Fellowship
By Alexa Pedersen
Fellowship Isn’t Optional
If you are a believer, fellowship is not optional. The Bible gives us several commands that include the words, “one another” and we cannot obey these commands unless we are planted in a community of believers. How can we comfort one another, serve one another, bear one another’s burdens, etc. if we aren’t around one another?
Jesus has given us the Church to be his hands and feet. Yes – Christ alone is all we need for our salvation. And sure, if you were stranded on a deserted island, you wouldn’t have to worry about losing your salvation because there is no church to attend. However, other believers are often the method God uses to provide for our needs and help us grow in our faith. We need other believers.
What Does Fellowship Look Like?
In 1 John 1:7, the Bible says, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” When we are all walking in the light of Christ, we find that we are also walking together. It’s a beautiful gift that God gives us. On top of receiving Christ, who is everything we need, we also get the bonus of companionship and community with other believers. But if one of us stops walking in the light, we lose that fellowship.
I bet you’ve felt this to be true. Sin always makes things awkward. It drives a wedge between friends and complicates relationships. Sin is a joy killer. The two cannot coexist. 2 Corinthians 6:14 says, “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness?”
Mending Broken Fellowship
So, what do you do when someone has broken the fellowship? You can let love cover it and decide in your heart to forgive that person, even if they haven’t asked for forgiveness yet. This is sometimes the best option for petty sin. But if you’ve been really bothered by the break in fellowship, let them know and give them an opportunity to apologize.
But what if you were the one that broke the fellowship? What if you have no excuses, you just messed up. You said something you shouldn’t have said. You lied. You snapped at someone. Whatever it was: APOLOGIZE. James 5:16 commands us to confess our sins to one another. Let your apology be as public as your sin. If you sinned in front of your whole extended family at Christmas dinner, apologize to your whole extended family at Christmas dinner. Confession and repentance can be awkward, but so is sin. The social cost of apologizing feels awfully high, but the cost of sin is even higher.
Don’t miss out on the blessing God has given through fellowship with other believers. If there is sin in your midst, take care of it. If you’ve been isolating yourself, get yourself planted back into your church community. Love one another. Encourage one another. Admonish one another. Forgive one another. Live in harmony with one another.
REFLECTION
Check out THIS LIST of Scriptural “one another” references and write down 3-5 of them that you need to work on.
Is being a part of authentic Christian community easy or challenging for you? What are the things that prevent you from fully engaging with community of believers in fellowship?
Have you committed to being in regular fellowship with other believers (i.e. have you committed to regularly attending church, youth group, Bible studies, etc)? If not, what would it look like for you to commit?
Challenge: reflect on the section, “Mending Broken Fellowship”. Whether you have been wronged by a friend or you have been the one to wrong a friend, take some time to consider how you might seek biblical restoration of that friendship.