Cautions About Division

Earlier I wrote about the importance of unity in the church. There were several areas that were considered to be of great importance. Today I want to focus on a few areas that could create and/or allow division to impact a church.

One matter that can divide a church is heresy, that which is against the generally accepted beliefs. Throughout the New Testament one of Paul's repeated instructions regarded a caution against false teachers. 2 Corinthians 11:13 reads, "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen disguising themselves as apostles of Christ." (ESV) Paul writes the following in Galatians 1, “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6-8 ESVS) Then in 2 Timothy Paul warns this young pastor with the following statement, “But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some.” (2Timothy 2:16-18 ESVS) (I am not going to examine the many heresies that exist, there are several addressed in Scripture itself, and more that have crept into the church throughout history. A study of church history and the numerous councils that have met regarding doctrinal matters would be a worhty pursuit if this interests you.)

There is no doubt that the truth of Scripture and the orthodox message of Jesus has always been under attack. Sometimes this attack is a result of a low view of Scripture and an uneducated church. Michael Craven writes, "The church in America is in crisis . . . This crisis is quite clearly the natural consequence of biblical illiteracy, theological ignorance, doctrinal apathy, and our subsequent conformity to the spirit of the age." The church today must be committed to the sound teaching of the Bible. Leaders are called to teach the Word, so that unity will be protected. When orthodox matters are taught the result is a people who will be equipped for every good work. Timothy was instructed consistently to teach the Scriptures (1 Tim 1:10; 2:13; 5:17; 6:3-5; 2 Tim 2:15; 3:14-17). The most sobering warning is given to Timothy in chapter 4:3-4, “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” (2Timothy 4:3-4 ESVS)

We must pay careful attention to the message of the gospel and protect it with great care. The leaders among the church are given a serious charge to teach truth and avoid error. Therefore, carefully consider the lives of those who are the leaders in your church, for one of their foremost responsibilities is doctrine. This means the leaders in the church are to be considered carefully, they must know the Scriptures and as Paul says, be able to teach.

In 3 John 9 a man named Diotrephes is introduced. Unfortunately there is not anything positive shared about this man. Evidently he was able to influence those around him. He may or may not have held a position in the church, but his influence over people is noted by John. He is described as a man who likes to put himself first; he was a prideful man. In his pride he also failed to acknowledge the authority of the Apostles. Recently a friend made a wonderful assesment regarding the danger of authority without accountability, it leads to pride.

Mark Driscoll said this about proud people:

Proud people think they are very important and delight in airing their opinions, expect to be consulted regarding their opinions, and get very angry when they are not obeyed. Proud people love the church because in it they are prone to find nice polite people who are easy to take advantage of and push aroudn. Proud people act like leaders whether they are or not. Proud people like to say things such as "God told me," as if they are the mediator between God and people areoudn them. Proud people only think aobut themselves and their family and conveniently overlook the fact that the earht has other people, some of whom even have different last names than theirs. Lastly, proud people love to tell others what to do, but when conronted about the own sin of prid, they welcome correction as warmly as a cat does water. The most special kind of proud people talk about how you hurt their feelings, and they get really sad, sometimes even cry, so that you will talk about their feelings instead of their pride.

Unfortunately we all have some of those tendencies and we must be quick to discipline ourselves, putting to death the deeds of the flesh, and instead we should pursue humility before the Lord and others. When pride is the norm for people in the church the result will be division; it will be division of friendship, division of families, and division of mission because the glory due Jesus is being divided between himself and his followers.

Another matter that can cause division is the loss of the mission. Have you ever listened as the players in an orchestra warm up before a concert. It is one of the most awful sounds. I have at times even thought to myself, "Why do I sit and listen to this, its simply awful?" The obvious answer is the eager anticipation of the sound that will result at the cooperative effort as all of the instruments play. However, could you imagine listening to a violin concerto only to have one of the players suddenly break out into the climactic fiddle solo of The Devil Went Down to Georgia. It would be a most jarring experience, one you would talk about the rest of your life, but probably not for the masterful decision on which the lone player acted.

Often there are people in the church who pursue a mission that is contrary to that of the local church. They would be much like that lone musician. When they pursue something contrary to the overall plan, they are creating division. It can occur on a large scale as they might pull people into programs and insist on things that the church is not able to accomplish. It can occur on a small scale when an individual choses to teach a different lesson than what was scheduled for the week in the area of Sunday School. For the mission of the church to be protected there must be a commitment to communication, clarifying questions, a genuine understanding of roles and responsibilities, and a submission to one another for the glory of Christ. This means we must be committed to the character qualities that were already outlined in Ephesians 4.

Finally, division can occur when change is avoided or prevented. Mark Driscoll writes, "A living church must change in the same way that a living person gorws and changes, hopefully toward maturity." This means that individuals must realize that the church is dynamic, it is the body of Christ. People should be reluctant to take ownership of anything in the church, whether an object or a program, for we are only stewards. A healthy church will possess a willingness to change, just as a healthy exercise regiment consists of a varying routine. Later in Ephesians 4:13 we discover that the goal of the church is for people to mature in Christ. When maturity is occuring the body grows and builds itself up in love.

My prayer is that our local church be devoted to pray in these matters so that division will be prevented and unity fostered; the glory be given to Jesus and not any man; that the mission of sharing the love and good news of salvation in Jesus be our banner; and that our maturity be the result as our love for one another grows.