Have You Been With Jesus?

      Acts 5:27-29 says, And when they had brought them, they set them before the council.  And the high priest questioned them, saying, “We strictly charged you not to teach in this name, yet here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and you intend to bring this man’s blood upon us.”  But Peter answered, “We must obey God rather than men.”

        It required extraordinary courage for Peter and the others to stand before the council and say the things they did. The Sanhedrin charged the apostles with disobeying their command to teach no more in the name of Jesus (Acts 4:18). The apostles said that it was right for them to disobey. The Sanhedrin accused the apostles of trying to bring the blood of Jesus Christ upon their heads. The apostles accused them of killing Jesus (Acts 5:30). The Sanhedrin denied that Jesus possessed divine authority. The apostles declared, “God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins” (Acts 5:31). By then much of the Sanhedrin was prepared to kill the apostles (Acts 5:33). Had they not heeded the advice of Gamaliel (Acts 5:34-39) they likely would have done so.

      What an awesome display of faith and courage. It is not difficult to begin imagining that they were a different breed of human, a group of first century “supermen” exempt from the discouragements and fears that often plague “the rest of us.” After all, what else could explain their ability to stand with straight backs and determined brows before an enraged Sanhedrin? 

      They were not supermen. In fact, they had not always been as bold as this. Even after this event Peter, the spokesmen for the group, would briefly turn hypocrite and lead others astray by his example (Galatians 2:11-13). God reveals their failings so that we will recognize that they were just like us, fraught with all the frailties and fears indigenous to humanity. Like us, they occasionally succumbed to temptation. Like us, they experienced illnesses and death. Like us, they sometimes needed a shoulder to cry on. Like us, they needed to be encouraged. Like us, they needed to be saved!

       So if they were not supermen, if they really were just like us, how did they manage to bravely stand before a hostile council and so thoroughly make their defense that the council could not begin to deal with the points they made? I believe we find all the answer we need in Acts 4:13, the first time two apostles were brought before the council.  Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.” They had been with Jesus. They had traveled with Him, listened to Him, received their training from Him, and been saved by Him. They had been with Jesus.

     When ordinary people are filled with extraordinary faith that they have been with Jesus becomes apparent to all who are paying attention. Our ordinary daily lives should show us the truth of this. Why do faithful Christian spouses patiently work at their marriage when folks all around them with similar troubles and fears separate from one another? It is because they have been with Jesus. Why does the faithful Christian see the glory of God in the brilliant morning sunlight while other folks are grumbling about going to work in the morning? It is because they have been with Jesus. Why doesn’t the faithful Christian curse and throw out vulgar gestures when someone cuts them off while driving or shoves in front of them in the grocery line? It is because they have been with Jesus.

      Living hand in hand with Jesus does not reveal itself only when one’s life is on the line. It is something that shines through in daily life. Of course, it does require a mature, committed faith to hold its resolve in the face of personal danger. It is the type of faith all saints should work for. Christians often say that they do not know what they would do if faced with the same challenges of some of our earliest brethren, such as those faced by the apostles in Acts 4 and 5. I don’t believe that to be the correct attitude. All committed Christians should be prepared to not just have their faith tested, but to cling to it to the end, even if that end is death (Matthew 10:22). Such would certainly not be easy, but it would be expected by the One prepared to welcome them on the other side.

      Yes, we are ordinary people. None of us are masquerading as regular humans until we find the nearest phone booth. Yet we are all capable of extraordinary things through our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Living the faithful Christian life each day is as extraordinary as surviving the most trying moments with faith intact. Both are made possible because the saint has been with Jesus. 

A Few Thoughts On Fellowship

     Where many have concluded that fellowship is the thing Christians do over fried chicken, a cup of coffee, and conversation; the New Testament use of the word shows it to be spiritual in nature. We have fellowship with those who stand for the truth, worship God in the ways He said He wants to be worshipped, and live their lives making every effort to walk worthy of their calling. New Testament Christians take tremendous delight in laughing with one another over a meal and recognize such intimacy to be a product of the blessing of being in fellowship with God. They recognize this foundatinal truth: it always comes back to God!

     How is the fellowship God desires established? The answer is found in 1 John 1:5-7. This is the message we have heard and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in Him is no darkenss at all. If we say we have fellowship with Him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. To claim fellowship with God is to walk in the way He walked. Look at Jesus Christ and do what he did. Love truth as he loved it, walk according to the Father’s will as he did, and love souls the way he loved them. Those who are willing to do this will not hesitate to put him on in baptism and will, as a result, join with those who share the same faithful commitment. They will work and worship together, fellowshipping one another because they are in fellowship with God. Anyone can claim to love Christ, sit down over a hearty meal with other such claimers, have a grand old time, and call the whole thing fellowship. But if one wants to be part of the spiritual fellowship in which God delights 1 John 1:5-7 tells them how.

     Not long ago a brother declared, “We cannot have fellowship with someone God does not fellowship.” If by “cannot” he means it should never happen then he is absolutey right. If by “cannot” he means it couldn’t actually happen…Well, that’s a different story. Let’s consider Scripture.

     We read the following from 3 John 9-10. I have written something to the church, but Diotrophes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknoweldge our authority. So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. Diotrophes refused to fellowship a group of traveling preachers (5-8). What’s more, he raised his fist against his brothers and sisters in the congregation who did welcome them, casting these faithful Christians out of the church. Further, he refused to recognize the authority of the apostle John. Thus, Diotrophes refused fellowship to faithful traveling preachers, faithful brothers and sisters within the congregation of which he was part, and an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. Note this well, beloved: God fellowshipped while Diotrophes didn’t. Severing fellowship with a brother or sister in Christ is never something to be done without prayerful study and meditation. Neither should it ever be the result of an emotional reaction. Man’s emotions lead him wrong. A lot. When fellowship is severed it must only ever be for a single reason: a Christian or group of Christians has chosen to no longer walk in the light. That conclusion should only ever be reached after calm and prayerful consideration of God’s Word. Otherwise, one may disfellowship where God has not. What a frightening proposition!

     Turning to 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 we find a different, though equally disturbing, situation. It is actually reported that there is sexaul immorality among you, and of a kind that is not tolerated even among pagans, for a man has his father’s wife. And you are arrogant! Ought you not rathe to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.” These brethren had among them one walking in darkness. He was living in sin without remorese or repentance. They were aware of it and yet took no action to remove him from their midst. His wicked influence (leaven, v. 6) was left unchecked and could easily have ravaged that church had not Paul stepped it to get it sorted. Note this well, beloved: God did not fellowship while the Corinthian brethren did. When calm and prayerful study reveals that fellowship must be severed faithful saints had better have the courage and conviction to follow through. It is no better to extend fellowship where God does not than to sever fellowship where God extends it.

     What determines biblical fellowship? What are its boundries? What is to occur when those boundries are reached? Man has had much to say about this throughout the centuries and has left folks more confused than ever. So stop listening to man. Let us resolve to simply hear God. We know with certainty that He will never lead us wrong.