“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another,
and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”
1 John 1:7
Relationships are vital to our walk in Christ. It is through fellowship with other people that our biblical convictions and God’s commands are either evident or absent. It is with others that we literally “practice” living out the life of Christ and shed the layers of the “old man” that keep us in bondage.
Every once in a while I’ll hear a believer say something like, “I don’t need to go to church. I worship God in my own way at my own home.” These individuals are missing out on the opportunity to challenge others in their walk with God and vice versa. The Bible calls this process “Iron sharpening iron” (Proverbs 27:17). If you dig a little deeper in your conversation with these individuals they are usually believers who are hurt, defensive, and shallow in their growth and maturity. Additionally, they are often beat up by the world and the enemy – that’s because lone sheep get eaten!
We can’t always control who we have a relationship with, but the one choice we do have concerns how we respond to others. Our goal is to represent Christ Jesus in all we say and do. God knows we can’t be perfect and that’s the reason Jesus died for our sins, but we still strive for excellence. A believer I’ve been counseling recently told me he was being held captive to a specific sin in his life and that he couldn’t find freedom. As a result of his sin, he is tearing apart the lives of many people. His mentality of being held captive is a lie we often convince ourselves. We are not victims of sin – we are conquerors of it in Christ Jesus.
Ultimately, when the rubber hits the road in our fellowship with others we are responsible for two things; taking care of ourselves while representing Jesus to others. We can do this with integrity in Christ by doing what I call a “moral inventory” in relation to how we have behaved in front of others. Is there someone you need to confess a sin to and ask forgiveness from but fear and pride are keeping you hostage? Is there someone in your life you need to “detach” from who is leading you astray in your daily walk? Is there someone you need to confront in love but your dislike of confrontation is holding you back? Is there someone you’ve been avoiding because of a disagreement from long ago? Is there someone you need to reach out to but you fear rejection? If the answer is “yes” to any of these questions, acting on them could be one of things holding you back from maturity in Christ as well as growth and intimacy with Him.
If you are unsure of the answers to these questions, pray about them. God is always faithful to reveal to me where I lack integrity, character, or am dwelling in sin in my relationships. Do you know that statistics show that the number one reason unsaved people don’t attend church is because of hypocrisy? They don’t see Jesus in the lives of Christians around them. Remember, whether it’s a believer or a non-believer you’re fellowshipping with, you may be the only representation of Jesus in the flesh to them that day.
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