Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
Hebrews 10:19-25
I love passages in the Bible that start with 'therefore' (or 'οὖν' for those Greek Geeks out there). It is always a reminder to go back and see what is causing the action we're now being asked to do. In this case it is the majesty of Christ, and his worthiness as the Son of God and Great High Priest which compels us to undertake this next bit of advice the writer is going to give.
Then comes the critical role that we all have as a church, to 'spur one another on toward love and good deeds'. As a congregation, and even as the world-wide church, our focus to each other must be encouraging each of us to hold unswervingly to that faith. It may mean discipline, teaching, rebuking, empowering, training or realigning, but the underlying motive of all those things must be to spur the other person on for their faith.
So that is the a great place to start when considering how we do Christian life together, and how we run our churches. It's also a great place to start to see the motive of preachers and teachers, understanding their motive is to spur you on, not cut you down.
Hopefully you can see this in your own Church, and emphasise it in your own life.
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