Why We Should Not Forsake the Assembling of Ourselves Together CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Heb. 10:19-25
In the passage for this sermon we will make a spiritual application from the verses that lead up to the phrase “forsake not the assembling of ourselves together” for reason that we should make it to church every chance that we possibly can.
As long as we live in this flesh we will have days that we do not want to go to church. Face the facts the flesh does not like the things of God especially when it could be doing something else instead. But we should make every effort to attend church services because of the spiritual benefit that they bring us in this sermon we will look at some of those benefits.
Reasons we should not forsake the assembling of ourselves together:
1) Because we can (Verses 19-21)
- Our salvation is not connected with going to church or being a member of a particular church. Our eternal security is not connected with going to church either. Our salvation is dependent on the blood of Jesus and whether or not you have accepted him as your personal savior.
- We are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ (Hebrews 9:11-15 ; 1 Peter 1:18-19 ; Revelation 1:5)
- Note the reference to the veil in the verses for this point. In the Old Testament Tabernacle the veil was to divide the Holy Place from the Most Holy place. Behind the veil was the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat where God would commune with Israel. Only the High Priest could enter once a year to make atonement for himself and for the people and he could not do it without blood. (Exodus 26:33)
- In Matthew 27:50-51 we see that after the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom. This signifies that the Levitical Priesthood of the Old Testament was done away with and that something new would replace it.
- Jesus Christ is what replaced it and that is why we have the opportunity to come boldly unto the throne of grace and get help in time of need (Hebrews 4:14-16). It is also why we do not need an earthly priest hood to make intercession for us (1 Timothy 2:5).
- Today a person can get saved outside the church just as well as inside the church, but as we will see in the rest of these points there are great spiritual benefits to attending church.
2) It is where we draw near (Verse 22)
- While it is true that you can draw near to God anywhere as a saved person it is many times much easier to draw near to God at church.
- In James 4:1-8 we see from verse 8 that we must draw nigh unto God so that he will draw nigh unto us (we are obviously talking about someone who is already saved).
- In church we should have the right atmosphere with good Godly music and the preaching of the word of God for the spirit to move in our hearts and help us to draw near unto God.
- Once again these things can be done other places but it is just easier at home.
3) It is where we are washed (Verse 22)
- Now as for salvation we already said that we are washed by the blood. But after salvation we walk through this filthy world and sometimes we get the dust of the world on us. This must be cleansed off of us and the word of God is the best way to do it (Ephesians 5:25 ; Psalm 119:9).
- In the Old Testament there was the Lavar before the tabernacle that the priest would wash himself with before entering into the tabernacle this is a type of the save person keeping himself clean by the word of God.
4) It is how we hold fast (Verse 23)
- The verse says “hold fast the profession of our faith without waving (for he is faithful that promised)”.
- For the person saved in the church age you cannot lose your salvation, but you can get out of fellowship with God. One of the easiest ways to get out of fellowship with God is to get out of the habit of going to church. It is easier to hold fast your profession of faith with regular church attendance.
- In 1 Thessalonians 5:21 we are told to prove all things and hold fast that which is good. You must first prove what is good and what is bad by the word of God and then you will know what is good so that you can hold fast to it. Once again by going to church where the word of God is taught and preached on a regular bases will help you with this.
- In Jeremiah 8:5 we see that backsliders hold fast to deceit. This can happen to us if we hold fast to the wrong thing it can cause us to backslide.
3) It is where we consider one another (Verse 24)
- As saved people living in this world we need good godly fellowship with saved people and this is one of the huge parts of going to church.
- By having good friends and being a part of your church it can be just as much a spiritual blessing as it is a physical blessing.
- Note what Paul said in Philippians 2:2-4.
With all the benefits found in regular church attendance why would anyone want to forsake the assembling of themselves together.