Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together

Hebrews 10:25 is one of the verses of scripture that has been used to support the very thing it was written to condemn. It is of course one of the many scriptures misused in this way.

Some interpret this verse to mean, “You must show up regularly at 10 am Sunday at our religious building or you are being disobedient to the Almighty.

But, is that what this verse is saying? No, of course not. Most people in the age when Hebrews was written did not have Sundays off…and there weren’t any official “church” buildings to show up at.

This is another example of churchmen using a verse isolated from all context to present a view which they think the Bible should support….but, unfortunately for them, it doesn’t.

Hebrew was written for a very specific purpose to a specific group in a particular time in history. The wonder of the scriptures is that the Holy Spirit takes these truths and applies them to our time and circumstances; so what is the truth that the Spirit of God is presenting to the church of Christ today.

The verse under discussion is found in a book which is addressing the persecuted church under pressure from the official religion. Christians were seen as heretics and a divisive cult which were proclaiming the fulfillment of all the law and the prophets in Christ Jesus. Some under the pressure of the formal recognised religion were abandoning the reality of the truth of Christ and His church and returning to a comfortable  and compromised position in institutional religion.

I have met folks over the last few years who have realised that the official church to which they belong has lost it’s way and has begun preaching unbiblical doctrines and practices. But some have found it difficult to shake off their institutionalised ideas and embrace the New Testament pattern for church..This is the very issue that this scripture and the whole book of Hebrews is addressing.

It is an issue which has manifested throughout church history.

When Luther took his stand on the Bible many could understand the truth that Luther and the reformers were declaring but were so frightened of persecution and being ostracised that they forsook the assembling together with the saints in favour of “church as usual.”

Today is much the same. Institutionalism proclaims ,”You must join with us and support our “vision”and attend regularly or you are a rebel”

Scripture on the other hand says don’t abandon your fellow believers and take the safe and cowardly course of not rocking the religious boat.

When a Christian with a scripturally illuminated conscience leaves a religious group because it has succumbed to a purpose driven agenda, or seeker friendly compromise or prosperity heresy, true saints of God stand with them and refuse to shun them just to keep the religious hierarchy off their back.

 If you have been a church goer for any length of time, it is likely that someone you know has left the Sunday gathering because of their stand for the truth of God and you are instructed by Yahweh Himself not to abandon them or forsake them or reject them. There are those who leave for other reasons which are not to be condoned of course but if their stand is on biblical truth versus religious myths they need your support and perhaps you need to consider whether its time for you to leave the ways of churchianity and align yourself with the faithful minority.

Official, formalised religion is in for some trouble in these last days. And history has proven multiple times that the official religion(s) will bow to the state. This happened in the mediaeval church, in Hitlers Germany, in communist China and in Russia. The true church has often been driven underground as she seeks to remain faithful to her Master while compromised or Apostate religion enjoys the favour of the State (for a time at least). If you think this can’t happen in our time, you’re just not paying attention.

Martin Luther said,”It is better to be divided by truth than united with error” and this is the message that this passage is proclaiming and is not some endorsement of a subservient, craven attitude of keeping the religious peace no matter what.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much more as you see the Day approaching.

(Hebrews 10:23-25)

Father grant courage to we Your people to stand with those who stand for Your truth. Deliver us from the fear of man and impart to us the wholesome, holy, healthy fear of God. In the name above every name; Jesus the strong Son of God