Do not Forsake Coming to Church
Hebrews 10:10-25
Introduction
In many places, church attendance has been on a serious decline for some time. this had been accelerated by the Coronavirus pandemic. churches were ordered to close or severely limit attendance as being “non-essential.” Of course, liquor stores, lottery kiosks, abortion clinics, and “gentlemen’s” clubs were considered essential. Big box stores were essential. Businesses owned by the politicians and there families were essential. Much can be said about the inequity of the closures which effected Christian and non-Christian alike. But when the church accepted the edict of the government to close down, it declared itself to be irrelevant. Many church goers have yet to return if they will ever return. the truth is that many of them don’t think attendance at church is essential. In this, they agree with the enemies of Christ. Some with some compulsion watch church on TV or the Internet. Some say they can worship by themselves in their own way.
But is this right? A good argument can be made that the assembly of believers during the pandemic presented a danger to them. I know of one church where they were dedicating their new sanctuary in which many there caught the virus including the city mayor who almost died. I know of four who died, one of whom was the son-in law of a beloved pastor friend of mine. Another one was the head of the former head of the education department where I attended college, and from whom I received teacher certification. There we many like incidents that occured in churches throughout the country. So, I do not fault churches who closed or severely limited attendance during the pandemic. This should have been the choice of the local congregations after assessing the risks and coming up with a mitigation strategy.
When we look at church history, we can find many occasions in which it was danger to come to church. Pandemics like the Bubonic Plague ravaged the churches at times during the Middle Ages. then there was persecution. In the early church, attending church was so dangerous that the church had to meet in the catacombs as it was the one place the superstitious persecutors would not go. The same can be said of the believers addressed in this morning’s text from the Book of Hebrews. The epistle tells us of this in the verses that follow the ones we read this morning: (Hebrews 10:32-35) The writer at the end of the book n chapter 13 seems to indicate that he was in prison and mentions that Timothy had just been released. So the persecution was becoming increasingly severe. The writes hints that martyrdom would soon commence. (Hebrews 12:4)
Exposition of the Text
This morning’s text from the lectionary is very rich in theological truth. Although we will spend most of our time centered on Hebrews 10:25, it would be fruitful to make a summary of the previous verses. They help to explain why it was important to assemble together where the saints could be encouraged by the preaching and teaching of the Word. In Hebrews 10:10, we are reminded that we have been sanctified (set apart) through the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ. To be set apart implies being set apart as a church body as well as individually. The offering of Christ also reminds us that Jesus our Lord suffered. He suffered ONCE. But that was in the past. the suffering that Christians might experience is als for a very short time in the light of eternity. Truth like this is learned in church, at least it should be. The oneness of His sacrifice made all other sacrifices and the priesthood that offered them obsolete. Those in the church who had come from a Jewish background and may have been tempted to return to Judaism needed to be reminded of this truth, lest they forsake the assembly and return to Judaism.
Hebrews 10:13 reminds us that Christ is at God’s right hand waiting for all tings to be subjected to Him. This is the promise of Psalm 110:1 which had been quoted at several times throughout this epistle. Subjection occurs in two ways. Christians show their subjection by falling on their faces before Him in worship. the enemies are forcibly subjected by being placed before Jesus on their backs with Jesus’ foot upon their necks, metaphorically speaking. but all things will be subjected under Him, one way or another. As Paul reminds us, “Every knew shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” (Philippians 2:11) This serves as a warning to the congregation not to forsake the assembly as well as offer encouragement for the believers to persevere in the faith. Hebrews 10:31 and the following verses offer one of the many serious warnings to not forsake the church in the Book of Hebrews.
Hebrews 10:16 reminds us that our sins have been forgiven under this new covenant in which he quotes a text from Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah 31:35 makes an astonishing statement in the Greek translation of the Old Testament text. It emphatically states that He will never again remember their sins. This statement is so shocking that many theologians soften this statement. How can God forget anything? He is all-knowing, after all. If He were to forget something, He would not be all-knowing any more. so the theologians change this statement to the idea that God treats us as though they did not happen. But He remembers. However, the text says what it says. Perhaps the way to look at this is through the theological concept called recapitulation. the explanation of this big word is that Jesus in His life relived the history of the Children of Israel, this time making the right choices in the places they had miserably failed. The sinless life of Jesus replaces the sinful life of Israel. So it can be stated that God will absolutely not remember our sins is that in Christ they never happened. these sins were paid in His one-time offering of Himself. Jesus relives our lives as well. He took on our disobedience, and we took upon ourselves His obedience. But forsaking the assembly would also mean that one loses their covering as well and must now face God on their own in the Day of Judgment.
Instead of forsaking the assembly, believers need to be bold to come to church. The church is a type of the general assembly of the church in heaven which is discussed at the end of chapter 12. Even though the believers there faced persecution, they could still be bold in their profession of Christ which was confessed by the church. We can be bold to approach the heavenly throne because our sins are forgotten in addition to the fact that He will be with us in our present suffering. We now have a clean heart to approach the throne. We can thing about Psalm 24:3-4. “Who can ascend into the hill of the LORD and stand in His Holy Place?” without Jesus Christ, the answer is “No one.” But new we have had our hands cleansed and our hearts made pure. We can join Charles Wesley in the Hymn “And Can if Be” where it says: “Bold I approach th’ eternal throne, and claim the crown through Christ my own.”
Application
Although the text directly warns against leaving the church for good, it does also indicate that there were those who were no longer coming to the church assembly who had not severed ties. Instead of making it their habit to come to church, they were making it a habit not to come, this seems to be a dangerous approach which would lead at some point to abandon the church altogether. It does behoove us as pastors and leaders in the church to be faithfully working to making the church service a copy of the heavenly sanctuary, a house of worship and praise. In fact the sacrifice of praise is enjoined by the writer of Hebrews (Hebrews 13:15). The church is a place in which the believers are taught and encouraged in the faith. It is a place of intercession and prayer. the church sanctuary is to be a holy place which is the very definition of “sanctuary.” We need to be a part of the church family and offer our gifts and talents to building up the Body of Christ.
Even though it may have been necessary for a season not to personally meet during the Coronavirus, let us also remember that livestreaming the service is no substitute of bodily presence. We need to come together again as a body before we all get lazy and just watch the service online. We re also facing times of increased persecution as well and may at some point lay down our lives for the sake of the Gospel as many in the rest of the world outside the US already are and have been for 2,000 years. To be able to endure this, we must be sure of our faith. Surely it would be dangerous to assemble together during persecution as it would make us an easy find. Believers in china know this all too well. But the temporary suffering of this age is not to be compared to the glory on the other side of our crosses.
