EXCOMMUNICATING OURSELVES
 
The Perils of Removing Ourselves From Fellowship
 
The strictest discipline the church can impose on a member who chooses to live in sin is called excommunication which means being removed from fellowship. The word excommunication does not appear in scripture, but the apostle Paul mentions this practice several times, using terms in his letters like “putting away, avoiding, or withdrawing from.” He did it only to stop the spread of a spiritual disease like sexual sin, false teaching, or rebellion.
Essentially, excommunication involves forbidding a believer from having fellowship with other members of a local church and removing them out from church authority. With no fellowship, they stop growing spiritually, because most of grace we receive flows through the Body, (read 1 Corinthians 12) and most of the nutrition we need flows from the Head through the Body (Colossians 2:19). 
When someone has been removed from church authority, a powerful shield of protection is removed making them vulnerable to spiritual attack. It is as if the enemy is allowed to have his way with us. We can see this stated clearly in 1 Corinthians 5:9, when Paul instructed the Corinthians to remove an immoral person from their midst, describing the action as, “…delivering them unto Satan”.
 
Something I find to be truly astounding is the fact that there are some believers today who excommunicate themselves. 
When they remove themselves from fellowship, they are removing themselves out from under church authority, not considering the devastating effect this can have upon their spiritual lives. 
 
This brochure is a perfect size for your devotions or a small group study.