THE FIFTH PURPOSE: TO FELLOWSHIP IN THE LORD

Hebrews 10:19-25

Dr. Wm. J. Maxwell

First Presbyterian Church, Newport, RI

 

 

“A great cloud of witnesses.” This phrase has been used a great deal by others and myself with special regard to the names of those etched on our stained glass windows in this sanctuary. It is not a new phrase, of course, but one that comes from the epistle to the Hebrews.

 

Having listed the names of those who persevered in the faith in chapter eleven, the author moves on to call for the same kind of endurance in chapter twelve, being surrounded as we are “by so great a cloud of witnesses.”

 

The whole letter, in fact, is basically about the subject of endurance for Christians facing times of trial and of persecution. The author speaks of the absolute supremacy and sufficiency of Christ, and of how the New Covenant exceeds the Old Covenant in so many vital and important ways. The author calls for full assurance of faith in approaching God through Jesus Christ, our great Intercessor and High Priest, who provided His own life as a sacrifice that would cleanse us and thus enable us to enter boldly into God’s presence.

                                                                                          

In our passage for this morning, the author refers again to this, and calls for steadfastness in confessing the Faith. Our hope of salvation is very secure in Jesus Christ, we are told, for the reason that the God who has given the promises held out in the Gospel is faithful and trustworthy. We can remain steadfast and secure because of the absolute faithfulness of God.

 

In order to produce steadfastness of faith, the author also speaks of the important place of fellowship: “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

 

Now, one may wonder why the author had to say this in the first place and there could be many reasons. Perhaps some Christians were staying away for reason of fear. They were afraid they’d be in more danger if they were found together in assembly. Others may have felt no need for gathering together, as they were, in fact, nominal Christians - Christians in name only.

                                                                                             

Still others may have sensed no practical necessity of meeting together. After all, demands on one’s time can come from a number of directions. For still others, it may have been over personal dissatisfaction. They may have disapproved of certain policies of the church, or of certain members, or dare I say, the pastor in the pulpit!

                    

Some of these same reasons may even be used today by those who are absent from the Body of Christ. But God has His reasons for calling us to be together in the body, and we can see several reasons in these verses as to why the fellowship of God’s people is so significant.

 

I

IN FELLOWSHIP TOGETHER, WE CAN CALL EACH OTHER INTO ACTION.

 

We can “spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” When we come together, we have the opportunity to cheer one another on. We have the opportunity to call each other into action as we use the gifts and talents that have been given to us.

                                                                                           

Contrary to a world where self-interest rules, in the life and work of the Kingdom, great joy and enduring strength for witness are found as we call each other to a different kind of lifestyle. We so often say that there is strength in numbers, and that is certainly true of the Church as we call one another to love and serve and to give a faithful witness to Jesus Christ.

 

I believe we find a beautiful illustration of this in the closing chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans.[i] Paul wrote this letter to the church in Rome from the city of Corinth. Owing to the length of it, it probably took some time to write it. It would not be unusual then for some Corinthian Christians to listen in as Paul dictated the letter.

 

As Paul came to the close of the letter, we find he was not alone. Gaius was there, in whose house Paul was staying. So was Erastus, the treasurer of the city of Corinth. Other believers were there, some of less social rank, but brothers in Christ nonetheless. There was Timothy, Paul’s “son in the faith,” and Lucius, Jason, Sosipator, and Tertius the secretary, who wrote down all of Paul’s words. As these names are written down on parchment, there is also Quartus - perhaps there in the corner, raising his hand at the end, not wishing to be forgotten, but rather wishing to be included in sending greetings - greetings to brothers and sisters in Christ they had not yet personally met, and who perhaps they might never meet.

 

Nevertheless, these Christians wanted these other Christians to be spurred on and cheered on in faithfulness. And this is something we all need, and also something we all need to do!

 

 

II

IN FELLOWSHIP TOGETHER,

WE CAN MAKE A WITNESS TO THE WORLD.

 

The author says that we are not to give up meeting together. Some are in the habit of doing this to their own detriment. But when there are those who see it differently and who make the effort, there is not only personal benefit and mutual edification, but a corporate witness to the world.

                                                                                           

There are so many dividing walls of hostility that exist between cultures and nations today. You know as I know the reality of “wars and rumors of wars.” In many cases, the sacrifice of time, money, and even human life is given for the sake of peace, with no assurance or absolute guarantee of the end of hostilities.Many of you here this morning know what it means to be personally involved and personally invested in such a goal of peace.

 

Well, Jesus Christ our Lord is personally involved and personally invested, and He is the one who brings down dividing walls. Paul spoke, for example, of Jesus being our peace, the One who has made Jew and Gentile one, in that we are both reconciled to God through the cross.[ii]

 

For those of you who were not here last Sunday evening, this was demonstrated in a very moving way, and I must say especially for me. Jonathan Bernd was our guest, a Jew who believes in Jesus as the Messiah. Jonathan showed us how Christ can be clearly seen in the Passover Meal. He then spoke to us of how the Gospel must go out to Jew and Gentile alike.

 

I found my heart going out to a man so different in experience and background from me, and yet a brother in Christ. At the end of the service, we stood together side by side, as we gave the congregation the Aaronic Blessing, first in English by myself,then sung in Hebrew by Jonathan. I will remember that deep sense of unity and rejoicing for a long time.

 

This is but one example. The bond we have in Christ is a bond to which we give witness in a world that is fallen and fractured, and it is a powerful witness indeed!

III

IN FELLOWSHIP TOGETHER,

WE CAN ALSO ENCOURAGE ONE ANOTHER.

 

When we regard the welfare of brothers and sisters in Christ, we not only seek to spur them on in love and good deeds, when we are able we can also encourage and strengthen them when they are in the midst of trials and difficulties. It is within the context of community life in the bond of Christ that we may build each other up.

                                                                                                

Speaking personally, I remember with deep gratitude the occasion when my mother died several years ago due to lung cancer. I asked a friend to officiate at the service, as my mother was a member of the congregation I served. But it was the congregation itself that moved me the most, as my church family provided meals and a reception after the service, reached out to my whole family in love, and offered numerous expressions of care and concern. I realized in a very personal way just how important this is.

 

John Fawcett also clearly understood this, though he didn’t know just how much at first. Fawcett came to faith in Christ at the age of sixteen in the exciting days of the ministry of George Whitefield. In 1766, he was ordained as a Baptist minister and served a small and impoverished congregation in  northern England. After several years, with a meager salary and a growing family, Fawcett accepted a call to a large and prestigious church in London.

 

On the day of their departure, Fawcett’s wagon was literally surrounded by the saddened and sorrowful members of that congregation. The sight was too much for Mrs. Fawcett, who broke down and wept, saying that she could not leave. And Fawcett replied saying, “Nor can I.”

 

This pastor remained in this church for the rest of his ministry, and a very powerful and influential ministry it was. Fawcett was even recognized by Brown University in Providence (during the time when it was more of a Baptist university than it is now), conferring on him a Doctor of Divinity degree in 1811. But John Fawcett is perhaps best known for the hymn text he wrote and shared with the congregation he loved.

                                                                                        

You are familiar with the words, I’m sure, which in part go like this:

 

Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love!

The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.

 

Before our Father’s throne we pour our ardent prayers,

Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one, our comforts and our cares.

 

We share our mutual woes, our mutual burdens bear;

And often for each other flows the sympathizing tear.[iii]

 

How meaningful it is, often beyond our own words of description, when for us and for others “flows the sympathizing tear.”

 

IV

IN FELLOWSHIP TOGETHER, WE CAN ANTICIPATE OUR ETERNAL DESTINY.

 

In these verses, we are reminded that we are to have such fellowship, all the while in great anticipation of the approaching Day of Christ’s return. That will be the time when God’s great judgement will occur; the time when all the sin and fallenness of this world will at last be no more, neither will there be death, or mourning or crying or pain, for all things will become new.

Clothed in Christ’s righteousness by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ alone, we have nothing to fear, but only to eagerly and enthusiastically anticipate a great and glorious eternity together.

                                                                                                 

All the many times in which we have confessed together, “I believe in the communion of saints,” will one day be realized in a way far beyond our comprehension. The gathering of the fellowship of God’s people will include all the people we have read about in the Bible for so long. The gathering will include all those whose biographies have inspired us. The gathering will include all those whose names are etched on our stained glass. This gathering will also include those whom we have loved in the Faith, who have but gone before us.

 

Within the last two weeks, I have officiated at the funeral services of two of our cherished friends in this church. There have been many before them and there will be many after them. But the communion and fellowship of the saints continues as we await the glorious Day. And so it has been described ever so wonderfully:

      

O blest communion, fellowship divine!

We feebly struggle, they in glory shine;

Yet all are one in Thee, for all are Thine:

Alleluia! Alleluia!

 

But lo! There breaks a yet more glorious day:

The saints triumphant rise in bright array;

The King of glory passes on His way:

Alleluia! Alleluia!

 

From earth’s wide bounds,

From ocean’s farthest coast,

through gates of pearl streams in the countless host,

singing to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,

Alleluia! Alleluia! [iv]

 

 

How great is that bond in Christ that brings forth such a fellowship, a fellowship of time, and eternity!