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This study is going to be pretty simple in concept, but I think it will examine a critical aspect of our faith, especially as we learn the final lessons that perfect us for the time of trouble ahead, and the soon return of Yahshua.
It begins with a question: What was the original religion? Many people who are of like faith as ours will probably hear that question and think about Moses and the Exodus. They may think of Old Testament sacrifices, the many instructions given to Israel, and symbols like the Ark of the Covenant. But I would like us to go back even further than that, to the very beginning. Before there was a nation of Israel, and indeed, before sin entered into the human experience, there was religion.
The very first religion, if we begin with the physical creation, was a man, standing in a garden – in nature – talking with His Creator. That was it. That was all there was, and that was all that was needed. We read, “And Elohim saw everything that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” (Gen 1:31) Here, at the end of the creative period, a judgment was pronounced on the earth, and all living things, including Adam, that it was all “very good.”
It would be difficult for us today to imagine what that must be like. Perfect health, with no aches or pains. No sensation of approaching old age or death. No doubts about our decisions, or feelings of regret about past mistakes. The joy of this experience is largely restored to us when we receive Yahshua, at least the mental and spiritual aspects; nevertheless, we remain in sinful flesh until the translation or resurrection, and in these afflicted bodies we cannot inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
What I want, though, is for us to focus on the simplicity of the experience. A man, without the stain of sin, standing before Yahweh and rejoicing. That is the original religion, and for the most part, this is the experience of the 144,000 right at the end. As probation closes, and those who have fashioned themselves according to Satan’s image experience a time of darkness and fear, those who have been restored to Yahweh’s image look up and see the Savior’s brightness, and all that remained on them of the curse of sin falls away into nothingness. There are no barriers separating us from our Father, no ignorance, no false doctrines, no false thoughts… all is light, and truth, and beauty, with no limit of intensity or time.
There is no Intercessor, because there is no need for an Intercessor any longer… we have been restored to our legacy, an un-fallen race, surrounded by the love of the Almighty, and clothed in the righteousness of Christ, who has given us His holy clothing, His divine character, to wear forever more. There is no concern that we have done, are doing, or will do, anything wrong, because the connection is of the mind and spirit, not of the body and its actions. I am not saying that actions do not matter; we know that righteousness is measured by what we do, and how it affects others, but in the relationship between us and our Father, there is no formality, no ritual, no “works” that impart righteousness.
This is the place, spiritually speaking, to which the Church of Yahshua is going. Paul writes, “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to Whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a Mediator.” (Gal 3:19) Many have read that and misunderstood Paul. He is not saying that the Law is unimportant; nothing our Father does is arbitrary or unimportant, but the adding of the Law was necessary to teach a fallen race what righteousness looks like.
The character of Yahshua, the very key to the Kingdom of Heaven, conforms to the Law of Yahweh; but it is not the Law that creates the character. The divine character discovers the Law. It realizes the nature and personality of the Father in the Law, and it joyfully embraces its principles. I could speak on this matter for a very long time, but I will summarize the point by saying that the true religion is simplicity itself. It is mankind, with his heart turned toward Yahweh, knowing that Yahweh’s heart is turned toward mankind.
This is the thing that the very last evangelists have to teach the world. As the people who have come in the spirit and power of Eli-Yah, as the final appearance of the One crying in the wilderness like John the Baptist, we know our mission, “And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.” (Mal 4:6) “And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:17)
Because sin has separated us from this perfect experience, yes, we have received the Law, and the rituals, and the practices that we now associate with our faith, as we once associated the sacrifice of animals until Yahshua appeared the first time. However, if we think that the laws and rituals are the religion of Yahweh, we greatly err. The just shall live by faith. The righteousness of the redeemed is by faith.
Today’s study is about the test of fellowship, which corresponds in its perfection and its simplicity to the true religion of Yahshua. And note that I said “test” of fellowship, not “tests,” because there is indeed only one. We say that the “tests” of Christian character are two-fold, these being living according to the Commandments of Yahweh, and abiding in the Faith of Yahshua. This is true, and a good explanation of what it looks like; however, there is a parallel here to the Law. Remember that the Law was given in the first place because of transgression, but points to something far simpler, and more fundamental to understanding the heart of our Father.
Sin separated us from our Creator, and so there was, and still is, the need for structure, organization, discipline… all those things – ironically enough – that a modern Christian often rejects. When it comes to tests of fellowship, we find much the same thing. There is a simplicity underlying its outward appearance.
When the CSDA Church was in its earlier stage, its spiritual infancy, we had a fairly involved baptismal examination procedure. We asked questions about doctrine, and beliefs, all in an attempt to get to know the baptismal candidate, and to determine if they understood this fundamental truth of Yahweh’s love.
Since that time, we have simplified our process, just as the early Christian converts gave up the Jewish practices of sacrificing animals and abiding by the national laws of Israel. This was not a slackening of discipline, but a change to reflect a clearer understanding of the Father’s love. There is a parallel there. When the things of the world become more advanced, they often become more complicated, and more difficult to understand. When the things of Heaven become understood at a higher level, they often become simpler, and easier for even children to grasp.
I will read a passage from the Gospel of John, and then I will explain exactly what all this means.
“Then Yahshua said unto them, ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man, and drink His blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, dwelleth in Me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent Me, and I live by the Father, so he that eateth Me, even he shall live by Me. This is that bread which came down from Heaven, not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead; he that eateth of this bread shall live forever.’ These things said He in the synagogue, as He taught in Capernaum. Many therefore of His disciples, when they had heard this, said, ‘This is an hard saying; who can hear it?’ When Yahshua knew in Himself that His disciples murmured at it, He said unto them, ‘Doth this offend you?’”
“From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him. Then said Yahshua unto the twelve, ‘Will ye also go away?’ Then Simon Peter answered Him, ‘Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.’” (John 6:53-61, 66-69)
This conversation took place shortly after Yahshua had fed a multitude with just a few loaves of bread and fishes. He knew that many were following Him because it benefitted them directly, and not because they were necessarily accepting of His message. He did not rebuke them for wanting to see miracles, to see Him doing the works of His Father; in fact, in one place He said, “Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; or else believe Me for the very works’ sake.” (John 14:11) The purpose of the miracles, including the feeding of the multitude, was for the very purpose of inspiring belief; however, if the people were not interested in the meaning of the miracles, only the benefit of the miracles, then what is the point of the miracles? A rich man could have bought food for the multitude and fed them, and they would have been just as full, but Yahshua was demonstrating the Father’s love and care for them, and many did not understand that.
Yahshua reveals His miracles and wonders to those who are safe to see them without becoming envious and selfish; even to this day, it is so. But when He saw that some would indeed be misled by even the Father’s goodness, He gave them the test of fellowship.
The test of fellowship for the disciples and apostles was very simple… and it is applied in this passage. It comes down to one, single question: “Will you stay?”
“Will you stay,” Yahshua asked them, “even though some of My sayings are hard?” “Will you stay,” He asked them, “even when the temptation to reject Me is very strong?” “Will you stay,” He asked them, “When the commandments of My Father press against the promptings of you flesh, and My Faith leads you into potential danger?” It was a relevant question, especially for Peter, because we know that when He was in danger of exposure and arrest, He denied knowing Yahshua, giving up his faith in that moment for fear of his safety. But Yahshua asks, “Even when the risk is great, will you trust that the Law and the Testimony are for your benefit, and stay with Me?”’
The word “fellowship” in the Bible means much. It means community, yes, but also communication. In fact, the word in Greek is translated directly as “communion” and “communication” five times in the New Testament. And more, it means intimacy, union, words associated with covenants, with marriage. It indicates a supremely personal relationship, to which all parties are deeply committed. It is not a casual relationship, or a social one. Those who attend Churches, for example, because the location is convenient, and the congregation treats them well, and they enjoy the company… that is not “fellowship” according to the Scripture’s use of the word.
What Yahshua asks of His disciples in John 6 is the test of fellowship. He is asking, “Will you be my fellow? Will you be my intimate friend, my companion and partner, even now, when My words offend so many others?”
When a Church seeks fellowship with individuals, it is asking just this question. “Will you remain with me, and grow with me, and stand before Yahweh with me? Will you share a like spirit with me, being a friend, a brother, a love?” Again, like Paul explaining this as best he can in human language, we do not diminish the acts of faith, the works that demonstrate faith. But the question about whether or not someone is born again, and therefore suitable for baptism and Church membership is not so much a doctrinal consideration as one of the heart, of the Spirit, which John tells us to test. The commandments and faith are a means to an end. Yahshua saves all His friends, whom He knows intimately, as brothers and sisters.
I remember watching a copy of Pastor “Chick’s” wedding video many years ago. He had just been married to Sister Barbara, and in the video he sang her a song, “Come and go with me, to my Father’s House.” This was the test of fellowship. This was asking the right question… will you come with me to my Father’s house? Will you be my brother, my sister, my fellow-partner of Yahshua, and joint-heir to His Father’s Kingdom? How simple, how beautiful, the truth is. Without eliminating the Commandments of Yahweh, or the details of the Faith of Yahshua, this question cuts through all the denominationalism, and it heals the “burn” of those who have been disappointed by previous experiences with Churches, perhaps especially Adventist Churches. We spoke about this in the last study, how many have been so wounded by their prior experiences with those claiming to be the Church of Yahshua that they give up all hope that there is a genuine and true Church in these last days. They will not hear words like “discipline,” or “organization,” or “Church membership.” This question gets around all of that and asks, “Do you want to go with me to my Father’s house?” I am going. I know the way. Will you come with me?
At times, as we have reviewed the history of the CSDA Church, some have pointed out that our approach to the faith was more “strict” in the past. I have always thought that it was perfect for its time then, just as our understanding now is perfect for this time. Those earlier members, who would be leaders, needed to get past the “hard sayings” and into the love. None of us have ever said to a potential baptismal candidate, “Unless you eat my flesh, and drink my blood, you will not see everlasting life.” None of us have ever said anything as hard as Yahshua did that day, but it was right for that time. It was a necessary precursor to the test of fellowship. “Will you stay?”
Some have left the CSDA Church, thinking that we have erred in some point of doctrine, or that we have been too zealous on this or that point. Even so, these have all had their place, as we followed the Spirit’s leading. Everyone has heard what they needed to hear at the right time. And I am not saying that we are or have been infallible; that is not how the providence of Yahweh works. But if we are willing to speak, and others are willing to hear, then everyone gets what they need in this path of sanctification. It is Yahshua who is the Author and Finisher of the faith, and if we stay together, we learn together all that we need to be made perfect before the Father.
The Church of Yahweh has the living spirit of prophecy. Our members sometimes speak under direct inspiration of the Spirit, and this has led us to be more direct than we intended at times, or more gentle at other times. Being gentle is not generally an issue, but we have been concerned at times that we have driven off potential members. However, because our motive is to honor Yahweh, and to love our neighbor as ourselves, we know we have done the right thing. We see that those who endure the rebuke are bound even more tightly to the Bride of Yahshua, knowing that it is for love’s sake that we hold high the standard of the character of Christ.
The test of fellowship is simple. Will you stay? Despite obstacles, will you remain my brother, my sister, my fellow? This is necessarily true for any Church. For the Catholics, their test of fellowship is, “Will you stay?” If you are convinced that their traditions are from Yahweh, of course that is an easy question. But what if you begin to discover the errors? Will you stay? It is the same with Protestant Sunday-keeping Churches… if you were to be a member of a traditional evangelical Church, and then discover the Sabbath truth, do you stay? If you stay with them, you are submitting to their test of fellowship.
With the true Church, the test is the same, but the circumstances are different, because it is not a deception or false teaching of ours that tempts people to leave… it is the truth, as it was with Yahshua in John 6. When things are smooth, and you are getting the answers you like, staying is easy. Remaining in fellowship is natural. But when you are rebuked, when you are corrected, when you hear a Biblical teaching that is new to you and perhaps contrary to your expectations, then fellowship becomes a “test” indeed. Will you stay, even then? Will you rest in the knowledge that we honor the Commandments of Yahweh, and testify to the Faith of Yahshua? On these two things is the test of fellowship founded, based… but the test itself is, will you abide in these things even when challenges arise? Will you communicate with the brethren when things become difficult?
Fellowship is communication. There was a woman once who was studying with the Church, and even became baptized, but she left abruptly one day, saying that we had erred on some point of doctrine. She would not tell us what it was, only that she knew we were wrong. Despite our attempts to communicate with her, she cut us off, and we eventually removed her from membership. Some years later, I was speaking to her on the phone, and I don’t even remember why, but I asked her if she would finally explain to me what it was that prompted her to leave. The reason was so very absurd. We had given a teaching once about being “descendants” of Yahshua through a spiritual lineage, a sort of metaphorical genealogy. She quoted me this verse from Paul, “But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the Law; for they are unprofitable and vain.” (Titus 3:9)
I was astonished. I asked her, “That’s it? That’s the reason?” When she confirmed that it was, I explained the point of the study, not that we were tracing ourselves back to Christ as if He had fathered literal children, but in the same way that the Church is His “Bride,” and we are all children of that union. Immediately, she said, “Oh, that makes sense.” Even if she was correct, and there was an error, would withdrawing herself fix the issue? Of course, by that time, years had passed, and her zeal for the truth had long faded, but she had turned away from the great gift of fellowship, and the sanctified life that Yahshua had offered her, all because of a misunderstanding that could have been cleared up in a few minutes IF she had committed to communication, IF she had genuinely desired fellowship. Because she did not, Satan was able to take her away.
This is one of several similar experiences we could share. Because of misunderstandings, because of the stubborn refusal to communicate when troubled by something, souls have been lost, turning away from the judgment of the living, and going away into darkness. They sought excuses to step away from the light of revelation, because it was too bright for their liking, and the fire of Yahweh’s love too hot for their flesh. Had they remained, and rested in Yahweh, the light would have healed them, and the fire would have purged away their remaining sin. Sanctification does not always feel pleasant to the flesh, but when the soul encounters the requirements of the Law, does faith cause them to love it, and forsake anything contrary to it? Correction is sometimes uncomfortable to the flesh, and when we see what the Faith of Yahshua would require us to do, what happens when the temptation arises?
It is the faith of Yahshua that has us proclaim the truth, even when there are consequences. It has us declare that we are Seventh Day Adventists, even though there may be legal consequences. It is the faith of Yahshua that drives us to sacrifice for the Church and the brethren in many ways. Do we survive the test of fellowship? Do we remain?
And this is not a “stay with the ship no matter what” kind of a test. The mainstream Seventh-day Adventist Church often quotes Ellen White, who in one place urges those tempted to leave to remain within the denomination’s membership, because “the ship will go through.” Interestingly, we also see people quoting Mrs. White saying that God has a Church that is not a particular building or “great cathedral,” from which they somehow conclude means that the Church is not a united, organized body. Both of these positions are misunderstandings of what she wrote, and what she meant. It applies the wisdom of the world to sacred things, because of an agenda, and therefore they do not understand the truth, which is always the Narrow Way between two ditches of error.
The “ship” in this parable is a Church, THE Church of Yahshua, but even the most dedicated members of a denomination must know that there is a time to realize that what was once the Bride is no longer the Bride. That is why they are Christians, and Jews. When the Jewish nation rejected Yahshua, and called for His crucifixion, their place was taken away, according to the Parable of the Vineyard in Matthew 21. This has happened several times. When the Sunday keeping Churches rejected Christ in the form of His Spirit leading them to further truth, they turned away from the Commandments of Yahweh, specifically the fourth, and tried to enact Sunday Laws to enforce their conclusion. Any Church, joined to human law, is an image of the Beast, and every SDA knows that. So then, what shall we say when the SDA mainstream Church rejects Christ, as it did when turning away from the 1888 message of Righteousness by Faith, and then uses the United States civil law to persecute those who dissent from its self-appointed kingly authority? The same rules must apply. We reject their fellowship. We technically “fail” their false test of staying with the Ship, because we see the Bride in the field, in the place of labor, where She is truly found. But then, having remained in the truth, the test of fellowship we apply is the same.
Some may ask, “How can the test of fellowship be so simple as a decision to join, and remain with, a people? It isn’t a baptismal candidate’s choice whether they are accepted, and sometimes people are disfellowshipped.”
The truth is, actual disfellowships are exceedingly rare in the Church of Yahshua, and this has been historically true, but even more relevant is the fact that in the true Church, with the living witness of the Spirit, the decision to baptize and disfellowship does not come from the people themselves, directly. The choice to be baptized is a decision between an individual and Yahweh. The Church bears witness to this decision, and pronounces Yahweh’s acceptance, but just as prophecy is of no private interpretation, (2Pet 1:20) so there are no individual judgments in this matter. We accept those who accept Yahshua, it is as simple as that. Those who believe that the decision to baptize comes from individual, human minds does not understand the dynamics of the Church, or its relationship to the Father and Son anyway.
Similarly – identically – in the Church of Yahshua, nobody is thrown out against their will, just as nobody is lost in the judgment by force. Those who reject Christ, either through their words or by their actions, reveal that they are of a contrary Spirit to the Savior, and once again, the Church bears witness, confirming that the individual is not chosen by Yahweh in their current state, and that the individual has rebelled against the commandments and faith. Once again, this is a revelation of a rift between the individual and the Creator, it is not a decision of the Church and its members to “kick them out.”
The test of fellowship here holds true. Those who truly wish to be in fellowship, with all that means according to the Spirit’s leading, will be, and will remain so.
We read a closing passage, emphasizing the intention and purpose of fellowship: “I am the Good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine. As the Father knoweth Me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd.” (John 10:14-16)
That, brethren, is the point of all this, the result: a call for unity of all believers. In Yahshua, there is unity and organization, and not the scattered, disorganized mess that is modern Christianity, even modern Adventism. That is not the result of Yahshua’s sacrifice at all, but because He has laid down His life for us, that we in many countries, and nations, and languages, might hear of Him, and be drawn together, there is now a little flock, a true fellowship; small, but sanctified unto Yahweh, and preparing for the return of the Son of Man. Let us give thanks that we have heard the voice of the Savior and been gathered into the little flock, so that we in turn may seek out others, and ask them, “Will you be my fellow? Will you come and go with me, to my Father’s house?”
David.
An Enduring Witness
“Those who reject the privilege of fellowship with Christ in service, reject the only training that imparts a fitness for participation with him in his glory. They reject the training that in this life gives strength and nobility of character.” [The Review and Herald, May 16, 1912]
“The proclamation of the gospel was to be world-wide in its extent, and the messengers of the cross could not hope to fulfill their important mission unless they should remain united in the bonds of Christian unity, and thus reveal to the world that they were one with Christ in God.” [The Acts of The Apostles, p. 90]
“Christ is the door to the fold of God. Through this door all His children, from the earliest times, have found entrance. In Jesus, as shown in types, as shadowed in symbols, as manifested in the revelation of the prophets, as unveiled in the lessons given to His disciples, and in the miracles wrought for the sons of men, they have beheld ‘the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29), and through Him they are brought within the fold of His grace. Many have come presenting other objects for the faith of the world; ceremonies and systems have been devised by which men hope to receive justification and peace with God, and thus find entrance to His fold. But the only door is Christ, and all who have interposed something to take the place of Christ, all who have tried to enter the fold in some other way, are thieves and robbers.” [The Desire of Ages, p. 477]