CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

In the beginning when God created man he was alone. "And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." (Genesis 2:18) God saw that man needed to be able to interact with others of his kind in order to be happy. Adam is now long gone, but man's need for fellowship is still just as strong as it ever was. It is this need or desire which lies at the root of peer pressure. Man feels a need to be accepted by a group. So to gain acceptance men will often do what the group does. This is often the cause of many good people going bad.

It is necessary for people to have friends to some extent. If a person isolates themselves from everyone else this will only lead to misery and unhappiness. The key is to find the right kind of people to interact with. Many people have fooled themselves into believing that they can associate with people of lower moral character without it having any adverse affect on them. This simply is not true. There is no man who is so strong that he cannot be affected by continued exposure to evil. To deny this is to deny the words of the Bible. "Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners." (I Corinthians 15:33) Paul even warns us not to be deceived about this fact. He knows that many men will believe themselves too strong to be affected by an evil influence. But look at what happened to righteous Lot after he had lived in Sodom for a while. Look at how Solomon, with all of his wisdom, was corrupted by his evil wives. No man is too strong to be brought down by sin.

Solomon said "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." (Proverbs 27:17) He uses the illustration of iron which is extremely strong, and hard to be changed or altered in any way. But by using another piece of iron the first can be shaped any way you want it. Likewise a person who may think he is as strong as iron, can be affected by another strong person. Friends, don't make the mistake of thinking you can get away with continued social contact with sinful people.

Now I realize that it is often necessary for us to interact with this type of people in our everyday life. We work with them, buy from them, sell to them, and have many other dealings with them. This is almost unavoidable. But it is strictly up to us who we spend our free time with. And for some reason most people would rather spend their leisure time with a group that has a little "life" in them, not with a bunch of dull Christians. Why those ole Christians are down right boring aren't they? They don't drink, or tell dirty jokes, or anything that's really fun. Do you know people who think like this? People who don't find any enjoyment spending time with Christians. I know a lot of people who say they are Christians who are like this. The only time they want to see another Christian is on Sunday morning. This attitude shows that the person is carnal and not spiritual. A Christian should rather spend time with those of like mind and hope than anyone else. Wouldn't you?

We often have to develop casual relationships with people of the world, but again it is strictly our decision who we form closer relations with. Paul said "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion hath light with darkness?" (II Corinthians 6:14) This would cover anything which would cause us to spend a good deal of time with a nonbeliever. This could be a close friendship, a business partnership, and especially a marriage.

The need for fellowship is universal. Even our Lord had His friends while here on the earth. He even wept when He heard of the death of His friend Lazarus. The Christian today also needs to have friends. But the key is to be very careful about the friends you chose. Ask yourself if you would be ashamed for Jesus to walk up on you while you were with your friends. Would you be able to carry on business as usual, or would you try to start making excuses. If you wouldn't feel comfortable having Jesus there, then YOU don't need to be there.

In Acts chapter 2 we read of the establishment of the Lord's church. We are also given some insight into some of the activities of the earliest Christians. "And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers." (Acts 2:42) I have heard many preachers quote this verse and then elaborate on the three very important things the early disciples were doing in this passage. They were continuing in the apostle's doctrine, the breaking of bread, and prayers. Certainly no one would argue with the importance of these items. But what about the forth, fellowship? Is fellowship really all that important? Apparently the inspired writer thought it was important enough to include it with the other three. But do we give it that much importance today? Fellowship is not just a mere by‑product of Christianity, but is part of the very heart and soul of it.

How often do most Christians see one another these days? Maybe two or three times a week at services. Or perhaps a little more often if that person happens to be a relative or a neighbor. But how often do we make it a point to get together with those we are supposed to love so much? But then we never have time do we? There's always television programs to be watched, books to be read, and countless other things which Satan will use to convince us we have no time to do things which will promote spiritual growth. The scriptures tell us to "Exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." (Hebrews 3:13) How can we do this if we seldom even see one another? This is exactly what Satan wants. A predatory animal will always try to separate it's intended victim from the herd before moving in for the kill. And our "Adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (I Peter 5:8) He wants to isolate us so he can destroy us one by one. There is indeed strength in numbers. A Christian who has little fellowship with other Christians is like a lamb lost from the flock. It's only a matter of time before the wolf gets hungry.

Why is there so little fellowship among Christians today? One thing which was already mentioned is that our lifestyles have sped up so dramatically in the last few decades, that we feel we just don't have enough time for things like that any more. But friends, our world is not going to collapse if we can't make it to the golf course next weekend. Or if we miss the big hunting trip. Or if we miss the big ball game on TV. There is time for Christian families to do things together. But only if we are willing to take the time.

If someone were to ask you if you think it's necessary to attend the services of the church what would you say? Most people would probably say yes and cite Hebrews 10:25 to prove it. But then what if that person asked you what you thought was so important about going, what would you say? To sing, to pray, to partake of the communion, to hear the preaching, to lay by in store? I'm sure these would be the common answers. But did you ever notice Hebrews 10:25 doesn't mention a single one of these items? What does it say? "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more, as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:24‑25 NKJ) Doesn't it seem that the aspects of fellowship are greatly emphasized here? Now I do not for a moment intend to try to diminish the importance of these other items. But what I would like to do is get everyone to realize the significance placed on fellowship in this passage, and indeed in the entire Bible.

Let us have fellowship with one another. And let us be friends with Christ. "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." (John 15:14) If we are carnally minded we will have carnal friends. If we are spiritually minded we will have spiritual friends. Which do you have? "For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." (Romans 8:6)