What is fellowship? (part 4)

In the last article we identified one of the limitations of Christian fellowship: those who refuse to repent of sins cannot be in Christian fellowship (see Matthew 18:15-17 & 1 Corinthians 5:11). Another limitation of Christian fellowship is this:

Those who don't hold to the teachings of Jesus & His apostles can't be in Christian fellowship.

Consider 2 John 9-11, "Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teachings of Christ, he does not have God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds." John was addressing a specific problem of false teachers coming in and teaching that Jesus was not God in the flesh. God makes it clear that people with that teaching cannot be in fellowship with Christ. But I don't think it is limited to that one teaching. John said "Anyone who does not abide in the teachings (plural) of Christ." Paul said in 1 Corinthians 14:37 "...the things I write to you are the Lord's commandments..." The message the apostles brought, by preaching and writing, were the very commands of Jesus Himself! If someone denies and teaches contrary to what is found in scripture, they cannot be welcomed in Christian fellowship.

The implications of this are many. First, this means we have to know our Bibles well enough to detect things that aren't inline with scripture. Acts 17:11 says, "they searched the scriptures daily to see whether these things were so." We ought to have that mentality that we will test what we hear by God's word. 1 John 4:1 says to test the spirits to see wether they are from God! Secondly, we need to watch ourselves to be sure we are not straying from the truth of God's word. 1 Timothy 4:16 says, "Pay close attention to yourself and to your teaching; persevere in these things, for as you do this, you will ensure salvation for both yourself, and for those who hear you."

The bottom line is that Christians cannot be in fellowship with that which is not from Jesus.

— Kolton Ballance

What is fellowship? (part 3)

In the last few articles we have looked at various Bible verses and what they teach us about Christian fellowship. The definition of fellowship is “a relationship you have with God, that you also have with others who have that same relationship with God.” This relationship is seen as a sharing together, it is seen as a participation together, and it is seen as something that Christians devote themselves to. But what are the limitations of Christian fellowship? I’ve heard of some people who will open arms in fellowship to anyone no matter what they believe, and I’ve also heard of some who won’t open their arms in fellowship to hardly anyone. But what limitations does the Bible actually place on Christian fellowship? There are 2 main ones that we will highlight in the next 2 articles.

First...

Those who refuse to repent of sin cannot be in Christian fellowship.

This point is clear simply by the definition of fellowship. Fellowship is a relationship we have with God, that we also have with others who have that same relationship with God. But if a persons relationship with God is not what it should be, then they are out of fellowship with Him, and therefore also with us.

In Matthew 18:15-17 Jesus gave instructions on how to talk to those who are in sin. At the end of the 3-step process Jesus gives, he tells us that if this brother/sister refuses to repent and acknowledge their sin, they should not be in fellowship with God’s people anymore. He even uses the the strong language “let them be to you as a gentle or a tax collector.”

Paul outlined a specific situation in Corinth where this needed to be done (1 Corinthians 5). The reality is that fellowship cannot be opened up to those who refuse to repent of their sins. In fact, Paul said, “But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one” (1 Corinthians 5:11).

The difficult reality about Christian fellowship is that it can be lost. If a person can lose fellowship with God, they can also lose fellowship with His people. This is one limitation of fellowship: Those who refuse to repent of sin cannot be in Christian fellowship.

— Kolton Ballance