Hebrews 3:13
“But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
The verse above commands the Christian to “exhort one another daily.” The word “exhort” means to strongly encourage or urge someone to do something. You will notice that this command that God gives the Christian is not to be done only once a week, but it is to be done on a daily basis.
The context of the verse above comes from the wanderings of the children of Israel in the wilderness. God infers that the children of Israel missed going into the Promised Land the first time because they were not exhorting each other. Instead of encouraging others to go to the Promised Land, they were discouraging them and telling each other that they should go back to Egypt. This resulted in the children of Israel wandering in the wilderness for forty years.
You certainly would not want to be one who discourages your brother or sister in Christ. You should desire to be an exhorter. Christians should want to be around you because you have an exhorting or encouraging spirit. There are three areas where you are to exhort others.
First, exhort others to do right. Verse 8 shows us that instead of encouraging others to avoid temptation, the children of Israel were discouraging them from doing right. You should be a cheerleader for right. You should be one who applauds those who are trying to stay away from temptation. It is your responsibility as a Christian to exhort other Christians not to yield to temptation. When someone is struggling with sin, encourage them to keep doing right. Sometimes all it takes is just a friendly word that someone is doing a good job in staying away from the sin they have fought. Be an encourager to those who desire to do right.
Second, exhort people to learn the way of the LORD. In verse 10, the children of Israel erred because they didn’t know God’s way. One way to exhort others to learn the way of the LORD is to encourage them to be in the Sunday school hour and the church services. If you see someone struggling in their faithfulness to church, encourage them to come by telling them that you missed them. You should also be an encourager to study the Word of God. If you are a teacher or preacher, the truths you present should be so well prepared that the listener would want to go home and study the Scriptures more.
Third, exhort people to keep going when they want to quit. Verse 12 talks about the children of Israel “departing from the living God.” When you see someone is a bit discouraged, do something to help pick up their spirit. I have found a note or a phone call to those who are struggling can do a lot to help them to keep going. You may not know what to say, but you can keep encouraging people to never quit.
Are you an exhorter? Do people feel encouraged because they have been in your presence? Always do your best to encourage others around you. Dr. Jack Hyles used to close his radio broadcast out by saying, “Be good to everyone, because everyone is having a tough time.” This should be the motto by which you live.