“Live and let live” is my attitude, unlike those of you suffering from ophidiophobia or herpetophobia. Yesterday I was helping a friend load a pile of rocks, and several times had to wait while the resident garter snake moved to a safer place. I had on gloves and could have picked him up without danger of being bitten, but felt bad enough for removing his home and didn’t want to traumatize him even more. Live and let live.

While that’s a good attitude toward most snakes (fear of snakes and reptiles are the two phobias mentioned earlier) it’s not such a good attitude to the human variety. Especially when they move into the church. Yet, many people, who would grab a weapon and try to kill the poor little garter snake, adopt a “live and let live” attitude toward sinners among God’s people. To them God was harsh for condemning the sins of Israel and promising exile (Amos 7:16-17). But, as today’s Throwback Thursday edition of Morning Minutes in the Bible on An American Missionary reminds us, they had gone into exile already in their heart and God was trying to get them to come back to Him. From PLAIN TALK Magazine, September 1969.

Out Of Fellowship by Joe Fitch

Brethren get disturbed over talk about disfellowshipping folk. This usually amounts to nothing more than marking some names off the directory. I doubt a church can withdraw fellowship — at least from some of these brethren. Let me explain.

Fellowship (koinonia) is joint participation, partnership, partaking. (See Thayer or Vine) Thus, withdrawing fellowship would be dissolving the partnership and terminating the participation together.

Fellowship with God (church universal 1 John 1:1-7) is through obedience — walking in the light. When a man does as God directs, he is in fellowship; when he rebels, God severs relationship with him (John 15: 1-6). Some brethren couldn’t care less what God says. Withdraw this fellowship from such people? They have already broken fellowship with God. Nevertheless remember, God never charged men with keeping His roll book. He adds (Acts 2:47); He blots out (Ex. 32:33). Doubtless, God has already pruned the trees of such rotten and fruitless branches!

The local church is a fellowship in things saints do together. The Lords supper is fellowship (communion koinonia, 1 Cor. 10:16) with the body and blood of Jesus, and it is observed together with other Christians. Some never participate with other saints in this memorial. Praying together is fellowship, but these folk add no amen. Neither do they mingle their voices with other saints in singing praise and thanksgiving — yet singing together is fellowship. Class study, sharing the fruit of our research, admonishing and correcting each other is fellowship but many go fishing instead. Pooling our money to provide for the work of the congregation is fellowship, but their mite is not in the treasury. These brethren do not attend, hence, they are not in this fellowship!

The congregational fellowship is also the daily partnership of saints in things of the kingdom. It is a man working together with a preacher to convert a sinner (Gal. 6:6 — communicate koinoneo). It is ministering to the sick, comforting the distressed, supporting the weak, and supplying the needs of the destitute. It is weeping with those that weep and rejoicing with those that rejoice (Rom. 12:15). It is hands joined in the work of God but many brethren never soil their hands in such activities. Withdraw fellowship? How? There is no fellowship to withdraw! Anyway, where in the Bible did we read about withdrawing fellowship?

I am not opposed to scriptural discipline; God demands it. See Matt. 18:15-17; Rom. 16:17; 1 Cor. 5:1-13; 1 Thes. 5:14; 2 Thes. 3: 6-15; 1 Tim. 6: 3-5; 2 John 9-11. Plainer commands cannot be found, and we can do what they require — warn them, mark them, avoid them, with such... not to eat, reject, withdraw yourselves. Yet all this is NOT in order to disfellowship, but because man through sin has already broken fellowship with God and His saints. Such drastic measures are the last efforts aimed at restoring fellowship — gaining a brother (Matt. 18:15).

When I removed those rocks and took away his shelter the garter snake realized he had to find a new home, a new dwelling place. I hope he found one where he could fatten up and get ready for winter. When we remove the sinner’s sense of safety in the church we’re telling him to find a new home because he is out of fellowship with God and hope he realizes the Lord is waiting to welcome him back – if he will repent. Now that’s what it means to live and let live.