◄ What Does Hebrews 10:25 Mean? ►

Fellowship in the life of a believer should be both vertical and horizontal. The importance of taking time to commune in private with our Heavenly Father cannot be sufficiently emphasised, but also our horizontal fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ is also of vital importance, and should not be ignored or dismissed.

We are in the world but we are not of the world. However, we are surrounded on every side by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life, and Christians that choose to forsake joining together with other believers in Christian fellowship as the Body of Christ, isolate themselves from the encouragement, exhortation, correction, and reproof of their brothers and sisters in Christ.

Solitary believers are in serious danger of being entrapped by the wiles of Satan or being deceived by false teachings. They are endangering their spiritual growth and encouraging spiritual regression by leaving their first love, falling into unbelief, disbelief, or discouragement. They are in danger of becoming lukewarm, disinterested, or legalistic in their faith, or succumbing to carnality and falling short of their high calling in Christ Jesus. And so we are exhorted not to forsake assembling together as the Body of Christ, but motivating one another towards godly love and good works, and encouraging each other in our Christian walk. And this should happen all the more as we see the day of Christ's return drawing ever closer.

This is a general exhortation for all believers to be faithful in attending their local church assembly, in order to participate in brotherly encouragement, strength, support, edification, spiritual nourishment, biblical teaching, and the joy of sharing fellowship with like-minded believers. However, it is also a warning against apostasy, for to forsake godly fellowship and a biblical worldview is a recipe for adopting secular support and embracing a worldly mindset.

Sadly, this verse is often used in some unscrupulous denominations and Christian communities to insist that church attendance is legally binding on their members, which places their whole congregation in bondage to man-made legalism. But Christ Himself promised that when two or three were gathered together in His name, He would be there in their midst.

Let us do all we can to ensure that we do not forsake our assembling together as the Body of Christ, as is the habit of some believers, but rather let us take every opportunity to meet together with like-minded brothers and sisters in Christ for mutual strength, support, edification, and encouragement so that we can give and receive spiritual nourishment and sound biblical teaching together with like-minded believers.

And this is all the more important, as we see the day of Christ's return drawing ever nearer.

Heavenly Father, thank You that I am part of the Body of Christ. May I understand the importance of meeting regularly with my brothers and sisters in Christ, especially in these last days in which we live before Your return in the clouds at the glorious Rapture of the Church. I pray that I may actively seek out opportunities to meet together with other Christians so that together we may give mutual encouragement and motivate one another toward godly love and good works. As the world becomes increasingly dark, I pray that none of us would fall into the trap of becoming isolated in our Christian walk, but we would grow in grace and wisdom and in a knowledge of You, enjoying godly fellowship and sound teaching. In Jesus' name, AMEN.