Ten Commandments of Fellowship!
• Jesus calls us into fellowship and unity with one another
• Not being in fellowship can hinder our spiritual growth
• How we can grow warmer through fellowship.
Sometimes as believers we grow tall, lanky and thin, like a bamboo tree, in our spiritual walk as opposed to growing big, stout and firm, like the great oak tree. Many lone ranger Christians have conformed to the pattern of independence and individualism of the world rather than to the balanced picture the New Testament gives us of the walk of a believer. They have their own doctrines and belief about how a Christian must behave and walk apart from the Word of God. They have reasons why they do not engage in praise and worship; do not want to undergo teaching and training in the word; do not pray or attend prayer meetings with other Christians; do not fellowship regularly with other believers or do not think evangelism or witnessing is for all believers.
Every commandment given to the New Testament church can fall into 5 basic purposes: Fellowship, discipleship, prayer, evangelism, and worship. Today we will look at fellowship.
God has called us into fellowship first with Himself through Jesus Christ and then with one another. Fellowship with God requires walking in obedience to His Word and putting faith in the cleansing blood of Jesus. (John 15:7-10; 1 John 1:3, 7) Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. We are all one body with different members of which Jesus is the Head. (1 Cor 12:27) Not being in fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ and each other as part of the Body of Christ, can hinder our spiritual growth as we are called to inspire, inflame, encourage and build up one another and meet the needs in each other’s lives.
A picture of the early church in Acts chapter 2, verses 40 – 47 shows how they fellowshipped with one another and the great things that occurred as a result of that. Many look at this passage of scripture as an impossible standard and utopia. “It is impossible to be and to walk like that!” many say, but God has called us to fellowship with Him and with one another.
In Romans chapter 12 verses 9 – 21, Paul gives the believers in the influential city of Rome, 24 commands to do with fellowshipping with others, which one minister, Darrin Hunt of Susquehanna Valley Bible Church, USA, grouped into ten major keys naming them the Ten Commandments of Fellowship:
- Love one another. vs 9-1
- Honor one another. vs 10
- Worship with one another. vs 11-12
- Be gracious to one another. vs 13
- Do not be spiteful toward one another. vs 14, 17, 19-20
- Empathise with one another. vs 15
- Get along with one another. vs 16, 18
- Be humble toward one another. vs 16b
- Be honest with one another. vs 17b
- Be good to one another. vs 21
The last command sums up every other command. Don’t let the negative things we see in people replace the good things of fellowship. We are a diverse family, with different backgrounds, ages, life situations and experiences, but we are family! More importantly, we’re commanded by God to act like family. Romans chapter 14 is a real eye-opener about the petty doctrines and practices we squabble about as believers, which should not be used to divide one local church or believer from another. We are to encourage each other, listen to each other, forgive each other, resolving conflicts, and building each other up.
Jesus promised that when we fellowship and walk in love, people will know we are disciples of His by our love. (John 13:34-35) He promised that people will know He sent us when we walk together in fellowship and unity. (John 17:20-21) God commands a blessing upon us when we walk in unity one with another. (Ps 133) Let’s receive God’s blessings as long as it is in your power to do so.
Prayer Points:
• Heavenly Father, thank You for showing me how important it is to realise that I am part of the Body of Christ.
• That I am an important and special part of your Body with gifts, talents and abilities that would benefit the other members in the Body.
• Help me to find a local body of believers that I can be an active and useful part of.
• Help me to support the vision of the local church to reach out to others with the love, word and power of God.
In Jesus’ Name I pray,
Amen
Verses:
“Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.” (Heb 10:24-25)
