SHOULD WE BE RE-DEFINING ?
Does God really need us "making up" new definitions for bible theology?
Think about it. How many times has Mankind messed up what God has intended for us? It's pretty safe to say almost every single one! As if the example of the nation Israel was not enough, in today's world some people ( a growing number of them!) seem to think that they can add to or subtract from the Word of God by redefining terms that God has firmly established in scripture.

Take for example being "unequally yolked". If you mention this term in a modern church, you will almost always get a response of 'A believer shouldn't be married to an unbeliever' right? But if we turn in our bibles to 2Cor. 6:14-16 we find no mention of marriage at all! What could this mean? is it actually O.K. for a Christian & a non-Christian to marry? I don't think so, But the point is this. If the Bible says "don't be yolked together with unbelievers" we should apply this to ALL aspects of our lives, not try to relegate it to marriage only ( as most of the modern church does).
Don't get me wrong, application can be made from this passage of scripture to marriage, but it carries equal weight when applied to business ventures, worship, even friendships to a point. And it certainly applies regarding the church and the world!

Unity is another example of a redefined idea. God's word is very clear that unity must be in truth, (Jn 17:17-23) yet the modern church is crying for unity at all costs! from all quarters we hear about tearing down walls & breaking down barriers, coming together to 'just worship Jesus, and forget about the things that divide us'.
Now I don't know about you, But I personally do not want to be united with someone who believes that Jesus is the spirit brother of Lucifer, or that you must be baptized to be saved, or that the Bible merely contains God's word , or who prays to Mary, etc. Not that we can't have discussions and BIBLICALLY based arguments about things we dis-agree on, But ultimately, If we cannot agree on God's truth, we cannot be united.

Fellowship is the last area we will look at (although there are MANY others). What springs to mind when you hear the word "fellowship"? Coffee & a social time before or after church service? talking about the weather or the past weeks events? What is the Biblical definition of fellowship? We see a clear definition and starting point for study in Acts 2:42-47. (v. 42 "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching [doctrine!], and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.") A careful study will reveal that these believers did not eat and pray together in order to have fellowship and then hope to get to doctrine, because that would be backwards. In fact, after doctrine, We see that fellowship is a natural out-growth, which in turn leads to eating together and praying together (unity! sound familiar?).
I would go so far as to compare this with the works/salvation argument. In the same way that Salvation produces good works ( But good works will never produce salvation), being devoted to the doctrine of the bible will produce fellowship, along with the rest ( though hangin' out together and drinking coffee will never produce true Christian fellowship!)

Obviously this paper falls short of a complete in-depth study of the topic, but every Christian needs to be made aware of this alarming trend.{2tim 2:15}