Before fellowship can exist between individuals, it must first be established with God. We cannot jointly work together in unity and harmony as brethren unless we are in the family of God. That being the case, whatever the Bible requires for one person to establish fellowship with God, it also requires for everyone. This is evident from Mark 16:15-16, "Go preach the gospel to every creature, he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved;" Acts 2:38, "Repent and be baptized every one of you..;" Acts 17:30, God "...now commands all men everywhere to repent."

     Though we rightly oppose human creeds, in one respect we do have a creed, the Bible. It is a God given creed as versus human creeds. It is "The Faith" once and for all time delivered to the saints, Jude 3. It is the revelation of God that produces faith on our part, Romans 10:17. We must believe and do what God tells us in order to establish fellowship with Him. And, only correct belief can produce correct action or conduct.

     Perhaps the most graphic illustration of this concerns the twelve men at Ephesus in Acts 19:1-7. A preacher by the name of Apollos had just been in Ephesus. He "spake and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, knowing only the baptism of John," Acts 18:25. When Paul arrived in Ephesus, he found these twelve who had been baptized "into John's baptism." Seeing that Apollos had taught accurately concerning Jesus, the twelve had believed correctly about Him. There was nothing wrong with their belief to that point. Apollos taught accurately that baptism was immersion in water for the remission of sins preceded by repentance. Thus, the twelve had believed, repented and been baptized. But, their baptism was invalid because one small part of what they were called on to believe was wrong. "John's baptism" was not acceptable after Pentecost. Just a little bit of error mixed in with a lot of truth can tarnish the truth and make one's actions unacceptable to God. This is why Paul baptized the twelve over again, after correcting their belief.

     There are several things the Bible requires of us in order to establish fellowship with God.

     Belief in God. The prophecy of Jeremiah 31:31ff is quoted in Hebrews 8:8-12 to show it is now fulfilled. After saying that Israel did not follow the covenant God had made with them, he says, "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and on their heart also will I write them: And I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: And they shall not teach every man his fellow-citizen, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: For all shall know me, from the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and their sins will I remember no more." Though the Law of Moses was written on stones, the law of God now resides first in the minds and hearts of people; it all starts with belief. Under the Law of Moses, one became a member of God's family by being born an Israelite. One was a Jew by genetics. Thus, one became a member of God's people by birth and then later came to know God when they were old enough to understand what they were taught. Under the gospel, no one is in the family of God until they come to "know" God; "all shall know me, from the least to the greatest." What this shows is that we cannot enter into fellowship with God until we come to "know" Him, whatever that involves.

     Hebrews 11:6 says that "without faith it is impossible to please him, for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Only the God revealed in the Bible is acceptable, the God who is the creator of heaven and earth. This is how He is characterized and identified in many places in Scripture. We cannot think of Him as the pagans did. Paul said that there are Gods many and lords many but to us "there is one God the father," I Corinthians 8:5-6. Idolatry has been around for most of man's existence and has been constantly condemned, Romans 2:1ff, Acts 17:16-31.

     There are religious groups that claim they believe in the God of the Bible and even use Bible terms. However, when they get through describing the God they are talking about, they don't believe in the Bible God and thus cannot please God and cannot come to Him.

     Mormonism uses Bible terms and insist that they believe in God and the Lord Jesus. As far as their "steps" to salvation, they insist on the preaching of the "gospel," faith in God and Christ, repentance and immersion in water for the remission of sins. The terms are correct and the order as well, but everything breaks down at the beginning. The Mormon gospel and the Bible gospel are not the same and what one is required to believe is not biblical. The god of Mormonism was once a human just as we are, living on a world in this universe in subjection to the god of that world. As a reward for his faithfulness, he was elevated to godhood and given this earth to populate and rule as god to us. The aim of every Morman male is to become a god and have a world of his own to rule. That is not the Bible God and hence nullifies everything a person might do afterward.

     Oneness Pentecostals insist there is only one person who is God. He existed as one God in the Old Testament, came to earth as Jesus and went back to heaven. Various other religious groups have their own peculiar slant in their description of God, but when they are through with what they mean by "God," he is not the Bible God.

     Belief in Jesus as God. Jesus said in John 17:20-21, "Neither for these only do I pray, but for them also that believe on me through their word; that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee that the world may believe that thou didst send me." We can well understand the word preached by the apostles and have proper belief in Christ. As a result, fellowship is established with both the Father and Christ and with one another. But, the standard is truth, the word of God. In John 8:24, Jesus says, "except ye believe that I am he, ye shall die in your sins." The pronoun "he" has been added by the translators. The verb phrase is a double nominative so that Jesus is actually saying, "except ye believe that I, I am." The same verb forms are found in verse 58 of that chapter as well when Jesus says, "before Abraham was born, I am." This is the declaration of God's statement to Moses on the mount, "I am that I am, tell them that I am hath sent you," Exodus 3:14. God said to Moses that "this is my name." God was to be known by that name to Israel. He is also presented as I Am in several other Old Testament passages, such as Isaiah chapters 42 and 44. When Jesus identifies Himself with the same name, I Am, we must recognize His claim of Godhood.

     Further, Jesus places Himself on an equal plane with the Father as to His nature, John 5:17-18, "But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh even until now, and I work. For this cause therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only brake the sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God." Jesus had the same rights as God the Father and could also work on the sabbath if He wanted to do so. In John 10:24-36, Jesus answered the Jews questions about His being the Christ or not. He then declared in verse 30 that "I and the Father are one." The Jews immediately understood what He meant by that and took up stones to stone Him. Jesus asked them, seeing He had performed many good works, for which one of the works were they going to stone Him. Their reply was, "For a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, maketh thyself God." The Jews, like some of our modern day brethren, thought that Jesus was just a man. Yet, they understood that He was claiming to be God, and they were right about that much!

     Various errors about the person of Christ have been offered through the centuries. Gnosticism, in the first century, was an early position that viewed Jesus as just an angel or a spirit creature, depending on the particular Gnostic group one looked at. First and Second John were written specifically to combat the Gnostic heresies and John refers to them as the anti-Christ; in fact, John said there were many anti-Christs. If one denied the Son, then he also was denying the Father; by confessing the Son, one had the Father also. No one can believe error on the person of Christ and expect to please God.

     Believe the Gospel. John and Jesus both preached "repent and believe the gospel." Jesus said to His apostles, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be condemned," Mark 16:15-16. Romans 1:16-17 says, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, But the righteous shall live by faith." One cannot be saved unless he believes the gospel of Christ. And, there was and is one and only one gospel of Christ. In Galatians 1:6-9, Paul says that some had departed to "another gospel." He adds that though "we or an angel from heaven preach any gospel unto you than that which you received, let him be accursed." People make up doctrinal positions from human wisdom that they claim are the gospel of Christ, but only that one revealed in the New Testament is acceptable with God.

     The gospel of Christ contains facts that must be believed that can be simply stated as the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. This is listed for us in I Corinthians 15:1-4. Paul first says that he is going to make known to them the gospel which he had preached to them. It is the gospel they had received, "wherein also ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast the word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain." The gospel word had been preached to them and they had believed it. As a result they were saved by it and were at that time "standing in" it. Paul then says, "For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures..." These facts are revealed in many scriptures, by prophecy in the Old Testament, the description by the apostles and revelation by the Holy Spirit. There is no salvation without His death, burial and resurrection and we cannot be saved by His sacrifice without first believing these facts.

     Believe one is a sinner. Having believed in God, Christ and the gospel facts, one must recognize he is a sinner in need of the salvation offered. John says, "If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in the darkness, we lie, and do not the truth....If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us," I John 1:6, 10. Repentance toward God follows a recognition and conviction that we have sinned. The people on Pentecost were told to repent and be baptized for the remission of sins, Acts 2:38. The list of sins in Galatians 5:19ff shows the specific things a person cannot do and have eternal life. Romans 6:1 says we cannot continue in sin that grace may abound.

     Baptism. Baptism is essential to salvation and one must understand and undergo baptism. One believe just anything about baptism; sprinkling and pouring will not do nor will baptism without proper belief preceding it. The things we have already seen must be believed before a person is baptized. As we have seen, in Acts 19:1-7, Paul found certain men who had already been baptized but with "John's baptism," which was for the remission of sins. However, after Pentecost one had to be baptized in the name of Christ. Though these men had believed correctly and taken each step in order, they had been taught wrongly in regard to baptism and thus could not be baptized right. Paul baptized them again. Baptism is for salvation from past sins, for the remission of sins, to get into Christ, to be united with Christ, to put on Christ, to be a child of God, Mark 16:15-6, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:1-6, Colossians 2:12, Galatians 3:26-27. Thus, proper practice follows proper belief.

     Belief in what one is getting into. Obeying the gospel not only takes us out of something but puts us into something. Out of darkness into light, out of the power of Satan into service to God, out of sin into salvation, out of the world into fellowship with God, etc. Acts 26:16-18. I Peter 4:17 says, "For the time is come for judgment to begin at the house of God: and if it begin first at us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?" The house of God is composed of those who have obeyed the gospel. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus says that baptism is "into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." That means into fellowship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I Corinthians 12:13 says that "in one spirit were we all baptized into one body." That body is the church. We must know what we are getting into as much so as what we are getting out of. People must be taught what their new relationship is going to be before they ever get into it.

     When these things are in order, fellowship with God is established. One arises to walk in a newness of life in Christ, Romans 6:1-6, 17-19, but we must continue in that life. Remember the statement of John, "If we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin," I John 1:7. Our fellowship with God depends on our continuing to walk in the light with Him.

     Once one believes and acts upon what he has believed, attaining fellowship with God, it is possible for him to lose it. Peter speaks of some who denied the master who bought them, II Peter 2:1. He then says in verses 20-21, "For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse with them than the first. For it were better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them." Hebrews 3:12 warns against having "an evil heart of unbelief in falling away from the living God" and that "we are become partakers (metokos) of Christ, if we hold fast the beginning of our confidence firm unto the end," vs. 14. Colossians 1:22-23 says that we have been reconciled to God and become holy and without blemish "if so be that ye continue in the faith, grounded and stedfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel which ye heard, which was preached in all creation under heaven."

     I John warns the Christians against falling for Gnosticism which taught not only immorality but also a false view of God and Christ. The anti-Christ, in his doctrinal stand, denied the Father and the Son, meaning the true picture of the Father and the Son that we see in scripture. Gnostics believed in [a] Father and [a] Son but not [the] Father and [the] Son. They may have used the right terms but they defined them in quite a different way than the truth. One cannot get around John 8:24, "except ye believe that I am, ye shall die in your sins." To deny Jesus is to deny the Father. To deny Jesus destroys one's fellowship with God and consequently fellowship between humans.

     Sin separates us from God. We can sin in ways other than deliberately doing what God has said not to do, such as stealing, fornication, murder or the like. We don't have to be "immoral" in order to sin. We can sin by failing to do what God says to do, knowing what we should do and not doing it, James 4:17. It can be done by causing another to sin, I Corinthians 8:11-12. One can also sin by teaching and defending error. I Timothy 1:3-6, 4:1-7, 5:3-5, II John 9-11, II Timothy 2:15-18.

     The seven churches of Asia, Revelation 2-3, had circumstances differing from one another. Some were worse than others. Jesus gave them time to repent, and if they did not, they would lose their identity with Christ. Even though good things could be said about some churches, what was wrong with them would doom them. They could not continue indefinitely with erroneous beliefs and practice. Paul dealt with a huge amount of error at Corinth. Nearly every chapter of I Corinthians reveals something wrong there along with Paul's correction. Some things needed immediate correction, for the sake of the one who was wrong and for the sake of the congregation. He says "a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Purge out the old leaven that ye may be a new lump..." I Corinthians 5:6-7. We cannot allow error to continue unchecked indefinitely, much less encourage those who believe and present it. God's patience, and consequently ours as well, runs out eventually.

     A popular denominational concept is that it doesn't matter what one believes as long as one is honest and sincere. It seems that brethren are not immune to this error. In the rush to establish fellowship between brethren on the ground that the differing individuals honestly and sincerely believe that their "opinion" is God's will, they misapply scripture and wind up with denominational error. If honesty and sincerity are the standard of acceptability, then any of the aforementioned items that we MUST believe are open to any honest and sincere diverse view! Thus, we would have to fellowship such individuals though we might disagree on the nature of God, Christ, the gospel, faith, repentance and baptism or the nature of the church. Truth must then take second place to sincerity.

     Should we fellowship all those who sincerely believe instrumental music is acceptable with God? If sincerity is the standard, why not? We could have conservative Christian Church preachers for meetings and open the door to all kinds of mutual activities. If all members of a congregation honestly and sincerely thought that kitchens, social activities, a church gym with all its activities were part of God's will, should we accept that without criticism and extend our fellowship to them? If not, why not, if honesty and sincerity comprise the standard of fellowship? There is no end to this approach because it is an abandonment of truth. No doubt the men at Ephesus in Acts 19 sincerely thought that John's baptism was acceptable, but Paul corrected their error and baptized them in the name of Jesus. Why not just fellowship them without rebaptism?

     Sincere error is not the same as sincere truth. Paul said he had lived in all good conscience before God and man and thought he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus, Acts 26:9. Yet, Paul could not be accepted by Christians until he obeyed the gospel and established fellowship with God. Or, we could as well point to Naaman, who nearly remained a leper because he "thought" he knew better about how the prophet should act in healing him, II Kings 5. Or, the young prophet who believed the lie of the older prophet and lost his life as a result, I Kings 13. Believing a lie, regardless of how sincere he was in believing it, did not change the fact he had disobeyed God and had to take the consequence, vss. 21-22.

     So, just because one sincerely believes something does not establish that he is right about what he believes nor does it mean that he is in fellowship with God. Neither does his honesty and sincerity require that we have fellowship with him just because he honestly believes something!

     An implication of this position is that we are incapable of understanding the scriptures. When disagreements on Bible teaching arise between two brethren, at least one of them is wrong, perhaps both of them. However, we are capable of understanding anything God has revealed to us or we must accuse God of requiring something impossible for us to do. Especially in regard to our overall subject in this article, notice I John 5:20, " And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life." We can know and understand the truth in regard to Jesus because the Bible gives us all the needed information. But, look at a sampling of other passages. Psalm 119:104 says, "Through thy precepts I get understanding: Therefore I hate every false way." Jesus said in Matthew 13:23, "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit, and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty." Ephesians 3:4-5 says, "...whereby, when ye read, ye can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ; which in other generations was not made known unto the sons of men, as it hath now been revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit." Ephesians 5:17, "Wherefore be ye not foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is." Colossians 1:9, "For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray and make request for you, that ye may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding."

     Another implication is that ignorance is an excuse that is permanent. While it is true that ignorance is not an excuse, God tolerates our ignorance for a time until we learn better. Every person who obeys the gospel begins at the same place. As a new Christian, he has a lot to learn and has some ideas that must change in time. This is built into God's system and we are allowed, for a time, to hold erroneous views until we can learn they are wrong. Hebrews 5:12-14 rebukes some Christians for lack of growth: For when by reason of the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need again that some one teach you the rudiments of the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food. For every one that partaketh of milk is without experience of the word of righteousness; for he is a babe. But solid food is for fullgrown men, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern good and evil." Time enough had passed so that these should have been teachers of others but had not learned enough to do so. God allowed them time enough to do this. Peter says we are to long for the spiritual milk that we may grow, I Peter 2:2. In every congregation, there are some new Christians that must be nurtured to spiritual maturity so they can discern good and evil. We certainly are to have fellowship with these new Christians even though we may disagree with some of their ideas at the moment. However, God does not permanently tolerate their ignorance of His will so that whatever ideas they may have as a new Christian, they cannot maintain forever if their ideas are not true. If they continue indefinitely in erroneous ideas, they lose their fellowship with God and consequently with brethren. Of course, we all continue to grow and learn. As we learn, we may find some former ideas are not true, and must thus change. Again, this is built into God's plan; God has patience and we exercise patience in regard to the continued growth and development of others. However, that patience runs out eventually, if there is no change.

     "Withdrawing fellowship" on a local level in a congregation takes place when an individual shows evidence that his mind is made up and he refuses to change in spite of what God says. His fellowship with God is broken and thus our fellowship with him is as well. A huge mistake is being made when it is contended that fellowship is to be continued "forever" between brethren even though there are doctrinal disagreements, simply because "they" sincerely believe that what "they" believe is truth.

     Bottom line - every Christian must determine with whom he will interact. And, he must also determine with whom he will not interact. Just how far will we "go" with a particular person? This requires individual judgment as each case varies as to how much time is given to make such decisions. With some, the decision is quite simple and the judgment immediate. With others, after decades of their holding to some erroneous view, the line must be drawn until they evidence a change.

     Also involved in this is the fact that not all matters are on an equal level of importance at some given time. That is, some things can wait longer than others though all things must be determined eventually. Paul said in I Corinthians 11:34, "If any man is hungry, let him eat at home; that your coming together be not unto judgment. And the rest will I set in order whensoever I come." There were some things that required immediate attention and correction. There were other things that needed correcting that could wait until Paul got there. In the parable of the tares and wheat, Matthew 13, Jesus reveals that there are consequences to whatever action we take. There are circumstances in churches, as there have always been, that are not right and need to be changed. But, by taking firm, immediate, action to root out the problem, more damage may be done than is warranted by the circumstance. The problem must be solved but a different route is taken along with more time so that eventually the problem is solved with minimal damage to other people or the congregation as a whole. All problems in a congregation are not handled the same way. Of course, there are some things that must be dealt with immediately regardless of the consequences. It takes judgment to determine the difference. That does not justify, however, the unlimited acceptance of error or false teachers. Just because we may continue having fellowship for a time with those who are considered to be in error within a congregation, does not authorize fellowshipping "forever" everyone with whom we disagree.

     A long list of items is often presented over which brethren have disagreed - bachelor elder, number of children of elders, head covering, participation in war, etc. But, let's be sure to include on the list: divorce and remarriage, whether we should even have local churches or not, A.D. 70 doctrine, instrumental music, missionary society, church kitchens and a lot of other things that should be on the list for the same reasons as the other items. On each of any of these subjects the Bible either teaches a particular position or it does not. Throwing them into the same pot, or putting them all into Romans 14, or lumping them all under "subjects to ignore and have fellowship anyway," does not solve the disagreements nor deal honestly with the subjects. It certainly does not deal properly with the scriptures. As before stated, where two disagree someone is wrong and maybe both. Having a sort of "unity at any cost, peace at any price" is both fruitless and unscriptural. These subjects are to be settled by an appeal to scripture and if anyone persists in holding to a contrary position he will have to take the consequences of doing so. Someone may hold a contrary position to something I believe but I am under no obligation to have fellowship with him just because he is honest and sincere. Depending on what I consider to be the attitude of the other party, I might think it expedient to keep the door open for study and change. But, if I think such a possibility is fruitless and the other has taken a firm and irrevocable stand, then I feel no obligation to encourage, defend or support him. That is my choice to make just as it is every other person's choice.

     But some object that they are referring to those who hold a particular position as a "personal belief" and we are thus to continue fellowship with them. Well, if that is so, how is it that so many people know about the personal belief of that individual? If it is just a personal thing, it should be completely unknown to others. Most with whom I have had experience want others to know all about what they believe and want to get others to agree with them on the subject. They become teachers of the position. Some have taught their position for years and have converted many people to it. That goes way beyond just a personal opinion.

     Hymenaeus and Philetus, "...men who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some," II Timothy 2:17-18. But, it is countered, Hymenaeus and Philetus taught their doctrine and we are talking about someone holding a private, personal opinion that he considers to be truth. Well, had these two erred from the truth only in that they taught others that the resurrection was past, or had they erred from the truth before they taught anyone about it? What some seem to say is that believe what you want and you err from the truth only if you teach someone else about it. That's nonsense. The belief that the resurrection was past was error in itself. But, what about those they taught, who had their faith overthrown? Nothing is said about their teaching anyone else but they didn't have to teach anyone to have their faith overthrown. When one departs from the faith, errs from the truth, is he still in fellowship with God? To ask such questions is to answer them.

     The resurrection was not a command to obey; it was and is a belief. Yet there was error on the subject in the first century. In addition to the position of Hymenaeus and Philetus, there were some at Corinth who denied there was any such thing as a resurrection, I Corinthians 15. What one believes about the resurrection has some consequences. In I Corinthians 15, Paul says that to deny the resurrection is to deny the resurrection of Christ. To deny the resurrection of Christ means: "your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins," vs. 17. He also says here that our hope is based on belief in the resurrection, as he does in Romans 8:23-25. This hope is the anchor of our souls, Hebrews 6:18-19. For a person to believe in a past resurrection or no resurrection at all is to destroy all these things central to our faith and spiritual life. Can a person just continue to hold to such positions as "private and personal" belief and still retain fellowship with God with such a denial of truth? Of course not.

     I recall hearing a preacher several years ago say that he could have fellowship (mutual acceptance and agreement in the work of God) with someone in a congregation who believed in premillennialism and who would not abandon it. But, the premillennial position is such a denial of so many Bible truths, that there is no way that that individual can indefinitely believe such a doctirne and retain fellowship with God. All Bible teaching on any one subject is interlocked and related to other subjects and to deny one thing is to deny many. It does make a difference as to what one believes. And, whatever someone believes, he will just have to tell others about and try to win them over to his way of thinking; that's the way people are. So, it doesn't remain a "private and personal" belief for long. Division naturally follows, not because I might "refuse to have fellowship" with the man and his followers, but because acceptance of some particular doctrine naturally sets him and his followers apart from those who will not accept it. We were accused of causing division during the institutional controversy because we opposed the innovations of linking of churches, church support of benevolent and educational organizations, and church sponsored recreation and entertainment. No, those who injected those practices caused the division. Before making charges against anyone, make sure just who is responsible for the problem.

     Well, brother Barnett, don't you hold meetings in places where you disagree with the preacher or the practice of the congregation in some area? Yes, I do. I do so on the very basis I have outlined in this article. When in such a situation, I take whatever opportunity presents itself to discuss any differences there are in a mutual study of the scriptures. When I consider the situation and decide further effort is futile and some action is necessary, I may decide to have no more joint participation with them. There have been times when I haven't had to make such a decision as they made it for me. I remember Roy Cogdill saying several years ago, "just teach the truth and fellowship will take care of itself." Many times that's true.

     In our concluding article, we will take a look at Romans 14.

by Maurice Barnett