You may greet several people after worship and still go home without telling anyone what has weighed on your heart this week. At other times, you may want to ask how someone is doing but pass by because you cannot find the right words. What does encouraging one another look like in discipleship? Hebrews 10:24-25 shows the attention we should give one another when we gather and the purpose toward which that attention should lead.
Following the context of Hebrews, this article explores the principle of looking out for one another in discipleship and suggests ways to practice it in one-on-one meetings and small groups. The direct Scripture quotation uses the World English Bible (WEB). The examples and practical steps below are suggestions for applying the passage to life today.
Hebrews 10:24-25: Holding Fast to Hope Together
Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good works,
Hebrews 10:24, World English Bible (WEB)
Hebrews 10:25 then teaches us not to follow the habit of giving up meeting together, but to exhort one another all the more as we see the Day approaching. Considering one another, stirring one another toward love and good works, and gathering to exhort one another belong together. Our gatherings should be places where we care for one another’s faith and lives.
The starting point of this exhortation is in Hebrews 10:19-23. Jesus’ blood has opened the way for us to approach God, and we have a great priest over God’s house. We therefore draw near to God in faith and hold fast to hope because the one who promised is faithful. The grounds for encouraging one another also lie in what Christ has done.
Hebrews 10:32-36 recalls that the readers endured public abuse and affliction, stood with prisoners, and even endured the loss of their property. In that context, the community’s encouragement is care that helps people hold fast to faith amid suffering. The endurance the passage calls for does not require us to deny today’s pain or force a cheerful face.
Looking Out for One Another Begins with Specific Attention
We can attend the same gathering yet know little about one another’s circumstances. We need the attentiveness to ask what happened with a prayer request someone shared before, what questions have arisen as they study Scripture, or where they have struggled while trying to obey. If we apply the exhortation of Hebrews 10:24, taking time to understand a person before preparing our next words is a good place to start.
In a one-on-one meeting, each person might share one passage that has stayed with them this week and one thing they have found hard to put into practice. When the other person speaks, listen fully rather than rushing to a conclusion. Ask whether they need prayer, help studying Scripture together, or practical help in daily life. These questions are small tools for understanding one another, not a fixed counseling procedure to apply to everyone alike.
1 Thessalonians 5:14 teaches us to admonish those who are disorderly, encourage the fainthearted, support the weak, and be patient with everyone. Different circumstances call for different kinds of care. Do not conclude that someone’s faith has cooled simply because they have grown quieter; listen to what that person chooses to share.
Encouragement Leads Toward Love and Good Works
Hebrews 10:24 names love and good works as the aim of this encouragement. Words that warm the heart matter, but encouragement in discipleship also helps us love God and our neighbors in the way we live. Colossians 3:12-17 connects compassion, humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another, and forgiveness with the word of Christ.
For example, if someone who has avoided contact because a relationship became strained decides to reach out first, you can encourage that small act of obedience in specific terms. You might help a fellow believer prepare for a new ministry role or accompany them to their first meeting. Respecting the other person’s pace and circumstances, look together for a next step that puts love into action.
Romans 15:1-7 urges those who are strong to bear the weaknesses of those who are weak, to seek a neighbor’s good and growth, and to welcome one another as Christ welcomed us. What matters, then, is that the other person is built up, rather than that the helper receives recognition. Asking what you can do together and making promises you can actually keep fits this aim.
Encourage from Scripture, and Receive Exhortation Too
Hebrews 3:12-13 warns against unbelief that turns us away from God and the deceitfulness of sin, and teaches us to exhort one another every day. Caring for one another includes honest exhortation as well as comfort. If someone keeps making choices contrary to Scripture, we cannot simply say those choices are fine for the sake of preserving a close relationship.
Even then, we should examine the meaning of Scripture together and speak gently. Colossians 3:16 calls a community in which the word of Christ dwells richly to teach and admonish one another. Before presenting your preference or experience as though it were God’s command, look at what the passage you want to apply actually says. Leave room to hear the other person’s story and reconsider your own understanding.
Encouraging one another also means receiving encouragement and exhortation yourself. A small-group leader need not act as if they alone have every answer. When leaders ask for help, share prayer requests, and show how they are putting Scripture into practice, members can experience a relationship in which they learn and grow together.
Connect Gathering Together with One Another’s Lives
Hebrews 10:25 teaches us to value gathering together. The life we share there should include hearing Scripture, worshiping, and exhorting one another. Go beyond checking who attended and consider whether each person can learn, love, and give and receive help within the community.
If someone has been absent for a long time, you can begin by checking in. Listen for any circumstances that make meeting difficult, and look for ways to worship and share fellowship together when possible. Reaching out, visiting when appropriate, and offering needed help can be ways to apply this passage. Do not turn a meeting frequency or attendance standard that Scripture does not specify into a measure of everyone’s faith.
The hope directed toward the future in Hebrews 10:25 makes our care today more urgent. Hebrews 10:35-39 urges us not to throw away our confidence, but to endure and live by faith. A community waiting for the end helps the person beside us hold fast to hope today.
Four Steps to Practice in a Small Group
These are suggestions for a one-on-one meeting or a small group. They are neither a program prescribed by Scripture nor a method guaranteed to work, so adapt them to the members’ circumstances and the purpose of the gathering.
- Read the passage together. Read Hebrews 10:19-25 and look at the grounds on which we approach God and the actions asked of us toward one another. Read the surrounding context so that one verse does not become a detached assignment.
- Listen fully to one person’s story. Share something you wanted to live out from Scripture this week and what made it difficult. Do not pressure everyone to speak at the same depth; wait for people to share as much as they can.
- Choose one act of love. Decide on something specific you can do this week, such as checking in, preparing for a conversation about forgiveness, or accompanying a fellow believer who needs help. Decide together who can help with what.
- Pray and follow up. At the next meeting, listen not only to what happened, but also to the joys and difficulties along the way. If things did not go well, return to Scripture and find a way to begin again together.
This process connects with the mission of making disciples. In Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus commands his followers, on the basis of his authority, to make disciples of all nations, baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all that he commanded. A community that encourages one another helps people put what they have learned from Scripture into practice. Jesus’ promise to be with his followers to the end is the ground on which we carry out this mission.
Give One Person Your Attention Today
Check in with one person who comes to mind today. If they are comfortable sharing, listen to what help they need this week and look for one small act of love you can do together. If you need help yourself, telling a trusted fellow believer can be a good beginning.
Here are some questions for reflection: What do I know about the circumstances of people around me? How does my encouragement help someone love in response to Scripture? Whose exhortation am I receiving, and with whom am I praying?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for opening the way for us to approach God. Help us pay close attention to the people beside us, encourage one another on the basis of Scripture, and practice love and good works together. Teach us both the joy of helping and the humility of receiving help. Amen.
References
- Hebrews 10, Korean Revised Version (KRV): Christ’s work, hope, gathering, and endurance
- Hebrews 3, KRV: Why we exhort one another every day
- Colossians 3, KRV: The word of Christ and building one another up
- 1 Thessalonians 5, KRV: Care suited to different needs and patience toward all
- Romans 15, KRV: A neighbor’s good and welcoming one another
- Matthew 28, KRV: The mission to make disciples and teach them to obey
- Hebrews 10:24, parallel English versions: WEB text
- Hebrews 10:25, parallel English versions: context