Pleasing God, Making Disciples of Jesus Christ

The Joy Of Togetherness

ROMANS 1:11-12 – For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

THEME OF THE DAY. THE JOY OF TOGETHERNESS. God has given us many blessings in life. We may each write down a long list both in the temporal and spiritual realms. In fact, pause for a few minutes and make that list. Come back when we are done. Okay, welcome back to today’s nugget.

As we think on our lists, did this one make it – the blessings of close spiritual relationships with other Christians? I hope so. The Apostle Paul recognized and gave thanks for such relationships in his life. Why? For a couple of reasons. First, he obeyed God in having them. God never intended us to walk the Christian life alone. To do so is simple disobedience to the over fifty “one anothers” in the scripture. The other reason Paul had them is he loved God’s people and gave evidence of that love by having deep spiritual relationships with them.

I have written and preached numerous times about this Biblical privilege and mandate of fellowship with other Christians. Not a fellowship like ships passing in the night on a Sunday morning or at a short-lived social activity. No, a Biblical fellowship of deep and consistent spiritual investment sharing our common union in Christ. We need to hear this truth often because the Bible mentions it often and there are two alarming trends among professing Christians we need to identify and avoid. They are not good and if we are in either one, God needs to awaken us to see our error, even our disobedience. A lot is at stake and the chief issue is the corporate witness of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus in our communities. We are stronger together than living in isolation.

First, the growing trend among Christians who actually believe one may be a healthy Christian apart from regularly gathering with other Christians in what God defines as His visible church (a local New Testament church). Now, if you are in this camp, please don’t stop reading, get defensive, and delete me. The New Testament clearly teaches every Christian is to be committed to a local church under the spiritual authority of elders in a place where the ordinances of the church – baptism and the Lord’s Supper are observed. And small group Bible studies in homes or coffee houses do not meet those requirements. Nothing wrong with such gatherings for study and prayer, but they are not substitutes for God’s clear command for us to be committed to spiritual relationships with His people in a local church (Acts 2:42).

Another alarming trend are those Christians who may attend a local church but live on the fringe of its body life. They are faithful each Lord’s Day, but are never seen in the spiritual ministries of the church for prayer, study, and service. They are what we may call “spiritual observers” but not “spiritual participants.” They are similar to group one, not in denying or ignoring the importance of the local church in their spiritual lives, but in lacking investment in the “one anothers” in the local church. And more often than not, this group of Christians is losing the battle to worldliness as their lives are full of earthly things instead of eternal things.

The sad truth about both groups of Christians is they are short-changing themselves in the joy of the Lord. There is something special, something precious that brings great encouragement, strength, and joy when we commit and practice Biblical fellowship with one another. And that makes sense because that is how God intended us to walk through this life; together and that through individual commitment to one another in the community He calls “His church.”

PRAYER: “Father, thank You for giving me not only the joy of Your Son, but that of fellowship with His people.”

QUOTE: “God never intends the Christian life to be private. It is disobedience to be a “Lone Ranger” Christian.”