Our Primary Object in coming together this morning is to re member our Lord and Savior in the appointed way. But we also come together to buildup, strengthen and help one another on the way that leads to eternal life.
The need for exhortation
One of the ways we help one another is commended to us in the words of Paul: “Exhort one another daily, while it is called today.” Exhortation was obviously important to Paul; his closing thought in this same epistle was, “And I beseech you brethren, suffer the word of exhortation” (Heb. 13:22).
Paul practiced what he advised, for we read:
“And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:19-22).
Here we obtain a good picture of Paul’s character and can note how important exhortation was in Paul’s work. The very next day after being left for dead, no doubt bruised and aching in every joint of his body, he departed to preach the gospel and to exhort the brethren. Understandably, the substance of his exhortation was, “We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”
Reading this account, we should ask ourselves, “Could I have endured such a trial? What would have been my actions following such persecution? Would I, like Paul, have gotten up, brushed myself off and continued or would I have gone to bed to rest from my wounds?” How often have we stayed home because we didn’t feel quite right?
How to strengthen ourselves
We may never suffer such an extreme trial of faith, but it is our duty to strengthen our faith, encourage our hearts and enlighten our minds with the word of God that we may faithfully endure the trials we do encounter. The words of Psalm 19:7-8 are powerful:
“The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.”
The law of the Lord is wholly adequate for its intended purpose – converting and restoring the soul. There is no doubt we are often in need of being converted or restored. The old man of the flesh is so hard to keep down that we continually tend to drift backward rather than make progress in becoming more like our Lord.
Because of this tendency, exhortation should provide a focus for self-examination in our memorial service.
Self-examination is at all times a good, spiritually healthy, but nevertheless painful, exercise Paul left us with no doubt of the need for it when he wrote to the Corinthian brethren “But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup” (I Cor 11 28)
The need for spiritual growth
When we first come into the Truth, we do so only as little children in faith God does not wish us to remain at this level As the Psalmist David informs us, “The testimony of the Lord is sure making wise the simple”
He has permitted the light of His eternal purpose to shine into our minds He called us out of the surrounding darkness, because He knew that we had the necessary quality of heart and mind to be fertile ground for the seed of the gospel to germinate and grow As we are told m the familiar words of the sower “He that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word and understandeth it, which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (Matt 13:23)
We have been highly honored, having been called out of the world of darkness When we see the multitudes around us who never hear the call, we should give humble thanks to God It is abundantly clear He does not want us to remain as we were when we first came into the Truth Peter says this “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby” (I Pet 2 2) And Paul writes to the Ephesians “And he gave some, apostles, and some, prophets for the edifying of the body of Christ that we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro but speaking the truth in love, may grow up in him in all things, which is the head, even Christ” (Eph 4 11,12,14,15)
The need for us to grow is clear as God desires us to be prepared to become “kings and priests” He has a future use for us At this present time of probation, He is, with our consent, fashioning us to that end, much as a potter does a lump of clay Yet we are not like a lump of clay, unable to help in the shaping process We do have minds and the capacity to use the intellect God has given us.
Suggestions for spiritual growth
When a young man or woman decides on a career path, whether it is as a craftsman, business person, professional, educator or any of the other fields available to them, they obtain the skill and knowledge necessary for their chosen career In many cases, this requires years to enter even the lowest level of the chosen job and often requires ongoing training throughout their working life The ones who put forth the most effort are in most cases the most successful
We have believed m God and His purpose to make of us priests and kings in the world to come Therefore it is our obligation, and should be our pleasure, to work day and night to grow m knowledge and wisdom As it is written in Proverbs “Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at the posts of my doors For whosoever findeth me findeth life” (Prov 8 33-35)
“Receive my instruction, and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it” (Prov 8 10,11)
“The heart of him that hath understanding seeketh knowledge.”(Prov 15 14)
We spend years preparing ourselves to earn our daily bread, the bread which perishes and which sustains a life that at best is short and often painful How much more time we should spend m preparing ourselves for God’s use in the life that will never end, a life free from the pain and woes of this dark world It is a commonly known truth that anything worth having is worth striving for, on the other hand, anything obtained with little effort is worth exactly what it costs.
As we have noted, exhortation should play a part m our growth in the Truth But exhortation should not be only a Sunday morning exercise We should receive exhortation every day “Exhort one another daily while it is called to day” (Heb 3 13) Daily exhortation is accomplished by making scripture an integral part of our daily conversation and living This cannot be done sitting in front of TV or at some concert, sports game or other worldly pursuit or pleasure.
The writings of Dr Thomas, Robert Roberts and other past and present Christadelphians provide an excellent source of exhortation We need the help and support of others. As it is written in Proverbs “A fool despiseth his father’s instruction” and again, “fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov 15 5, I 7)
While Dr Thomas, Robert Roberts and others are not our natural fathers, their studies and writing provide much in the way of instruction and exhortation that we should do well to consider in our studies
In one analogy, a speaker asked his audience to suppose a young person had inherited a very successful business from his father After taking inventory of all he had inherited, he reasoned that this business had been built up from the , probably starting with one piece of equipment Many mistakes were made as the business grew in size The son reasoned he could build the business from scratch and avoid the mistakes his father had made He proceeded to sell or scrap all the equipment and buildings and build the business all over again.
What would we think of such a person? Even in a charitable spirit we would consider he lacked wisdom and had a lot of pride.
We can and should learn from others Many of the thoughts in this exhortation were taken from one I recently read given by my wife’s grandfather (Bro Chamberlain) in 1921 We need all the instruction and exhortation available to us – Sunday morning exhortation, daily exhortation from one another, exhortation from the writings and studies of others, exhortation from the daily read-mg of God’s word.
In the words of Paul to Timothy, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Tim 215)
Two passages provide a fitting summary to our thoughts.
“Beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked but grow in grace, and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (II Peter 3 17,18)
“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not upon thine own understanding In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths Be not wise in thine own eyes” (Prov 3 5-7)
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One