Safeguards to Fellowship--Part 1

Keeping Christ’s word, walking as Christ walked, and loving the brethren are not only tests of how much we love the Lord, but they are also safeguards to our fellowship with Him (I John 2:4-11). Perseverance is one of the great subjects of Scripture. Both the ignorant and the hypocrite separate perseverance from the actuality of faith which manifests itself in keeping, walking, and loving. Although perseverance is our duty, it would never come to realization apart from God’s grace and preservation. Our perseverance is the doxology to God’s preservation. We “… are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time” (I Pet. 1:5). We must not think of admonition and perseverance as opposites. A contradiction occurs only if we misunderstand the nature of perseverance and treat it as something divorced from faith.

Keeping Christ’s Word

Keeping Christ’s word perfects God’s love in the Christian: “The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him” (I John 2:4-5). John contrasted “the one who says I have come to know Him and does not keep His commandments” in verse 4 with “whoever keeps His word” in verse 5. Furthermore, the one who does not keep on keeping Christ’s commandments is a liar, in contrast to the one who having had God’s love completed in him keeps on keeping His word.

Keeping Christ’s word is a day by day obligation, not one big act of obedience. The Greek word for “keeps” in verse 5 is a present active subjunctive of tereo, which means to watch over protectively, to keep, or to observe practically. This literally means that the person continually keeping Christ’s word does so with great care. Paul used the figure of a race when he appealed to the Galatians’ past experience in Galatians 5:7—“You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth.” Paul’s use of the figure of a race suggests that the Judaizers were cutting in on the Galatian believers, thus hindering their running. The imperfect tense is used descriptively in Galatians 5:7—“you were running” is the imperfect active indicative of trecho and means to run a certain course of conduct. Paul was describing what had gone on in past time. Christians must make haste without delay to keep Christ’s word.

The most favored people often fail to wage a good warfare. An example is found in Psalm 78:9—“The sons of Ephraim were archers equipped with bows. Yet they turned back in the day of battle.” Ephraim, a descendant from Joseph, was the most favored of the Jewish tribes. The Ephraimites were not only cowards, but they were also disobedient to God. Psalm 78:10 tells us, “They did not keep the covenant of God and refused to walk in His law.” Their cowardice and disobedience to God brought disastrous results upon themselves. Many Christians, like the Ephraimites, have the sword of the Spirit and are well versed in its doctrinal content. However, they are cowards and disobedient.

Good soldiers distinguish themselves by desiring God’s promotion rather than man’s. They endure hardship and strive lawfully. This is what II Timothy 2:3-5 tells us—“Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. Also if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules.” While the great religious bodies are boasting of their position and progress with Laodicean complacency, brave and obedient Christians are distressed by such “progress” at the expense of fidelity to Christ and His commandments.

Believers who watch over Christ’s word protectively will humbly search the unfathomable treasure of Divine wisdom for more light. They are not looking for new things but exploring old truths. Look at I John 2:7—“Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning….” The word translated “new” in this verse is from the Greek word kainos, meaning new in the sense of recently made, novel, or strange. The word translated “old” is from the Greek word palaios, used in the sense of long ago—not new or recent. Anything purporting to be a new revelation is sure to be wrong. However, new discovery of old truth is not wrong.

Christians are exhorted in Jude 3 to “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” Christians are to manifest the greatest diligence about the most important things. Men who give up any part of the truth of Scripture to please either themselves or others will also give up another part for fleshly advantage. Their relinquishing any truth of Scripture, even though they retain many verities, is a break of allegiance to Christ.

Walking As Christ Walked

Abiding in Christ results in the Christian walking as He walked—“the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked” (I John 2:6). “Abide” is a present active infinitive of meno, which means to continually remain, endure, or persevere; to constantly remain as one is and not to become different. It was a favorite term of the apostle John. He used it thirty-nine times in his Gospel and twenty-six times in his Epistles. Hence, to know Christ, to be in fellowship with Him, and to remain in constant fellowship with Him were John’s chief subjects. The one who is constantly saying he continually remains in Christ ought to walk in the manner in which Christ conducted Himself. To walk in the manner Christ walked destroys the theory of evolution. An ape aping a man makes the ape a man no more than a believer imitating Christ makes the believer a Christ. The Christian is obligated to imitate Christ in His ordinary life, not as He walked on the water. Ephesians 5:1 tells us to “…be imitators of God, as beloved children.”

The Christian walk is described as being one of separation, submission, and suffering in I Peter 2. “For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps” (I Pet. 2:21). Christians are called to salvation and also to a lifetime of following Jesus Christ as their example. We cannot imitate Him in either His miraculous works or His vicarious death, but we can follow Him in separation, submission, and suffering.

Unlike Christ’s separation, the appeal for Christian separation indicates a low level of spirituality. Christ’s natural separation provided for the elect’s positional and conditional separation. What was natural to Christ is made possible to His people in grace. A Biblical example of the Christian’s need for separation is recorded in Paul’s message to the church at Corinth in II Corinthians 6:11-13—“Our mouth has spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide. You are not restrained by us, but you are restrained in your own affections. Now in a like exchange—I speak as to children—open wide to us also.” Why did Paul make such an appeal? The Corinthians had questioned his apostleship (I Cor. 9:1-2), charged him with incorrect motives (II Cor. 12:11-13:8), and made light of his manner (I Cor. 2:1-5). The apostle did not desire affection from them toward himself but devotion to God. Persons devoted to God will show proper respect for His appointed servants.

Christ said to His disciples in John 13:20—“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” Every person sent by Christ is to be received, but this is not the same as receiving everyone who says Christ sent him. God does not send all who claim to be sent as in Jeremiah 23:21—“I did not send these prophets, but they ran. I did not speak to them, but they prophesied.” God has given many characteristics of those He sends forth, and it behooves every church member to know them. True ministers are called, made, and sent by God.

Paul had his shortcomings, but hypocrisy was not one of them. He was a realist who came right to the point with every issue. No doubt he was deeply hurt over the Corinthians’ attitude toward him and their lack of support to him. But his greatest wound was knowing, by their withholding of both moral and financial support, that they revealed their hearts were withered. Therefore, he pointed to the problem of their lack of separation before he said in II Corinthians 6:14, “Do not be bound together with unbelievers….”

Paul named five areas of separation in II Corinthians 6:14-16—

1. The area of “righteousness and lawlessness” (v. 14) refers to separation in the sphere of commerce. How can the believer be a partner with a person who is unfaithful in his use of riches, which are the object of the unrighteousness (Luke 16:11). The Christian knows that it is never wise to be wicked. Riches themselves are non-moral, but they are made unrighteous by injustice. The conclusion of unrighteous riches is not gain but loss.

2. The area of “what fellowship has light with darkness” (v. 14) refers to separation in the sphere of ideology. Ideas are good, it they are based on God’s absolute standard—the Bible. However, most ideas, whether religious or political, are humanistic. Humanism is designed to establish the will of man as the ultimate authority. Furthermore, humanism relies on democracy for public support, which means it has its own brand of authoritarianism. Humanistic laws are giving society a new morality which strikes against Biblical morality. Such laws produced by humanistic ideologists are designed to save men and remake society. They are supposed to save men from prejudice, ignorance, disease, crime, and war; but humanistic ideologists are promoting their own humanistic bigotry at the expense of absolute truth. Christians, therefore, must never support such human systems or lean toward human institutions. We will not be able to explain to such ideological bigots why we are doing what we do, but what does that matter? A classical example of religious ideology is found in the words of a religionist who said, man is an individualized expression of God who can think of himself as a co-creator with God. He further stated that Jesus Christ died not for sin but to end our negative mental limitations. Hence, both political and religious ideology originate in the darkness of the depraved heart.

3. The area of “what harmony has Christ with Belial” (v. 15) directs to separation in the social sphere. Diplomacy has no place when persons who claim to be God’s covenant people become allies with God’s enemies. During the time that Nehemiah was in Babylon, Eliashib, who had been appointed to the oversight of the temple chambers, was allied to Tobiah (Neh. 13:4-31). Tobiah represents those who pretend to be supporters of truth; but in reality, they are its betrayers. Eliashib brought Tobiah into the courts of the house of God. During Nehemiah’s absence, Eliashib desecrated the house of God, tithes ceased to be offered, the temple was forsaken, the Sabbath was profaned, heathen marriages were contracted, the Jewish language was corrupted, and Eliashib’s grandson married Sanballat’s daughter and thus defiled the priesthood. Upon Nehemiah’s return, he threw Tobiah’s furniture out of the chamber, restored the temple services and the Sabbath, put a stop to heathen marriages, and cleansed the priesthood. Thus, promptness and firmness are more important than diplomacy when it comes to the things of God.

4. The area of “what has a believer in common with an unbeliever” (v. 15) points to separation in the marriage sphere. Scripture is clear concerning the marriage relationship. “Marriage in the Lord” surpasses everything human, as it did in nature before the fall. There is a wholesome, moral order in the world, and it must not be confused by hybrid breeding. Hybrid breeding in the case of mixed marriages is like the crossbreeding of two cultures or traditions. An ox and an ass do not work well together (Deut. 22:10). The same principle is true of a believer and unbeliever with two distinct sets of values living together.

5. The area of “what agreement has the temple of God with idols” (v. 16) refers to separation in the spiritual sphere. Following Paul’s naming of the fifth sphere of separation, he referred to some Old Testament Scriptures (Lev. 26:12; Is. 52:11). What agreement is there between living saints and idols? An idol is not only some representation of God, but it is also any false conception of God. Therefore, all the false conceptions of the sovereign God are as despicable as idols made of stone, wood, and metal displayed by Roman Catholicism or any other false religion. In every age, the call of God has been for His people to live a life of separation but not of isolation. After setting forth Jesus Christ and our knowledge of Him, John closed his marvelous Epistle correctly, not abruptly: “Little children, guard yourselves from idols” (I John 5:21).

Jesus Christ is the believer’s example in submission. As the head of Christ is God, the head of man is Christ (I Cor. 11:3). Although Christ is our example in submission, His subordination to the Father and our subordination to Him differ. There is equality between the eternal Son and His eternal Father, but no such equality exists between the Son and those for whom He died. Thus, Paul distinguished between inferiority and subordination. As there is no inferiority in the Divine nature, there is none in the human nature. Therefore, woman’s subordination to man does not make her inferior to him any more than Christ’s subordination to the Father makes Him inferior to His Father. Christ was submissive to the Father in His incarnation, His life on earth, and His death on the cross.

Submission to God is the responsibility of Christians—“Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). “Submit” is the plural aorist passive imperative of the Greek word upotasso, meaning to submit ourselves in obedience to God at once, for all time. This means we Christians give up ourselves to be governed by the will of God, which is expressed in the word of God. God’s will is not only the rule but the reason and motive for our obedience to glorify God. Hypocrites may obey certain things, but their motive is not to glorify God. On the other hand, the Psalmist said, “I hastened and did not delay to keep Your commandments” (Ps. 119:60). There should be no indecision or procrastination. When God speaks, we must act without delay. After all, He who has spoken is the sovereign God. How would you act if your boss told you to do something when your job was hanging by a thread? Your life may be hanging by a thread when God speaks to you through His word to be obedient. The first step in submission has respect to the truths of revelation. Since the Shepherd knows better than the sheep what we need, the pupils and not the Teacher must bow.

Christians are obligated to submit themselves unto their elders (I Pet. 5:1-5). Proper respect has become almost extinct in our day. The lack of proper regard is the fruit of deficient honor for God. Each person without proper esteem for God thinks he stands upon his own ability, which is a manifestation of pride. Thus, pride is evidenced by one resisting God, not by his sinning against a mere precept. Humility is indicated by one yielding to God’s government. After Peter’s failure to yield to God’s government, he spoke from a heart of experience. “Peter said to Him [Christ], Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You…” (Matt. 26:35). Peter’s self-confidence failed; but after he learned his lesson, he related his experience in his general Epistle for the spiritual benefit of believers.

In Hebrews 13, the writer spoke in verse 7 of “those who led you,” in verse 17 to “obey your leaders and submit to them,” and in verse 24 to “greet all of your leaders.” The God-appointed guides are constantly leading or ruling those to whom they have been appointed. There are two errors that must be avoided by God-appointed rulers: (1) They must avoid the unscriptural usurpation of authority (I Pet. 5:3). (2) They must not disregard the authority that should be legitimately administered by them (I Thess. 5:12). As rulers are necessary in every orderly society, how much more in the assemblies of Jesus Christ. Endless confusion and turmoil would reign where no accredited and acknowledged rulers serve. Assembly rulers possess no arbitrary authority because they themselves are under the authority of Jesus Christ. They are stewards who are neither lords over the household nor under subjection to it. They simply guide, govern, and rule as qualified men, not as automatons, who are capable of making decisions according to Scripture.

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The NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE—UPDATED EDITION is the source of all Scripture quotations in this message, unless otherwise noted.