Anthony Pritchard
Well-Known Member
The Responsibility That Does Not End: When Fellowship Fails
A Christian’s responsibility toward others does not end when a brother or sister wanders from the faith or even leaves the churches. The duty is rooted in the Great Commandment itself, not in the other person’s present level of obedience. When Jesus was asked, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” He answered with clarity that reaches into every relationship a believer has. Scripture says, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37 to 40).
If all the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments, then the obligation to love does not dissolve when someone strays. Love is not conditioned on proximity, agreement, or continued fellowship. It is conditioned on the heart of God. The believer who wanders is still a neighbour, still a soul, still one for whom Christ died. The responsibility continues because love continues.
Jesus made this plain when He was asked, “And who is my neighbour?” Luke 10:29. His answer was not a definition but a story. He spoke of a man wounded and left half dead, ignored by those who should have helped him, and rescued by one who was despised. Scripture records, “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him” (Luke 10:33). The Samaritan did not ask whether the wounded man shared his doctrine, his heritage, or his fellowship. He saw need, and compassion moved him. Jesus concluded the story by saying, “Go, and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:37).
This command is not limited to strangers. It applies even more strongly to those who once walked beside us in the faith. If compassion is owed to the wounded stranger, how much more to the wounded brother. When James speaks of restoring the wanderer, he writes, “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (James 5:19 to 20). The one who errs is still called a brother. The one who restores him is performing an act of life and mercy.
Paul speaks in the same spirit. “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). Restoration is not a courtroom. It is a rescue. It is the work of those who remember their own weakness and approach the wanderer with gentleness. The responsibility is not suspended because the wanderer has stepped away. It becomes more urgent.
Even the image of the shepherd shows this continuity. Jesus describes the shepherd leaving the ninety and nine to seek the one that is lost. He does not ask why the sheep wandered. He does not weigh the sheep’s motives. He goes because the sheep is his. “And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing” (Luke 15:5). The responsibility is not broken by distance. It is intensified by danger.
Yet instead of following the pattern of the shepherd, the Samaritan, and the apostles, we often follow a darker pattern. In some of our Baptist circles there is a saying that we shoot our wounded. It is a shameful saying because it is a true one. The one who falters is often met with suspicion instead of compassion, with distance instead of prayer, with criticism instead of restoration. The wounded believer becomes an inconvenience rather than a neighbour. The one who leaves the churches is spoken of as if he has ceased to be a brother. The responsibility that Scripture places upon us is quietly set aside.
This ought never to be. The Great Commandment does not permit it. The example of the Good Samaritan condemns it. The instructions of James and Paul forbid it. The heart of Christ Himself rebukes it. The believer who has wandered is not a target. He is a neighbour. He is a brother. He is a soul in need of compassion, patience, and prayer.
Leaving a congregation does not sever spiritual kinship. The unity of the Spirit is not a membership contract. It is a living bond formed by Christ Himself. A believer who withdraws, drifts, or even departs in frustration is still a neighbour under the Great Commandment. The obligation to love, to pray, to reach out, and to hope remains. The form of the responsibility changes, but the responsibility itself does not end.
The Christian who understands the Great Law and the story of the Good Samaritan cannot treat the wanderer as abandoned. Love does not retreat. It waits, it prays, it watches, and when God opens the door, it acts. The believer who has left the churches is still a soul to be cared for, still a neighbour to be loved, and still a brother or sister to be restored.
This is the shape of Christian responsibility. It is not defined by attendance or proximity. It is defined by the love of God, which never ends.
Colophon
This article was written to affirm the continuing responsibility Christians bear toward those who wander from the faith or withdraw from the churches. It draws upon the Great Commandment in Matthew 22:36 to 40, the teaching of Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25 to 37, and the apostolic instructions for restoration found in James 5:19 to 20 and Galatians 6:1. Its purpose is to remind believers that compassion, prayer, and patient pursuit are not optional virtues but essential expressions of the love of God.
© A.K. Pritchard 2026 - Free to use with proper attribution
A Christian’s responsibility toward others does not end when a brother or sister wanders from the faith or even leaves the churches. The duty is rooted in the Great Commandment itself, not in the other person’s present level of obedience. When Jesus was asked, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” He answered with clarity that reaches into every relationship a believer has. Scripture says, “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (Matthew 22:37 to 40).
If all the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments, then the obligation to love does not dissolve when someone strays. Love is not conditioned on proximity, agreement, or continued fellowship. It is conditioned on the heart of God. The believer who wanders is still a neighbour, still a soul, still one for whom Christ died. The responsibility continues because love continues.
Jesus made this plain when He was asked, “And who is my neighbour?” Luke 10:29. His answer was not a definition but a story. He spoke of a man wounded and left half dead, ignored by those who should have helped him, and rescued by one who was despised. Scripture records, “But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him” (Luke 10:33). The Samaritan did not ask whether the wounded man shared his doctrine, his heritage, or his fellowship. He saw need, and compassion moved him. Jesus concluded the story by saying, “Go, and do thou likewise” (Luke 10:37).
This command is not limited to strangers. It applies even more strongly to those who once walked beside us in the faith. If compassion is owed to the wounded stranger, how much more to the wounded brother. When James speaks of restoring the wanderer, he writes, “Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (James 5:19 to 20). The one who errs is still called a brother. The one who restores him is performing an act of life and mercy.
Paul speaks in the same spirit. “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted” (Galatians 6:1). Restoration is not a courtroom. It is a rescue. It is the work of those who remember their own weakness and approach the wanderer with gentleness. The responsibility is not suspended because the wanderer has stepped away. It becomes more urgent.
Even the image of the shepherd shows this continuity. Jesus describes the shepherd leaving the ninety and nine to seek the one that is lost. He does not ask why the sheep wandered. He does not weigh the sheep’s motives. He goes because the sheep is his. “And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing” (Luke 15:5). The responsibility is not broken by distance. It is intensified by danger.
Yet instead of following the pattern of the shepherd, the Samaritan, and the apostles, we often follow a darker pattern. In some of our Baptist circles there is a saying that we shoot our wounded. It is a shameful saying because it is a true one. The one who falters is often met with suspicion instead of compassion, with distance instead of prayer, with criticism instead of restoration. The wounded believer becomes an inconvenience rather than a neighbour. The one who leaves the churches is spoken of as if he has ceased to be a brother. The responsibility that Scripture places upon us is quietly set aside.
This ought never to be. The Great Commandment does not permit it. The example of the Good Samaritan condemns it. The instructions of James and Paul forbid it. The heart of Christ Himself rebukes it. The believer who has wandered is not a target. He is a neighbour. He is a brother. He is a soul in need of compassion, patience, and prayer.
Leaving a congregation does not sever spiritual kinship. The unity of the Spirit is not a membership contract. It is a living bond formed by Christ Himself. A believer who withdraws, drifts, or even departs in frustration is still a neighbour under the Great Commandment. The obligation to love, to pray, to reach out, and to hope remains. The form of the responsibility changes, but the responsibility itself does not end.
The Christian who understands the Great Law and the story of the Good Samaritan cannot treat the wanderer as abandoned. Love does not retreat. It waits, it prays, it watches, and when God opens the door, it acts. The believer who has left the churches is still a soul to be cared for, still a neighbour to be loved, and still a brother or sister to be restored.
This is the shape of Christian responsibility. It is not defined by attendance or proximity. It is defined by the love of God, which never ends.
Colophon
This article was written to affirm the continuing responsibility Christians bear toward those who wander from the faith or withdraw from the churches. It draws upon the Great Commandment in Matthew 22:36 to 40, the teaching of Jesus in the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25 to 37, and the apostolic instructions for restoration found in James 5:19 to 20 and Galatians 6:1. Its purpose is to remind believers that compassion, prayer, and patient pursuit are not optional virtues but essential expressions of the love of God.
© A.K. Pritchard 2026 - Free to use with proper attribution