not moving forward in faith. We need each other to spur us on. But we also are to encourage one another. In this life it is easy to become discouraged and to give up on living in holiness. We need to gather to encourage and to be encouraged to continue to draw near to God and to hold on to our hope. The goal of this spurring and encouraging is love and good deeds. We are saved by God’s grace. We cannot earn or deserve it. But we are saved to do good deeds. If you truly live by faith in Jesus, that faith will produce love and good deeds. But we all need encouragement. We are to find that encouragement by gathering together as His church. If we fail to gather with others, we are responsible if we fail in other ways. One way the gathered church helps us is by providing leadership. God gives pastors to lead the flock, warn the sheep of danger, oversee the work of the body, and lead by example. The pastor is called to feed the flock, teaching the whole will of God, exhorting everyone to continue in God’s way, and exalting Christ and His work on the cross. And the pastor is to equip everyone in the church to be a minister to others. Sheep give birth to sheep with the shepherd there to assist. The church grows when believers gather and work together in unity with each person doing their part of the ministry. To work together we must gather together. The church does not gather to earn spiritual credit. The church gathers with a mission. First, we gather to glorify God. While private worship is essential to spiritual growth, few will worship as they should without the encouragement of gathering for corporate worship. Furthermore, God is glorified before the community when God’s people gather to publicly worship Him together. Second, the church gathers to edify one another. The work of the church is discipleship, helping each believer to grow into the likeness of Christ. Even our singing is to teach and admonish one another. The pastor’s preaching is important, but spiritual growth needs that one another touch. We are to disciple one another. We need one another. Third, the church gathers to be sent out in power. Much of our ministry is to be outside the church. Renewed by our time together, we spend the rest of our week serving others in the power of the Holy Spirit, loving others in the name of Jesus, and sharing the gospel with those who need to hear. Then we gather again, bringing others to join us. All believers in Jesus need to attend church regularly when possible. We need more than one hour per week. We gather to worship God and give Him glory. We attend to be strengthened and to strengthen others, to be encouraged and to encourage others. We expect the pastor to feed and to lead, but then each believer is to share in all the work of ministry. Let each of us commit fully to a local assembly, a local manifestation of the one body of Christ, to be faithful both in attendance and in service. The churches are reopening. Will you be there?