• Watch
  • Listen
  • Study
  • Articles
  • Links
  • About
Sunny Slope Church of Christ
  • Watch
  • Listen
  • Study
  • Articles
  • Links
  • About

I Need You To Help Me Get To Heaven

12/12/2021

 
By: Gary L. Hutchens
​     The title of this article is written in the first person in order to emphasize the personal nature of this need.  The purpose of this article is to demonstrate from scripture that we need each other’s help to get to Heaven.  We certainly need God’s help, but we also need each other.  As Christians, we need the help of our brothers and sisters in Christ to get to Heaven.
     I suspect that we’re pretty independent in our thinking regarding our salvation.  We probably don’t think much about our fellow Christians’ influence on our salvation, nor about our influence on theirs.  We probably think it’s pretty much up to each one of us individually.
     However, the scriptures indicate the exact opposite is actually true.  We seriously need the help of our brothers and sisters in Christ to help us get to Heaven, and they seriously need our help on their spiritual journey.  Perhaps it’s because we do not realize how important our influence is that we tend to be as careless as we often are in our actions toward each other.  Maybe this is also one reason why so many members of the Lord’s church are as weak as they are spiritually.  One of the main sources of spiritual strengthening is going largely neglected. 
     The Bible refers to the church as the “house of God” (1 Tim. 3:15).  Each member is like a living brick within the structure of that house (1 Pet. 2:5).  If one brick is missing from a house, the whole house is weakened.  The bricks around the hole left by the missing brick become extra stressed due to the lack of support from the one that’s missing.  Such presents a serious situation, even if only one brick is missing.  Would you buy a house that was missing even one brick? 
   Now imagine what it would be like if five or ten bricks were missing, or twenty or thirty, scattered throughout the house.  We would quickly become concerned about structural integrity.  We would wonder if it was safe to live in that house.  The image such a house would present would be extremely negative.
     Why would we come to such quick, clear and obvious conclusions in regard to a physical house that is missing a bunch of bricks, but we don’t seem to give much thought at all to what a serious state of affairs it is when a number of living bricks are missing from the Lord’s house? 
     We normally emphasize the responsibility of faithful church attendance through Heb. 10:25.  But if we’re only getting the point that it is obligatory for a Christian who would be faithful to attend church services as often as possible, then we’re missing most of the teaching in that context. 
     There are major reasons for faithful church attendance.  One obvious reason is to pay God proper respect through our worship.  Another reason is to nurture our personal spiritual strength as much as possible.  We need to worship and study with the church when the church meets, because we become stronger by so doing (Heb. 10:23).
     A third, very important reason is that our fellow Christians need strength from us, and we need strength from them (Heb. 10:24).  We encourage each other as we worship and study together.  Just seeing each other coming together for the mutual purpose of serving our Lord is encouraging.  But learning His word together, praying together, singing the encouraging messages of the songs to each other and joining together in like worship strengthens us.  The nature of that strengthening can only occur when we are together.  Truly, I need you to help me get to Heaven.  Will you help me?…
​

Comments are closed.

    Author

    Gary L. Hutchens

    Categories

    All
    Dennis Stackhouse
    Gary Hutchens

    Archive

    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    March 2008
    February 2008
    January 2008
    January 2007

Member Login
SUBMIT PRAYER REQUEST
© 2019 Sunny Slope Church of Christ | All Rights Reserved
3606 N. 108th St., Omaha, NE 68164 | (402) 498-8397 | Contact Us
  • Watch
  • Listen
  • Study
  • Articles
  • Links
  • About