Fellowship
- Introduction
I came
across the following verses that I think probably tie all three of our planned
discussions together: Fellowship, Nature and Sacrifice of Christ, and
Atonement, so I thought that directing our attention there would be a good
place to start.
We read
in 1 John 4: 2-3: “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of
God: And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of
antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is
it in the world.”
And we
see in 2 John 1: 7-10 how those that reject that Christ came in the flesh are
to be treated: “For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.
Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but
that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth,
and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not
God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he
hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not
this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed: For
he that biddeth him Godspeed is partaker of his evil
deeds.”
He that
bids a denier of the Truth “God-speed” by receiving him in approving
cooperation is “partaker of his evil deeds.” This is John’s doctrine, and
John’s doctrine is Christ’s doctrine, and Christ’s is God’s. However
inconvenient it may be for us in this present world, we must realize that God’s
law was not given as a rule of convenience.
I must
admit: while researching this topic, it became very hard to stay focused on the
subject at hand. It seems all the writings that I found were written in
response to a recent or looming division in the brotherhood. Whether it was the
Nature and Sacrifice of Christ, Atonement, Partial Inspiration, or any other
number of topics that have been at the root of past divisions, it always seems
that Fellowship has been interwoven in the discussion, walking hand-and-hand
with the controversy, as a separate, but just as important (or maybe even more
important), issue. As factions form in ecclesias,
brethren who have been close friends their entire lives find themselves on
opposing sides, and that’s when a firm understanding of the Doctrine of
Fellowship is most important.
The
truth is a narrow thing, and Jesus declares this in saying, “Straight is the
gate and narrow is the way that leadeth unto life”. A
loose fellowship is convenient and agreeable to human nature. It allows for
more friendship with the world and less division in the brotherhood. But a
loose fellowship is completely out of harmony with the standard set forth in
Scripture.
(In
this talk, I plan to discuss the nature, conditions and principals of
fellowship and our responsibilities regarding fellowship)
Fellowship - Nature, Conditions, & Principals
The
“narrowness” of the Truth is one of the great obstacles to its popular
adoption. By nature, people generally do not like to be restrained in any
aspect of life. For this reason, there has been a tendency towards corruption
since the day the Truth was apostolically established at Jerusalem, as is
evident from the saying of John that the spirit of antichrist already
existed in the world (1 John 4: 3).
It is
inconvenient to be restricted in our dealings with fellow men, whether in the
Truth our out of it. Given the choice, I’m sure we would all prefer absolute
freedom in all matters of life. But, then we would say with the wicked, “Our
lips are our own: who is Lord over us?” (Psalm 12:4).
But no
one who truly knows Christ would desire this freedom. All who accept Christ
recognize his law as vital to salvation. This law was not set down on a whim,
as merely an interesting point of conversation to be discussed along with
politics, geography, and the many fascinating bodies of the cosmos. It’s meant
to mold its followers into something useful, suitable to be used by God at Christ’s
return. We read in Ephesians 2:19-22:
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but
fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built
upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being
the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also
are builded together for an habitation of God through
the spirit.
Willing-hearted
followers of Christ are separated from the world to become joined together with
other brethren to form a holy temple. It is through the law of Christ that we
are molded into a stone fit for use in that holy temple to come.
The truth
demands that those who receive it “contend earnestly for it” (Jude 1:3), even
if an angel from heaven oppose or corrupt it (Gal 1:8-9). Those who accept the
Truth must refuse to walk with anyone who disobeys its precepts or refuses
consent to its teachings in vital matters. This policy is so contrary to our
natural affinity towards friendliness and our desire to be socially accepted,
that it is easily ignored. We may feel that just this once we can look the
other way, if it means keeping peace in the brotherhood.
Brother
Roberts, in response to brethren who themselves were scripturally sound in the matter of the inspired character of the
Scriptures failed to insist that the
entire brotherhood hold to that truth, laid out a series of propositions
regarding fellowship. While it would be productive to read these points verbatim,
in the interest of time I will try to limit myself to general principles, and
not delve into the specifics of the event.
First and
foremost, fellowship with the Father and with His son consists of walking in
the Light, where “Light” is understood as a metaphor for Divine wisdom,
knowledge, and understanding. Our fellowship with one another is dependent on
our conformity to this principle. The truth separates men from the world and
associates together those who are separate. But the association of those
separated from the world is governed by conditions that sometimes terminate
that association. “Have no company”, “Withdraw”, and “Turn away” are all
apostolic commands. If a man be sound in all doctrines of the Truth, yet be
willing to wink at the denial of any essential part thereof by those with which
he is in fellowship, then that man is an offender against all of the law of
Christ, and a “partaker of his evil deeds”. It is the duty of all who are
friends of the Truth to uphold it’s principles as a basis of union by refusing
to receive either those who deny any part of it or those who would receive
those who deny a part. Paul commands withdrawal from any man who “obeys not his
word delivered by epistle” (2 Thessalonians 3:14). That we must not bid god-speed
to those who hold not to the commands of Christ is itself a command to which we
must hold.
This
principle, which isolates us as Christadelphians, also isolates us from the
fellowship of all who reject any part of the Truth. There are those who may
accept part of the Truth, but are unwilling or unable to receive it in its
entirety. These people can be said to be “charitable” towards the Truth, but in
fact they are very dangerous. They are lovers of peace. While peace is a very
desirable thing, it must be had on a pure, solid foundation, but charitable
people are not particular about the foundation. Therefore they would compromise
the Truth in order to maintain harmony. We are not at liberty to lighten the
commands of Yahweh. The faithful man cannot consent to any union that requires
one jot or tittle of God’s law to be set aside if he
is to be suitable for use in the Kingdom so fast approaching.
Fellowship – Our Responsibility
Fellowship
is something that requires division. Living and walking in the “Light” requires
that men and women separate from that which is ungodly and associate themselves
to that which is Godly. We read in Luke that Jesus told that his teachings
would bring division. Jesus’ words are recorded in Luke 12:51: “Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you nay,
but rather division”.
No matter
how sincere a well-meaning brother’s appeal for more “love” and “unity” might
be, we know, through Christ’s own words, that there will be division. And since
in this age we lack a living voice of authoritative guidance, we must use the
correctly interpreted word of Scripture as our rule. We
cannot let our personal feelings cloud our view of a matter, and to accomplish
this we must be deeply in love with the Truth.
One of
the most often-cited scriptures regarding the treatment of error is in the 18th
chapter of Matthew. Unfortunately, this passage of Scripture is not always
understood in its full connotation. On it’s surface, Matthew 18:15-17 appears
to relate to anyone having a personal fault against another brother. If that
were the case, then we’d have a contradiction just a few verses latter in the
chapter, in verses 21 and 22.
Let’s
read both of these instances.
Mathew 18
verses 15-17 reads, “Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against
thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear
thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or
three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear
them, tell it unto the
ecclesia: but if he neglect to hear the ecclesia, let
him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.”
And Matthew 18 verses 21-22 reads, “Then came
Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I
forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, until seven times:
but, until seventy times seven.”
So, in
the first instance, after three failed attempts, the brother is to be treated as
a heathen, and in the second instance he is to be forgiven “until seventy times
seven”. How can that be?
Any
confusion dissolves when we look at other translations. Verse 15 reads “if
thy brother shall trespass against thee”, but those words “against thee” do not
belong. They are not in the Sinaitic or
Also the word rendered “trespass” is not the best
translation. The Greek word is “hamartia”, and it
means to sin, miss the mark, or be in error. Translated correctly, we see that
verses 15-17 do not necessarily deal with a personal fault between two
brethren; it concerns the dealing with error in divine principles. These verses
concern the doctrine of fellowship. When a brother is in error (against Yahweh)
and the proper steps are taken by the ecclesia to correct the error and the
brother still persists in the error, he is to be “as a heathen man and a
publican”. Or rather as a Gentile and a tax collector – groups of people hated
by the Jews. Not to suggest that we are to hate the errant brother (after all,
the goal is to bring him back into the flock), but that’s the severity of the
language used by Christ regarding cases where a brother is not walking in the
light.
Contrasting this with verses 21 – 22, we see that
the words “against me” do belong in the text. This is indeed referring to a
personal sin against a brother, and Christ directs Peter (and us) to forgive
“until seventy times seven”. We are to treat our brethren the way we would like
Yahweh to treat us. We are weak, sinful creatures, and the only hope that we
have to attain a place in the kingdom is through the continual forgiveness and
grace of Yahweh. When
dealing with matters of personal grievances, we must follow what is popularly
styled “the Golden Rule” found in Luke 6:31, “and as ye would that men should
do to you, do ye also to them likewise.”
This is not to say that the first instance cannot
apply to personal offenses. If a brother continues in sin or if he recognizes
the sin but refuses to renounce it, he would be ignoring the commandments of
Christ which require benevolence toward our brethren.
We also have the Scriptural example of Paul
dealing with Peter recorded in the epistle to the Galatians. Paul, in chapter 1
verse 8 tells the ecclesias in Galatia that if
anyone, including an apostle or even an angel from heaven preach any other
gospel other than that which was already set before them, then they should be
thought of as accursed. To back this up, he gives a personal account in chapter
2, beginning in verse 11. “But when Peter was come to
And I think this spirit of meekness is very
important. It could be all too easy to be overly harsh with an errant brother.
But if we keep in mind that, while the point of the confrontation is to
maintain the purity of the Truth, we must also have a sincere desire to redeem
our brother by showing him that he has taken a stance that puts him outside of
fellowship. We cannot use forceful means such as excommunication. All we can do
is follow the prescribed methods set forth in Scripture, and if that fails, we
have no choice but to withdraw, leaving the final judgment of the matter to
Christ.
Walking
together in the Light is the sole basis of Fellowship. We read in 1 John 1:7,
“If we walk in the light, as he (i.e. God) is in the light, we have
fellowship one with another”. And what a wonderful thing fellowship is, and what a vastly important
endeavor it is to contend for a pure fellowship. We know fellowship is more
than friendship, companionship, and association – though the world might tell
us that’s all it is. We know maintaining purity of
fellowship is a law of Christ, and its purpose is to “make ready a people
prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17). But we must remember the words of Paul to
the ecclesia in
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of
angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a
tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy,
and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith,
so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And
though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give
my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth
me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is
kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave
itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily
provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth
not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all
things.
In the
end, these are the words by which we will be judged. If we, out of bitterness
or envy or wrath, bring up condemning accusations against others (especially in
their absence), then we show that we are losing the battle against the flesh.
That is
not to say that we are to allow error and justify it to by declaring that it is
out of the spirit of love and charity. Without love and charity we are nothing,
but it must run on legitimate lines. We may (and should) be charitable with our
own things - for all that we possess is a gift of God, but we have no right to
be charitable with God’s law. If we truly love our brethren and have a sincere
interest in their gaining a place in the kingdom, we cannot stand idly by and
ignore error. Justifying complacency to one’s self is also losing the constant
battle against the flesh.
We must,
through the spirit of love, protect the truth, and vigilantly hold fast to the
law of Christ laid out in Scripture.
Mark
Braune
12/25/2006
N.C.
Study Week (12/25 – 01/01)