Leviticus 6:2 King James Version (KJV) If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the Lord, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour;

Acts 2:42 English Standard Version (ESV) And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.

Returning once again to choices in translations we will see that the KJV use the word fellowship first in Leviticus 6:2 while the ESV does not use the word until Acts 2:42. So let us break down these usages into basic definitions.

The KJV definition in Leviticus means pledge, security, deposit.

The ESV definition in Acts means communication, to share.

It would seem that the Old Testament usage in the KJV is to be taken with a high degree of seriousness. To violate the pledge, security or deposit is seen as a trespass against the Lord.

The New Testament usage in the ESV there is a sense of sharing, hence the breaking of bread and prayers. There is nothing serious mentioned beyond the word devoted.

Absent from the New Testament is a sense of violation. Sin has already been dealt with for those of us that have accepted Jesus Christ into our hearts. There is no violation associated with the strength of devotion that we exert in these relationships.

To break down these two elements to the bare essentials, the OT violation is against the law while a NT violation is against the love that abides in each of us. There are serious consequences for violating the OT law. The only consequence of a violation in the NT is in relationship with our Lord. We as disciples of the Lord are asked to love one another.

How seriously we establish NT fellowship is a mirror image of our relationship with our Lord.

How seriously we establish OT fellowship is a mirror image of our sins against our Lord.