Encourage One Another
"One Another" Study, Lesson 4
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Last week, we discovered several reasons for Christians to meet together as a body of believers. This fellowship provides an opportunity to feel a sense of belonging and to grow in our faith and worship God together. This week, we’ll look at another reason to have fellowship with other believers—it gives us an opportunity to encourage each other.
2 Corinthians 13:11: Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
We’ll answer three questions about encouraging one another:
How do we encourage one another?
How often do we encourage one another?
What is the purpose of encouraging one another?
How do we encourage one another?
In the days of the early church, Christians faced a lot of persecution for their faith. Because of this, they often needed encouragement to keep the faith. Our world today is not so different. Our society is moving farther and farther away from the principles of Christian living, so we need to encourage each other to hold fast to our faith.
Romans 1:11-12: 11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.
As Christians, we can encourage each other by sharing our faith and reminding each other of the principles of our faith and why we believe.
In the face of persecution, when it’s easy to abandon our faith, we need to be reminded that we do not live as those who have no hope. In fact, we have great hope because we know that Jesus will return and take his own to be with him. This is the greatest encouragement we can provide to help other Christians live out their faith to the end.
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18: 13 Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. 14 For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 15 According to the Lord’s word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Paul goes on further to say that the day of the Lord’s return should not surprise us and catch us living in the dark. Instead, we should put on the armor of God so that we can stand against the dark and live together with him.
1 Thessalonians 5:4-11: 4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief. 5 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. 6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. 8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Our greatest point of encouragement for other believers should be to remind them to stand strong in the faith as we wait for Christ’s return.
How often do we encourage one another?
The Bible gives the command to encourage one another, but how often should we do this? We are called to encourage one another daily.
Hebrews 3:12-15: 12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 15 As has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”
Why should we encourage one another daily? So that we don’t become hardened to sin. Sin is so sneaky that if we go too long without realizing we are sinning, it gets harder and harder to get out of the habit. By encouraging one another daily, we can be more aware of the sin in our lives and be guided back to the right path quickly so that we remain committed to Christ.
What is the purpose of encouraging one another?
We saw in the passage above from 1 Thessalonians 5 that one outcome of encouraging one another is that it helps build each other up. A fortress that is battered and broken isn’t much good to protect a city from the enemy. But if that fortress is repaired and built up each time it gets broken, then it will stay strong and will resist the enemy.
Similarly, as Christians we will have physical, spiritual, and emotional wounds from living life and doing battle with the enemy. These wounds may come from persecution or trials or other hurts. But if we meet together and encourage each other, we can bind up and heal those wounds, sometimes coming back even stronger than before.
Another purpose of encouraging one another is that it spurs us on toward love and good deeds.
Hebrews 10:19-25: 19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.
We’ve already seen that loving one another is a key distinction of Christians. This love motivates us to do good in this world rather than evil. As we meet together for fellowship and encouragement, we can provide each other with opportunities to show love and do good deeds in our world.
For example, our church gives members opportunities to participate in monthly outreach projects or to provide meals for those who are sick or who have just had a baby. As we come together and know what is going on in each other’s lives, we find more opportunities to show love to others.
Conclusion
Encouragement from other believers is a vital part of the Christian life. It can help us keep the faith, it keeps us focused on Christ’s return, and it helps build us up and strengthen us even in the face of wounds from the enemy. It reminds us to keep love in the forefront so that we will have the strength to do good deeds. Who can you encourage in faith today?