Excommunication

Excommunication is the act of being removed out of God's covenant society and is most commonly associated with the New Covenant Church. However, the roots of excommunication go all the way back to Abraham's time. In Genesis 17:14, a Hebrew infant that did not receive circumcision was to be "cut off" from among the people of God. This act removed the person from the Hebrew people and made a person of pagan status. Later, according to Mosaic Law, a person would be "cut off" from among the covenant society for committing various acts of disobedience (Num 9:13; Num 15:30; Lev 7:20-27; Lev 23:28-30). Such a person was at that point considered a heathen and not a child of Abraham. This practice of exclusion from the covenant society continued down to Ezra's time (Ezra 10:8) and even to Christ's day (John 9:22; 12:42). Jesus continued the rite of exclusion from covenant citizenship by instituting it in the Church: "If thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone...if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican" (Mt. 18:15-17). A person who would not submit to the Church's final judgment was to be viewed by the society as a heathen. St. Paul carried out this practice at 1 Cor 5:1-2,5 and commanded the churches to also follow this practice as necessary (1 Cor 5:11-13). Notably, according to Acts 3:22-24, Moses had foretold that all the Hebrews who didn't follow Christ were to be "destroyed from among the people"--a prophecy that was fulfilled in the apostles' time (Acts 3:24), when Israel and Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed at AD 70.