Hebrews 3:12-14 // The Value of Christian Community

12 Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.13 But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end. Hebrews 3:12-14

The writer of Hebrews places a precedent on Christian community that is more than just a good feeling or a group of friends, he says: “... that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." We need to have people speaking into our lives so that sin doesn’t trick us into deadness toward the things of God. Obviously, people don’t keep us believing —God does that. But you see how He does it-- He does it primarily through Godly voices in our lives that exhort, or encourage, us to live holy lives. You see the value of Christian community here. Our literal souls are at stake if there’s no Godly people in our lives to call us to righteous living. Think about that: Godly people in our lives are a hedge of protection from being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. This means every Christian plays a vital role in God’s kingdom work of helping believers continue on in the faith to the end. We need one another more than we realize. There’s more at stake for every zoom meeting. There’s more at stake in every discipleship meeting. God is literally working through us to keep a brother or sister believing. I want to encourage you to not forsake your brothers and sisters. They need you to faithfully call, text, meet safely, join a meeting, or write a letter that they may not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Have you thought seriously about this? About your role in other people's lives as a believer? Ask God to help you see your community biblically and take on the role of exhorting brothers and sisters for the sake of helping them not fall away from the living God. God wants to work through all believers in this way to graciously keep His children believing until the end.

In Christ,
Pastor Kevin