The Basis of Christian Fellowship

Fellowship Matters : 

Fellowship Matters Christadelphian Presentation

Questions : 

Questions what is the basis of a Christian church? is there a basis for separate fellowships among Christadelphians? should Christadelphians be separate from the churches of Christendom?

More Questions : 

More Questions Each generation of Christadelphians asks: what is the basis of faith? Do we have too much detail? Have we got it right? Are we too strict? Should we tolerate other viewpoints? Should we remain separate from other churches or other Christadelphian fellowships?

Foundations : 

Foundations If we can lay down what they did in Acts (and the Epistles), we will have a good foundation for our fellowship today. “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone” Eph 2:20

Foundations : 

Foundations Specific beliefs were required from people, and only then would they have been baptised. If we can find out what these beliefs were, we will have an apostolic basis of fellowship. When the apostles preached and people were added to the church, certain acts occurred: people expressed repentance, they confessed their belief and were baptised. After this they were regarded as part of the church.

Foundations : 

Foundations The church will be built by Jesus upon the “rock” of his being the Messiah, the Son of God (Mt 16:16) “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 3:11

Summaries (1) : 

Summaries (1) “From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand’...” Mt 4:17 “Now Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom...” Mt 4:23 “And as you go, preach, saying, ‘the kingdom of heaven is at hand’...” Mt 10:7 “From that time Jesus began to show to his dis­ciples that he must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things...and be killed, and be raised again on the third day.” Mt 16:21 “To whom also he shewed himself alive ...speak­ing of the things per­tain­ing to the king­dom of God” Acts 1:3

Summaries (2) : 

Summaries (2) “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises [made] unto the fathers.” Rms 15:8 If we are going to establish a statement of faith, then it must be about the kingdom of God, the promises made unto the fathers, and the death and resurrection of Christ.

Making Disciples : 

Making Disciples “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you....” Mt 28:19

Role of Commands : 

Role of Commands There is a distinction to mark: the commands are not the preaching that converts a disciple, rather they show the life to be followed by the newly made disciple. Commands define part of the continuing basis of fellowship.

Gospel (1) : 

Gospel (1) The Gospel creates an adopted son of God, and this defines the Gospel as the basis of fellowship. The gospel is what converts and saves; it is the word of God to create new men and women. In Romans, while talking of his ministry, Paul says that the Gospel concerns Jesus Christ, made of the seed of David, according to the flesh (Rms 1:1-4). This Gospel is said to be the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes (Rms 1:16-17).

Gospel (2) : 

Gospel (2) The Gospel of the basis of fellowship, because it brings about a person’s entry into the body of Christ. The Gospel is the instrument of birth (1 Cor 4:14-15) Christians are born of an incorruptible seed: the word of God, which is preached by the Gospel (1 Pet 1:23,25)

Disunity Argument : 

Disunity Argument Where disunity prevailed, we sometimes read of appeals for unity around this faith in Jesus. Thus Paul beseeches the Corinthians to all speak the same thing, and be perfectly joined together in the same mind (1 Cor 1:10). They were exhorted to be of one mind about the wisdom of God, which he describes as ‘the cross of Christ’ (1 Cor 1:17), and ‘Christ crucif­ied’ (1 Cor 1:23, 2:2).

Day to Day Preaching : 

Day to Day Preaching Moving on from matters of conversion to aspects of the day to day, we don’t find the Gospel left behind, for Paul worries about the furtherance of Gospel. It was being preached out of contention and out of love. In this situation, Paul exhorts the believers to stand fast in one spirit, with one mind, around ‘the faith’ of this Gospel (Phil 1:27). Elsewhere he teaches that God was establishing Christians in the Gospel (Rms 16:25). He stresses the importance of being grounded and settled in the faith of the Gospel (Col 1:23, 2:7). Accordingly, we read that churches are referred to as standing in the faith (Acts 16:5, 1 Cor 15:1).

Speeches in Acts : 

Speeches in Acts If we add up the points of these speeches, the content of the Gospel would include: reference to God the Father and Jesus as his Son, the manhood of Jesus and his mortality, the death, sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus, the return of Christ, the promises to Abraham and David, the restoration of the kingdom to Israel, the building of a temple, as well as the general resurrection of the dead and the forgiveness of sins through repentance and baptism.

Statement of Faith : 

Statement of Faith the foundation is the Jewish Scriptures God the Father of Jesus Christ is the one true God that man is mortal and sinful and in need of salvation Jesus Christ is the fulfilment of the promises to the patriarchs Jesus Christ was born of David, a man like his brethren that Jesus was a prophet who preached repentance and forgiveness of sins through his sacrifice the death and the resurrection of Jesus the way of salvation through repentance and baptism the kingdom centred upon Israel and Jerusalem

Causal Link : 

Causal Link “We proclaim unto you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us...” (1 Jn 1:3, cf. Is 64:4). The link here is causal, i.e. fellowship with John was based on what he saw and heard.

Preaching (1) : 

Preaching (1) Preaching doesn’t concentrate on the issues that divide Christadelphians, and this is because Christadelphians substantially agree on a common statement of faith. This shows that, like the apostles, Christadelphians value the Gospel, and recognize that it is a power unto salvation. By concentrating on the Gospel, as the means to bring people into the modern church of Christ, Christadelphians of all fellowships deny, in the very practise of preaching, the issues that divide the fellowships. These issues are usually mentioned (if at all) at a very late stage in the making of a disciple, and this shows that they are irrelevant to the making of a disciple.

Preaching (2) : 

Preaching (2) The question should be put as to whether Christadelphians are right to remain separate from each other, when they share a common Gospel, and when they share a common method in the making of a disciple.

Summary (1) : 

Summary (1) The Gospel was the content of the apostolic preaching, and therefore the means whereby converts were sought. The Gospel has this structural role in bringing men and women into the church. Hence, it can be claimed to be the basis of fellowship.

Summary (2) : 

Summary (2) The Gospel (the word) was itself powerful in the conversion process, in the saving of men, and the means whereby men were begotten in Christ. So the Gospel can be said to be the basis of fellowship, because it has an instrumental role in the process of salvation.

Summary (3) : 

Summary (3) The Gospel of ‘the faith’ is independently described in a way that shows it acts as a foundation amongst true Christians. Thus, we have noted that believers are to stand in the Gospel, be grounded and settled in the faith, and that God is estab­lishing Christians in the Gospel.