Over the years online there have been brothers in sisters online who want to find solid sound Bible teaching churches but there’s not much option nearby where they live. On various social media platforms I have found many of these precious saints and I feel for them and pray for them. Some of these individuals were previously in churches that can have great programs, and a church that is sociable. But the importance of the church being sound in doctrine matters. So these believer leave in search of a church that is Bible preaching and has sound biblical doctrines.
Now I know fellowship and sound teaching shouldn’t be mutually exclusive; and a healthy church would have both; and the relationship of the two would be sound Bible teaching drives the fellowship; that is, sound teaching is the basis of the fellowship. How? In the sense of the basis for unity and what is talked about, and sound doctrine is use for encouragement to one another. But sometimes in our sin effected world, there’s a break and a gap between doctrines and fellowship.
In fact sometimes churches that are weak in doctrines or are not conscious of what the Bible teaches as applied to social interaction can technically be very sociable but the social interaction might not be fellowship or is a weak fellowship, at least in the biblical sense as I described it in the previous paragraph. I think of when I was in high school showing up at a big church’s youth group and Tuesday night is their “fellowship” night and there was board games, video games and basketball but after a while I asked the youth pastor when does the Bible study start and he said not tonight and with the big youth pastor grin he said “Tonight’s fellowship night!” There’s places to hang out but if every Tuesday night is that kind of fellowship night actually fellowship?
So there are times God might put two options before an individual and their family: There is a church with sound doctrines but it can improve on the fellowship, or a church with weak doctrines but there’s a lot of socializing/social activity. Which ones do you pick?
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The Domain for Truth 