fellowship Archives - Gospel Union - A blog about Christian faith and unity

Sweet Fellowship

Monday, 28 March 2005 by Editor

My first exposure to the singing group Acappella was their album “Sweet Fellowship” about 15 years ago or more. The title track is a great song, and very encouraging. I thought I’d post the words to it here, since the subject of fellowship features prominently around here: Fellowshipping with one another as we’re walking in

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Christian coalitions of the willing

Wednesday, 23 March 2005 by Editor

I think President Bush’s use of “coalitions of the willing” as a replacement for rigid treaties and lines of demarcation between allies and enemies makes an interesting application to our Christian cooperation with each other. This is particularly true in the sense that modern believers in Christ have factionalized themselves with their own rigid and

church divisions fellowship opinions

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All or nothing fellowship

Tuesday, 08 February 2005 by Editor

Is enjoying the friendship and mutual edification of all of our brothers and sisters in Christ an “all or nothing” proposition? Too many of us seem to think that if we can’t approve of all that another brother does, we can have nothing to do with him, “religiously” at least. This is just not the

fellowship unity

Published in Commentary, Unity

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Firm and flexible

Tuesday, 08 February 2005 by Editor

Good essay, Charles. –KH Firm and Flexible http://livwat.com/articles/10048.html by Charles Fry Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!” (Luke 1:45, NIV, -she was Mary) No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory

fellowship hermeneutics unity

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Out of the mouth of babes

Wednesday, 19 January 2005 by Editor

Sometimes it is uncanny how easily kids grasp things that adults, because of our philosophies and ideologies, have trouble grasping. My middle son, Jaden, who isn’t exactly known for liking dinner, noticed tonight that he liked this one (an Italian dish called a frittata) because the eggs hid the flavor of the green herbs and

family fellowship opinions unity

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The fellowship of the saints

Tuesday, 18 January 2005 by Editor

The following is from Carl Ketcherside’s “In the Beginning,” Chapter 19 (Thoughts on Fellowship #7). Fellowship is not a fruit of agreement but agreement is the fruit of fellowship! Does the Bible teach that? Do we come to be in the fellowship because we are of the same mind, or do we come to be

Alexander Campbell fellowship Ketcherside unity

Published in Alexander Campbell, Commentary, Unity, W. Carl Ketcherside

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A less circular view of Romans 14

Tuesday, 18 January 2005 by Editor

I know I’ve written about this before, but I need someone to help me see how the popular view of Romans 14 isn’t spinning in circles. Romans 14, remember, deals with the issue of two brothers whose consciences are in different places on the subject of meat offered to idols or observing days in honor

fellowship opinions unity

Published in Bible, Commentary, Unity

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Playing it safe

Monday, 10 January 2005 by Editor

One of the greatest concerns in associating with Christians of diverse opinions is that it is somehow unsafe to do so. The idea is that we are in some way compromising our beliefs to enjoy Christian communion with folks who do things or understand things differently, and that we ought to play it safe and

fellowship opinions unity

Published in Commentary, Unity

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Where do you draw the line?

Monday, 10 January 2005 by Editor

Good people have made the point that those who argue against drawing lines in the sand with regard to Christian associations have lines themselves and they are really just arguing about where the line goes. Not so. Lines in the sand provide security and a comfort zone. On that basis, it may scare some of

Agreement fellowship unity

Published in Commentary, Unity

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Watered down Christianity

Wednesday, 22 December 2004 by Editor

God forbid that we ever water down our faith. Unfortunately, though, sometimes we have an inverted idea of what it means to do that. You see, when you water a mixture down, you decrease its strength. You add things to the mix that make it less effective at doing what the full-strength solution was intended

doctrine fellowship opinions unity

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Barton Stone - "I blush for my fellows who hold up the Bible as the bond of union, yet make their opinions of it a test of fellowship; who plead for union of all Christians, yet refuse to fellowship with such as dissent from their notions. Vain men! Their zeal is not according to knowledge, nor is their spirit that of Christ. Such antisectarian-sectarians are doing more mischief to the cause and advancement of truth, the unity of Christians, and the salvation of the world, than all the skeptics in the world. In fact, they create skeptics."

Alexander Campbell - "We will not hearken to those questions which gender strife, nor discuss them at all. If a person says such is his private opinion, let him have it as his private opinion; but lay no stress upon it; and if it be a wrong private opinion, it will die a natural death much sooner than if you attempt to kill it."

Alexander Campbell - "But men cannot give up their opinions, and therefore, they can never unite, says one. We do not ask them to give up their opinions--we ask them only not to impose them upon others. Let them hold their opinions, but let them hold them as private property. The faith is public property; opinions are, and always have been private property. Men have foolishly attempted to make the deductions of some great minds the common measure of all Christians. Hence the deductions of a Luther, and a Calvin, and a Wesley, have been the rule and measure of all who coalesce under the names of these leaders. It is cruel to excommunicate a man because of the imbecility of his intellect."

Alexander Campbell - "Dear sir, this plan of making our own nest, and fluttering over our own brood; of building our own tent, and of confining all goodness and grace to our noble selves and the "elect few" who are like us, is the quintessence of sublimated pharisaism. The old Pharisees were but babes in comparison to the modern: and the longer I live, and the more I reflect upon God and man--heaven and earth--the Bible and the world--the Redeemer and his church--the more I am assured that all sectarianism is the offspring of hell; and that all differences about words, and names, and opinions, hatched in Egypt, or Rome, or Edinburgh, are like the frolics of drunken men; and that where there is a new creature, or a society of them, with all their imperfections and frailties, and errors in sentiment, in views, and opinions, they ought to receive one another, and the strong to support the weak, and not to please themselves. To lock ourselves up in the bandbox of our own little circle; to associate with a few units, tens, or hundreds, as the pure church, as the elect, is real Protestant monkery, it is evangelical pharisaism."

Alexander Campbell - "I have tried the pharisaic plan, and the monastic. I was once so straight, that, like the Indian's tree, I leaned a little the other way. And however much I may be slandered now as seeking "popularity" or a popular course, I have to rejoice that to my own satisfaction, as well as to others, I proved that truth, and not popularity, was my object; for I was once so strict a Separatist that I would neither pray nor sing praises with any one who was not as perfect as I supposed myself. In this most unpopular course I persisted until I discovered the mistake, and saw that on the principle embraced in my conduct, there never could be a congregation or church upon the earth."

Alexander Campbell - "I have no idea of adding to the catalogue of new sects. I labor to see sectarianism abolished and all Christians of every name united upon the one foundation upon which the apostolic church was founded."