____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ October 25, 1998 ____________________________________________________ Issues and Answers The Limits of Fellowship by Tom Roberts ``Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!'' (Psa. 133:1) If there are no limits to fellowship, every person who ever lived is in fellowship with every other person and all are in fellowship with God. This would mean that Hitler, Judas (Acts 1:15-20), Jezebel (1 Ki. 16:31; Rev. 2:20), Diotrephes (3 Jno. 9), Hymenaeus and Alexander (1 Tim. 1:19), etc. are all acceptable to God in their ungodliness and are our brethren in the Lord. This is Universalism in its worst extreme. This theory ignores the righteousness of God and His attitude toward sin (1 Jno. 1:5-7). It ignores the fact that justice is a righteous act and that it would be unjust to allow evil people to go unpunished and righteous people to go unrewarded. It ignores the difference between godliness and ungodliness, suggesting that both have an equality before God and man. Each idea is false. If you are unable to accept Universalism, you must admit to some limitation of fellowship with God and his people. Few of us would have problems rejecting Universalism or acknowledging that there are limits to fellowship. Just what those limitations are and how they are to be applied is the problem. Upon what basis do we have the right or are we required to limit fellowship with other people, and how far can our fellowship extend? Please note that fellowship with God is equated with salvation. Anyone who is in fellowship with God is surely in a saved position (1 John 1:7; Heb. 12:22-23). It may well be that some in the local congregation may not be in fellowship with God (1 Cor. 5:1ff -- the church permitted a sinner to be in fellowship until Paul instructed otherwise). Likewise, some may be in fellowship with God while the church refuses to fellowship them (3 John 9-10; Rev. 2:24; 3:4). The membership list should never be equated with the ``general assembly'' of those ``spirits of just men made perfect'' and who are ``enrolled in heaven.'' We may make mistakes, but God never does. So, while heaven's fellowship is beyond our concern, we are required to exercise care and concern in the local, congregational fellowship (2 Cor. 6:17; Eph 5:11). It needs to be clearly pointed out that it is the right (obligation) of the local church to control its membership and who is included. We must ``judge righteous judgment'' (John 7:24), or ``judge a tree by its fruits'' (Mt. 7:20). When Saul (later, the apostle Paul) ``assayed to join himself to the disciples'' in Jerusalem (Acts 9:26-28), he was excluded until information was given about his conversion that made him worthy of inclusion. Congregations are not required to accept every person merely because they express a desire to be a member. Congregations can exclude people from their membership who are not worthy (1 Cor. 5). Principles upon which God would have us to extend or limit fellowship must be determined from the word of God. Our goal is to avoid including anyone among our number that God would exclude and to avoid excluding anyone whom God would include. We want our local fellowship to mirror, as closely as possible, the fellowship that God extends. What Are the Limits of Fellowship? Some want to determine the limits of fellowship by subjective emotionalism. These would say, ``But surely you are not telling me that my [mother, father, child, friend, wife, husband, etc.] is going to hell.'' This would suggest that the personal love that we feel for someone close to us requires fellowship and salvation. Some might also say, ``But John and Jane Doe are good neighbors, personal friends, and credits to the community. Why can't they be in our fellowship?'' Or, someone from the community might decide that they want to be a part of the church because they have friends in the congregation, because they like the services or the preacher. Should they become members simply because it is their desire to do so? Fellowship is determined by God's will and not ours. The church belongs to Christ (Rom. 16:16; Acts 20:28) and he sets the terms of salvation and fellowship. What we do in extending fellowship is but an acknowledgement that Christ is head of the church (Col. 1:18; Eph. 1:22-23) and that we are seeking to act as he would wish us to do. Using personal feelings as a standard for fellowship is a faulty standard. Some want to include everyone in fellowship who are members in a denomination. These would suggest that membership in a denomination is equal to fellowship with God. Such people make no distinction between the church which belongs to Christ and denominationalism. They also accept anyone of any denomination regardless of the creeds and moral values of that church. First of all, we need to see that denominationalism is not equal to New Testament Christianity. Though a church existed in the time of the apostles (Acts 2:47; Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 1:2), no denomination existed until sin entered the church (1 Cor. 1:10-13); and division was condemned. No modern denomination existed in the time of the apostles. The first denomination was the Roman Catholic Church (1 Tim. 4:1-3; 2 Tim. 4:1-4; 2 Thess. 2:1-12), followed by the formation of Protestant denominations, beginning with Luther. Fellowship with God is found in Christ and his body, the church (Eph. 1:22, 23; 4:4; 5:23; 1 Cor. 12:13), not in denominations started by men. Secondly, extending fellowship to all who are in denominations would involve us in fellowship with immorality and religious error of every kind. Some denominations permit women to take leadership positions condemned by God (1 Tim. 2:12ff); others include immoral people in their membership (adulterers, homosexuals, abortionists, etc.); some allow, even promote, evolution, premillennialism, faith only, once-saved-always-saved, and other errors to be taught. Additionally, every denomination has a creed book in addition to the word of God to which it subscribes and by which it governs its members. Accepting fellowship with denominations involves accepting human traditions and human creeds which are not inspired from God and which contradict the scriptures. Others practice a kind of religious situation ethics for their brand of fellowship. This would permit every man the right to believe and practice what he believes to be the truth, regardless of what the Bible says. In this concept, Biblical words and phrases have no definite and sure meaning unless it agrees with what they want it to be. It is common to see people re-define scriptural words to fit their beliefs (grace, baptism, works, imputation, etc.). But this violates the God-given truth (John 8:32; 1 Cor. 2:10-12) and makes a mockery of understanding scripture (John 6:44, 45; Eph. 3:4; Eph. 5:17). This is one of the most common fallacies of our age. Still others want to extend fellowship to all who hold to the deity of Jesus. We are told that participation in error does not sever fellowship so long as we accept Jesus as the Son of God. This would make a distinction between ``gospel'' (that sets forth Christ's deity) and ``doctrine'' (lesser matters). Some arbitrarily determine that if you accept a ``core gospel,'' you are in fellowship with God and no ``doctrine'' will sever this fellowship (covered in another lesson). However, this is an unscriptural distinction based on faulty definitions. Both gospel and doctrine are used interchangeably in the scriptures and our fellowship with God and our brethren is determined not only by what we believe about the ``person'' of Jesus (his Deity), but also what we believe about what he taught (Matt. 28:18-20). It is not possible to worship Jesus as Lord without doing what he says (Mt. 7:21). This loose attitude toward fellowship based solely on the deity of Jesus would compromise every distinctive facet of the church of Christ which we comprehend by the ``doctrine of Christ'' (2 Jno. 9-11). Basis of Fellowship and How Applied To understand fellowship, we must have an accurate and working definition of the word as used in the New Testament. This is the basis for any fellowship. A. W. E. Vine's Definition: 1. Koinonia (Greek: noun): ``(a) communion, fellowship, sharing in common (from koinos, common)....(b) that which is the outcome of fellowship, a contribution, e.g., Rom. 15:26; 2 Cor. 8:4.'' 2. Koinoneo (Greek: verb): ``'to have fellowship', is so translated in Phil. 4:15, RV; for AV, 'did communicate.''' 3. Metoche (Greek: noun): ``partnership, 2 Cor. 6:14." 4. Metoche (Greek: verb): Heb. 2:14 - ``sharing.'' B. Thayer's Definition: 1. Koinonia (noun) - ``fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation...2. fellowship, intercourse, intimacy....3. a benefaction jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution, 2 Cor. 8:4; 2 Cor. 9:13; Rom. 15:26.'' 2. Koinoneo (verb) - ``to come into communion or fellowship, to become a sharer, be made a partner...'' 3. Metoche - ``a sharing, communion, fellowship; 2 Cor. 6:14.'' How Fellowship is Applied 1. Fellowship is both ``vertical'' and ``horizontal'' or with God and with other brethren. 2. We have fellowship with God and Christ: 1 John 1:3; 1 Cor. 1:9; John 15 (Vine and branches); 2 Pet. 1:4 (partake of divine nature). 3. We have fellowship with the Holy Spirit: Phil. 2:1 4. We have fellowship with Christ through keeping His commandments: 1 John 2:3-6; Matt. 28:18-20 5. We have fellowship with brethren: 1 John 3:7. This is expressed as a ``partnership'' (metoche + qualifier): a. Fellow partakers of grace - Phil. 1:7 b. Fellow partakers of gospel - 1 Cor. 9:23 c. Fellow partakers of promises - Eph. 3:6 d. Fellow partakers of glory - 1 Pet. 5:1 e. Fellow partakers of body - 1 Cor. 10:16-17 f. Fellow prisoners - Rom. 16:7 g. Fellow servants - Col. 1:7; 4:7 h. Fellow workers - Rom. 16:21 Basically, fellowship is a participation or sharing in the things God has authorized. This may be classified as (1) having a share in: Phil. 1:5; 4:15-17, (2) giving a share to: 2 Cor. 9:13, or (3) sharing with: Acts 2:42; Gal. 2:9; 1 Jn. 1:3. This would extend to all people and all things which are approved by God and which are authorized by the word of God. A good question to determine whether or not we might have fellowship with a person or thing is to ask, ``Would God share in this with me?'' There are some obvious things in which Christians can have no fellowship: 1. 2 Cor. 6:14-18 - religious/secular/business associations that cause us to share with those who deny God or God's truth. 2. Eph. 5:11 - practices that have the nature of darkness (the opposite of the nature of God - 1 John 1:5-6). 3. Immoral people - 1 Cor. 5:5 4. Doctrinal heresy - Rom. 16:17; 2 Jn. 9-11 5. Disorderly conduct - 2 Thess. 3:6 6. Impenitent sinners - Mt. 18:15ff 7. A factious man - Tit. 3:10; 1 John 2:19 In the matter of fellowship, God has drawn the ``circle'' of our association. Though one man said, ``If you draw your circle and exclude me, I will just draw my circle bigger and include you,'' it is futile for us to make fellowship elastic. Fellowship is based upon the grace of God and is extended on God's terms as a foretaste and expression of heavenly fellowship. As there will be some who will not participate in heaven's blessings, there are some who should not participate in the church's fellowship. As closely as possible, we must mirror God's mind in our deliberations about congregational fellowship and personal fellowship with those about us. ___________________________________________ NEWS & NOTES We extend our condolences to the family, friends, and relatives of Bill Robinson who passed away last week. Next Sunday, November 1, Rick Fleeman will be preaching two lessons in the morning and one in the evening. He will be filling-in for me while I'll be away. In just a few days, I'll begin preaching a gospel meeting in Athens, Alabama, November 1-6, for the Oakland church of Christ. If you happen to be in the area, feel free to come join us. For those of you who receive this bulletin via e-mail before Sunday, don't forget to set your clocks back one hour Saturday night before you go to bed. Daylight Savings Time ends Sunday, October 25. ___________________________________________ No Salvation Today? by Wayne Jackson The doctrine of ``dispensationalism'' contends that Christ came to the earth twenty centuries ago to re-establish the Davidic regime of Old Testament fame. Advocates of this view argue, however, that since Jesus was rejected by the Jewish people, he postponed his kingdom plan, and so he will not sit upon ``David's throne'' until he commences his millennial reign at the end of this ``church age.'' There is a real flaw in this theory. The Old Testament contains a vivid prophecy which indicates that Christ was to function as our ``priest'' at the same time that he ``rule(s) upon the throne'' (Zech. 6:12-13). If the reign of Jesus upon his throne has been postponed, then clearly the Lord's work as priest has been delayed as well. This would mean that we have no priest functioning on our behalf. If no priest, no forgiveness. Thus, the doctrine of dispensational premillennialism implies that, lo, these past 2000 years, there has not been available any redemptive system for man's benefit. This is the logical consequence of dispensationalism, and the very absurdity of it is a forceful negation of its validity.' -- Via Bulletin Briefs ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________