Hebrews 10:23-25
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for he is faithful that promised; and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: 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.
WILLIAM KELLY (1821-1906): Surely there is great force in the words, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is.”
H. A. IRONSIDE (1876-1951): I think some Christians need to have their consciences exercised more than they are, in regard to gathering together with God’s people, where the Word of God is appreciated, and where they come together to sing His praises and to pray.
JOHN GILL (1697-1771): It is the duty of saints to assemble together for public worship, on account of God, who has appointed it, who approves of it, and whose glory is concerned in it; and on the account of the saints themselves, that they may be delighted, refreshed, comforted, instructed, edified, and perfected; and on account of others, that they may be convinced, converted, and brought to the knowledge and faith of Christ; and also, in imitation of the primitive saints.
ADAM CLARKE (1760-1832): Every man that professes Christianity should, in this respect also, copy their conduct: nor can any man be considered to have any religion, let his sentiments be what they may, who does not attend on the public worship of his Maker.
H. A. IRONSIDE: Many Christians today shrug their shoulders and say, “Oh, I am not interested in going to church. I don’t need to go; I can worship God just as well at home.”
C. H. SPURGEON (1834-1892): So they stay at home all day on Sunday―Yes, there are some who even make a bad use of what ought to be a great blessing, namely, the printing press and the printed sermon, by staying at home to read a sermon because, they say, it is better than going out to hear one!
J. C. RYLE (1816-1900): We should observe, in Luke 4:16, what marked honour our Lord Jesus Christ gave to the public means of grace. We are told that He went into the synagogue of Nazareth on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read the Scriptures, Luke 4:16. In the days when our Lord was on earth, the Scribes and Pharisees were the chief teachers of the Jews. We can hardly suppose that a Jewish synagogue enjoyed much of the Spirit’s presence and blessing under such teaching. Yet, even then, we find our Lord visiting a synagogue, and reading and preaching in it. It was the place where His Father’s day and Word were publicly recognized, and, as such, He thought it good to do it honour.
ADAM CLARKE: “As His custom was,” Luke 4:16. Our Lord regularly attended the public worship of God in the synagogues.
J. C. RYLE: We need not doubt that there is a practical lesson for us in this part of our Lord’s conduct. He would have us know that we are not lightly to forsake any assembly of worshipers, which professes to respect the name, the day, and the book of God. There may be many things in such an assembly which might be done better. There may be a want of fullness, clearness, and distinctness in the doctrine preached. There may be a lack of unction and devoutness in the manner in which the worship is conducted. But―it becomes a Christian to think much before he stays away. If there be but two or three in the congregation who meet in the name of Jesus, there is a special blessing promised. But there is no like blessing promised to him who tarries at home.
C. H. SPURGEON: David said, “In the congregations will I bless the Lord,” Psalm 26:12; by which I understand he felt that his blessing God might be useful to others, else he might have shut himself up in his room and praised God there. David was not like some of whom we know. I hear of some who say, “I shall not go to the place of worship in my village. I cannot get on with the minister. I buy Mr. So-and-So’s sermons and I find more truth in them, so I shall stay at home.” You remember the view the Apostle took of this when he wrote, “Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some”—a very bad manner, let me say, by the way the Apostle mentions it!
H. A. IRONSIDE: A man said to me once, “If I could find a perfect Church I would attend there.” I replied, “My dear friend, don’t. If you find a perfect Church don’t join it, because if you did it would be imperfect the moment you got into it.” There is no such thing as a perfect Church, but we can thank God for the places where people meet to hear the Word of God, and to join in praise and prayer.
A. W. PINK (1886-1952): One important lesson we may learn from this is, how much we lose by our failure to cultivate the fellowship of Christian brethren.
H. A. IRONSIDE: We need one another; and because we do, the Spirit of God has come down to knit us together into one body. Think of one of the most frequently quoted verses in the Bible: “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all, ” 2 Corinthians 13:14. Have you ever stopped to think what is meant by the communion of the Holy Ghost? It is God working in our hearts, helping us to enjoy the things of God together, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
CHARLES SIMEON (1759-1836): United to Christ by faith, we become members of the Body, of which He is the Head. To that body we have duties―With that body we are to unite, both in its public and social meetings, and not by withdrawing ourselves from it, to shew an indifference to its welfare. Some there were, even in the Apostle’s days, who, through cowardice or worldly-mindedness, forsook the assemblies of the Church: and some there are who do so at the present day.
JOHN OWEN (1616-1683): This in all ages hath prevailed on many, in the times of trial and persecution, to withdraw themselves from those assemblies; and those who have done so are the “fearful and unbelieving,” Revelation 21:8.
WILLIAM GURNALL (1617-1679): The apostle saw good reason to join both these in one exhortation: “Let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together,”―as if he had said, ‘If you cannot agree to worship God one with another, you will have little love one for another.’
JOHN CALVIN (1509-1564): Extremely needed, therefore, by us all, is the admonition to be stimulated to love and not to separate from those whom God has joined to us, but to embrace with brotherly kindness all those who are united to us in faith―for doubtless the contempt of the brethren, moroseness, envy, an immoderate estimate of ourselves, and other sinful impulses, clearly show that our love is either very cold, or does not at all exist.
A. W. PINK: When Christians are in fellowship with Christ, they desire and seek the fellowship of His people; conversely, when they are out of fellowship with the Lord they have little or no desire for communion with believers.
STEPHEN CHARNOCK (1628-1680): Fire increaseth by laying together many coals on one place; so is devotion inflamed by the union of many hearts, and by a joint presence; nor can the approach of the last day of judgment, or particular judgments upon a nation, give a writ of ease from such assemblies.
