Is "Forsaking the assembling of ourselves....

[Gregory Perry Sr.]

Phewww!

I hope everybody understands that what I wrote is tongue-in-cheek.

Tom...I sure am glad you chimed in and said that...I was headed to my storage building to get my hammer.............:laugh:.....particularly on the "tithe" and offering thingy (where's Aresman when ya need him?):tongue3:

Bro.Greg:smilewinkgrin:
(by the way...my wife and I can't get to church right now cause we're both home sick right now....is that a legitimate exception?)(Pray for us please)

 

[Tom Butler]

Tom...I sure am glad you chimed in and said that...I was headed to my storage building to get my hammer.............:laugh:.....particularly on the "tithe" and offering thingy (where's Aresman when ya need him?):tongue3:

Bro.Greg:smilewinkgrin:
(by the way...my wife and I can't get to church right now cause we're both home sick right now....is that a legitimate exception?)(Pray for us please)

Hope you both get better quickly. And I give you special dispensation from attending church--but only this once. Sorry, couldn't resist.

On a serious note, I believe it is an imperative that believers assemble for all the reasons mentioned earlier. I do think there is a danger that we may tend to measure one's spirituality by the numbers of times we do assemble.

Here's what I mean. Most Baptist churches meet at least three times a week: Sunday morning, evening, Wednesday. It would be easy to classify someone as super-spiritual who attends all three faithfully. And, at the other end, give lower spirituality marks to the Sunday morning Christians.

And, even the Sunday-morning Christians can be classified. Those who attend both Sunday School and Worship, and those who attend worship only. The worship-only Christians, then, would be the least spiritual---except for those, of course, who never show up or show up only sporadically.

 

[DHK]

Hebrews 10:22 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.
23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised
--Notice the all inclusive "we" that the writer uses. I don't believe as some do, that there was any large group of unbelievers being addressed here. He is addressing believers with a Jewish backgrounds. Here he addresses them as Christians, "we."
We have a full assurance.
We have our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience.
Hold fast the profession of our faith.
He is faithful that promised. (2Tim.2:12).

Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
--These believers had undergone tremendous persecution. In fact Paul had told them to "take the spoiling of your goods joyfully." All was taken from them. They also had been shunned from their own families for trusting Christ. How much easier it would have been just to turn back to Temple worship just a little distance away!
Some of them had already fallen into the sin of not attending regular the regular gathering together of when the believers did gather. They were missing out on the fellowship of the brethren--one of the very important aspects of the Christian life that could help to keep them together and grow together.

Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
--This entire passage is a hypothetical. It is not that they can do it. But it is a "Suppose that this could happen. Suppose they went back to the Temple, there is no more sacrifice for sins. All those sacrifices would be in vain. The writer is sure that this isn't going to happen. These were saved individuals. However, it is a warning.

The warning is made even clearer to the believer in verse 27. It is a fearful look of judgment and fiery indignation. This hypothetical. It is not going to happen.

In verse 28 what did happen to God's people?
Hebrews 10:28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
--But that was law. We are under grace. This is warning. In the wilderness they died without mercy. What will happen to the believer if he persists in unbelief?

Hebrews 10:29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
--The contrast is even greater than that of the law! Notice the "suppose." It is all supposition. If this were even possible it would be equal treading under your feet the Son of God, and counting the blood of Christ as an unholy thing. You would have done despite to the Spirit of grace. But it isn't possible.
A believer cannot lose his salvation. A believer shows the fruit of the Spirit in his life. This just would not happen. If anything these verses strengthen the doctrine of eternal security for they would never happen.

Hebrews 10:30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
--Judgment belongs to God. The Lord knows them that are his. You know if you are saved or not. If you are not, then it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. If you are saved, it is a wonderful thing. I look forward to the day when I can see my Savior face to face. I don't fear that day at all.

 

[ktn4eg]

This discussion of whether or not "Forsaking the assembling of ourselves together...." is (or isn't) a "WILLFUL sin" brings up this sticky set of questions dealing with the idea(s) of there being a "providential hindrance" that keeps one from regularly attending church services:

1) Just exactly what is a "providential hindrance" that would exempt one from being classified as an "inactive" member? (IOW,where, for example, does one draw the line that a one-time active member is now "providentially hindered" due to his/her having to move [due simply voluntarily changing employment] farther away from the church meeting house than they were when they first joined? [EX: Is 25 miles away too far away, but 24.9 miles isn't?])

2) Just exactly how sick does one have to actually be to be considered "providentially hindered from attending services" on any given Sunday? Would merely having a headache make one "providentially hindered"? (EX:One person I knew of had an an ingrown finger nail once....thus she claimed that this was a "providential hindrance due to sickness" that kept her from attending for several months!)

3) Is being in the military service per se a providential hindrance? (One GI buddy of mine claimed it was!.....Even though I knew that there were at least 2-3 Baptist churches "of like faith and order" less than 5 miles from the base where he was stationed! When I confronted him with that info and pointed to the last paragraph of most every Baptist church's Church Covenant ["Moreover ....."]---including the one of which he was an "inactive member due to military service"--- he mumbled something about "being under grace" as he stomped away from me!!)

SO....again, how does one objectively define exactly what is (and what isn't!) a "providential hindrance that keeps a person on the church roll books" for years and years???

 

[Tom Butler]

I suspect that all of us can define "providentially hindered." But, it's likely that our definitions might not be the same. There is also a hint of legalism in our efforts, too, if we're not careful.

A former pastor of mine, Harold Cathey, once said, "if you let me define sin, I can live above it."

When I was a child, some parents wouldn't let their kids go to movies at all.
My parents would let me go, but not on Sunday.

We had a big discussion back then over eating out after church. The rationale was so Mother wouldn't have to work on Sunday. Of course, our presence at the restaurant required somebody else to miss church.

I know one preacher's wife who cooked on Saturday, so she wouldn't have to cook (work) on Sunday.

We even debated whether to play ball on Sunday afternoons, or if it was okay to go fishing. The question, of course, was what should we do or not do and still keep the Sabbath Day holy. I felt better when somebody pointed out that the Sabbath is Saturday, not Sunday.

Also, when I was a child, our church recognized members who didn't miss church with a pin, with a little addition to hang on it for each year without missing.

But--our church said you had to attend at our church. A couple of other churches gave out the pins just as long as you attended somewhere.

I know one lady who didn't miss Sunday School for something like 25 years. A couple of times, she was sick. So, her Sunday School class walked a block to her house and met there, to keep her record intact.

So there's a real danger we could really get legalistic about assembling.

The other danger is that we could go too far in the other direction.