Exhortation is a word we don’t use often. It is a term that means to recommend or advise. It is strongly encouraging someone to do something. It is in a sense a “pushing forward” toward doing what is right. This is not a popular idea or duty that anyone wants to do or receive. We live in a world where we do not want advice. Each does things their own way, and if they are comfortable with it, that is where they stay. We like things easy, and change means a learning curve, which is usually a little unsettling at first. Yet, the Bible teaches us that we are to exhort one another daily. Wow, it is teaching us to engage in one another’s lives often, privately, for the benefit of our spiritual growth and the growth of the body of believers.
Hebrews 3:13-14 “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end.”
It is a duty given to us by God for the sanctification of the believer and the church. In Hebrews 10:24-25 the writer teaches us to consider, meaning to regard, the welfare of one another. We are to excite them to persevere, to encourage each other. We also have a call to action to provoke. Provoking is to excite with words that challenge each other to be better at living a life that pleases God and shows the world where our allegiance lies. We are to do this because we love Jesus supremely, and we love others. These were the two commandments that Jesus gave in Matthew 27:37-39. We are to love God and love others. When you love someone, you want what is best for them.
Hebrews 10:24-25 “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.”
Matthew 22:37-39 “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Exhortation is almost extinct in the modern church. Some do not do it because they are happily tending to their own business and don’t want to take the time to invest in others’ lives. They don’t want to take the risk of offending another person. However, exhortation must be done out of love. Loving someone in a way that builds their trust in you takes time, prayer, and a lot of effort. This kind of love will be a sacrificial love that requires an investment on your part. Building relationships can be hard, but we are relational people, and God intends that we be intertwined in one another’s lives to build the kingdom. If you are not willing to put yourself out there, spend some time getting to know others, use your resources to meet their needs, and genuinely put their needs above your own, you will not be effective when you try to exhort them to what is right and best for the kingdom.
Do you fear rejection when speaking with others? Are you satisfied with just doing your own thing and not getting involved with others? If so, take it to God and seek His help and wisdom. We have a command, not a suggestion from God, to exhort one another. It is time we, as Christians, obey and allow the world to see a church that is totally committed to God by winning the lost and exhorting one another to be like Jesus.
