What Does the Bible Say About Friendships?Sýnishorn

How Friends Help Us Obey God

Growing up, I always had godly people around me. But one night, I found myself on a college campus, at a local party, surrounded by everything but Jesus. It was dark, and the place reeked of liquor and other rancid smells. The large room was filled with people, yet it felt empty. I had a chilling realization: “No one in here cares about my relationship with God.”

It was the first time I realized that I was bound to break without a godly community.

Godly friendship leads to godly obedience.

Hebrews 10:19–25 shows the importance of walking through life with fellow followers of Jesus. These are the people who will encourage us to keep drawing close to God and remind us that He is better than anything else. Following Jesus in a world that doesn’t love Him is hard, but the joy that comes from doing it with friends makes it a whole lot easier. And God doesn’t merely suggest we seek out godly friendships. He commands it.

Hebrews 10:26 addresses what happens when we are disobedient, when we “neglect to gather together.” When we don’t surround ourselves with godly community, we deliberately open ourselves up to temptation and, eventually, sin.

The reverse is true too: godly friendship leads to accountability, and accountability leads us to obey God. Godly friends remind us of God’s grace and urge us to walk in love and obedience. So here are some ways to find and invest in friendships that lead us to remember and walk in God’s grace:

1. Find and plug into a local church. I’m not talking about ducking in and out of service once a week. The writer of Hebrews reminds us that we need to put ourselves into communities that love and encourage one another regularly.
2. Get on your knees and ask our gracious and compassionate God to send you friends who know and love Him.
3. Be brave! Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and honest about the fact that you’re looking for godly friends. Ask someone to coffee. Invite a potential friend to come over even if your house is messy or your schedule is busy.

As believers in Jesus, we must pursue friendship with other believers. It is hard to hear the voice of God without a community encouraging you to listen. You know what’s even harder? Obeying the voice of God when no one is encouraging you to obey.

We need people who will point us to the cross.

Questions

• Do you have friends who are pursuing Christ alongside you? How do you follow Him together?
• How do your friends encourage you to obey God? If they don’t, how would you like them to?
• What does it look like to be a godly friend?