"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works..."–Hebrews 10:24
How are believers to encourage each other to love and to good works? If you will read the context in Hebrews 10, you will find that love and good works are the direct result of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ for and in the believer. None can truly love except through the love of Christ. If there is any good work that I produce it is because Christ has justified and sanctified me. The Scripture says, that having Him as the High Priest over the house of God, the believer will do two things:
1. Draw near to God the Father, holding fast to Christ as Savior and Substitute.
2. Draw near to fellow believers in worship, love, and fellowship in Christ. "To provoke," means 'to sharpen' as one would sharpen a blade. Believers are not to incite each other to anger, discouragement, or sin, but rather to the love of Christ, who loved them and gave Himself for them, Eph. 5:2. Believers are not to spend their time comparing themselves one with another, but rather using the gifts and talents God has given them in Christ to strengthen one another in the knowledge of Christ, and dissipate the sweet savor of His grace everywhere.
How is this attitude cultivated among believers? It is through the preacher setting Christ forth in truth every time he preaches, and it is by believers conversing with one another concerning His person, work and glory, every opportunity they have.