How Should Christians Encourage One Another?
A thoughtful word, a timely visit, or help with a difficult responsibility can strengthen someone who is struggling. Christians should give careful attention to these opportunities. Scripture repeatedly directs us to consider the spiritual and practical needs of one another.
Paul writes:
“Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:11, KJV
To edify is to build up. Christian encouragement helps others trust God’s promises, understand His Word, carry their responsibilities, resist sin, and continue faithfully in Christ.
We must therefore consider both what we say and what our words encourage someone to do. Reassuring a person while overlooking destructive conduct does not help that person grow. Scripture joins love with truth, compassion with patience, and comfort with faithful action.
When we compare the passages, eight connected responsibilities emerge.
Consider One Another
“And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:”
— Hebrews 10:24, KJV
Encouragement begins with attention. We cannot respond thoughtfully to the needs of our brethren if we remain occupied only with our own concerns.
To consider one another requires more than recognizing familiar faces. We should notice who is discouraged, who is carrying an unusual burden, who has been absent, and who may need help understanding or applying Scripture.
A quiet person may have something important to say. Someone who has recently suffered a loss may need continued attention after the first visits have ended. A new Christian may need patient instruction in responsibilities that others have practiced for years.
We should listen before deciding what another person needs. Ask a sincere question and allow time for an answer. Proverbs 18:13 warns against answering a matter before hearing it.
Faithful encouragement begins by considering the person before us and the good we can help that person pursue.
Speak Words That Build
“Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.”
— Ephesians 4:29, KJV
Our words should serve a useful purpose in the life of the person hearing them. Careless criticism, ridicule, gossip, and angry accusations can deepen discouragement and damage relationships.
Proverbs adds:
“Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad.”
— Proverbs 12:25, KJV
A good word may acknowledge faithful work, express gratitude, explain a difficult passage, or remind a weary Christian that the work of the Lord matters. Be specific and truthful. Tell someone what you appreciate and why it has helped.
Encouragement should also remain honest. Ephesians 4:15 calls for speaking the truth in love. Love “rejoiceth in the truth” (1 Corinthians 13:6, KJV). We should not flatter someone into overlooking sin or promise an outcome God has not promised.
Choose words that help the hearer understand truth and respond faithfully to it.
Comfort With Scripture
“Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”
— 1 Thessalonians 4:18, KJV
The words preceding this instruction concern Christians who had died and the hope of the Lord’s coming. Paul supplies revealed truth so that the Thessalonians can understand their loss in light of the hope belonging to those in Christ.
The passage does not require Christians to feel no sorrow. Paul distinguishes their grief from the grief of those who have no hope (1 Thessalonians 4:13). The hope rests on Christ’s death and resurrection and the promise described in the passage.
Romans 15:4 likewise connects the Scriptures with patience, comfort, and hope:
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”
— Romans 15:4, KJV
When comforting someone, use a passage that actually addresses the need and explain its context. Do not turn every promise into a guarantee that present difficulties will disappear.
Read together. Allow questions. Help the person see what God has said and the reasons His people can continue to trust Him.
Bear One Another’s Burdens
“Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.”
— Galatians 6:2, KJV
Some encouragement takes the form of practical assistance. A visit, transportation, a meal, help with a necessary task, or patient companionship may give substance to the concern we express.
James 2:15–16 describes a brother or sister lacking clothing and daily food. Words about departing in peace, being warmed, and being filled do not meet the need when the necessary help is withheld.
John writes:
“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.”
— 1 John 3:18, KJV
We should ask what useful help we can responsibly provide. Sometimes the answer will involve our own time or resources. Sometimes we can help arrange assistance from others who are better able to meet a particular need.
Galatians 6 also teaches personal responsibility (verse 5). Helping someone carry a burden should strengthen faithful conduct while recognizing the responsibilities each person must fulfill.
Offer help respectfully. Listen to the person’s actual circumstances and follow through on commitments you make.
Be Patient With All
“Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men.”
— 1 Thessalonians 5:14, KJV
This verse identifies different needs and different responses. The unruly need warning. The fainthearted need comfort. The weak need support. Everyone must be treated with patience.
The older KJV expression “feebleminded” in this passage concerns the fainthearted or discouraged. We should not use the wording to ridicule a person or treat discouragement as an occasion for contempt.
Someone who is fearful may need reassurance from Scripture and time to discuss the difficulty. Someone who lacks understanding may need teaching. Someone resisting what is right may need a clear warning.
We should discern the need carefully rather than speak to everyone in precisely the same way. A harsh rebuke can wound a person who needs comfort, while soothing words can leave rebellious conduct unaddressed.
Patience helps us remain attentive when progress is slow. Continue teaching and helping without becoming careless about truth or impatient with the person.
Exhort One Another Daily
“But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”
— Hebrews 3:13, KJV
The surrounding passage warns brethren against an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God (Hebrews 3:12). Daily exhortation belongs within that serious concern for continued faithfulness.
Christian encouragement therefore includes helping one another recognize spiritual danger. Sin can deceive. A harmful habit may be defended, a necessary duty repeatedly postponed, or a clear warning gradually ignored.
We should not assume that a struggling Christian will always ask for help. A thoughtful conversation may provide an opportunity to hear the difficulty and compare conduct with Scripture before the situation grows worse.
This instruction calls for continuing concern. Encourage brethren between assemblies as well as when you see them gathered. A message, visit, shared reading, or sincere conversation can help someone turn attention again to the truth.
Speak with humility, remembering that we also need the encouragement and warnings of our brethren.
Restore With Meekness
“Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”
— Galatians 6:1, KJV
When sin is involved, the goal is restoration. Meekness does not require calling sin acceptable. It governs how we approach the person and reminds us to examine ourselves.
We should use Scripture accurately, speak without delighting in another person’s failure, and seek a faithful response. Restoration requires more than winning an argument or making someone feel ashamed.
Paul also instructed the Corinthians concerning a person who had received punishment:
“So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.”
— 2 Corinthians 2:7–8, KJV
Correction and comfort each have their proper place. We should read the circumstances carefully and respond as Scripture directs. When a person turns from wrong, brethren should help that person continue faithfully instead of treating past failure as a permanent identity.
Our conduct should make clear that we desire the person’s spiritual good.
Stir Up Love and Good Works
Hebrews 10:24 gives encouragement a direction: love and good works. The next verse connects this concern with assembling and mutual exhortation:
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
— Hebrews 10:25, KJV
Assembling brings responsibilities toward God and opportunities to strengthen our brethren. We should prepare to participate thoughtfully and consider how our presence, words, and conduct can help others.
That concern should continue beyond the assembly. Invite someone to study, help a new Christian become involved in appropriate service, thank those who labor, or accompany someone who is learning to visit and encourage others.
Barnabas provides a useful example. When he came to Antioch, he was glad at the grace of God and exhorted the disciples to cleave to the Lord with purpose of heart (Acts 11:22–24).
The aim of encouragement is continued devotion to the Lord. Help others take the next faithful step and continue the good work Scripture directs.
The Biblical Pattern
CONSIDER ONE ANOTHER → SPEAK WORDS THAT BUILD → COMFORT WITH SCRIPTURE → BEAR ONE ANOTHER’S BURDENS → BE PATIENT WITH ALL → EXHORT ONE ANOTHER DAILY → RESTORE WITH MEEKNESS → STIR UP LOVE AND GOOD WORKS
| Part of the pattern | Supporting KJV passages | What the passages teach |
|---|---|---|
| Consider one another | Hebrews 10:24; Proverbs 18:13 | Pay attention and listen before deciding how to help. |
| Speak words that build | Ephesians 4:15, 29; Proverbs 12:25 | Choose truthful words that serve the hearer’s spiritual good. |
| Comfort with Scripture | 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18; Romans 15:4 | Ground hope in what God has actually revealed. |
| Bear one another’s burdens | Galatians 6:2, 5; James 2:15–16; 1 John 3:18 | Express concern through appropriate practical help. |
| Be patient with all | 1 Thessalonians 5:14 | Distinguish warning, comfort, and support while treating everyone patiently. |
| Exhort one another daily | Hebrews 3:12–14 | Help brethren resist sin’s deceit and continue in faith. |
| Restore with meekness | Galatians 6:1; 2 Corinthians 2:6–8 | Seek restoration with humility and confirm love as Scripture directs. |
| Stir up love and good works | Hebrews 10:24–25; Acts 11:22–24 | Strengthen faithful participation, service, and devotion to the Lord. |
These responsibilities work together. Attention helps us recognize the need. Scripture governs our words and actions. Patience, practical help, and continued exhortation support the person as he or she seeks to live faithfully.
Examine Your Own Encouragement
Before today ends, consider these questions:
- Who needs more than a passing greeting from me?
- Have I listened carefully before offering advice?
- Are my words grounded in Scripture, or have I promised something God has not promised?
- What practical burden can I help someone carry?
- Is there a brother or sister I should contact, visit, study with, or encourage today?
- Do I help others continue in truth when correction or restoration is needed?
Choose one person and take one thoughtful, faithful step. Read a passage together. Express truthful gratitude. Offer useful help. Follow up when the first conversation ends.
Read Hebrews 10:23–25; Ephesians 4:15, 29–32; Proverbs 12:25 and 18:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 and 5:11–14; Romans 15:4; Galatians 6:1–5; James 2:15–16; 1 John 3:18; Hebrews 3:12–14; 2 Corinthians 2:6–8; and Acts 11:22–24.
Compare the passages. Examine the pattern. Put God’s instruction into practice.
ALLOW SCRIPTURE TO INTERPRET SCRIPTURE.
The Biblical Pattern
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