Hebrews 10:22-25 (KJV)

Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

I am thankful for the many men who prayerfully submit themselves to Jesus Christ as they lead the flock of God week in and week out.  In recent days, we have continually heard the nation talk about the heroes of the healthcare industry.  Those who risk their lives at work, day in and day out helping those whose bodies have been weakened by infirmity.  Please don’t hear what I am not saying and please don’t misunderstand my thankfulness for the people in these professions.  I have family and friends in the healthcare industry who do put themselves in harm’s way to help others every day.  These actions are noble and worth admiration.

However, I would like to shift the conversation to the perspective and mentality to which we view God’s command to assemble the church.  Let us think about our actions through the lens of the author of Hebrews 10:22-25.  This text comes right after the author discusses the work and actions of Jesus Christ as our high priest who enables us to enter into the holiest place through his own blood and body.  Praise God!  This reality should drive us to joy, adoration, and thanksgiving! 

The biblical author goes on to encourage us to hold fast to our profession of faith without wavering.  The idea here is that we stay committed to Christ despite any persecution, situation, or doubt that might confront us.  God is unchanging and always faithful to his people.  The author reveals the importance for us to “consider one another” and “provoke unto love and good works” (v. 24).  The medium through which this is done is that assembly of the Saints.  Did you notice the wording of what is supposed to take place during the gathering of the church on the Lord’s Day?  We are to stimulate each other to Love and Good Works! 

I think the command is explicitly clear.  As the day of the return of the Lord approaches (in which the days will become more and more evil), we are to encourage one another by not forsaking to gather together.  This is to glorify God through obedience to His command to keep the Sabbath day holy as well as to encourage each other through the wonderful work that God is doing in our individual lives.  This is necessary for the health and wellbeing of the Saints. 

When the days are evil, when hurt and confusion prevail, when uncertainty pervades every thought, and when our faith is weak; may we draw near to each other in the congregation of the Saints to draw encouragement, so that we do not waver from the profession of our most Holy Faith. 

The meeting, assembling, and functioning of the Church of Jesus Christ is ESSENTIAL.  Scripture makes that abundantly clear.  Now, the natural question is: What should I do during a pandemic?  I am writing this as an encouragement and a challenge to the mentality of today during the pandemic.

We have seen hypocrisy all over the nation from national leaders to local civic leaders who demand people stay at home, wear masks, and other restrictions; but those same leaders will fail to follow their own prescriptions for the general public.  However, it is not my intention to call them out; but rather, to wake up the church. 

Does the professing Christian engage in hypocrisy; denying their faith and the Lord Jesus Christ on a weekly basis?

Before answering this question, let me discuss a few things.  First, I am not condoning a haphazard approach to battling the pandemic.  I am also not condoning a careless attitude towards the reality of the dangers of the disease.  Now that is out of the way, let us consider the question at hand.

If your actions tell the world that your church meeting is non-essential, you might be denying the faith that Jesus paid for with His blood.  Of course, the natural reaction to such a straightforward statement is, “How do I know if this is me?” Well, let us evaluate the implications of the statement. 

As I mentioned earlier, the Scriptures exhibit the essential nature of the gathering of the Church and corporate worship.  Therefore, we, as the people of God, must not call it non-essential by our actions.  The Scriptures also teach that man should not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Deut. 8:3).

So, let’s examine the implications.  If you truly believe that you can’t attend church because it is unsafe to do so, then you probably (by the same logic) do not view it safe to leave your house, ever.  If this describes you, then you most likely are very consistent in your thinking and you have not left your house or had visitors for about the last 9 months.  However, I think that this is a very small populace percentage. 

If you go to work every day, you go grocery shopping, and conduct other errands; but you fail to attend church, something is severely wrong with your perspective of the command to gather together.  Church attendance is not only for you. It is also for the Lord and your neighbors.  Let’s be completely honest . . . if a person of a church family truly cares for the body, the person will do everything in their reasonable power to prevent an outbreak and the spread of the virus, however, this does not imply that they will not gather with the saints unless they are sick or have been exposed to the virus.  The point is that if you find the risk to your family so acceptable that you are willing to go to work, but fail to go to church, then by your actions you are stating that church is not essential.  What you have stated is that your profession is more important than your church family, or your God.  If you go to buy food for your family despite the risk of the potential for exposure, but you fail to attend church,  you are stating that church is not essential.  You are stating that man can live by bread alone which is contrary to the Scriptures.  Christian, you are then guilty of the same offenses as those who you have condemned for shutting down small businesses while still allowing Walmart to stay open.  This type of behavior, mentality, and worldview demands repentance before our Holy God. 

Please, provide me the opportunity to explicitly state that I am not speaking to the methodology of the church practices, nor am I disapproving of Pastoral leadership’s creative capabilities of gathering their flocks safely.  Some are gathering groups of people in home churches, others are having outdoor services, and some are meeting in person with pews blocked off and purifiers in the rooms.  I am in no way speaking against these or about these methods.  Rather, this is for the people who find themselves indulging in an extra Saturday under the guise of health and safety while the rest of the week they act almost normally with a few extra precautions. 

Many people in the world are dying every day. This is not the time to hold back the eternal cure for a sin problem that is much more deadly than the pandemic.  It is a fact that 100% of people that die, will be judged.  Some will inherit eternal life because of Jesus Christ, others will inherit eternal damnation due to rejecting Jesus Christ.  Furthermore, this is not the time to allow those who are weak in the faith to stumble.  This is not the time to allow those who are new Christians to fall back into the World.  This is not the time to allow the gospel to perish in the walls of our homes.  This is the time for Christians to Pray, Seek the Lord, Encourage One Another, Love on The Lost, Help the Homeless, Comfort the Orphan, and Preach the GOSPEL by word and deed! 

Confess and Repent of Sin if necessary, and be restored to Jesus Christ.  The Church assembling is ESSENTIAL, and you Christian must preach this fact by your ACTIONS.  Jesus is going to return; we must be ready (and be found faithful)! Be Smart, Be Watchful, Be Careful, Be Consistent, and Be Steadfast in the Profession of our Faith!  To God Alone Be the Glory!                   

Sola Gratia,

M. Aaron Koen