Adult Class: September-November 2006
The Church
Lesson 11
The Life of the Members: Ethics and Fellowship
Every society is based on a shared morality. There are laws and customs to be followed by all citizens, and an orderly society is only possible when everybody subscribes to the same morality. When we become Christians, we are placed into a new society with a different lifestyle and different motivation (2 Corinthians 5:9-10).
We live differently because we are Christians. While society at large may consider certain behaviors acceptable within its shared morality, Christians live by a different standard entirely. Because of this, our conduct may fit well in the shared social ethic, or it may differ considerably because of our allegiance to Jesus. Regardless whether they fit our American culture or not, our ethics must reflect our membership in Christ. Our conduct does not prove that we are Christians—it only serves as a witness to the change made in us by Jesus Christ. If we continue to sin, we insult our Lord, but we don’t prove that the faith is wrong. “Failure of Christians to live up these teachings is a serious matter but does not invalidate the faith they profess.” (Everett Ferguson)
Christian ethics are ethics for those who dwell in the kingdom of God. They are not universal in scope, applicable to all people at all times in all circumstances. For example, consider what Matthew 7:12 means to a Christian, then consider what it might mean to an alcoholic.
We base our lives on the New Testament in Christ. Even when our conduct is the same as the world, our motivation is different. Consider Ephesians 4:25, for example. The command not to lie is one that is celebrated by the world. If we were to poll the community on reasons lying is bad, we might hear that it leads to more lies, that it ruins reputations, or that it breaks the social contract on fair dealing. All those might be true, but they are based on what works. Our motivation to tell the truth is that we are members of the same body. That is true whether honesty “works” or not. It is the reverence for God that governs the way we live (Nehemiah 5:15).
Consider the ethics and the motivations we see in the book of Ephesians:
All these passages indicate that we are to live Christ’s kind of life in the body we now inhabit. And living in cooperation with God and in submission to His teachings is not merely the product of human effort, but of the Holy Spirit at work in us—Galatians 5:22-23.
While we do not accept the judgment of the world, Christians are concerned about the reputation of the church within the world (1 Timothy 3:7) and we cannot ever accept a lower standard of conduct than the world accepts (1 Corinthians 5:1).
The foundation for all Christian ethics is love, and that love is an imitation of God’s love for us. It must be remembered that this is selfless love that seeks the best for the other person. In this love, we must pursue holiness. “Holiness has to do with setting boundaries and making distinctions: some things are acceptable to God, some things are not.” (Everett Ferguson) This isn’t self-righteousness, but an adherence to God’s standards and a desire to live in harmony with His holy will.
Fellowship
Fellowship within the church is created by all the members of the church pursuing a life based on the New Testament in Christ. When we practice the same ethics, driven by the same motivation to be holy with the Lord, we have no choice but to live in fellowship with one another. Our fellowship is found in our mutual allegiance to Christ. This creates:
We are a community of believers, and that fact separates us from any competing community. We express our fellowship in the love we have for one another (Romans 12:16). Our fellowship is a solidarity of faith, a protection of each other. We are acutely aware that many aspects of this world are hostile to our faith and to our ethics. We actively must seek to encourage and help one another to live in God’s love and holiness.
There are various expressions of fellowship in the New Testament, including sharing food, sharing possessions and funds, providing hospitality, and sharing sufferings and imprisonments. All these expressions make sense only because of a shared allegiance to Jesus. There is no other commonality between many of the people who undertake these things. It is this fellowship that provides the basis for the communal life of the church.
And it is only within a strong fellowship of the church that any real discipline is possible. Discipline is usually thought of as punishment or retribution for some wrong. However, it is actually a program of training to achieve certain goals. It is in the church that spiritual formation takes place as people learn to pray, to worship, to serve, to understand and approve the will of the Lord. Church discipline is only possible among people who have committed themselves to the goals of the family of God. If they have withheld commitment to Christ, any suggestion of correction will be felt to be unwarranted meddling in personal choices beyond “anybody else’s business.”
In the extreme cases where it becomes necessary to disfellowship a person from the church, that action only makes sense or has power for those who have been in the fellowship of the church. If and when such an action is necessary, the unrepentant person must be treated as an outsider (1 Corinthians 5:9-13). If the person repents, the congregation must restore that person to the fellowship of the church (2 Corinthians 2:7-8) and encourage him to renewed faithfulness. The renewed fellowship is based on renewed allegiance to Jesus. Once again, while we live as Christians, we have fellowship with one another (1 John 1:7).