The Voice of Truth: Church Fellowship Is Fundamental for Witnessing, Unity, Discipline and Spiritual Growth

By Neville Earl Walker

Church fellowship and witnessing are two necessary everyday activities that are practiced by the Church that helps to sustain its existence by perfecting brethren in righteousness and in winning souls for the Lord. These activities were promoted by Jesus Christ for the ongoing work of salvation and for unity of spirit in the bond of peace. Thus fellowship and witnessing are mandatory for spiritual and corporeal growth. The togetherness provides mutual help and mentoring in support of being edified concerning the gospel and in performing the will and work of the Lord. Without this togetherness in working and living for the Lord among the body of Believers, spiritual and corporeal growth would be lacking and there would be a great possibility for the extinction of the Church. Thus, the only wise God instituted fellowship and witnessing to uphold the need for the Church, which is the only vehicle instituted to keep us separated from the world through righteous standards with the intent to transport us into eternity. This association also make it possible with the help of the Holy Spirit, to defeat The gates of hell (evil opposition) by human intensity in the Churchs war against demonic forces (Mat. 11:12).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 17, 2010
• ISBN: 9781456827182

Neville Earl Walker

Neville Earl Walker, author of the book “Making Wise the Simple,” is called of God and was baptized with the gift of the Holy Spirit. He continued faithfully in the Lord’s service under the leadership of that same Holy Spirit and Bishop Vivian B. Burke, pastor. Neville Walker demonstrated inspirational leadership and commitment to the ministry, served on the board of trustees and was elevated as an ordained deacon in 1982. He was also appointed vice president of the Church of Jesus Christ National Youth Ministry. As an officer of the Sunday School Committee, he oftentimes taught Sunday school. After a change of residence, he continued in the Lord’s service under the leadership of Bishop Doctor Walter Glen McKoy D.D. He was promoted to the office of licensed minister in 1992 and an ordained minister in 1995. His spiritual gifts and function in the church includes Bible teaching and Biblical counseling. Neville Walker was instrumental, in working in partnership with Bishop McKoy, in instituting the “Ministry of Nurture.” His present vision from the Lord is to focus on reaching this world’s “lost sheep” and to edify the Body of Believers through evangelism, Bible teaching, counseling and writing of various books as tools toward reaching those who are far off in place and time.

Book preview

Copyright © 2011 by Neville Earl Walker.

Library of Congress Control Number:   2010917885

ISBN: Hardcover    978-1-4568-2717-5

ISBN: Softcover      978-1-4568-2716-8

ISBN: EBook           978-1-4568-2718-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

86361

CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

FELLOWSHIP OF THE SAINTS IS ESSENTIAL FOR

SPIRITUAL GROWTH

CHAPTER TWO

SAINTS, AS LIGHT, CANNOT HAVE FELLOWSHIP

WITH DARKNESS. WRONGDOERS MUST BE

REPROVED

CHAPTER THREE

TO BE A BUSYBODY OR A TATTLER IS AN

UNGODLY ACT; SAINTS ARE CALLED TO WITNESS

CHAPTER ONE

FELLOWSHIP OF THE SAINTS

IS ESSENTIAL FOR SPIRITUAL GROWTH

Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one another, and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.

(Heb. 10:25).

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

(Matt. 18:27).

Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow, but woe to him that is alone when he falleth, for he hath not another to help him up. Again if two lie together, then they have heat, but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevails against him, two shall withstand him, and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

(Eccl. 4: 9-12).

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

(Ps. 133:1).

FELLOWSHIP. This comradeship represents an association of individuals that believes in and shares a common interest or purpose, especially on pleasant and intimate terms.

UNITY. In Christendom, unity is when individuals who share the same faith join hands together in agreement with doctrine and Christian principles. This conformity to the Christian guidelines and beliefs, allows believers to be on one accord as church members. By means of their harmony with each other, the union supply help and edification to maintain perfectness in faith, hope and love.

RELATIONSHIP. To relate with or to be joined together communally on friendly and affectionate terms that all may prosper and increase in wisdom, knowledge and understanding.

FELLOWSHIP

The top precedence for a Child of God necessitates without any contradiction that he or she should focus on maintaining a sanctified (sin free) state. To maintain a sin free state, one should make every effort to preserve a holy lifestyle through various resources such as abstinence, good relationships and repentance. A consecrated lifestyle results from active faith in God and genuine love for God and neighbor. This sanctified lifestyle is of utmost importance for every believer, if he or she will complete a life that pleases God. Accomplishing this steadfastness to live a sin free lifestyle is that which is required for every believer if he or she will inherit eternal life with God when Jesus Christ shall return for the Church. Throughout the scriptures from Old to New Testament, the people of God are constantly encouraged to be holy even as God is holy (Lev. 11:44; 1Pet. 1:15). In addition to being encouraged by His word, God has also filled our souls with the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is given as an indwelling divine presence for help and guidance that we may maintain our commitment to holiness, including living peaceable with all mankind. The given divine presence of the Holy Spirit, guarantees that we have power to extirpate malice, envy, heresy, jealousy, discord and strife so that we may preserve a holy lifestyle. In spite of the clear understanding that such stringent directives to be sanctified (without spot or wrinkle) are indispensable, it is equally important for all believers who are constrained to continue steadfast in their walk with the Lord, to be conscious of this indisputable fact that fellowship of the Saints is the number-one requirement in living for God. The rationale that supports such conclusion suggests that everyone including those with good knowledge of the word and divine help from the Holy Spirit would find it extremely difficult to maintain a sanctified life without the practice of being involved in church fellowship with other believers. This is not to discredit the importance and value of having good knowledge of God’s word and the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives. The significance for us to recognize the vital need to share fellowship with our brethren is to know that from time-to-time we need influence from the visible to reap the benefit and support of the invisible God. Regardless of the intent in influencing a believer, whether to do right or wrong, the spiritual influence uses the physical thing or the example of a natural experience, to persuade a conviction. So then, the reason why fellowship is the number-one requirement for Saints is simply because the need to live a holy, perfect and upright life requires influence and this can only be administered through fellowship. This is why God ordain ministers who are recognized as servants of God, to influence believers in righteousness. Also this is why the Bible teaches that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, spiritual wickedness in high places. In the Garden of Eden, the devil used the serpent as a means of contact to deceive the woman Eve and then he used the woman to mislead the man Adam. We also see where God uses the invisible Holy Spirit along with the visible apostles, ministers, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the Saints, the work of the ministry, [and] for the edifying of the Body of Christ. When Jesus was on earth He uses earthly paradigm (visible examples and natural experiences) to communicate divine (invisible) similarities. For that reason, it is imperative for us to identify with the fact that we need to associate in fellowship with fellow believers so that we may obtain support for ourselves from the Holy Spirit that speaks to us through our brethren and through our consciences, while at the same time being used by the Holy Spirit to help and guide others in their walk with the Lord.

From the beginning of time, fellowship was deemed necessary as God saw the need to associate with Adam and Eve. He did this predominantly at given periods so that He may be a role model in loyalty and faithfulness. I will never leave you nor forsake you. It was also needful for Him to do so in order to bring them into unity with each other to strengthen their relationship seeing it was not good for humankind to be alone. In unity, they were expected to accomplish much. God would have fellowship with them constantly to remind them of their purpose and keep them focused on His will that they may be obedient. The intimate presence of God in their lives also expressed divine involvement in their well-being that they may understand He cares and will always be there to bless and do good.

We learn from the Scriptures that Eve was not given any instructions to keep her busy. So at a time when Adam and Eve were away from each other and the reciprocal presence (not seeking) of God, Eve had a visit from an intruder which resulted in the sin of mankind. This failure of Adam and Eve to maintain an obedient life highlights the fact that if we are not having fellowship with the Saints, we become extremely vulnerable to bad influence. Adam and Eve’s sin related to the fact that they were visited by a rival intruder who influentially deceived them into believing a lie. This deception caused them to act contrary to God’s command. God nurtured them in love and in return He expected from them their love, trust and obedience. Instead, they failed to render their allegiance, for after listening to a different viewpoint, they seemed to have developed a preference for self in contrast to loyalty and faithfulness to God. The possibility of this happening could be because their obedience to God was required, by way of them choosing to exercise faith that they may please Him.

When we consider how He fellowshipped with them over a period of time and in one visit from the adversary, they were deceived into believing a lie, it makes one wonder how can any believer consistently obey the truth without being a constant participant in Christian comradeship? If we understand the scripture with clarity (Gen. 3:1-6), the adversary did not confront them together (while they were sharing fellowship with each other). Neither did the enemy speak directly on a one-on-one basis. Instead, he deceived Eve by means of the serpent who was a visible influencer, then, looked for Eve to be the visible influencer to mislead Adam when she and her husband seek to work together in agreement.

Influence

The Bible declares that the law of the Lord is perfect, meaning that it states exactly how God wants us to live. If we obey the law, as an influence, it is able to guide us in obedience. However, in spite of the law’s perfectness and awesome power, it was declared weak in regards to perfecting humanity (Ps. 19:7; Rom. 8:3). The law was declared weak because, for humanity, it did not promote a spiritual motive to do good and the people to whom it was given failed to abide by its precept through egocentricity and there were no allowance within the law for exoneration. Apart from egocentricity, humanity failed to obey the law because the heart of humanity is desperately wicked and never at any time were they void of free will. This could explain why the psalmist David cried, Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Thus, the failure of the law was possible because of the choices humanity makes and as a written clause, it could not alter self-interest. This was the case with everyone, for the Bible declares all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. So then, the improper use of free will caused Adam and Eve to fail at a time when they were alone, not bonding in fellowship with God. Likewise, the ability to choose coupled with egocentricity caused the people of God to fail while living under the guidance of the perfect law of liberty. In both cases the choices that were made were geared to please self. These are two examples that provide support to highlight the difficulty of anyone living the Christian life alone without sharing fellowship with the Church for godly influential support.

There are those today who believe they can maintain perfection in holiness, faith and love without sharing in attendance with Church fellowship. Unfortunately this is a selfish way of life. People who hold to such ideology, do so because they believe praying and reading the Bible along with constantly seeking God’s presence is all an individual needs to live the Christian life. Unfortunately however, the Christian life is not so. Every born again believer needs to be nurtured and encouraged, also to encourage others in order to stay focus. Those who believe in this isolation dogma are taking a great risk with their salvation because they are denying themselves corporate experiences and support needed to live and work for the Lord. They most likely choose such system of belief because it allows them to please themselves and in so doing, they are not pleasing God. Adam and Eve failed to abide faithfully for although they shared God’s presence and commune with