It's early in the morning and I'm struggling to think of a clever or catchy way to begin this article, so I'll just get straight to the point.
Read 1 John 1:6-7 below...
"If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."
In this marvelous text, we learn that Christians have fellowship not only with God but with one another. It's also clear based on the wording that our fellowship with one another is predicated upon our respective fellowship with God. In other words, because person A and person B both are in partnership and communion (fellowship) with God, then person A and person B are necessarily in fellowship with one another.
Before we go any further, it's important to clarify the true nature of fellowship. In the Scriptures, there is a difference between association and fellowship. We're told in 2 Corinthians 6:14-16 not to have fellowship with unbelievers, with unrighteousness, with lawlessness, with darkness, with Belial, or with idols. And yet we know based on 1 Corinthians 5:10-11 and 1 Corinthians 10:27 that we can interact, socialize and associate with unbelievers. So fellowship is not mere association or social interaction. Fellowship implies a deeper relationship characterized by spiritual partnership and approval.
Back in 1 John 1:6-7, we're told that those who have fellowship with God have fellowship with one another, and based on what was noted in the previous paragraph, this is something that, biblically speaking, is unique to the family of God. I have a special connection (approval, partnership) with my brethren that I do not have with unbelievers, or with those of the world.
Although the question has already been partly answered, I'll toss it out there anyways: with whom do we have fellowship? We've already seen that we do not have fellowship with unbelievers or with those of the world, but let's adjust our focus to other religious people. Is it safe to assume that we have fellowship with all who claim to be of Christ? This is a necessary, albeit controversial question.
Most "Christians" today are extremely ecumenical. The average church-goer believes that all alleged Christians are going to heaven, that one's church affiliation makes no difference, that one's methods of worship are neither here nor there, and that one's beliefs and practices are simply a matter of preference. And so the average church-goer would extend fellowship to all who are decent and moral.
Not only that, but the average church-goer would act as if it's inherently unloving, perhaps even cruel, to restrict fellowship among religious people, or to refuse fellowship to another person who claims to be sincerely following Christ.
Is this true? Is it inherently unloving to argue that fellowship is conditional and that certain religious people are not meeting those conditions?
Consider these points with me...as to whether or not conditional fellowship is inherently unloving...
In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus refused fellowship and salvation to certain sincere religious men on the basis that they hadn't obeyed the will of the Father. Was Jesus being inherently unloving? Should He have embraced these men?
In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul instructed the church to remove fellowship AND association from a certain erring brother. The implication is that this brother was still active in the church, or that he at least was continuing to attend and wear the name of Christ. When Paul commanded them to publically deliver him to Satan for the destruction of his flesh (vs. 5) and to no longer associate or even eat with this man...was he being inherently unloving and cruel?
In Romans 16:17, 1 Timothy 1:20, 1 Timothy 6:3-5, and 2 John 9-10 (among others), were these inspired men lacking love when they encouraged a removal of fellowship from false teachers? When the recipients of these instructions obeyed - and when they noted, rejected and refused to receive these false teachers - were they engaging in inherently unloving acts.
Let's come full-circle now back to 1 John 1:6-7.
Again, we're told that when multiple people have fellowship with God, they necessarily have fellowship with one another. And so not only is our fellowship with one another predicated on our respective fellowship with God, it's implied that if one loses their fellowship with God, they also lose their fellowship with their brethren. That connection is severed and lost as they are no longer partners together in Christ. Earlier we read verses 6-7, but I'd like for you to now notice verse 5.
"...God is light, and in Him there is no darkness."
Darkness is equated in this passage to sin (vs. 8-9) and to a failure to practice the truth (vs. 6), and I'd like for you to notice that while one can "walk in darkness" (a continued practice of sin), it only takes one act of darkness/sin to sever fellowship with God...because there is "no darkness" in the light.
With this in mind, how delicate is our fellowship with God? And how delicate is our fellowship with one another? In other words, we need to give great thought to all that we're doing in His name, because if we're engaged in any errant or unauthorized behavior (the definition of sin), our fellowship with God is lost, or at least called into question. Of course, based on verse 9, the Christian easily regains fellowship with God when he confesses his trespass to God. So for honest, truth-seeking Christians, this fellowship is maintained because we're growing stronger and confessing our failures to a forgiving God.
Am I being inherently unloving when I apply the clear meaning of this passage (and the conditional nature of fellowship) to other religious people...or to erring brethren?
One can be misguided in their view of conditional fellowship. The Jerusalem church refused fellowship with Paul in Acts 9:26 even though he was in fellowship with God. Diotrephes refused fellowship to faithful disciples as well in 3 John 9-10 (although his motives were clearly malicious). On the other hand, the church in Corinth granted fellowship to the deviant brother in 1 Corinthians 5, and the church in Thyatira granted fellowship to the wicked woman "Jezebel" in Revelation 3.
We can err in our application of fellowship, and as we see in some of these examples - and common sense tells us - restricted fellowship is sometimes not only misguided, but malicious, prideful, etc.
But we have clear instructions and postive examples throughout the word of God which reveal to us this undeniable truth: it is NOT inherently unloving to refuse fellowship even to certain religious people, or even to those who claim to be baptized followers of Christ. Sure, we can be misguided in our views of fellowship - and that should be corrected - but if we are sincere in our efforts, and if we are striving to use the Scriptures as our guide, conditional fellowship cannot be labeled as cruel and unusual.
We each have to diligently study God's word to understand the boundaries of fellowship...for though our feelings and judgments are flawed, God's word is our inerrant, unbiased standard. And as we have learned, we must restrict fellowship to those who have accessed the light (by obeying the gospel plan of salvation), are walking in the light and practicing the truth.
If my application of fellowship is flawed or misguided, and if you believe I am refusing fellowship to those who are indeed practicing the truth, let me know and we'll study. But please don't act as if I'm being inherently unloving. I'm only trying to humbly submit to the instructions of my Lord.
And the Lord knows best.
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