“One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do…” Maybe that’s why the group that sang that song went by the name Three Dog Night! In the cold reality of life we must huddle together for warmth, even if it’s huddlin’ with our dogs! We really DO need one another’s encouragement.
On a very serious note, let’s consider the context in which the writer of Hebrews is encouraging believers to encourage one another, and to do so increasingly. In Heb. 3:13 we are warned about the possibility of being hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. That’s a very sobering image, isn’t it, one that needs to be pondered. As those who have already been declared “righteous in Christ” we are still very capable of being deceived by sin, and having been deceived we can become hardened-that is, no longer having a functional conscience; allergic to the convicting work of the Spirit; indifferent to the consequences of our foolishness; enjoying the pleasures of sin more than fellowship with Jesus. Scary, right? You’re doggone right it is!
Here’s how it works. Satan knows that he has lost us for eternity and he knows that his time is short, so he is filled with fury. He will do ANYTHING in his power to make our lives as miserable and destructive as he can use en route to his own demise and eternal judgment. So he tempts us to sin, seduces us and then condemns us! It may be sexual sin, money sin, approval-of-man sin, success sin, power sin, self-righteousness sin, religious-performance sin, relationship sin, perfect-parenting sin, please-notice-my-great-body sin… on and on and on, the list is endless.
This is one of the main reasons we need encouragement and we need to give encouragement to one another, increasingly. We’re not just to meet together for the sake of coffee, donuts and devotionals. We’re to ask each other the questions good friends ask one another. “How are you, really? What are you struggling with?” We’re to humble ourselves and confess our sins to one another.
We must hold one another accountable PRIMARILY for believing, experiencing and applying the gospel. If our “accountability groups” do not focus on the gospel, if they’re just moral policemen/policewomen enforcing the laws of performance we will deceive ourselves and one another. We must learn how to encourage one another in the gospel, for only in the gospel do we find the motivation, power and hope for godliness, repentance and hope. Can I get an, “Amen”? Who will you “encourage” today? From whom will you receive encouragement? How are YOU, really?