#6: RESTORING THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH:

WHY WE GO TO CHURCH

Note: In this article I use the Darby Bible Version which translates ek-klesia ("out"+"called"), not as "church" but in its meaning, "assembly." Hence, "Why We Go To Assembly"

Text. "And let us consider one another for provoking to love and good works; not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the custom is with some; but encouraging^G3870i one another , and by so much the more as ye see the day drawing near" (Hebrews 10:24, 25-- Darby).

Our text insists that we are to do two things by not neglecting the going to assembly: (1) to provoke one another to love and good works and (2) to encourage one another.

But don't we have to go to assembly to worship God? The OT Jews were expected to make annual treks to Jerusalem to worship. Jesus told the woman at the well, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when ye shall neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the Father. But the hour is coming and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and truth" (John 4:21, 23, 24). Again, in the sermon on the mount, "But *thou*, when thou prayest, enter into thy chamber, and having shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret, and thy Father who sees in secret will render it to thee" (Matthew 6:6). Under the NT we can worship the Father, anytime and anywhere, including our own chamber or heart, but we can only provoke one another and encourage one another when we see each other face to face. That's why the apostle/prophet said for us not to forsake our assembling with one another (the text above).

Jesus mentioned two words for worship in Matthew 4:10-- one is overt homage to our Godⁱⁱ; the other word is "service"ⁱⁱⁱ which means that we worship God when we serve Him as He directed. That "service worship" includes "provoking and encouraging one another" in assembly.

TO PROVOKE. According to the text, we go to "church" (ekklesia: "assembly"^iv) to provoke (i.e., "incite" for good works and love) and to encourage one another. In the facts of Hebrews 10 we are granted confidence to enter into the presence of God, into the true holy of holies, by the Jesus shedding His blood for us. Jesus is our high priest over the house of God and He has provided for us the new and living path to the throne of God having dedicated it for us by his sacrificed flesh. We ought then to approach in full assurance of faith with a true heart sprinkled from a wicked conscience and having had^v our bodies washed with water while we hold fast^vi the unwavering hope for us while at the same time considering others (Hebrews 10:19-25). And this is where the church or assembly comes in.

ANNOUNCEMENTS.   We go to church to provoke to love and to do good works. A well meaning member of the church wanted to know if time making announcements was proper to make during "worship" assembly. The answer is in our text: why are we to assemble in the first place? The answer: "To provoke one another to love and good works." We need to know of opportunities within and outside. For example, our pulpit minister Slade Moore calls on volunteers to meet after assembly to go together to visit brethren in nursing homes.

BUILD OTHERS UP.   We go to church to "build others up" by considering them instead of the "me" of us. "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2). Paul had been stoned at Lystra; he could have really felt sorry for himself, but he arose and went to Derbe. Afterwards he and his group according to Acts 14:21-22 "returned to Lystra, and Iconium, and Antioch, establishing the souls of the disciples [church assembly], exhorting^G3870 (encouraging) them to abide in the faith, and that through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God." This can be done from the pulpit and during congregational singing.

COMMON FAITH (Titus 1:4). We go to church lest any of us are hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. "But encourage^G3870 yourselves each day, as long as it is called To-day, that none of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin" (Hebrews 3:13). A. T. Robertson comments, "Apostasy is their peril and it is a trick of sin." We encourage others in remain stedfast in their faithfulness to the Truth.

LAYING BY INTO TREASURY. We go to church to jointly contribute to good works (1 Corinthians 16:1-3). Concerning their contribution, the apostle wrote "And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8). Grace from God to us will produce "grace from us to others" which causes "grace" thanksgivings to God. "Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving^vii to God" (2 Corinthians 9:11).

TEAM RACE.^viii We go to church because we are all in the "game" as one team. "Now I exhort^G3870 you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all say the same thing, and that there be not among you divisions; but that ye be perfectly united in the same mind and in the same opinion" (1 Corinthians 1:10). When we work together, all are encouraged to win. Just as a football team supports one another for the winning game for the team. Or maybe it's a relay. During the London 2012: USA relay hero Manteo Mitchell broke his leg but he kept running so that his team could qualify. Because of his caring for the team he helped the USA finish joint fastest qualifiers for the final. "For we have great thankfulness and encouragement^G3870 through thy love, because the bowels of the saints are refreshed by thee, brother" (Philemon 7).

SINGING. We go to church jointly sing; i.e., to glorify our loving Lord from the teachings of His Word (John 16:13) in song. We sing these messages of the Lord to joyfully encourage others in song. We teach and admonish one another in Scriptural song (hence, Spirit approved, 2 Timothy 3:16; Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).

COMMUNION. We go to church to observe the Lord's Table on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7). The context of our text in Hebrews 10 reminds us of the Lord's death and its meaning to us. That's why we commemorate this together by partaking of the Lord's Supper to show forth His death until He comes again. We look back at His death while looking forward to His return having the assurance that is alive. He arose from the dead and has ascended to the Father's right hand.

PARTNERS WITH GOD. We go to church in order to use God's encouragement to encourage one another. God's encouragement is provided in the study of His word given to us by the Encourager the Holy Spirit. "And I will beg the Father, and he will give you another Comforter^G3870, that he may be with you for ever, the Spirit of truth, ... but ye know him, for he abides with you, and shall be in you" (John 14:16,17). God's plan for the Holy Spirit's encouragement was to be in and through the apostles and His inspired ministers. For example, "Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow-bondman in the Lord, will make known to you all that concerns me; whom I have sent to you for this very purpose, that he might know your state, and that he might encourage^G3870 your hearts" (Colossians 4:7,8). As good servants of Jesus we must remind each other of the Spirit of truth and that God loves us, that God equips us, that we are treasured, that our struggles are worth it.

OBSERVATIONS. The King James Version of the NT does not use the word "encourage." Zero use. The revisions of the KJV have tended to be consistent with the original. Why didn't it use "encourage" in the original? Etymology information tells us that the word "encourage" like the word "animal" was not available or imbedded in the common English language of the time. For example, "animal" came from the Latin too late to make the 1611 version of the Bible. The KJV uses "beasts", etc. Later versions use it because the word had become a part of English (from Latin) after 1611. The word "encourage" also came late into the English language from the Old French after about 1580. The KJV NT therefore uses other common words like "exhortation", "besought", "comfort", "desire", "beseech", etc. But they referred generally to the same meaning of "encourage." And encouragement in faithfulness can best be done in the assembly, the church, according to our text in Hebrews 10:25.

The CEV^ix Old Testament Isaiah 40:1, anticipating the coming of the Christ and His Kingdom reign, proclaims, "Our God has said: “Encourage my people! Give them comfort." Let's go to church to encourage one another.

Chart of words the KJV uses rather than the word "encourage"

(I am indebted to Slate Moore's pulpit sermon (August 18, 2019, “Encourage One Another,” for some of the points used in this article. www.wh-churchofchrist.org. However, he is not responsible for the conclusions reached.)

(Gene Hill responds, " Although I didn’t see it specifically mentioned, all of this of course applies to any assembling of the assembly. Acts 11:27-30. For the longest time I applied all you have taught here to merely mean the worship assembly. When I got to thinking about it, it seemed more reasonable to apply it to ALL congregational assemblies."- Indianola, MS)

- Gaylon West

Throw Out the Lifeline