THE HERESY OF CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP SALVATION TEACHINGS
Posted: Tue Jan 15, 2019 1:08 pm
Apologies in advance for the length of the post.
I am writing today in the hope that a person currently in the Christian Fellowship will receive a bit of a revelation in the word which will set them free from the bonds of the Christian Fellowship. This content below is biblically based and goes to the foundation of what it means to be a Christian.
How many times have we heard the following threatening statement from Christian Fellowship leaders directed at congregation members “if you leave the Fellowship your salvation will be in danger”?
This phrase was spoken to me and I have heard it used against numerous other people.
I always knew this statement was intended to enforce control upon the “independent thinking/rebellious” individual and their family, and I always wondered why the CF leaders use this statement so meanly and so frequently. Yesterday I twigged onto the reason why the CF elders can say these things with a clear conscience (comparatively speaking!), and it is based on their doctrine of salvation.
You see, because I was saved in a protestant mainstream church prior to joining the Christian Fellowship, I always knew that salvation in Christ was a free gift from God and there was nothing we could do to “earn” salvation through human works or actions. I was always confused when CF leaders used to threaten people with losing their salvation. However, some further formal biblical study has shown me the difference between the Catholic doctrine of salvation and the Protestant doctrine of salvation.
Catholic doctrine and belief teaches that the believers and followers in the Catholic church have no assurance of salvation. There is always a doubt. Therefore, the believer must have a mixture of faith of salvation in Christs resurrection as well as a mystical series of works and actions whereby the believer works toward possible final salvation in God when they die. Martin Luther observed that the Catholic Church was teaching a doctrine that was not supported by biblical scriptures/text.
The protestant belief, which stems from Luther’s and Calvin’s revelations in the 1500’s, clearly shows that we have salvation by God’s Grace alone – nothing else – end of story! We are justified by faith alone – Sola Fide – and this excludes all “works” and actions we would do.
Galatians 3:1-2 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? ….. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or hearing with faith?”
Basically, the Christian Fellowship is definitely not, and cannot be, a protestant Christian church because it does not believe or teach the doctrine of Salvation by Grace Alone – Sola gratia. They might think they are protestant Christians, as might the congregation members, but they cannot be. This is a strange deviation because several of the founding elders came from protestant Presbyterian church ministry at Wavell Heights Presbyterian Church in the mid 1970’s (Alex Wylie, Bill Barnes and Ian Barlow)! Talk about wolves in sheeps clothing. The Christian Fellowship doctrine of salvation is more Roman Catholic in nature (as well as other common cults such as Jehovah Witnesses etc).
If we examine the combined words, actions and doctrine of Vic Hall and the Christian Fellowship, we clearly see they definitely believe they have to continuously perform some form of activity or “works” in order to ensure continued salvation. These works/actions/activities start as directions/orders/peer and group expectations given by various CF leaders, and it is always with the unspoken threat, “if you don’t do this or do that, then you are not be being obedient to the leaders and thus God, and thus you, are not “fellowshipping” and your salvation is in doubt. You must attend all the designated events such as morning and evening church, home groups, regional bible studies, ladies’ groups, youth events, working bees etc because if you don’t then you are “not with us””. The entire Christian Fellowship operates on a doctrine of compliance, fear and anxiety and never truly knowing the peace of salvation. As soon as they go down this path, they are relying works (human actions) and not faith to ensure salvation. The bible teaches differently.
Knowing the peace of “salvation by grace alone” allows a person to truly “rest in peace” and have a big smile of Gods loving assurance on your face. Attending or not attending church will not change this wonderful assurance.
This assurance is given in the following scriptures:
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith…”
Also see Acts 16:30-31; Acts 4:12; John 5:24; Matthew 9:6-8; Romans 10:9-10 to support this. You will not see a condition put on any of these scriptures that a person can be saved by any human action or work – it is purely God’s Grace Alone!
How then can a Christian Fellowship leader stand in front of a congregation member and say: “if you leave your salvation will be in doubt"? It is because they believe in works for salvation, not grace. The opposite position is also inferred by this statement: “if you stay/attend the CF you will be assured of salvation”. We can see that the “staying/attending” is actually a human action or works. The bible clearly tells us that actions and works do not save us – thus the CF leader is speaking heresy.
Now if the Christian Fellowship leaders truly believed in Salvation by Grace alone, they would be at peace and have no need to constantly harangue and threaten congregation members in very unchristian manipulative ways.
I hope the above explanation will bring some peace, hope and illumination to the reader.
In Christ, Faith Hopegood.
I am writing today in the hope that a person currently in the Christian Fellowship will receive a bit of a revelation in the word which will set them free from the bonds of the Christian Fellowship. This content below is biblically based and goes to the foundation of what it means to be a Christian.
How many times have we heard the following threatening statement from Christian Fellowship leaders directed at congregation members “if you leave the Fellowship your salvation will be in danger”?
This phrase was spoken to me and I have heard it used against numerous other people.
I always knew this statement was intended to enforce control upon the “independent thinking/rebellious” individual and their family, and I always wondered why the CF leaders use this statement so meanly and so frequently. Yesterday I twigged onto the reason why the CF elders can say these things with a clear conscience (comparatively speaking!), and it is based on their doctrine of salvation.
You see, because I was saved in a protestant mainstream church prior to joining the Christian Fellowship, I always knew that salvation in Christ was a free gift from God and there was nothing we could do to “earn” salvation through human works or actions. I was always confused when CF leaders used to threaten people with losing their salvation. However, some further formal biblical study has shown me the difference between the Catholic doctrine of salvation and the Protestant doctrine of salvation.
Catholic doctrine and belief teaches that the believers and followers in the Catholic church have no assurance of salvation. There is always a doubt. Therefore, the believer must have a mixture of faith of salvation in Christs resurrection as well as a mystical series of works and actions whereby the believer works toward possible final salvation in God when they die. Martin Luther observed that the Catholic Church was teaching a doctrine that was not supported by biblical scriptures/text.
The protestant belief, which stems from Luther’s and Calvin’s revelations in the 1500’s, clearly shows that we have salvation by God’s Grace alone – nothing else – end of story! We are justified by faith alone – Sola Fide – and this excludes all “works” and actions we would do.
Galatians 3:1-2 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? ….. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or hearing with faith?”
Basically, the Christian Fellowship is definitely not, and cannot be, a protestant Christian church because it does not believe or teach the doctrine of Salvation by Grace Alone – Sola gratia. They might think they are protestant Christians, as might the congregation members, but they cannot be. This is a strange deviation because several of the founding elders came from protestant Presbyterian church ministry at Wavell Heights Presbyterian Church in the mid 1970’s (Alex Wylie, Bill Barnes and Ian Barlow)! Talk about wolves in sheeps clothing. The Christian Fellowship doctrine of salvation is more Roman Catholic in nature (as well as other common cults such as Jehovah Witnesses etc).
If we examine the combined words, actions and doctrine of Vic Hall and the Christian Fellowship, we clearly see they definitely believe they have to continuously perform some form of activity or “works” in order to ensure continued salvation. These works/actions/activities start as directions/orders/peer and group expectations given by various CF leaders, and it is always with the unspoken threat, “if you don’t do this or do that, then you are not be being obedient to the leaders and thus God, and thus you, are not “fellowshipping” and your salvation is in doubt. You must attend all the designated events such as morning and evening church, home groups, regional bible studies, ladies’ groups, youth events, working bees etc because if you don’t then you are “not with us””. The entire Christian Fellowship operates on a doctrine of compliance, fear and anxiety and never truly knowing the peace of salvation. As soon as they go down this path, they are relying works (human actions) and not faith to ensure salvation. The bible teaches differently.
Knowing the peace of “salvation by grace alone” allows a person to truly “rest in peace” and have a big smile of Gods loving assurance on your face. Attending or not attending church will not change this wonderful assurance.
This assurance is given in the following scriptures:
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith…”
Also see Acts 16:30-31; Acts 4:12; John 5:24; Matthew 9:6-8; Romans 10:9-10 to support this. You will not see a condition put on any of these scriptures that a person can be saved by any human action or work – it is purely God’s Grace Alone!
How then can a Christian Fellowship leader stand in front of a congregation member and say: “if you leave your salvation will be in doubt"? It is because they believe in works for salvation, not grace. The opposite position is also inferred by this statement: “if you stay/attend the CF you will be assured of salvation”. We can see that the “staying/attending” is actually a human action or works. The bible clearly tells us that actions and works do not save us – thus the CF leader is speaking heresy.
Now if the Christian Fellowship leaders truly believed in Salvation by Grace alone, they would be at peace and have no need to constantly harangue and threaten congregation members in very unchristian manipulative ways.
I hope the above explanation will bring some peace, hope and illumination to the reader.
In Christ, Faith Hopegood.