Pastors Who Prioritized The Body Over The Soul During Covid | Hebrews 10:19 25

Hebrews 3:12-13 says, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another... that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” So Hebrews 10:24-25, when properly placed in context with Hebrews 3:12-13, provides both a biblical and logical explanation for the tragedy of apostasy (how some individuals who once belonged to the “visible” church ultimately chose to abandon the faith). By way of implication, Hebrews 10:24-25 informs us that the weekly gathering of the saints is the primary context for “stir[ring] up one another to love and good works.” And Hebrews 3:12-13 informs us that “exhort[ing] one another” (the phrase “exhort one another” is synonymous with the phrase “stir one another up”) is one of the church’s most effective strategies for guarding its members against being “hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” which eventually causes people “to fall away from the living God” (commit apostasy). In other words, Christians are commanded not to neglect the weekly gathering of the saints because this is the necessary environment for fulfilling their Christian duty of stirring one another up. And stirring one another up (or exhorting one another) serves as a powerful defense against the deceitfulness of sin which creates a hardened, unbelieving heart. And finally, an unbelieving heart is what ultimately leads people to fall away from the living God. In short, Christians (and especially pastors) were presented with a simple choice: Either forsake the gathering to minimize the physical threat of death to our bodies, or continue to gather to minimize the spiritual threat of damnation to our souls.