"And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee" (Deuteronomy 13:5).
The Hebrew word translated "to turn you away" means to turn them away from their God that had done so much for them to apostasy and rebellion. Therefore. those that would cause apostasy and rebellion against Yahweh were to be punished with death, for the matter in Yahweh's eyes is that serious. This is showing true love to the brother or sister; but allowing them to persist is not only a pernicious evil in the ecclesia that defiles the whole, it denies the offender brotherly love, and permits continuation in erroneous belief and practice with the end result of the "whole lump being leavened" (Galatians 5:7-9 ).The purpose of this command to put away the evil from the midst of Israel was to ensure that the evil did not spread further among the nation of Israel.
There are those today that would seek to spread the evil of apostasy through the ecclesia, just as there always has been, and this may not be malicious but could, in at least some instances, be through naivety or misunderstanding. The difference today is that we do not have the option of putting to death the false prophet but we can still follow the proscribed principle by the removal of ourselves from the heretical beliefs and practices within the ecclesia, initially by attempting to correct the error and then if unsccesful after several attempts, by withdrawing ourselves from those who offend in this manner. In so doing the hope is that those from whom we withdraw will understand the seriousness of their offence and repent, and subsequently turn back to the truth. This is showing true love to the brother or sister; but allowing them to persist is not only a pernicious evil in the ecclesia that defiles the whole, it denies the offender brotherly love, and permits continuation in erroneous belief and practice with the end result of the "whole lump being leavened" (Galatians 5:7-9Galatians 5:7-9 7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? 8 This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. 9 A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. ).
"If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you; Thou shalt surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword, destroying it utterly, and all that is therein, and the cattle thereof, with the edge of the sword" (Deuteronomy 13:12–15).
There is a natural progression from the first half of this chapter to the second; from dealing with the case of apostate individuals to dealing with apostate cities. The goal behind both commandments is the same, to preserve the truth within the ecclesia of the day.
As previously mentioned, the option of resorting to the sword has been removed by the commandments of the Messiah, however we have to apply the same principles as laid down for the ecclesia under the Law, and as confirmed in the New Testament. The matter must be investigated and if the allegation of departure from Yahweh's doctrines is identified then the offending group or ecclesia can only be removed from our fellowship by us withdrawing from them. In this very context of wickedness in the ecclesia the apostle Paul, through the Spirit, says "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump" (1 Corinthians 5:7), and in verse 11 of the same chapter "But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to eat".
These commands are patently clear and if we refuse to obey the word of the Spirit, continuing to accept in fellowship those who persist in their wickedness, then we do so at our eternal peril.
For a fuller discussion on the principles of "withdrawal" read "The Time for Withdrawal" and "The Need to Withdraw from those who walk Disorderly".