The common conception on the
minds of many after taking a look at the topic, would possibly be that the article is anchored on the
scripture as written in Hebrews Chapter
10 verse 25: Not forsaking the
assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but exhorting one
another: and so much more, as ye see the day approaching. The accuracy of
that allusion will be left to you to find out, by reading through the articleJ!
This article is inspired by a
statement I heard some time back, upon which I began pondering on. Someone
recently said/implied that it was okay to miss church for work, also further stating
that carrying out the work in view, is also service to God! This really got me thinking.
I will issue a brief CAVEAT before proceeding;
this article is not meant to debate on
whether it is right or wrong to skip church when work calls. The choice is left to
the individual believer, as Christianity is based on conviction. It is my firm believe that having the
Holy Spirit always directing us, we would know when we are taking a misstep. Now
that I have gotten that out of the way, I will like to proceed.
The essence of this article is to
actually define the primary reason for attending church or fellowshipping with
the brethren. In the digging deep manual (501 – 600) of the Redeemed Christian
Church of God (RCCG), in the treatment of the second part of the topic – The
army of the Lord, the second outline was captioned “the soldiers of the cross
have a three-fold assignment.” The three fold assignments of a believer were
outlined thus, i.) A ministry to God. ii.) A ministry to one another and
finally iii.) A ministry to the world. This article serves to disambiguate the
minds of many regarding the essence of fellowship.
A quick deviation is necessary at
this point. Making reference to the preceding paragraph, three key statements
will be made. Our ministry to God involves our personal relationship with God. This
is a personal ministry and not a collective one, implying that it is
essentially centred on our 'alone time' with God. Building a relationship with God
is the primary focus of this ministry (James
4:8). Second sentence goes thus, the
ministry to the world centres around our interaction with the ‘world.’ World
here referring to unbelievers. This is where our work/jobs and how we go about
it comes into view. We are Christ’s ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). We are the salt of the earth and the light of
the world (Matthew 5:13 - 14).
Therefore, we are meant to be examples in how we live, how we work, how we talk
and in every other way. Finally, the Ministry to one another is where
fellowship comes into view and this is the focus of this article.
In the first scripture earlier
quoted (Hebrews 10 verse 25) we see here that we minister to one another when
we fellowship. Fellowship is an avenue for believers to minister to each other;
be it in prayer, in edification, moral and financial support. It was in
fellowship that the earliest Christians were able to meet the needs of each
other with what they had sold (Acts 2:
42 – 47). There is no denying that in fellowship we also serve God, but
primarily fellowship serves the ministry of believers to one another. The
scripture says in Proverbs 27 verse 17 that
iron sharpeneth iron. It is in
fellowship that we sharpen each other. It is also in fellowship that the sick are
prayed for by the elders (James 5:14).
The above stated is why
fellowship is important. What we get in fellowshipping we can’t get in our
closet. The testimonies of the brethren also help strengthen our Faith whenever
we are in doubt or in our low moments due to prevailing circumstances. It is
therefore necessary that to state categorically that your personal
devotion cannot be traded for fellowship neither can your service to the world (be
it through your work or otherwise)! Stay blessed.
Image gotten from: http://www.trianglepc.org/fellowship/
