“But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” – Hebrews 3:13
As Christians, we’re called to get personal with one another. Real personal! We’re to be involved with and encouraging fellow believers toward Christ every single day. When we see a brother or sister in Christ falling into a particular sin, regardless of whether we or they think it’s big deal, we need to strongly encourage them to reject that pattern of sin.
The writer of Hebrews understands the tricky nature of sin. Whether it’s addiction, anger, sexual sin, greed, covetousness, violence, obscene talk, gossip, etc the pattern tends to be similar. Sin begins worming its way into our hearts and minds. At first we may not even it see it! When we do, we make little excuses about how it isn’t a big deal… how it doesn’t really hurt anyone… how it’s justified by our situation or circumstance…
Over time, our self-deceptive rationalization hardens into obstinacy and willful blindness. We refuse to see sin as sin and refuse to see it’s harm to ourselves and others. We insist that we need the sin or at least deserve it. We fight to keep it, including with those trying to help us.
The longer we wait to exhort one another away from sin, the harder it becomes to do so. This is the great value of lives lived close enough together and with enough honesty to be able to encourage and exhort one another daily away from sin and toward godliness. When we live such lives, we can begin to intercede in word and prayer when change is easiest and most painless. But first, we need to intentionally get that close to other believers. Are you?