Fellowship of Believers
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 1 John 1:7
Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Hebrews 10:23-25
What is fellowship? Is it sitting in church on Sunday? Going to youth group? Singing in the Choir? Yes and no to all. Fellowship, in the context of these verses, is more than just 'getting together' or even getting together to worship. It implies a strong, active bond. Being involved and haveing an influance on each others lives. We are to be provokeing and exhorting one another; holding our brothers accountable and likewise being held accountable. We must have genuine, loveing concern for one another. Fellowship involves nurturing and comforting.
Many, too many, go to church and sit in the pews oblivious to those around them. They might speak, as one might say hello passing in a grocery store. They might even have a conversation with a few friends. Then they leave and return to their 'normal' life, their weekly obligation complete. They are untouched by those around them. When Mrs. Smith dies they are shocked, "I didn't know she was sick. I just saw her the other week at church." Felowship requires of us a commitment to our fellow Christians.
All Christians need fellowship. Indeed, all men need fellowship. It is important to us that we have that fellowship and that we have it with fellow believers. We are told in the scriptures not to fellowship with the ungodly because of the tight bonds of commitment involved. We will become more like those with whom we fellowship simply because of the tight relationship it creates. If we invest our lives in fellow believers then our Faith is strenghtened. If we hang out with sinners we are tempted to sin.'' Wait a minute preacher, Jesus hung out with sinners.'' True. We fellowship to some degree with the lost that they may be nurtured by our example. But if we do so exclusively we risk falling into sin. If we are to go unto the lost, as Jesus comanded, then we are even more dependent on good Christian Fellowship.
Unfortunatly our modern churches are not too good at Fellowship. We march in at 11:00 and are out at 12:00. "See ya next week." Some offer other programs that we may or may not attend, but still they are usually much the same. We no longer seem to center our lives around the church as people once did, or even around GOD for that matter. We have responsabilities, schedules, places to go, people to see. We'll pencile in Wednesday night but don't know if we can make it. We're just too busy for fellowship.
Without fellowship we are missing much of what Christianity is all about. Without it we stop growing and flounder. Unfortunatly, as I said before, it's hard to find in many of our churches. There just doesn't seem to be enough people that want it. There always seems to be a small percentage of people that get involved and the rest just come to church when they can, no commitment. This leaves that few starving for more. They feel the need but are snubed by the dominant masses. They feel alone and even rejected when they should be feeling nurture and support.
One outlet I have found for my need to fellowship has been through the internet, through this web site and inside the chat rooms. I have found masses of brothers and sisters on fire with the LORD. People whos lives are centered on GOD. The Holy Spirit is moveing in a powerful way across the world wide web. Lives are being changed, the lost are finding salvation, and Christians are able to fellowship together in a real way. Right now I can go online and enter a Christian chat room and talk to fellow believers from around the country and even around the world. And the lost will be there too, searching. I don't have to wait until Sunday morning, and neither do they. Some try to say it's religion on demand but it's really fellowship when you need it.
There is a great need out there for fellowship. Many good people feel unwelcome at many of our churches. Their cloths arn't quite right, or they don't drive the right car, or they hold their hands up when they pray (or not). For what ever reason they just don't seem to fit in, and are not included in the little bit of fellowship that is going on. First and formost we need to open the doors wide in our churches, offering the hand of fellowship to all who enter. Then we must put more emphasis on fellowship among believers. To do this we must get back to the basics of our faith and stop letting trivial things divide us. We are all saved by one grace and serve one LORD. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.