Keeping in Fellowship

Christians are part of a very large family. We literally have brothers and sisters in Christ all over the globe. There are elders, middle aged, young adult, teens, adolescents, and children. Some are new believers, others are old soldiers. Some are flourishing, others are struggling with various issues. Some live well, some are starving. There are those who are honored and those who are dying because they refuse to renounce their faith in Jesus.

At the church I pastor there are precious folks who suffer from mental illness. There are those who show up who are not yet converted. Some are even trouble makers with a rebellious spirit.

Every church is a mixed bag. We will only be wonderfully perfect when we dwell eternally in the presence of God. Until then, well anything can happen, and I did not understand this my early days in an actual church.

I was shocked to find I was sitting in the same pew with some real odd balls, weird people, yet there they were, and someone had to be clearly dangerous to be asked to go elsewhere. I remember one guy who really troubled me; his very presence irked me. Later I found out he was suffering from a diagnosable disorder and was doing the best he could. In the local church we cannot assume everyone is completely sin free and angelic.

The world-wide family

Every time my wife and I attend a major conference of Christians with people from all over the world in attendance, like the National Religious Broadcasters gathering, or the International Christian Retail Show, we meet brothers and sisters in Christ who are actively engaged in some form of ministry.

            What has always interested me is that no one asks what denomination or church one belonged to. Well, some ask, but most of the time it is a subject that does not come up. Sometimes I can tell by the garb worn that I am speaking with a Roman Catholic or an Oriental or Eastern Orthodox Christian. Other than that, we simply recognize that we belong to Christ.

That there are differences, even some very large ones, is well known. Despite doctrinal disagreements, we all share a basic historical and biblical theology. I love to talk about the varying views, too. It can be done knowing we are ultimately in fellowship with one another thus no one feels threatened or defensive. Christianity is not a cookie-cutter thing, to borrow an old, maybe tired, cliché, but this is a fact. But being in the Body of Christ is a very wonderful thing.

Fellowship is biblical

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42).

            This is Luke’s description of what it was like in the early days of the Church. What strength there is in uniting together in the name of Jesus! It is plain from Paul’s letters to various churches that there were certain troubles that needed to be addressed. Yet these churches survived for centuries, most of them, and the Gospel message went out from them as well.

            From the passage quoted above we see that fellowship is mentioned second. The Greek for fellowship is koinonia. We get the word coin as in a nickel or dime from the basic word. It means having things in common. And what we have in common is Jesus and His salvation. We are literally “in Christ,” Jesus is the head and we are the Body.

Fellowship of believers is the express purpose of God

Read what the Apostle John wrote to the churches under his care during the last decade of the first century.

That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:3-4)

We notice a very important fact in the passage: proclamation of the Gospel is directly linked to fellowship. John clearly points out one of the consequences of the proclamation of the message of Jesus is fellowship.

            Not only that, but the fellowship is with the Father and the Son; the result of which is joy.

This Joy is inexpressible, that is, we do not have words to describe it. The Apostle Peter wrote: “Though you have not seen him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory” (1 Peter 1:8). The joy experienced alone is wonderful, and in the fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ it is truly inexpressible. And this is the will of God for us.

Since 1963 I have been enjoying being in the fellowship of other Christian people. Not always, but most of the time, I look forward to driving to church to be with the congregation on Sunday morning. During the week I will miss them, and when someone is not present, I miss them more. It is not that way with other groups I commonly am involved with. There is just that certain un-namable something about being with those who love Jesus.

Remain in fellowship

Not all Christians gather together on Sunday morning. Some meet at other times. There are those fellowships that meet several or more times a week. Some just once, but they are in fellowship weekly. This is the historical and biblical norm, and in our pressure packed world this is not always possible. If I could so arrange, I would lobby for a weekly Sunday morning gathering. But in any case, fellowship is a normal part of the Christian life and it is healthy to do so.

Let me return to a theme I spoke of earlier: Christians are not always easy to get along with. And this is a good thing and for at least two reasons.

            One, we learn how to love others, as Jesus told us to do. Easy to love and be in close fellowship with those we have a considerable degree of compatibility. Right. But in a fellowship of believers, there will be those who are hard to love. And this is good for us, moves us out of our comfort zone, and stretches us to grow in love.

            Two, we learn how to pray for other’s needs, which takes a focus off ourselves. Narcissism is a big word today, and of course, we are not, the other guy is. Or, so we imagine. We are to pray for each other, listen to each other, and come along side those who are hurting and like the good Samaritan, help bind up their wounds. Yes, a concentration on others than ourselves is healthy.

The perfect congregation

Is there one? In heaven for sure but not on this planet. How could it be otherwise?

When a non-Christian I assumed Christians were perfect. Where I got that from I do not know. I had a friend named Jim when I was fifteen and he went to church, even invited me to come along. Then I saw him do something that I thought was awful and I dismissed him and his Christianity right then and there. ” Well, if that is what Christians do I sure am not going to be one of those hypocrites.”

            Hypocrites, yes, we all are. We espouse the highest ideals and fall very short of this. Part of being a Christian is learning to honest with ourselves. We know we are sinners, continue to sin though we want, increasingly to turn away from it, yet we are fallen creatures living in a fallen world. And this is incredibly healthy.

We can admit the truth about ourselves because we are greatly loved by God and have been declared both now and forever forgiven and saved to the uttermost.

We need not be constantly looking for the perfect church. Oddly, a church is both perfect and imperfect at the same time. Realizing this is so means we do not roam from church to church until we find one just right.

            My counsel is to find a church that identifies with historic biblical Christianity, and one where the Bible is taught and preached. A solid congregation is one that focuses on bold proclamation of Jesus and the making of disciples.        

Striving to keep the fellowship

There is no perfect church and everyone who has been around for some time knows this.

Learning to be in a fellowship of believers-avoid isolationism, learn to get along with others, iron sharpening iron