Fellowship with God

"God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord." 1 Corinthians 1:9

In 1 Samuel 21:11-13, it says, "But the servants of Achish said to him, “Isn’t this David, the king of the land? Isn’t he the one they sing about in their dances: “'Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands’?” David took these words to heart and was very much afraid of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard." King David was forced to deceive Achish king of Gath, by pretending to be insane, in order to avoid being killed by Achish. This event was the byproduct of poor choices made by David leading up to this moment in time. David eventually escaped and fled to a cave where this particular story continues. A pastor, speaking on this passage, used it as warning to Christians who, to him, are "out of fellowship with God." The pastor said, "[Y]ou can never tell to what depths a person will go when they get out of fellowship with God. You lose your common sense. You lose all sense of propriety. You do the weirdest, strangest things if you're a Christian out of fellowship with God." It is the belief of many Christians that our sin puts up a barrier between us and God, and cuts us off from the fellowship He wants us to have with Him. One of the verses used for this belief is Isaiah 59:2; "But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." How often have you been taught that your sins separate you from God? Have you been told that your sins cause God to hide his face from you? And you know what, this is correct if you don't have an understanding of the New Covenant. Eventually, people will be taught that they can get back in fellowship with God if they just repent. I have often wondered when I hear pastors say things like this, "When is a Christian ever in fellowship with God?" Is fellowship broken only when we sink to the level David did in front of the king of Gath? Most people don't end up in situations where their sins force them to fake like they are insane in order to survive. What about the sins we commit that are on a lesser level like, for example, lust or coveting? These sins are rarely noticed because they are done in our mind and nobody knows about them unless we act on them. Are we out of fellowship then? We could get to the point where we are constantly focused on ourselves and God would be dizzy with all the spinning around involved with Him constantly turning away from us when we sin and back around after we repent.

Thankfully, the New Covenant paints a different picture, not only about our sins, but about our fellowship with God. 1 Corinthians 1:9, says that "God is faithful" and has called Christians "into fellowship" with Him through faith in Jesus Christ. After the death of Jesus Christ ushered in the New Covenant, our sins are no longer a barrier between us and God. In fact, the Bible says, "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more (Hebrews 10:17).” The Bible also says, "Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them (Romans 4:8).” And if that isn't clear enough, we read that, "God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:19)." What does it mean if God no longer remembers our sins and is no longer counting our sins against us? It means that God, "will never leave you nor forsake you (Hebrews 13:5)." It means that, "nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39)."Therefore, if our sins are not a barrier between us and God and, because of this, He is faithful to us and nothing separates us from Him, then it means we are always in fellowship with Him. This doesn't mean we no longer sin. It doesn't mean He is not aware of our sins. It also doesn't mean sin is acceptable. It means that He chooses to remain with us regardless of our sins. Otherwise, we would never be in fellowship with Him and, if we are not in fellowship with Him, we could never grow in the knowledge of who He is and all we are through faith in Jesus Christ. As we grow in this knowledge we will begin to see a decrease in the sin in our lives. This doesn't happen because we have found a way to conquer our flesh and become more obedient and repentant to God. It happens because as God meets the desires of our heart for love, acceptance, meaning and purpose, sin begins to lose its appeal. But, it is nice to know that when we do fall into sin, God is still faithful to us, we can still hear Him, He doesn't turn His face from us and remains in fellowship with His children.