Scriptural Explanation of Excommunication, Part 1

“Evil men understand not judgment; but they that seek the Lord understand all things,” Prov. 28: 5.

“Whoso walketh uprightly shall be saved; but he that is perverse in his ways shall fall at once,” Prov. 28: 18.

“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ,” 1 Corinthians 3: 11.

Menno Simon wishes to all fellow-believers, brethren and sisters in Christ Jesus, the grace and peace of God our heavenly Father, through Christ Jesus his beloved Son, our Lord, who loved us and has cleansed us of our sins in his blood. To him be the honor, praise, kingdom, power, and glory, for ever and ever, Amen.

Dear brethren, since I find that, for some time, much strife has been occasioned in regard to the ban, and this so violently and indiscreetly, therefore, I fear brotherly love, christian peace and unity, with some, are more diminished than augmented, as was the case in olden times; and it appears that some, through ambition and self-conceit, are desirous of such corrupting disputation, that they entertain the opinion, in this matter that not the banned ones themselves should be shunned, but only their false doctrine and offensive life, not observing that they have already become entangled in false doctrine; for thereby they nullify the plain ordinance of Christ, “Let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican,” and also the plain words of the holy apostles, Matt. 18: 17; Rom. 16: 16; 2 Thess. 3: 14; Tit. 3: 10.

Others think that the ban should not be practiced, further than that which pertains to the evangelical usages, as the breaking of bread and the kiss of peace; and garble the plain sayings of the Scriptures, to make their opinions good, namely: Do not keep company with such; with such not eat; “Let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican,” and other like sayings, 1 Cor. 5: 10; Matt. 18: 17.

Again, there are some who acknowledge the ordinance of Christ, and the doctrine of the holy apostles, in regard to excommunication, as right and just, yet they do not observe it; some, I presume, from being luke warm, some from motives of carnal love and favor of the apostates, and others on account of being neighbors, or relatives, or perhaps on account of former attachments and favors.

And, since the express ordinance of Christ and his holy apostles, in regard to excommunication, is lamentably weakened, obscured and garbled, by the first mentioned, and visibly transgressed and dishonored by the latter, and thus the door is opened wide to all corruption, and since they thus act against all love; First, against the love of God and Christ, for they thereby despise and disobey his holy word, will and ordinance; Secondly, against brotherly love: For by such perverseness and disesteem, they offend and afflict their brethren; Thirdly, against the love of their own souls: For, thereby, they willfully expose themselves to the danger of being corrupted; Fourthly, against the love of those deserving the ban: For they despise the advice of the Holy Spirit, and do not seek to shame them unto repentance; Fifthly, also against common love: For, by communing with the apostates, they make the worldlings suspicious that we are one and the same people with the apostates and perverse; and, since the precious word of God and his holy church, is thus blasphemed and profaned by many, on account of their recklessness and disobedience—therefore, in a christian spirit and brotherly love (of which God is my witness), I have endeavored to explain, for the benefit of my beloved brethren and fellow believers in Christ Jesus, the proper grounds of the ban, according to divine truth; how the ban is instituted of Christ; how it was taught and explained by his holy apostles, and what its fruits and benefits are. But this explanation I will leave to the judgment of those who seek and fear God with all their hearts, and who are enlightened and taught by the Spirit of God. Whoever seeks God and the good of his neighbor, will acknowledge that this explanation is in accordance with the foundation, meaning, word and will of God.

Dearly beloved brethren and sisters in Christ Jesus, I, your poor, unworthy servant and co-partner in the faith and tribulation of Christ, trust and pray, for the sake of the precious blood of my Lord Jesus Christ, and, for the sake of love to all, that none willfully, and knowingly contend against Christ Jesus, and against his holy word; nor against his own conscience, for the sake of maintaining his error, so that he may avoid the disapprobation and shame of the world.

I trust that they, as christians, grudge not one against another, but that they seek to win again to Christ their erring brethren. In the same manner, that if the God fearing errs, he is anxious to return again to the right way; if he falls, he is desirous to rise, and if wounded he would be again healed, James 5: 19; and if, by the grace of God, he be again delivered from his error and misunderstanding, through the word of the Lord, he is not ashamed, but is exceedingly glad, and praises and thanks his God that he is led from the crooked to the right way, and from his error to a true and sound understanding. He earnestly seeks to deliver and disentangle those whom he has formerly led astray and deceived by his false doctrine and misunderstanding; for true love does not seek self, but God and her neighbor. Whosoever has ears to hear, and a mind to understand, let him hear and understand what the word of the Lord teaches us in respect to excommunication, in great clearness.

Christ Jesus says, “Moreover if thy brother shall 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 he 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. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven,” Matt. 18: 15—18.

Here, faithful brethren, stands the firm foundation of God, as an immovable rock or mountain, at which all will be wounded and hurt, who try to overturn and nullify it, namely: That we shall shun and avoid the apostates, if they take no heed to all the brotherly services and admonitions which have, in faithfulness of heart, been rendered unto them, according to the doctrine of Christ, and the dictates of pure love, if they obstinately continue in their errors, as the Jews shunned and avoided the heathen and publicans, at the time of Christ.

In the first place, the Jews did not admit the uncircumcised heathen to their passover, by command of the Lord, through Moses; nor to their divine service, as appears from the acts of the apostles, for they were strangers to the citizenship of Israel, and Israel was alone the church.

In the second place, they so avoided daily intercourse with them, that they considered it as impure for them to enter their houses, or to eat and drink with them. This also applied to the publicans. As the Jews, then, did not admit such heathen and publicans to their worship, nor to their daily intercourse, but shunned and avoided them, so also, would Christ have us shun and avoid an apostate, unrepenting brother, as was said above. And that this is the proper and natural foundation of these words of Christ, as well explained by holy Paul, 1 Cor. 2, of which more will be heard hereafter.

Behold, brethren in the Lord, all who would rightly understand the meaning of the words of Christ, above cited, should know that Christ does not point to the jewish custom, in regard to the heathen and publicans in the time of Moses and of the prophets, but to the custom of his own times; and, he should first, make a distinction between the heathen and publicans, and not consider them as one people; and then well consider, and judge according to the Scriptures, how those two classes were dealt with at the time of Moses and the prophets, before the scepter was taken from them, and they were placed under the yoke of the Romans.

In the first place, it is incontrovertible, that the heathen were not of the seed of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; that they were uncircumcised, without God and religion, and without law, nay, a people that was no people, as Moses says, Deut. 32: 27. Thus it is, in the second place, incontrovertible that the publicans and sinners were of the Jews. For Luke says, That the publicans came to John, that they might be baptized. Again, That the publicans justified God, and that they were baptized with the baptism of John. Again, All the publicans and sinners came to Jesus to hear him, but the heathen did not come to John and to Christ. Therefore it is manifest that the publicans and sinners were not heathen, but Jews. It is also apparent from the case of the sinful woman and from the publican, Matthew, who was chosen an apostle of the Lord; and no apostles were chosen from the heathen. This is manifestly true, Eph. 2: 12; Luke 3: 2; 7: 29; 15: 1.

Inasmuch as the Gentiles and Publicans were two distinct people as has been said, and we should turn to the law to ascertain the freedom of the Jews, in regard to the Gentiles, then we must also, in the same manner, ascertain the action of the Jews in regard to the Publicans, after the law; for the one word is as valid as the other, because they are both produced and attested by the mouth of the eternal Wisdom.

We are aware, beloved brethren, that Moses, in his law, allowed a great deal of liberty to the outward Israel; to have intercourse with the Gentile nations, as in buying, trading and usury. But, besides, we also know, that he rigorously judges the willful and open transgressors, by the testimony of two or three witnesses, unto death, without mercy, according to his law, Deut. 17: 6; 2 Cor. 13: 1. If we were to understand the beforementioned words of Christ, Matt. 18, as being of the same nature and rigor as those of the law of Moses, then it would follow, first, from the word heathen that we were at liberty to deal with the apostates, as far as regards daily intercourse, as Israel was at liberty to deal with the heathen. And secondly, from the word publican it would follow that we should stone and kill the apostates when their apostasy was established by two or three witnesses. But it would not be proper to take too much liberty with them, and to put them to death. Taking life, is also quite inconsistent with the nature and doctrine of Christ, “For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them,” Luke 9: 56.

Let every one take heed; for if he take the word heathen alone, and judge that according to the law of Moses, and except the word publican, then he does not wrong man, but the Son of God, and disgracefully annuls his holy word and truth. For he says not, Let him be unto thee as a heathen, but “as a heathen man and a publican.” Christ says, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.” Therefore it is very advisable not to break the word of Christ Jesus; but to set aside human understanding; to acknowledge the truth; give heed to Christ Jesus; and believe and obey him; for then he will be likened unto the wise builder; if not, his house will fall, and “great will be the fall thereof.”

Further, most beloved brethren, we understand that there are some who comprehend these words of Christ, so that we are not bound to shun an apostate and impenitent brother, further than the Gentiles now shun the Gentiles, or fornicators shun adulterers and drunkards, whom they, perhaps, call the publicans. Such, I would earnestly beseech and exhort, first, to consider this matter well, before they accept, believe and teach it as a true foundation; to consider to what class of people Christ was sent from the beginning, and among what class he commenced building and establishing his church. This, Christ sufficiently explains, saying, “I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” Matt. 15: 24. Paul, also says, “Now I say that Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.” Since he then, was, from the beginning, sent unto the Jews, and preached unto them and taught them, and not to the heathen, therefore these words of Christ should not be understood as meaning that we should deal with an apostate as the believing heathen now deal with an unbelieving heathen, but to deal with them as the literal Jews dealt with them at the time of Christ. For Christ, I say, did not preach unto the heathen, but unto the Jews; and therefore he did not point them, by these words, but to the Jewish ban, namely, how they shunned the heathen and open sinners in his times.

In the second place, I pray that every God-fearing heart consider what the word Gentile implies; and see if not all fornicators, adulterers, avaricious, unbelievers, perjurers, idolators, murderers and drunkards are included in the word Gentile. Yea, Paul says that they are without Christ, have no God, are dead in sins, and that they are children of wrath, Eph. 2: 11. Since, then, all sinners and Gentiles are expressed in the word “Gentile,” for the Gentiles who have not Christ, are also sinners, and without grace, and since Christ here speaks as well of open sinners, as of Gentiles, and, moreover, as every word of Christ has its full weight and measure—therefore, the word of Christ can not be explained as meaning that we should deal with an apostate brother as we would with other Gentiles, who never received nor acknowled the word of the Lord.

In the third place, I hope that no true brother, who is called after the name of the Lord, will knowingly and willfully adulterate the word of the Lord, but that he will give it its due praise and honor, and acknowledge that these publicans and sinners, of whom the evangelists speak, were not of the Gentiles, but of the Jews, as is apparent from Matt. 9: 10; Mark 2: 17. Since it is incontrovertible that the beforementioned publicans and sinners were of the Jews, and were adjudged to death, according to the law; and since Christ points us as well to the publicans, as to the Gentiles, therefore it must follow that it should not be explained as having reference to the times when Israel yet exercised their liberties with the heathen, which liberties were allowed to them, by Moses, in his law; for at that time the transgressors, on proof, were adjudged unto death, according to the law. It would also follow that the lives of the apostates, on proof, should be taken at our hands. O, no, for we know that such a bloody ban is an abomination before God, neither is it known to christians, much less practiced.

If any one should assert that it applies to the present time, that is, of treating an apostate as we now treat a Gentile, and not to the time of Christ, as the Jews then treated a Gentile, he must also re-establish the Jewish people with their law and religion, and their open transgressors, which is impossible. This every one must confess.

Since the word Gentile can not be understood as appplicable to the time when the Gentiles were not yet so strictly shunned by the Israelites, for then we should have to adjudge the apostates unto death, according to the word “manifest transgressors;” nor as applicable to the present time, for now we have not the Jewish transgressors—therefore no one can successfully contradict, according to God’s truth, otherwise than that it applies to the time of Christ, at which time they did not put transgressors to death, but separated and avoided both the publicans and heathen alike, by means of the same ban.

Having sufficiently proven to the pious and God fearing, by the above mentioned reasons, that Christ spoke those words as applying to his own times, and to no other, we will now show in plain language, first, the proper cause why they so scrupulously avoided the heathen, and, secondly, why they shunned the open transgressors, and did not inflict capital punishment upon them.

It is well known to all readers of the Bible, that the Lord God faithfully warned Israel that they should not make an alliance, nor terms of friendship, with the Canaanites, Hittites, and others; nor to intermarry with them, lest they should be led astray by them, and follow strange Gods, Deut. 7. Joshua says, “Take good heed therefore, unto yourselves, that ye love the Lord your God. Else, if ye do in any wise go back, and cleave unto the remnant of these nations, even these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them, and go in unto them, and they to you; know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out any of these nations from before you; but they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns in your eyes, until ye perish from off this good land which the Lord your God hath given you,” Josh. 23: 11, 13.

Israel, not taking to heart this paternal warning of God, but, contrary thereto, befriended and intermingled with these strange nations, the menace of the Lord God threatened through his faithful servants, Moses and Joshua, was verified. They became quite degenerated by the strange women and idols, with which they intermingled, and were severely scourged and punished of the Lord. Yea, so that the talented Solomon, whose wisdom was far-famed, was so enchanted by the heathen women, that he became unfaithful to the Lord, his God, (who twice appeared unto him), and inclined his heart to strange gods. I think, beloved brethren, this is the just recompense of those who despise the counsel of the Lord.

And they, deceived by the artfulness of the heathen, often sinned against their God, and being, therefore, so often chastised of God, with his just punishment, they, at last, took to heart the warning of God, given through Moses and Joshua, more than they had formerly done; they quit their intercourse with the heathen, altogether, so that they, as appears, also abandoned some liberties, which Moses had allowed them. Yea, so that they considered it as improper to enter into their houses, or to eat with them, as may be plainly observed. And this, for the purpose that they should not, as formerly, be led astray, and turned away from their God. For this reason, the Jews so entirely avoided intercourse with the heathen. If this reason was of weight, every theologian may judge and weigh with the words of God, Num. 33: 35; Judges 3: 13; 1 Kings 11: 1; 3: 12; 9: 2.

Again, the reason why they shunned the public sinners, and did not punish them with death, is this: Because the prophecy of the patriarch Jacob was now verified—that the royal scepter, taken from Judah by Pompey, the great, was now in the hands of the Romans, and that they had officers of their own in Judea, who obeyed their superior; and therefore, the Jews did not punish with death, according to their law, those who willfully transgressed; for they were, at that time, subject to the scepter of the Romans. That this is the truth, the Jews declared before Pilate, when they said, “It is not lawful for us to put any man to death.” According to the law they were permitted; nay, it was strictly commanded them; but the lost scepter, now, made it unlawful; for the Roman servants, Herod, Pilate, &c., who, at that time, swayed the scepter in behalf of the Romans, did not want to judge according to the law of the Jews, but according to the rights and statutes of the Romans, in whose name they ruled, and to whom they were bound by oath. When any Jew tresspassed the law of Moses, and not the Roman morals, the beforementioned functionaries did not inflict capital punishment, because the law of Moses required it. And since the Jews were not allowed to punish him according to the law, for the above mentioned reasons, they separated him from their communion, and excommunicated him from their synagogue and shunned him.

Behold, faithful brethren, for the beforementioned reasons, the Jews, at the time of Christ, shunned both the heathen and the jewish publicans. They shunned the heathen, lest they should be led astray and deceived; but the publicans, because, according to the law, were deserving of death, Gen. 49: 10, and yet were not allowed to kill and destroy them on account of the Roman dominion.

Perhaps some will ask, Why then, did they scourge the apostles? Stone Stephen? and why were many saints put to death by Saul? Why was their community destroyed, since they were not allowed capital punishment?

To this I answer: That all this did not transpire without the consent of the Romans, for they, themselves, confessed before Pilate, saying, “It is not lawful for us to put any man to death,” John 18: 31. The stoning of Stephen was not done lawfully, but merely in a riot, as Luke declares, saying, Exclamantes autem voce magna, continuerunt aures suas, and impetum fecerunt unanimiter in eum; and this the Zurichans have also thus translated into the German: “They cried with a loud voice, and stopped their ears and ran upon him with one accord,” as they also intended to do with Christ, and also with Paul, Acts 7: 57; 10: 31; 21: 30; 23: 12; 26: 10; Luke 4: 29. Again, that Saul or Paul destroyed the church, and put to death many of the saints, as he related before Agrippa, we may be sure that he did not do so without the consent of the magistracy; for it is manifest and incontrovertible, that the scepter did not allow them to put any one to death, and, for this reason they said, “It is not lawful for us to put any man to death;” the scepter was taken from them, and came into the hands of the Romans, as has been explained above. If they had been allowed to practice their own law of blood, they would not have delivered Christ unto Pilate; Lucius would not have taken Paul from the tumultuous Jews; Herod would not have imprisoned Peter, nor killed John the baptist, and James; for this would not do, in the worldly adjudication, for one to grasp the jurisdiction of another; such a policy would, doubtlessly, soon fail, Acts 21: 27—40; 24: 7.

We are well aware, beloved brethren, that there are some who call this Jewish shunning, or ban, to which Christ has directed us, a pharisaic leaven, and frankly say, We do not want to be pointed to a leaven, without the Scriptures. Whosoever these may be, we pray them for the Lord’s sake, first, to consider well what they say; for, in my opinion, they do not understand their own words. Does not Moses say, “Whosoever does not hearken unto my (God’s) words, which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him,” Deut. 18: 19. Does not Jeremiah say, That he “shall execute judgment and justice in the earth?” Does not the Father from high heaven, say, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him?” Does not Paul say, “In whom (Christ) are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge?” Jer. 23: 5; Matt. 17: 5; Col. 2: 3. I am sure that the word and teaching of Christ is Scripture enough for all the pious. He it is, I say, and not I, who points his believers to the use of the ban. Tu quis es, qui ex adverso respondes Deo? That is, Who art thou that wouldst answer God with perverseness?

If there be any brother under the whole canopy of heaven, who can show, by the divine truth, that these words of Christ apply to any other time than to the time of Christ, without violating the Scriptures, then I will gladly hear him, and open my ears to the truth; for I desire not to contend against the truth, which is my testimony, but I desire to uphold it. For, for the sake of truth, I have had to hear and suffer much, these many years; and am yet prepared unto death, by the grace of the Lord, to testify to the truth. But I know, and am convinced, that it can not apply to any other time, without violating the word and Scriptures of Christ, as we have sufficiently shown and proven, to the reader, above, by abundance of reasons and Scriptures.

Secondly, I desire, for God’s sake, that my beloved brethren will weigh with the balance of the Scriptures, what leaven is, and what the Scriptures mean by it, before they call this beforementioned ban, to which Christ directs us, a pharisaic leaven. It implies, first, the word and its power, or rather, faith and its power. Secondly, it signifies a corrupting, ungodly being or man. Thirdly, a deceiving, leavened, corrupting doctrine. If the Jewish ban and shunning, to which Christ points us, was a leaven, as some mistakenly assert, then they must show, by virtue of the Scriptures, what leavening and corruption it has caused in the pure word, and in the hearts of the Jews; for, although God, the Lord permitted some liberties to Israel, through Moses, in their temporal transactions, as said at the beginning, yet he did not expressly command that they should deal with the heathen, but rather warned the Jews against them. They now scrupulously observed the faithful warning of God, being taught them through many perils, and for that reason, probably, they did not make use of the privileges granted them, in regard to dealing with them, lest, by these means, they should be ensnared and corrupted in their hearts by the heathen. Let the spiritual judge, now, whether it can be called leaven, by the Scriptures, since they did not neglect the law and command of God thereby, but, in fact, left it unchanged and whole and were thus shielded against the corrupter.

Sincerely beloved brethren, if we are to esteem as a leaven, this oft mentioned jewish ban, to which Christ directs us, because they, for their consciences’ sake, abandoned some of these liberties (for liberties are of a nature that we can enjoy them, or not, at our option; else they would not be liberties), not contrary to the law, but rather in conformity with the faithful warning, advice and admonition of God, contained in the law—then the holy prophet Jeremiah might, for good reasons, have reproved the Rechabites as leaven, because they, on account of the command of their father Jonadab, would not drink wine, plant vineyards, sow the soil, nor build houses, although all this was free to them, according to the law of God; for to them, with Israel, were the possession of the land, and the other blessings promised, Jer. 35: 14. O, no, the Lord did not reckon it as leaven unto them, but it was accounted to their honor to have honored the command of their father, and thereby they obtained the promise of the Lord.

I would further say, that if it is to be called leaven, if we do not partake of our freedom for conscience’ sake, or for the sake of the brethren—then freedom cannot be called freedom, and Paul must have been an impure leaven to have taught that we should, if necessary, deny ourselves the liberty, for the sake of the brethren, Rom. 14: 14; 1 Cor. 8: 13; 9: 14; 10: 23.

From all this, it is evident, according to my understanding of the word of the Lord, that it is a frightful blasphemy, unknown to a God-fearing christian, thus to undertake to master and instruct Christ, the eternal Wisdom of God, how he should teach us, and what he should command us; and to call that which he commands us, leaven, although it is a strong and consolatory shield against corruption and deceit; and therefore, not contrary to the law, but in conformity therewith; of this we are convinced, for if it were leaven, contrary to the law, as some say it is, then Christ Jesus would, by no means have approved of it, commanded it and said, “Let him be unto thee as a heathen man and a publican,” since he, in other places, has diligently warned his followers against the leaven.

Some, perhaps, will contradict me by saying that the shunning of the heathen by the Jews, that is, not to eat with them, when the victuals were clean, was openly contrary to the express command of the law. For Moses had commanded Israel that they should keep the feast of the weeks, and the feast of the tabernacles, unto the Lord their God, with a tribute of free-will offering of their hands, which they should give unto the Lord, their God, &c., and that they should rejoice before the Lord, their God, they, and their sons, and their daughters, and their man-servants, and their maid-servants, and the Levite that was within their gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that were among them. To such, I would reply, that these strangers also had to keep the Sabbath; to enjoy the tenths of the third year, the first fruits of the land, the gleanings of the field, olive trees and vineyards with the Levites, the widows and orphans.

The stranger also had, with Israel, an offering for their sins of ignorance; also, the same punishment with Israel; they had to hear the reading of the law every seventh year, in the solemnity of the year of release. Therefore, it follows from these and other like Scriptures, that these beforementioned strangers were citizens among the Israelites, and not uncircumcised heathen. For they were already among the Israelites at the time they yet journeyed in the wilderness. Moses says, “Ye stand this day, all of you, before the Lord your God; your captains of your tribes, your elders, and your officers, with all the men of Israel; your little ones, your wives, and thy stranger that is in thy camp, from the hewer of thy wood unto the drawer of thy water, that thou shouldest enter into covenant with the Lord thy God, and into his oath, which the Lord thy God maketh with thee this day,” Deut. 5: 14; 16: 13, 14; Ex. 20: 10; 23: 12; Deut. 14: 29; 24: 19; Num. 15: 27; Lev. 4: 13; Num. 9: 14; Deut. 29: 10—12.

I think, brethren, that the cited passages sufficiently show and prove that they were called strangers, because they were not of the seed of Israel, and had no part in the distribution of the land; therefore, Moses commanded the Israelites to allow them the right to the tenths of the third year, to the gleanings of the field, of the olive trees and vineyards, and the first fruits of the land, as we have shown and explained from the writings of Moses.