Forsaking the assembly By Steve A. Hamilton Hebrews 10:24-27 Introduction: The life expectancy of someone in the U.S. who does not attend church is 75 years of age. However, the life expectancy for someone who attends church services once a week is 82 years of age and if more than weekly it averages 83 years of age. That sounds like a pretty good reason not to forsake the assembly doesn’t it? However, is that the reason why we shouldn’t forsake the assembly? Forsaking the assembly is a touchy subject because we all know the Lord commands our attendance but we all have our personal reasons why we might miss the assembly. Rarely can we find a brother who can not rationalize the reason they choose to miss a service. I would like for us to consider a few passages before we think about missing another service. I. Missing services shows a lack of maturity (Jas. 3:2-5). A. James reveals a correlation between the tongue and one’s actions. If a person can control his tongue he can control his body. Like a bridle in a horses mouth or the rudder on a ship, if a person can control his tongue than he can control himself. James says that would be a perfect (mature) person. B. But what happens to the horse without a bridle? Wouldn’t the horse go where it wants too? What happens to a ship without a rudder? Wouldn’t the wind dictate its path? C. James isn’t saying it is all right to stumble nor is he saying it is acceptable not to keep our word. He is recognizing that a mature Christian is going to be someone who keeps his word. He is not going to be sidetracked by his desires. D. The problem is when we say one thing and do another. If we say we are a Christian but we forsake the assembly we are a ship being driven by the wind. Something else came along that we would rather do so we renege on our obligation to the Lord (Jas. 1:14). II. Missing services shows a lack of commitment (Luke 14:26-33). A. The Lord is talking about our failure to consider what it means to serve Him. We don’t build homes without considering the cost first. Likewise, we shouldn’t have put on Christ without considering that we must forsake all to be His servant! B. Serving God means He comes before everything and everyone. So why do we fail to plan ahead to make sure we are at every assembly? III. The most abused passage in God’s word (1 Tim. 5:8). A. Brethren use this passage more than any other to forsake the assembly. B. Providing does not mean whatever standard of living one chooses. Timothy is talking about the necessities of life (1 Tim. 6:6-12). C. Many Christians take jobs with no consideration for the Lord (Luke 16:10-13). By their actions they despise God. 1. The sister in Christ who missed services to help her non-Christian husband mow a neighbor’s lawn since he needed the money (She had a good paying job.). 2. The sister in Christ who took on a job to help her son pay for college which caused her to miss services (Her husband had a good paying job.). 3. The brother in Christ who took on a second job which caused him to miss services though he already had a good paying job. 4. The brother in Christ who made no effort to get off of work when scheduled to work during services. 5. The brother who couldn’t pass up double overtime even if it meant missing the assembly. D. I also know of brethren who wouldn’t take a job unless they could be off for church. It does cause hardships but it is also a test of faith (Matt. 6:33). Conclusion: On the judgment day, can we tell the Lord we did everything we could to be obedient to His commands (Luke 17:6-10)? If not, we are not even an unprofitable servant. At least an unprofitable servant did what was his duty to do. Do we think we can reach heaven by being less than an unprofitable servant?
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 09:26:35 +0000
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