THE LIMITS OF SPIRITUAL FELLOWSHIP

By Gary Ray Branscome

The words, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and to the breaking of bread, and to prayers,” tell us that God wants us to have fellowship with other Christians (Acts 2:42). And, the words, “If we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us of all sin,” tell us that those whom we are to have fellowship with are those who are cleansed of all sin by the blood of Christ (1John 1:7). At the same time, the words, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship is there between righteousness and wickedness? and what do light and darkness have in common?” warn us against having fellowship with those who are wicked and those who reject the gospel (2Cointhians 6:14).

The words, “God… has called you into fellowship with His Son Jesus Christ our Lord,” tell us that all believers have been called into fellowship with Jesus Christ (1Corinthians 1:9). However, the words, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we are lying, and are not living the truth,” tell us that anyone who claims to trust in Christ while continuing in a sinful lifestyle, is “lying” (1John 1:6).

The Bible tells us that we are “not to associate with those who are sexually immoral” (1Corinthians 5:9). That does not mean “that you must altogether cut off contact with the immoral people of this world, or the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters; for in that case you would have to leave the world” (1Corinthians 5:10). But, the fact that we should “not even eat with such a man,” tells us that we should not seek out their company, run with them, or let them influence us in any way (1Corinthians 5:11). We are to, “have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them” (Ephesians 5:11).

Just as we are not to have fellowship with those who are sexually immoral, the Bible tells us that we are not to have fellowship with those who worship false gods. The words, “What fellowship is there between righteousness and wickedness?” tell us that we should not have any fellowship with them (2Corinthians 6:14). Furthermore, because “The things that the Gentiles sacrifice are sacrificed to devils, and not to God,” those who worship false gods are worshipping devils, and God does not “want you to have fellowship with devils” (1Corinthians 10:20). I am not saying that unbelievers can never join us in worshipping the True God, but we should never join with them in worshipping their god. Nor should we worship with Lodges or cults that claim to be worshipping the God of the Bible but are not. Idolatry is a very serious sin.

False Prophets

The words, “Many false prophets have gone out into the world,” // “Who will… introduce damnable heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves,” warn us of the danger posed to souls by those who teach religious falsehood (1John 4:1, 2Peter 2:1). Yet, our nation is full of religious falsehood: falsehood that is actively promoted by the media, by publishers, by schools and universities, and even by some churches. As Christians we should never condone such falsehood, either by allowing those who teach it to speak in our churches, or by failing to speak out against it.

We should never assume that only errors taught in churches constitute false prophesy. Although some false teachers spread their poison in Christian churches, the words, “They are of the world: therefore what they say is of the world, and the world listens to them,” tell us that they are more likely to find a following outside of churches (1John 4:5). Many colleges offer courses on the Bible and Christianity that are taught from an atheist perspective. Furthermore, everything that is being taught about “millions of years,” the origin of life, and even space aliens is false religion. If it was not false religion it would not contradict the Bible! Remember! No matter how many opinions contradict what the Bible says, the facts never do.

The false prophets that Jeremiah and Ezekiel condemned were not priests or pastors. On the contrary, they were teachers who were misleading God’s people. The words, “They prophesied by Baal, and caused my people Israel to err,” are not talking about false doctrine being taught in churches, but those who poison the culture with false religion (Jeremiah 23:13). The words, “I have also seen a horrible thing in the prophets of Jerusalem: they commit adultery, and walk in lies: they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one repents of his wickedness: all of them are like Sodom in my sight, and the people of the city like Gomorrah,” describe the effects of the poison they spread, and it describes perfectly what we see today (Jeremiah 23:14). The only difference between then and now is the god false prophets claim to be getting their knowledge from. Then it was Baal, now it is Nature – for all who claim that nature created us and gave us life are deifying nature.

Christian churches should condemn and expose the soul destroying lies being spread by schools and universities. Christian children should not be unequally yoked with false teachers in the classroom, and just as Christian pastors need to be grounded in the Word of God, those who teach in Christian schools need to be trained in exposing and refuting the soul destroying lies that the children are sure to encounter.

As to the differences between denominations: While we should regard those who trust in Christ as brothers, we would not be showing love for those we attend church with if we allowed men who create doctrines out of interpretations, or contradict Scripture, to teach in our churches.