Preaching Series: The Tie That Binds
The Fellowship of the Church
Text: 1 John 1:1-10
Introduction: In 1773, the young pastor of a poor church in Wainsgate, England, was called to a large and influential church in London. John Fawcett was a powerful preacher and writer, and these skills had brought him this opportunity. As the wagons were being loaded with the Fawcett’s few belongings, their people came for a tearful farewell. During the good-byes, Mary Fawcett cried, “John, I cannot bear to leave!” “Nor can I,” he replied. “We shall remain here with our people.” The wagons were unloaded, and John Fawcett spent the entirety of his fifty-four-year ministry in Wainsgate. Out of that experience, Fawcett wrote the beautiful hymn, “Blest Be the Tie that Binds.” Here are the words to the first verse: Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love. The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above. AHHH, FELLOWSHIP! WHO DOESN’T ENJOY AND EVEN SAVOR IT WHEN IT COMES ALONG? THE GREEK WORD FOR FELLOWSHIP COMES FROM A ROOT MEANING "COMMON OR SHARED." IT IMPLIES A CLOSE BOND BETWEEN TWO OR MORE PEOPLE. FELLOWSHIP IS THAT SWEET COMMUNION THAT BINDS BELIEVERS TOGETHER IN JESUS CHRIST. It can be experienced as we share a meal or a ministry activity with other Christians. Fellowship means common participation in something either by giving what you have to the other person or receiving what he or she has. Give and take is the essence of fellowship.
Here’s my definition of the word: Fellowship is the blessing of walking closely with Christ and watching as our relationship with Him overflows to others who are doing the same.
Background of passage: In the passage that we’re addressing this morning, fellowship is a key concern for John the Apostle. He wrote this letter to clear up the errors of the gnostic teachers who, through special knowledge not available to everyone, came to believe that all materials things were evil. Thus they either denied the humanity of Christ (Docetic Gnosticism) or distinguished between the man Jesus and the Christ that came on him at His baptism and left Him on the cross (Cerinthian Gnosticism). These leaders had gone out from among the true Christians (See 1 John 2:19), but a sympathetic ear for the teaching still lingered. Given these circumstances, Paul provided instruction about what it meant to fellowship with one another so that the false teachers could be clearly seen for what they were...antichrists (See 1 John 2:18) or those who stood against our Lord.
I. How we obtain fellowship (See 1 John 1:1-4). John makes this clear in the first paragraph. Our ability to fellowship with each other is the direct result of the fellowship that we have with God through Christ. Through firsthand experience that included hearing, seeing and touching "the Word of Life (See John 1:1, 14), they came to believe in Jesus as God in human flesh (as opposed to the gnostics who could never agree with this view--See 1 John 4:2). They acknowledged that He left the Father’s side (See John 17:5) and came to bring life to all who would believe (See 1 John 1:2). This was the source of John’s joy and the basis for his fellowship with the believers to whom he wrote! J. I. Packer says, "Christian fellowship is two-dimensional, and it has to be vertical before it can be horizontal. We must know the reality of fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ before we can know the reality of fellowship with each other in our common relationship to God. The person who is not in fellowship with the Father and the Son is no Christian at all, and so cannot share with Christians the realities of their fellowship." Application: Remember the early church in Acts 2:37-42! First, they accepted the message (i.e. believed the Gospel) that Peter preached. This brought them into fellowship with God. Then they were able to enjoy fellowship with each other. The same is true for all of us.
II. How we lose fellowship (See 1 John 1:5-6). When we walk in the darkness we lose the fellowship that we shared with other believers. Here’s why this is so. The degree to which we are able to fellowship with each other depends on the quality of our relationship with God. As light, He is the source of truth and holiness. When we choose to walk in darkness, or ways that are inconsistent with the character of God, our fellowship with Him is broken (See Isaiah 59:2). John uses this argument to explain why the false teachers could not claim fellowship with God when they lived in denial of the truth and thus walked in darkness. As mutually exclusive environments, you cannot walk with one foot in the light and one in the dark. Illustration: In the 1970s America experienced an energy shortage. One of the ways civic leaders attempted to preserve energy was to turn off the streets lights in our cities. They discovered, however, that as soon as they did so, the crime rate rose dramatically. They had to leave the street lights on in order to hold the dark desires of those who lived there at bay. Application: Anyone who chooses darkness over light is in danger of being overcome by it. Is it possible that you might be walking in the darkness? If you have lost the joy of your salvation, it might be a good place to start to ask God if there is darkness in your life.
III. How we sustain fellowship (See 1 John 1:7). Fellowship only takes place when we walk in the light together. This is a present tense verb implying ongoing action. Often what trips us up when we’re walking in the light is the influence of those who are not. That’s what John is concerned about here and it’s why Paul gives a strong warning about bad company in 1 Corinthians 15:33. When they corrupt us ("lead astray"--See 2 Corinthians 11:3), it is safe to say that we are involved in a relationship that is unequally yoked (See 2 Corinthians 6:14). These sickly believers do not experience the purifying effect of the blood of Christ because they walk with others who deny Him by their deeds. Application: Our lives are the product of our relationships. Be careful who you spend the majority of your time with. Illustration: Check out this story. "A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on. As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies. If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn’t seem to mind. My parents ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home... not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush. We weren’t permitted the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... and NEVER asked to leave. More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents’ den today, you would still find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures. His name? We just call him, ’TV.’ He has a sibling now. We call her ’Computer.’"
IV. How we restore fellowship (See 1 John 1:8-10). When we confess our sin our fellowship with God (and thus with each other) is restored. We talked about this last week. The word "confess" means to ’agree with.’ When we confess our sins we are not telling God something He doesn’t already know, but we’re agreeing that what we did is sinful. In this passage, John provides the theological basis for our forgiveness.
A. God is faithful. God is true to his people and promises. He has given us His word that in Christ our sins are forgiven (See 1 John 2:12). So the point of bringing them out into the open is not so that we can gain forgiveness. We bring sins into the open because we’re forgiven (See 1 Peter 3:18) and understand that fellowship with God is a real option for us if we confess our sin.
B. God is just. His justice was satisfied by Christ’s sacrifice (See Romans 3:21-26). If God did not forgive the sin of a believer for whom Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice, then He would be acting unjustly.
Illustration: So confession really matters, doesn’t it? The great “prince of preachers” Charles Haddon Spurgeon used to tell a story about a certain duke who once boarded a galley ship. As he passed the crew of slaves, he asked several of them what their offenses were. Almost every man claimed he was innocent. They laid the blame on someone else or accused the judge of yielding to bribery. One young fellow, however, spoke out, ‘Sir, I deserve to be here. I stole some money. No one is at fault but myself. I’m guilty.’ Upon hearing this, the duke seized him by the shoulder and shouted, ‘You scoundrel, you! What are you doing here with all these honest men? Get out of their company at once!’ He was then set at liberty while the rest were left to tug at the oars. The key to this prisoner’s freedom was the admission of his guilt and so it is with us as well.
Conclusion: We’re told in 1 John 1:9 that when we confess our sins, God cleanses us from all unrighteousness. I don’t know about you, but I am never truly comfortable when I am dirty. I yearn to be clean. During my seminary years I worked in the summers putting up fences with a local company. It was hard work and frequently I would come home so filthy that I would take my clothes directly to the washing machine. Then I’d get a shower and when I was done, I felt great! YEP! IT SURE FEELS GOOD TO WASH AWAY THE DIRT. IT MAKES US FEEL BRAND NEW. This is what awaits those who confess their sin. When we experience the forgiveness that is ours in Christ the dirt of sin is removed and we’re free to start walking in the light once again.
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