We do have some idea of why saints gathered together as a part of their daily life. One of the reasons to gather was to draw encouragement from one another.
Today, so many view attendance at a facility as a requirement to be checked off and if you happen to be encouraged, that’s just “icing on the cake.” Instead, we need to see encouragement to be the cake. It is the reason for togetherness. Notice how this concept of strengthening is supported by Heb 10:24-25:
“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the day approaching.”
The word translated “assembling” in Heb. 10:25 refers to a continual action that occurs whenever the local ekklesia is called together and that it involved daily contact is clear from 3:12-13. It reads:
“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
If I were to ask you when we should meet, being a member of the local church organization, you would give me the times listed on the sign in front of the building and maybe add, “This one (Sunday) is important not to miss.” This is taken to mean that the others are not so important. The example of some members would support that conclusión as many are working, or have other events that interfere with the scheduling on Sunday at 6:00 pm or Wednesday at 7:00 or 7:30 p.m. They may not be a devout member, but they are still members in good standing with the organization.
The description above is not what you would see among God’s people of the first century. Throughout the New Testament we see the Christians assembling any day of the week and in some passages every day of the week (Acts 2:46; 5:42). When Hebrews 10:25 says, “And do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together…” it does not mention any day specifically. Rather, the word “assembling” refers to any and every time the ekklesia is called together. Thus, we must conclude that the passages that mention the first day of the week are not designed to limit the required assemblies of the saints, but to regulate in which assemblies the called-out was to eat the Lord’s Supper (see 1Cor. 11:20-33, Acts 20:7).
The “appointed times” listed on a “church sign” assigns a time and its length that will be set aside to be together. In talking to others, it appears that while it is not intended to limit the time for God’s people to be together, it requires that these times take precedence over everything else. They will miss attending a singing at a house, but would never consider missing any appointed service. Still, others say that Sunday is the only required time but Wednesday night is for those who have the time and “feel like coming”. All of this sounds appropriate as members of an organization or club because when you have an organization, one element that is always included are days and times of operation. The implication is that if you are open at these times, you are also closed at all other times. So, you can come to the building at the appointed times and thus fulfill your obligation to the “church.” Meanwhile, everything outside those boundaries of time and space is focused on other things. In other words, we may put in our time as good members should, press the pause button on spiritual priorities of kingdom living and edifying the brethren to follow earthly pursuits. Then, when the appointed time returns the following week, we can press pause and resume our spiritual duties. This is what is meant by “compartmentalizing” our lives into neat segments. Dividing our lives into compartments is very different from the biblical pattern that envisions our life as servants of God 24/7 with every relationship under that heading. Our entire lives have one central purpose that effects all that we do. For this reason, Paul writes in Colossians 3:17, “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” Then, he lists the responsibilities of wives, husbands, fathers, children and slaves to whom he concludes by writing, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men (Col. 3:23, cf. Eph. 6:7, 1 Peter 2:13).
Part of that lifestyle includes the interaction of spiritual brothers and sisters. Gravitating to one another is so natural to everyday life that waiting for an “appointed time” to see each other is so foreign. Every Christian would want to be with his brothers and sisters and expect to be used by God to study, pray, or assist in any way. While it is true that one may not always be able to stop what is being done to gather with saints, it is not due to interest and desire. But, that we would encourage such openness to communicate and strive to be available to serve one another should rule the day. That is a commitment we make to one another and upon which all can depend. No one should treat the opportunities to meet with saints with careless indifference whether it is at the appointed times or a meeting called any other time of the week. It should be our habit to assemble with other Christians. It should be not merely a priority of responsible living, it should be a natural desire, yea longing, to be with each other. What on earth could be more important than this? Rather than looking for excuses for why we can’t, we need to be looking for more opportunities whereby we may encourage each other. In the interest of helping us see the difference between membership in a local church organization and a local family of believers, imagine a brother in Jerusalem trying to decide whether he’s going to meet at Mark’s house for prayer or work on his new project. It is incomprehensible that any option but being with brethren would enter his mind.
What we question is whether the Hebrew writer is referring to not missing a formal meeting or whether he warns against developing a habit of not being together. The same book reads, “Take heed, brethren, lest haply there shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling away from the living God: but exhort one another day by day, so long as it is called Today; lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:12-13). We readily admit that many of us would stress the importance of attending regularly all the “services of the local church.” But, how many of us would see the importance of being together daily? Yet, there is as much biblical proof for one as there is the other. Yet, I’m not hearing teachers and elders requiring brethren to meet daily. They just want to be sure that the first day of the week meeting and the mid-week Bible study is attended. The effect is that there are two appointed days that we are required to “go to church” to be in good standing with that local fellowship.
We may be encouraged in one of the assemblies but that this purpose is the objective for the meeting is often overlooked. Encouragement should be more than a side benefit. It should be the purpose of our coming together. That it is not perceived this way is evident by certain brethren who are proactive in chiding a member for not attending a “worship service” but will not reach out in any other way to these same brothers and sisters whose lack of attendance proves their need for our “day by day” encouragement. The point is that attending services and mutual encouragement do not always coincide with each other; especially when the emphasis is on the religious legislation of attending rather than on the purpose of encouragement. Again, mutual encouragement is not the “icing on the cake”. It is the cake.