“Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” That phrase in Hebrews 10:24 may sound gentle at first, but the word spur is anything but soft.
If you’ve ever seen a horse rider wearing spurs, those small, sharp metal points at the back of their boots, you know exactly what they’re used for. The rider uses them to prod the horse forward with a jolt of discomfort. It’s a strong, deliberate action. And the word used in Hebrews is just as provocative. It literally means a sharp provocation, a strong stimulation, or even an irritation that produces action.
This isn’t polite encouragement. It’s a call to wake each other up.
Why We Need Spurring
The truth about the human heart is sobering. Even after choosing to follow Jesus, we are prone to wander. We drift. And unless someone steps in to spur us toward love and good deeds, we often default to what is easy, comfortable, and safe.
But the easy path doesn’t make us more like Jesus. It makes us stagnant. And if we’re honest, that’s the path most of us would choose on our own.
Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked—who can know it?” That’s not just before we meet Jesus. That’s still true about our hearts even after we begin walking with Him. We need God’s ongoing purification.
Earlier in Hebrews, chapter 3:12-13 warns us again. “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called ‘Today,’ so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.”
That word again, deceitful. Jeremiah says the heart is deceitful. Hebrews says sin is deceitful. Together, they paint a clear picture. It’s incredibly easy to convince ourselves that something wrong is actually okay. We justify poor choices. We excuse small compromises. We call things “not that bad.”
And we all know this. We’ve lived it.
The Reality of Deception
Just this week, a friend emailed me. Another church leader had fallen into moral failure. I had read this man’s books. I had been deeply impacted by his teaching. And now, his life and ministry had imploded.
What happened?
The heart is deceitful. Sin is deceitful. And when no one steps in to speak truth, deception hardens us.
That’s why we need what I like to call a spur club. We need people around us who can look us in the face and say, “You’re doing a dumb thing. The future you wouldn’t want this. Your family wouldn’t want this. This does not honor God. And this is not who you are.”
We need people who see what God wants to do in us and call it out, even when it’s uncomfortable. Because the enemy sees it too, and he wants to destroy it.
David’s Wake-Up Call
Think about King David. Scripture says he was “a man after God’s own heart.” He wrote psalms we still sing and read today. He was anointed by God. He had His Spirit. And yet in 2 Samuel 11 and 12, we see a dark chapter in David’s life.
When kings were supposed to be at war, David stayed home. One decision. One compromise. That moment of idleness led him into temptation. He saw Bathsheba, someone else’s wife, and decided to take her. When she became pregnant, he tried to cover it up. Her husband refused to go home from battle, so David arranged to have him killed. He then took Bathsheba as his wife.
This wasn’t a moment of weakness. This was deception layered on deception. David’s heart had grown hard.
And yet 2 Samuel 11:27 says, “The thing David had done displeased the Lord.” So God sent a prophet. Nathan came as part of David’s spur club.
He told David a story. A story that, at first, seemed unrelated. David listened, grew angry at the injustice in the story, and declared, “That man should die!” Then Nathan turned and said, “You are that man.”
Sin always leads to death. And it always tries to hide behind good excuses. But Nathan’s truth-telling pierced through the deception.
What’s powerful is David’s response. He was broken. He repented. He wrote Psalm 51 from that place of pain and humility. In it, he says, “My sacrifice is a broken spirit. A broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.”
God forgave David. He restored their relationship. David still faced the consequences of his sin, but his life was spared. And it all began with someone who was willing to spur him back toward God.
What Real Community Looks Like
If we want true transformation, we need to be that kind of community. A spur club kind of community.
One where we give each other permission to tell the truth.
One where we say, “I need help,” and someone actually shows up.
It’s not always about sin. Sometimes it’s just about presence. This week, a friend of mine called and said, “I’ve been so sick for so long. I can’t leave my house.” She needed help. So I told her, “I’ll make you ginger, honey, and lemon.” And I did. I drove the distance. I showed up.
This is what biblical community looks like. It’s inconvenient. It costs us something. But it’s the kind of love that reflects Jesus.
The Kind of People We’re Called to Be
Let’s not settle for shallow, surface-level relationships. Let’s be people who lovingly confront and sacrificially care. Who tell the truth when it’s hard. Who hold each other to the standard of love and good deeds.
Because when we do, we’ll become more like Jesus.
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