[Biblemat] A) CHRISTIANS AND FELLOWSHIP

[J5827Sasser at wmconnect.com]

Brethren and Friends, Jim Sasser here.  A very good Thursday
morning to each and everyone.  May God bless you and yours.
Here is an article from my ancient files:

CHRISTIANS AND FELLOWSHIP

INTRODUCTION: -- Today we want to study that which is call-
ed "fellowship" in the New Testament.  Fellowship has been a
problem among various religious people for a long time.  Diff-
erent religious groups have found this a problem and thus
there has been "open" and "closed" fellowship and there still
is.

     Christians (those who have heard the gospel and believed
who have repented of their sins and have been baptized for
the remission of their sins upon a confession of their faith in
Christ) have had and still do have a lot of problems with fellowship, too.  
Can such people go to worship and work with the Baptists or the Methodists or 
with any of the denom-
inations?  It is not a question about whether these people are
honest and sincere and respected people.  Can Christians
have fellowship with them?  Furthermore, can Christians go
to church with, worship, and work with those churches of
Christ which practice and participate in things for which we
cannot find authority in the New Testament?  If we answer
"no" to these questions, then we ought to be able to give an
answer as to why not.

WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED FELLOWSHIP?: -- What is the
meaning of fellowship?  We are talking about the word as you
find it in the New Testament.  We are not talking about what
many religious people call fellowship, i.e., eating and playing
together.  This is so common that churches build that which
they call fellowship halls for such activities.

     The word "fellowship" as it is found in the New Testament
refers to "partaking together" and/or entering into a joint effo-
rt together.  Thus, it is what is done together.  Furthermore,
it is a yoking together (2 Cor. 6:14).  This is what people are
together.  That paragraph in 2 Cor. 6:14-18 uses other terms
to describe this being tied together.  Communion, concord,
and agreement are such terms used, all indicating what peop-
le are together.  Thus, when people go to worship and work
with a group, they do certain things together and they are 
united together.  They are in fellowship with one another.

GOOD OR BAD?: -- Fellowship can be good (Gal. 2:9).  Both
of these men were doing the same thing.  They had fellowship
and it was good.  If this church here is doing the rigth things
and only the right things, then this fellowship is good.  On the
other hand, if this church is doing things for which there is
no authority in the New Testament, then this fellowship is not
good.  2 Cor. 6:14-18 lists a number of things which are bad
fellowship and even points out that the church could be in
fellowship with idols.  The appeal is then made to those at
Corinth to come out from among them.  I can and will say at
this point that I do not want to be in fellowship with any group
regardless of their name if that group is in error.  I would pre-
fer to meet in someone's home or in a rented building or in a
little meeting house in an out of the way place than to be a 
part of and have fellowship with a church in error no matter
how large and influenctial and popular it might be.

BUT HOW CAN I TELL?: -- But how can I tell about fellow-
ship?  First of all, how can I tell if I can fellowship with the de-
nominational churches?  These Christians, whom we identi-
fied in the introduction, are called to fellowship.  1 Cor. 1:9
says: "God is faithful, by Whom ye were called unto the fellowship of His Son 
Jesus Christ our Lord."  These were the
chruch at Corinth.  They were such because they having 
heard, believed and were baptized (Acts 18:8).  How can these have fellowship 
with those who have not done that which is required to become Christians?  
That ought to settle
the matter of whether a Christian can work and worship with
the denominations.

     Still, we must go one step further.  We have learned that
Christians are to have fellowship with each other.  There is a
standard by which this is to be done, i.e., by all speaking the
same thing (1 Cor. 1:10).  1 Cor. 4:6 insists that Christians
must not go beyond that which is written.  Some churches of
Christ are not worthy of fellowship either.  Christians must not be a part of 
a church where false teaching is the thing
(Rom. 16:17).  Christians must not be a part of a church where sinful things, 
whatever they may be, are tolerated (2
Cor. 6:14-18; Eph. 5:6-11).  There are many churches of Christ of such 
descriptions.  In all my years of acquaintance
with churches of Christ, there have always been some which
were not worthy of fellowship for one reason or another.  The
number seems to grow.

THE FORMULA OF 1 JNO. 1:3-7: -- The formula for true fellow-
ship is found in 1 Jno. 1:3-7.  The apostle said he was writing
to tell these how to have fellowship with the apostles.  Their
fellowship was with God and with Christ.  Thus, according to
that which has been written, we can have fellowship with the
apostles and with God and with Christ by following the instru-
ction of the apostles.  When we do that, we will have fellow-
ship with each other.  It naturally follows that when we do not
follow these instructions, we do not have fellowship with God
and with Christ and with the apostles.  That tells us with whom we can have 
fellowship upon the earth.  ---- Curtis E.
Flatt, in Gospel Guide, Vol. 27, No. 10, Nov. 1995.   </HTML>
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