The Christian Life Is a Team Effort
I loved my vacation a few years ago. Sitting alone on a lounge chair reading books for three days checked all the boxes of an introvert’s dream.
But what would happen to my faith if that was my entire life? A life of intentional isolation throws a bucket of water on the flame of faith. Proverbs 18:1 says, “Whoever isolates himself seeks his own desire; he breaks out against all sound judgment.” There is no disputing that people are healthier with consistent fellowship. Increasing mental health-related struggles during Covid lockdowns have highlighted our need—as image-bearers of the triune God—for fellowship (Gen. 2:18).
The race of the Christian life is a team effort. To run well we need other Christians. However, in Toronto, Canada, where I live, most churches went 476 days unable to meet in person for worship and fellowship. There were times where small groups could gather but were not able to sing together or chat long after the service. It was not the same. We longed for more than content on our screens. We longed for people by our side. I am grateful for Zoom and live stream technology, but they can never be a substitute for standing next to my brothers and sisters as we worship Jesus.
“However, in Toronto, Canada, where I live, most churches went 476 days unable to meet in person for worship and fellowship. ”
This is just one reason why the church is so precious. As the word of the gospel goes out and gathers believers to Jesus (John 10:16), these new believers form gatherings called churches. In the book Word-Centered Church, Jonathan Leeman says, “A Christian’s new DNA, which he’s received from the Word and Spirit, knows that it now belongs to something larger . . . his new being longs to be gathered to other believers now—on earth” (87). Jesus sets your story in a local church because faith flourishes in fellowship. It would be tragic for us to write ourselves out of the story, watching the flame of our faith slowly fade because we distanced ourselves from fellowship.
Two passages in Hebrews show four reasons fellowship helps us run the race of the Christian life.
Protection Against Hardened Hearts
Soldiers stand guard not only for themselves, but also for their fellow soldiers. Fellow believers likewise guard each other through a word of exhortation. “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end” (Heb. 3:13–14).
The Saturday night before in-person Sunday services were shut down for us, our youth group was away for our annual retreat. I asked our students to gather in small circles around each youth leader and pray for them. We may assume teenagers today are indifferent towards God and so self-absorbed they don’t think about others. However, these teenagers went without hesitation and covered their leaders in prayer. Seeing a fifteen-year-old put their hand on the shoulder of their fifty-year-old leader, with tears in their eyes, and pray for them is a moment Zoom cannot re-create. I missed moments like this.
Like an army locking shields to protect everyone from enemy arrows, we surround each other with shields of exhortation and prayer. We guard our hearts for Christ in the fellowship of believers.
A Clean Conscience and the Assurance of Faith
Hebrews 10:22 calls us to “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” (10:22). Assurance and a clean conscience come from knowing our sin is forgiven. Jesus removes our guilt and shame before God (Heb. 10:19); therefore, we come to God with a clean conscience. But how can we be sure? God assures us of his forgiveness through our church. Through baptism and membership our church affirms, as best as they can tell, the genuineness of our faith. It is not perfect, but it is genuine saving faith. Neglecting the fellowship of believers leaves us looking instead to the see-saw of our hearts for assurance.
“He needed others, like we all do, to remind him of God’s love for him in Christ.”
A friend of mine went through a period of doubting his salvation a few years ago. He could barely make it to church services because he was so ashamed of his sins that week. When he did come, it only seemed to pile on more shame. However, several brothers in Christ encouraged him, prayed for him, and pushed him to keep coming to church. By himself he had no assurance. He needed others, like we all do, to remind him of God’s love for him in Christ.
Encouragement to Hold Fast to Jesus
“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful” (Heb. 10:23). We need examples to run the race of faith with endurance (Heb. 12:1–2). By sharing words of encouragement and life experiences, we help fan the flame of faith for each other. Puritan pastor Thomas Watson likened this encouragement from other believers to drops of oil making “the lamp of [our] faith burn the brighter” (All Things for Good, 22).
God shows us his unfailing faithfulness as we listen to other Christians share their stories and as we watch their lives. High school students booming with joy in their newfound faith and senior believers with scars from a long obedience to Jesus encourage us in different ways to keep walking with the Lord.
Readiness to Love and Do Good Works
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (10:24). How does fellowship connect with stirring each other up for good works? Fellowship puts needs and opportunities right in front of us. It’s almost impossible to love and do good to people we don’t see consistently. How often after a worship service will someone bump into you and share about a conversation they had with someone in need, which then leads you to start talking about ways to help? Habitual fellowship gives an awareness of people’s needs and opportunities to serve.
As a youth pastor, my high school students would ask me how they could complete their community service hours. When we gathered every week, I could point them to programs in the church and different people whose businesses could use volunteers. But after our time of not gathering I lost track of those, and I couldn’t help students in the same way. The connections and awareness to meet the need weakened when we lost fellowship.
Good works flow out of gathering; therefore, we need fellowship to stir one another up to love and good works.
Re-Opening Churches and Rekindling Fellowship
Loving fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ feeds faith. The results of Hebrews 10:22–24 are born from Jesus’s work as our great high priest (10:19–21) and maintained through frequent fellowship (10:25).
Perhaps this Covid-19 season, like no other season, has revealed how essential fellowship is for faith. Restrictions, fears, and challenges around gathering amplified every trial and made retreating to isolation more desirable. But coming out of isolation and into fellowship is a commitment we must make.
John says, “that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete” (1 John 1:3–4). He longs for them to have fellowship with one another so they might have the fullness of joy that comes from fellowship with God. The prize is worth the price!
Jesus makes fellowship with God a reality for believers. The worst of sinners lives in fellowship with the Holy God because of Jesus (John 14:18–20). This is the root of fellowship with one another. Our fellowship with each other is as unchangeable as our fellowship with God is unbreakable. Your local church family is a gift from God to help your faith burn brightly. In light of that, I plead with you, walk the Christian life together.
Scott Hurst is the pastor at Northminster Baptist Church in Toronto. You can usually find him reading, watching superhero movies, playing silly games with his kids, and eating good food with his wife.