Length: 6 minutes

As a believer, a top priority for you (aside from spending time with the Lord personally) should be to get together with other believers, who seek the truth.

Hebrews 10:25 (NKJV) …not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

The writer of Hebrews says that we should never neglect getting together with other believers. Especially since, as the day of Jesus’ return approaches, the world will only become more and more deceived. And we are living in those days.

As a believer, you go to work, you go to school, you spend time with family members, you watch TV, etc. Most of these things are full of unbelief and things that contradict the knowledge of what Jesus has done for you. They’re not reminding you of heavenly things. Most of these things speak from a worldly perspective. You have things all day long that are speaking to you from a mentality that is void of Christ. Not to mention just your own experiences that can try to distract you from who you are in Jesus! Therefore, in addition to spending our own time with the Lord, we need to surround ourselves with people that are going to be a good influence on us! We need to surround ourselves with people that will speak the truth of Christ to us, even when we are not thinking right for ourselves. We need people around us who will encourage us in the gospel, even when we may not be seeing straight ourselves, and vice versa.

Of course, a great place to start friendships like this is church. Some people say, “But I don’t have to go to church to be saved.” And to that I would say, “Of course you don’t have to go to church to be saved, but if you are saved, you’ll want to go to church.” Why would I say that? Because if you are truly endeavoring to keep your mind on Jesus, then you would take all the help you could get in that endeavor. And part of that help that we all need is being amongst other believers, at what we would call today “Church.”

Every single time we have ever seen someone’s church attendance get more and more sparse is because there’s a deeper issue in their mind that is causing it. In all my life, I’ve never seen a person’s church attendance dwindle because they were growing in their knowledge of Jesus. Now, if you want to stop going to one church and go to another because you believe the truth is more accurate there, by all means! But I’m not talking about changing churches. When church attendance starts getting sparse, it can be because of shame, guilt, distraction with the cares of this life, but whatever it is, the lack of desire to get together with other believers is never coming from a good mentality. In fact, it’s for things like shame, guilt, and the cares of this life That we need to be around other believers.

Wouldn’t the devil love that? To distract you from the word of God with things in this life, and then to keep you away from other believers who could remind you of who you are and keep you on track! Going to church, and being around other believers in general, is so vitally important. 

I don’t mean just hanging out with people that say they’re saved. I mean hanging out with people that are genuinely seeking the truth like you are! Their knowledge is probably not perfect, and they will say and do silly things, just like you will as you grow, but at least they are growing in the truth! And if you don’t have friends that are believers, in time, make some! Go to a church that is teaching what Jesus did for you (*cough* Reform Church *cough*). Sit under that teaching and soak it in! Take every opportunity you can get to sit under that teaching. And in time, meet other believers that are growing like you are! 

Now, granted, there are some believers that are genuinely saved, go to church, but are resistant to much of the truth that you believe. Unfortunately, that is the case sometimes, but I’m specifically talking about those who can be an encouragement to you in the gospel, and vice versa. Some people may be your brothers and sisters in Christ, but they are still resistant to much of the gospel. And if there is sufficient resistance, spend your time elsewhere. There are other believers that are seeking the gospel like you are. The point is to be an encouragement one to another, and if that is not possible, even with a believer, then move on to someone that you can encourage. We will talk more about that in the future.

Romans 1:12 (NKJV) that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

The most important relationships that you can develop are going to be with like-minded believers… hands-down. Those are the relationships that will help you stay focused on the truth. And likewise, you can help them stay focused on the truth as well. These relationships keep the church growing in a healthy way, learning Jesus with the fewest distractions possible. 

Psalms 119:63 (NKJV) I am a companion of all who fear You, And of those who keep Your precepts.

Now, even with like-minded believers, don’t expect that their actions are perfect and that they’re always going to treat you right, never betray you, and never leave your side. We need to trust the Lord, not man. And don’t stop going to church, just because you had a falling out with someone. That’s just silly. Reconcile with that person. If believers can’t grow to forgive one another, love one another, and have the humility to apologize to one another, then who in this world can? And if someone does refuse to reconcile with you, then make a new believing friend, but a good church is still the best place for believers to get together and influence one another. So, cultivate those relationships.

You may not realize this, but as we renew our minds, we pick up habits, traits, and ways of thinking from the people we hang out with, completely unbeknownst to us. The people around us can normalize and solidify our wrong ways of thinking, or they can challenge them and normalize better ways of thinking. I have seen it firsthand, the night and day difference in people, when they pull away from the company of believers or start spending too much time around the world. They won’t even realize anything looks different, but it does.

If someone is going to rub off on me subliminally, accidentally, if need be, I’d rather it be a believer who’s learning the same truth that I am. We might do ourselves some good to ask if the people we spend most of our time with are people that we actually want rubbing off on us, because the company you keep is what you’re choosing to expose your mind to. 

Proverbs 13:20 (NKJV) He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.

You cannot do your knowledge of the Lord a better service than to go to a good church and to also hang around other believers on a consistent basis. Aside from the Lord, you simply will not develop a more important relationship in all your life, than to develop relationships with fellow believers who are seeking the Lord and learning the same truth that you are.

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