Practical Advice for Christians

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” –Hebrews 10:22-25 (ESV).

These verses on living out the Christian faith are set within the discussion of the former priestly way of offering sacrifices for sin. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that “once for all” Christ offered the supreme sacrifice for sin (See Hebrews 10:10). We know assuredly that we do not have to provide sacrifice for our sins because of the loving gift of our Lord and Savior. He has made a way for us to “enter the holy place.” We can enter boldly into the presence of God. The Holy Spirit bears witness of these eternal truths to us: “And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds;’ then He says, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’” (Hebrews 10:15-17).

After assuring us that we indeed are in position, through Christ’s sacrifice, to approach God, the writer of Hebrews then gives practical advice (or exhortations) for Christians. It might be well for us to look at these as a Christian’s “to do” list:

(1) Draw near. In this drawing near to God for worship, we come in confession, with hearts ‘sprinkled clean,’ and our consciences cleared before God.

(2) Hold fast. This indicates that we should not allow doubts to weaken our faith. My pastor from my early years as a Christian, Rev. Claude Boynton, used to admonish us, “Know what you believe and why you believe it.” “He who promised is faithful.” We don’t have to doubt that what Jesus tells us is true; He is faithful and He is our anchor. Therefore, “hold fast.”

(3) Stir up each other. We have a responsibility to each other in the Christian fellowship. Stimulating each other to love and good works is seeing beyond ourselves and our immediate needs. In our church we have an intercessory prayer ministry that keeps us informed of prayer concerns. We have monthly missions emphases that stimulate us to reach out to others who need our helping hands. Stimulating each other in the faith also includes instruction in and proclamation of the Word. How we need these and how important they are to a Christian’s spiritual growth and development.

(4) Assemble together. We have the local church congregation for many reasons but a very important one is for providing a place for Christians to assemble and worship the Lord together. It is also a place where we encourage one another. Gathering for worship, prayer, instruction and fellowship becomes even more important as “the Day” draws near.

As we anticipate the Day of His Second Coming and as signs of His coming accelerate, how very important become these four exhortations to Christians. May we be faithful in drawing near to Him, holding fast to our faith, stirring up or stimulating each other to love and good works, and assembling together for worship. With heart humble before God, I seek now to evaluate how I measure up on these practical ways to live out my Christian life.