Do you fellowship with any of these part Deux

It's what the others have written

Fellowship is a very deep spiritual relationship....another way of looking at it is what John quotes Jesus as saying in the Gospel of John.....

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
Joh 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
Joh 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
Joh 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.
Joh 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Joh 17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.


I believe our fellowship is through the Spirit of Truth and automatically involves basic doctrine (not secondary issues)...the most fundamental doctrine being salvation through faith alone, not through works, lest any man shall boast.

This, again, is not to say that I do not have friendships with those in various denominations. I have catholic friends, for example, for whom I pray and wait for opportunities to share that salvation is through faith alone, not through the sacraments.

I believe you have to be very well grounded in doctrine in order to fellowship with people in some other denominations. Let me share with you an example. We have friends in our congregation who are going through a VERY difficult time right now. The husband has been unemployed for six months now. They are losing their home and must move to another state to move in with the wife's parents. They have three children whom they homeschool.

The wife is struggling with this trial, which is completely understandable. She is seeking answers as to why this is happening to them. Now, she goes to a homeschool co=op which is hosted by the local Assembly of God. She seeks answers to her trial there, confiding in some Pentecostal women as to what is going on and why this is happening to them. In response, they give her a book which I personally believe is unsound. Our dear sister in this trial is convinced, based on reading this book, that she has a "spirit of fear"...as if a spirit of fear is the name of a demon and that this is some kind of possession. I believe she is now thinking that if she can only get rid of this spirit, that the family's trial might be over.

If you are going to fellowship in pentecostal circles, you gotta understand what is going to come with that territory. Some pentecostals have, I believe, wrong doctrine in regards to spiritual warfare and demon possession of a believer. You have to understand that if you, like our sister, seek advice in some AOG circles, you MAY be told you need to go to a deliverance ministry and be delivered from that demon. Obviously, not all pentecostals are going to recommend this, but that was the recommendation from these particular ladies to our sister.

Now, I am NOT saying that those who believe in pentecostal theology are not saved. However, if you choose to fellowship with those in these and other denominations, be sure you are grounded very well.

 

But reaching out is not the same as 'fellowship'.

Of all the times fellowship, partnership, partner, et... we find not one time is it ever mentioned positively in conjunction with someone or a group who were unbelievers.

As I said earlier, Fellowship is much the same word we use regarding partnership, or sharing the responsiblities of a common endevor.

In light of the above (and of course all the scripture concerning the word) we know that Christ did not have 'fellowship' (at least in the biblical veiw of the word) with unbelievers but with believers alone. Scripture says He was a friend of sinners but never once does it mention, state, insinuate, or allude to Christ being in any kind of fellowship with unbelievers.

The only one described by scripture.

Here is a draft study I use concerning it:

 

I have actually been part of a team which led a worship service in a Gypsy church. Here's the story:

During a mission trip to Romania, our host pastor in the city of Sibiu told us we had been invited to a Gypsy church. We gathered in a small building which held about 100 people. When we askd if they were Baptist, he replied, "well, they're sort of Pentecostal, but they're not really sure what they are."

Anyway, the place was full, with the attenders dressed in recognizable Gypsy garb. I sang three or four songs, another of our team sang a few, then a young man with a guitar got up and sang a song. Then two ladies just got up and sang from where they were in the audince. We had a few congregatioinal hymns (in Romanian of course), and finally, my pastor got up to preach about an hour and 15 minutes into the service. Our host pastor translated, so his message lasted nearly an hour. That was no problem, since every service we were involved in during our trip lasted at least two hours.

Afterward, we were standing outside the building fellowshipping when a woman came up to my pastor, placed her hand on his shoulder and began to speak to him in Romanian. A young teenager, a local pastor's daughter, started translating. "She's prophesying over you."

My pastor asked, "what's she saying?"
"She's saying that God will fill your cup to overflowing, and your ministry will prosper."

As the woman talked, our young interpreter continued to translate, then suddenly stopped.

"What's she saying now?" asked my pastor.

"I don't know, she just started speaking in tongues."

By the way, the pastor of that Gypsy church was known as the King of the Gypsies. I read after returning to America that his cousin had challenged him for the leadership, and was calling himself the Ruler of All Gypsis Everywhere. I don't know how that came out.

 

I could worship with any one group that believes John 3:16.