hallmarks of a child of God, to want sound teaching. When someone wants to change words or sound doctrine, then according to Scripture, it is they, and not the lover of sound doctrine, who is the one in error. The one who is being contentious according to 1 Cor. 11:16, or the one who wants to teach false doctrines, by not agreeing with the sound instructions of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the one who is a disputer of the already well established wholesome words [1 Tim. 6:3-4] in the Bible. So is there a difference and does it matter? Yes! There is a difference and it does matter, dear reader. Because when a would be teacher or pastor uses a word like "relationship" to replace the word "fellowship" or they use the word "love" to be synonymous with "salvation", then this is how unsound doctrine and false teachings are able to take root and lead the untaught and unskilled into error.
Wholesome words - that is what I wish to defend - the wholesome word known in the Bible as: "fellowship", as opposed to the unwholesome word: "relationship." These two words are not synonymous, they do have different meanings, despite what is being taught or implied from the pulpit by the worldly puppets masquerading as agents of light. Guess which one of these words is used verbatim throughout Scripture, while the other is not.
In the Bible, we find "fellowship" is the word used by Jesus and the apostles to describe the Christian's way of life; we are to have fellowship with God and our fellow Christians. In the Old Testament, there are a couple of words such as the word "companion" in English, or "chaber" in Hebrew, that are used to define fellowship as those who are closely bonded together in love or in a common purpose. So what is the difference between fellowship, and relationship, as taught in Scripture? First let me define these words in our own language:English, and then I will define them in Hebrew and Greek. First, let us define: Fellowship.
English Def:
Fellowship: (v.) to couple with, to join together, communion,
communicate with,
(n.)be a partaker of, partner, or companion of.
Hebrew Def:
tĕsuwmeth: (n.) fellowship, pledge, security, deposit
chabar: (v.) to have fellowship with, to be joined with, to be
in league with, heap up.
Greek Def:
koinōnia: (v.) fellowship, association, community, joint partici-
pation, intimacy
koinōnos: (n.) a partner, companion, associate, comrade, sharer
in anything
metochē: (n.) a sharing, communion, fellowship
sygkoinōneō: (v.) to become a partaker together with others,
or to have fellowship with a thing.
Now let us define: Relationship.
English Def:
Relationship: (v.)the way in which two or more concepts,
objects, or people are connected
(n.) the state of being connected, and the state of
being connected by blood or marriage.
There are no Hebrew nor Greek words used in Scripture for the word "relationship." And believe me, I've looked. Let me say that again: there are no words whatsoever to be found in scripture for the word "relationship" in a biblical lexicon.
So, is relationship taught in Scripture? Yes it is, even though there is no actual word for it, the concept is still there. The Bible teaches that my relationship to God is that of being an adopted daughter. After I accepted Jesus' redemptive work on the cross, I am now considered by God, to be his daughter via adoption, and destined to live eternally with my God and Savior, Jesus Christ, provided that I continue in the faith, and walk in sanctification. Prior to my acceptance of Jesus' redemptive work, my relationship to God was as a child of wrath, on my way to eternal doom, exempt from the family of God. So, why do modern pastors insist the word "relationship" is synonymous with fellowship, or why do they replace the word fellowship altogether? What is wrong with the biblical word "fellowship"? Nothing. Nothing is wrong with that word.
You see dear reader, the modern pastors, those who are currently holding church pulpits hostage, were the hippies saved during the "Jesus Movement" in the 1970's. They are the ones who have done this wicked thing: replaced a Scriptural wholesome word for another non-scriptural word. Rather than ridding themselves of their entire sinful hippie lifestyle, they have incorporated many of the vain hippie philosophies into their new religion: Hipster Christianity. This is a perfect example of religious syncretism, and God hates it. So, the word: "relationship," in their hippie vernacular, really means: a casual connection between two or more people with no strings attached, a.k.a. "a one night stand" or, " a groovy kinda love." If this word "relationship" were to be used in its |
Ironically - and might I add, sadly - we have seen this word correctly portrayed in many worldly movies such as George Lucus' New Age Sci-fi saga:'Star Wars', and Roman Catholic, JRR Tolkin's mythological amalgamation: 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'. These two cinematic spectacles are very good examples of what fellowship is and should be. They accurately portray fellowship as a group of people, who don't know each other very well at first, |
If I want a close loving bond and live a dynamic life with God and my fellow Christian, and I do, then I must fellowship with them, not have a "relationship" with them, at least not in the way the dippy hippies imply. So, it is with great earnestness that I urge you, dear reader, to leave the "hippie" jargon where it belongs, in the 1960's and 70's, because it is not in the Bible. Jesus taught and displayed fellowship as the way of life for a Christian, with God and men, not "relationship!" So, let us please say, use, and perform only sound doctrinal words and their proper definitions, and live as God intended - in fellowship with one another. Amen!