OceanSide church of Christ

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BIBLE PASSAGES DEALING WITH…

Withdrawal of Fellowship (1)

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    God called upon Israel to be a holy nation.

1.      Israel (Exo. 19:6)

 

And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation…

 

2.      Defilement was an ugly term.  Anything unclean took away from the holiness of the nation.

3.      Example:  Leprosy

a.      Leprosy was a heinous disease.

1)      It harmed the one who had it.

2)      It could not be cured.

3)      It ultimately brought death.

4)      It was extremely contagious.

b.      Because leprosy harmed the holiness of Israel, those who contracted the disease were cast out of the camp (Lev. 13:44-46).

 

He is a leprous man, he is unclean:  the priest shall pronounce him utterly unclean; his plague is in his head.  And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean.  All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean:  he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.

 

B.      God’s people today are a holy nation (I Pet. 2:9).

 

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

 

1.      Defilement is still an ugly term.  Anything unclean destroys the holiness of the precious church of our Lord.

2.      Thus, anything that defiles God’s people today must be cast out of the camp.

 

C.     We refer to this practice by two common titles:  “Church Disciple” and “The Withdrawal of Fellowship.”

 

D.    In this lesson, we want to introduce the passages found in the New Testament dealing with this very important aspect of the New Testament.  There are ten passages that deal with this subject directly.

 

E.      Before we start a study of the passages, let’s examine the word “fellowship” and what it involves.

1.      The word “fellowship” is found 15 times in the New Testament.

2.      The primary word translated “fellowship” is “koinonia.”

a.      Strong (2842):  partnership, participation, (social) intercourse      :- communicate, communication, communion, contribution, distribution, fellowship

b.      Thayer:  fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation, intercourse, the share which one has in anything, a gift jointly contributed, a collection

c.       Vine:  communion, fellowship, sharing in common

3.      Our sins took us out of our fellowship with God (Isa. 59:1-2).

4.      Through the death of Jesus Christ, His shed blood, our faith and obedience, we are restored to fellowship with God (Col. 1:21-22).

 

And you, that were sometimes alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreprovable in his sight.

 

5.      When we obeyed the truth, we were not only brought into fellowship with God, but we were also brought into fellowship with all of the faithful of God’s children (I Cor. 1:9)

 

God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

6.      There are also “avenues” of fellowship that we can share with other Christians.

a.      The preaching of the gospel (Phil 1:4-5)

 

Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now.

 

b.      The Lord’s Supper is referred to as the “communion,” that is, fellowship of the body and blood of Christ (I Cor. 10:16-17).

c.       When Paul took up the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem, he referred to is as a contribution, that is, fellowship in that particular work (Rom. 15:26).

d.      Even a common meal shared together involves fellowship (I Cor. 5:11; Gal. 2:12).

7.      NOTE:  It is this fellowship that is considered holy and consecrated.  It is not supposed to be defiled by sin.  When it is, God demands that the body be cleansed of the illness.

 

I.                   MATTHEW 18:15-17

 

Moreover if thy brother trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone:  if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.  But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.  And if shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church, but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.

 

A.    Jesus is the first one in the New Testament to address this issue.

B.      In the context, He addresses a case that begins as a personal offense, that is, a brother against a brother.  (NOTE:  I do not remember ever having seen an exact replica of this teaching of Jesus in the church).

1.      If possible, personal matters needs to be handled between the two individuals only.

2.      If the person who has committed the offense, however, will not hear the offended person, two or three should be taken to hear the matter.

3.      If the offender will not hear them, the church should be notified.

4.      If he will not hear the church, Jesus said that he should “be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican.”

a.      Heathens were those who were not Jews.

b.      Publicans were Jews who had taken positions in the Roman administration as tax-collectors. 

1)      They were viewed as traitors because they sided with Rome.

2)      Too, they often enriched themselves at the expense of the people.

c.       The Jews had nothing to do with either group.  This is how the offending party was to be treated.  There was to be no fellowship with him.

II.                ROMANS 16:17

 

Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.

 

A.    This is not a personal matter.  It is a doctrinal matter.

1.      Doctrine simple means “teaching.” 

2.      There is a body of doctrine, teaching, that is right, true, and God-ordained. 

3.      This doctrine is one of the most vital aspects of the church.

a.      It saves us.

b.      It identifies us.

c.       It guides us.

d.      It makes us what God wants us to be.

 

B.      Those who go “contrary” to the doctrine cause divisions and offences.

1.      Contrary:  “Strong (3844)”:  beyond or opposed to

2.      When a person goes beyond the teachings of God’s Word, or, goes directly against the teaching of God’s Word, he brings division and sin into the church. 

a.      The church embraces the darkness of the world.

b.      The church drifts from its true identify.

c.       The church opposes God.

d.      Titus 1:10-11

 

For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision:  whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre’s sake.

 

C.     Paul gives the church two obligations toward such a man:

1.      Mark him.

2.      Avoid him.

a.      Strong (1578):  To deviate, (absolutely) to shun

b.      Thayer:  To turn aside, deviate, to turn (one’s self) away, to turn away from, keep aloof from…to shun one

c.       Avoid does not mean embrace.

Avoid does not mean hire.

Avoid does not mean encourage.

Avoid does not mean support.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    In this lesson, we have seen four major things.

1.      God has provided a place for fellowship for His people.

2.      This fellowship can be defiled.

3.      We have seen two kinds of defilement:  a personal offence of one brother against another that one will not repent of and doctrinal error.

4.      Defilement of the fellowship can’t be tolerated.  It must be shunned and avoided.

 

B.      There are two other defilements that are addressed in Scripture:  immorality and unfaithfulness.  We will deal with it in upcoming lessons as we look at Bible passages that deal with church discipline.