The Way Of Christian Fellowship

  True Christian fellowship is possible between genuinely born-again Christians only. Amos 3:3 says, "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" This means to say that they must be in agreement in order to have fellowship together. In Rom 8:14 we read, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Or in other words, to have Christian fellowship, we must be led by the Spirit of God. Surely this does not permit of division among God's people. Division is sin and God will not tolerate it. Although God is longsuffering and will strive with those of His that happen to be in bondage in sectism, sooner or later they will lose their salvation, unless they come out of the sect they are in and take their stand for truth. Paul gives us a very emphatic command against division among the children of God in 1 Cor 1:10, "Now I beseech you, brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye speak all the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment." Here is a very specific command and it is to be obeyed. To fail to obey it is sin, and sin separates from God.

God's people are led by His Spirit and He will not lead anyone into these man-organized churches. I know that men have been saved in these churches but eventually most of them starve to death, spiritually speaking, and then it is next to impossible to get truth to them. To them it seems as easy way out. Their conscience becomes seared and Satan blinds their spiritual eyes, often times deceiving them beyond the possibility of again being restored to favor with God. Jeremiah gives us a picture of this in Jeremiah 51:57. Speaking of literal Babylon, which is a type of spiritual Babylon, (The modern religious system of our day) he says, "And I will make drunk her princes, and her wise men, her captains and her rulers, and her mighty men: and they shall sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the King, whose name is the Lord of Host." This perpetual sleep is the deception that comes from imbibing Babylon's wine and rebelling against the striving of the Spirit to "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues." This is a very solemn warning and to refuse to heed it means spiritual death.

Christ, The Giver of Eternal Life

1 John 1:1-That which was from the beginning-Our loving Savior Jesus Christ who had no beginning whom we know to be real for our eyes have beheld Him. We daily associated with Him and His many gracious miracles are still fresh in our memory. He is the living Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us.

Verse 2---For the life was manifested---Jesus, the creator of all things and the giver of eternal life, to all who will believe on Him, came to earth and abode with us in the flesh. The power of God was manifested thru Him and we, His disciples bear witness of His ministry and His divinity.

Verse 3---That which we have see and heard---Men say with their mouths that count, but it is the life that they live, for Jesus said that by their fruits we shall know them. Unless our lives are producing fruits of right message that we declare unto you and beseech you to receive it with all of your hearts so that you too may have fellowship with us and with God the Father.

Verse 4---These things write we unto you---It is only by whole-heartedly accepting the teachings of Jesus that we can have real and lasting joy, and the closer we get to Him the greater our joy will be.

God is Light

1 John 1:5-God is light---God is here compared to the wonderful life-giving light of the sun which daily floods the earth with its life-giving rays. Just imagine, for a moment, what a dreary place the earth would be without the sun. It would not be long until all life would cease to be. Life as we know it could not exist without the sun. Just so without the light of God there could be spiritual light, and in hell it will always be as dark as midnight. And besides the darkness, it will be everlasting torment. It is too awful to even think about; so be sure your soul has been washed in the blood of the lamb and so escape this terrible place.

Verse 6---If we say we have fellowship with him---It is not what we say with our mouth that counts, but it is the life that we live, for Jesus said that by their fruits we shall know them. Unless our lives are producing fruits of righteousness, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, we can have no fellowship with God or His children. Just to say that we are Christians without bearing the fruits, is to make us merely hypocrites, adding another sin to our already black record.

It Is The Blood That Cleanses From Sin

1 Jn 1:7---If we walk in the light---When the blood of Jesus has been applied to our souls and our sins washed away, then we will have fellowship with God and His people. There will be no divisions among us, and we will all speak the same things as commanded in God's holy unchangeable Word.

Verse 8---If we say we have no sin---Paul tells us that all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God and have need of the saving blood of Jesus. Some take this verse to mean that all Christians have some sin but it does not dominate their lives. This is not true, for John is speaking of those that have not been converted. We were born with sin principle in our hearts, and sooner or later we will commit sin and have need of the Saviour to save us from our sins and not in them.

Verse 9---If we confess our sins---What a wonderful promise is contained in this verse. If we will only humble ourselves, acknowledge that we are sinners, and ask God to forgive us of our sins, He will blot them out, every last of them, and remember them against us no more forever. This is the only way we can become eligible to true Christian fellowship with God and His children. Christians are a peculiar people and are not of the world and have no fellowship with the worldly crowd. "Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."-James 4:4b

Verse 10---If we say that we have not sinned---this is a confirmation of the statement in verse 8 and applies to the sinner before repentance and not to the Christian. This is very plainly brought out in third chapter of 1 John, verses 6, 8 and 9. "Whosoever abideth in him (God) sinneth not." "He that committeth sin is of the devil." If we are of the devil, we cannot be of God or His son. "Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin, because he is born of God." This is a strong rebuke to the modern teaching that Christians sin more or less everyday. If you commit sin, you are a sinner and not a Christian.

As we think of all the religious sect that are in the world today, all in direct violation to the commands of almighty God, we realize more and more the truth of the words of Jesus in Matt 7:13-14. "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait id the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." This is true and a very serious situation and on that musty have your undivided attention if you expect to escape the wrath of the end of this life. Real born-again Christian are getting fewer all the time, in spite of the so-called revival activities of our prominent would be evangelist. "Fear not little flock: for it is the Fathers good pleasure to give you the kingdom." "Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" Doesn't this show that true born-again Christians will be few and far between when Jesus comes again at the end of time .