{"id":4354,"date":"2019-09-13T13:11:24","date_gmt":"2019-09-13T17:11:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/?p=4354"},"modified":"2019-09-13T13:11:32","modified_gmt":"2019-09-13T17:11:32","slug":"causes-for-division-in-the-church-rey-reynoso-bible-archive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/causes-for-division-in-the-church-rey-reynoso-bible-archive\/","title":{"rendered":"Causes of Division in the Church"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The church today is known by her division. She\u2019s gotten a\nreputation. Maybe social media makes it seem worse than it is, but that doesn\u2019t\nmatter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That said, this doesn\u2019t mean that all divisions are wrong. Paul,\nnoting the divisions in ancient Corinth (1 Cor 11:18) pointed out that through\ndivisions they would identify their true working Christians (1 Cor 11:19). Indeed,\nin Romans 16:17, Paul both warns about division and then encourages it in the\nsame verse!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what should the church do? In seeking to be known by her\nlove (John 13:35) should the church pursue unity at all costs? When, if ever,\nis it right to divide? <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

What Is Church Division?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Church division, or schism<\/a>, is when the assembly of God\u2019s people (the church) separate, breaking their unity, for some reason. Division happens for right or wrong reasons. This is important to know because it means that division isn\u2019t necessarily evil. What causes church division can vary and that\u2019s what must be examined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Division Is Never the Goal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The repeated teaching of Scripture is that Christians are to\naim at unity. The picture of a whole united body growing to the full stature of\nChrist the head of the church (Ep 4:13) is used several times in Scripture (Romans\n12, 1 Cor 12). Christians are called to make sure that there are no divisions\n(1 Cor 1:10) putting on love as the perfect bond of unity (Col 3:14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christians are called to be of the same attitude toward one another\n(Roman 12:16; 15:5) putting aside selfish ambition (Phil 2:3), striving\ntogether in one mind, united in the spirit, intent on one purpose (Phil 1:27;\n2:2), and loving one another (John 13:35). It\u2019s no wonder then that Paul\nencourages believers in Corinth, who had problems with factions, by first\ntelling them that they\u2019re an entire unified body and then immediately reminding\nthem of the primacy of love (1 Cor 13)\u2014a fact we often forget by simply using\nthe passage for weddings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Division was and is never the goal of the local church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unity at All Costs Is Division from the Truth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Yet, unbelievers and believers alike charge Christians to act like Christ who was known (they say) by his universal acceptance<\/a>. We hear things like: Christ wasn\u2019t dogmatic; Christ loved; we should be part of Christ\u2019s form of Christianity, not this dogmatic intolerant Christianity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is exactly where Paul offers a biblical reason for\ndivision.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Romans 16:17 he says to divide from those who but obstacles\nto the true teaching that the Roman Christians had learned. To be a follower of\nChrist is to follow him and the teaching he has handed down through the\napostles. It is so important that Paul draws the demarcation line as the teaching\nthe early church had learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because unity at all costs was never<\/em> the goal. Unity\nat all costs is really a uniform idol in opposition to God. If it\u2019s a question\nbetween this idol of unity and the true faith once delivered for the saints,\nthen this idol must topple. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Divide from Those Who Embrace Division from the Truth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Christ, accused of casting out demons in the name of the Devil, pointed out that a house divided against itself can\u2019t stand (Matt 12:25). It was a clear picture that has application when it comes to division in the church. If the church is to stand in the face of the enemy, she must stand united with the totality of the living Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christ claims that he is the only way, the absolute truth,\nand the distinct life and that no one comes to the Father by any means except through\nhim (John 14:6). Christ later pointed out that he is the true vine and we\nChristians are the branches. Branches can only live when they are part of the living\nvine, but a dead lose branch tangled in a vine doesn\u2019t do anything but\neventually gets thrown into a fire (John 15:1-3). A living branch produces\nfruit because of the vine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You Can\u2019t Pick and Choose Truth<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Standing with the Christ who loves sinners is also standing with\nthe Christ who says \u201cNo one comes to the Father but by Me.\u201d Sitting with the\nChrist who has meals with sinners means sitting with the Christ who claims that\nall sinners are condemned already (John 3:18) and that he has the right to\njudge (John 5). Walking with the Christ who offers life to all that call upon\nhis name means walking with the Christ who heads to the cross rejected by both\nJew and Gentile alike. It means knowing that many will eventually call him Lord\nand do amazing works in his name, but Christ never knew them (Matt 7:21-23). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who pit a perception of Christ against his teachings have\ndivided themselves from the truth. The only thing left is the lie (2 Thes. 2:11-12).\nIn this case, Paul warns about these truth-dividers (2 Corinthians 2:11:1-5,\n12-15) and calls Christians to divide from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examples of Biblical Division from Truth-Dividers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Historically, folk who have embraced and teach a truth-rejecting doctrine<\/a> have been called heretics. A heresy is a belief (or opinion or teaching) that is contrary to the historical and correct teaching. It is not a variation of historical and orthodox teaching\u2014that is called heterodoxy\u2014but rather an outright choosing to contradict the teaching that was delivered. In this case, the teaching from the foundation of the church was to turn away from these false teachers<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul, for example, divided Hymenaeus and Alexander from the\nchurch for blasphemy. They preached a doctrine that shipwrecked the faith of\nothers (1 Tim 1:19-20). Paul also mandated that Christians mustn\u2019t be proud in\nrefusing to deal with sin (1 Cor 5:6) but must divide from Christians who are\nactively living a publicly sinful life (1 Cor 5:9-11): they\u2019re living a\nheretical lifestyle by professing one thing but living in a completely\ndifferent way. John pointed out that those who had divided away were never\nreally part of the church to begin with else they wouldn\u2019t have left (1 John\n2:19). Peter has some very harsh words for those who deny the truth (2 Peter 2)\nthen warns believers to be on guard (2 Peter 3:17). James, in his concern for\nthis sort of thing, warns people about being teachers (James 3:1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Separate from Dividers, Slanderers, and Gossips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Paul reprimanded the Corinthians for the factions formed\naround personalities\u2014Peter, Apollos, Paul, and even Christ (1 Cor 1:11-12)! Each\nof these groups had pit a facet of Christ\u2019s body against the rest of the body (1\nCor 12:15-26). Christ, says Paul, is not divided. And the church is Christ\u2019s\nbody.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a different type of division from heresy (as above) and\nit\u2019s known by biting and devouring one another with words (Galatians 5:15). This\nisn\u2019t division from the truth per se but rather factionalism over whatever (1\nCor 3:3).  This is the reason that Paul\nwarns about the wickedness of gossip (Romans 1:29), the sin of slander (1 Cor 6:9-10),\nand the danger of foolish controversies (Titus 3:9). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These folks aren\u2019t called out for their doctrine<\/a> (Paul, Apollos and Peter taught the same things after all) but for setting up their personal wants over against others (Jude 18-19; Romans 16:17; James 3:13-15). Paul says in 1 Cor 4 that Paul and Apollos are merely tools in the hand of God so as to burst the Corinthian boasting bubble that formed around the avatars of Paul, Apollos, Peter and even Christ. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What to do about it? Paul tells Titus to warn divisive\npeople two times then, the third time, have nothing to do with them whatsoever (Titus\n3:9-11). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reject Division Over Unimportant Matters<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When the Corinthians divided into factions, it wasn\u2019t so much about core doctrine (nature of God, nature of Christ, the Gospel, the nature of man). It wasn\u2019t even about secondary doctrine (the second coming, the nature of baptism). This division in the church was over their own selfish ambitions evidenced in what they wanted. They wanted a good drink (1 Cor 11:21), or to seem wise (1 Cor 3:18), or have a great meal (1 Cor 8:8-9). Common, every-day, and unimportant stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They had taken some nonessential thing that they wanted and\nmade it an issue thus unnecessarily causing division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Romans 14 Paul lists some things that fall into this area. Listed non-essentials (like food, drink, holidays, special holy days) wind up being an opportunity for those who know better (those who are not weak in faith) to bear with the scruples of the weak and embrace one another in love<\/a>. Sinful dividers, on the other hand, take these unimportant issues, perhaps casting aspersions on others and in effect \u201cdestroying the work of God\u201d (Romans 14:19).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what\u2019s wild: Paul agrees with one side over against\nanother in some of these topics. Paul writes that there is no unclean food in\nand of itself (Romans 14:14) and yet quickly acknowledges that some people do\nhave a problem with certain foods, and, in this case, he won\u2019t even touch the\nstuff. Because the kingdom of Christ isn\u2019t about eating and drinking (Romans\n14:17) but rather peace and joy in the spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beware Opportunities for Division <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Romans 14 does not contain an exhaustive list of unimportant\nitems that Christians can divide over. The Corinthians prove that we sinful people\ncan make an issue out of anything: the style of preaching, when to start the\nLord\u2019s supper (1 Cor 11:21), someone\u2019s speaking tone (2 Cor 10:10), what\nsomething looks like (2 Cor 10:7), and the conditions for married people to be\nintimate (1 Cor 7)\u2014to name a few. This just proves there are plenty of\nopportunities for sinful division.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many of these cases, it is also making an issue of\nsomething that is a legitimate good. I don\u2019t mean a moral good but something\nthat is a gift from God. The Corinthians managed to divide over which gifts\nwere the best, deny the gift of marital intimacy over against chastity, and\nembrace the good of food over above any moral goods. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s a problem and a warning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prosperity as an Opportunity for Division<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m reminded of a scandal from years ago when an organization that managed health costs for missionaries collapsed and a huge division in the church occurred over the remaining assets. Two sides, taking a position on how the funds were to be used for God began attacking each other how one side was more worldly or materialistic. Verses were quoted, accusations arose, and eventually the whole thing came collapsed with only rumors on what really went down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This harsh lesson of sudden wealth destroying what God has\ngiven, and in some cases believers who stood in the midst of that storm, just\nunderscores a cold fact. The harshest trials can come during times of extreme\nprosperity because we all underestimate pride, selfish ambition, and how we\nsinfully can take a good and perfect gift from God as a cause for division. We\nmust constantly be on guard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Elders and Deacons Must Not Take Sides <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Leaders: be warned. The modern Western church is wealthy\nbeyond any previous church in history. This means that there are plenty of\ndangerous lures for division\u2014but they never look that way. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to non-issues, even about legitimate (yet not\nmoral) goods, don\u2019t take sides. By your actions, you are giving arsenal to gossipers\nand dividers to dig trenches in the local assembly. By your actions, you are\ndrawing a dividing line which unnecessarily separates the believers based on\ntheir position on this non-moral issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the extremely<\/em> rare cases where you as a leader have\nto take a side on a non-moral non-theological non-essential issue (like Paul pointing\nout that meat isn\u2019t clean in and of itself in Romans 14:14) it\u2019s to be done in\nsuch a way that you\u2019re not personally invested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, you must be willing to sacrifice your\nposition in this issue for the sake of those around you. Paul would rather people\ncontinue avoiding meat, with the knowledge that it is clean, than have a\ndivision where people speak about that good as if it is evil. Then, he goes\nfurther, it is better not to even enjoy that common non-moral good than it is\nto have a brother or sister fall (Romans 14:21).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Concluding Thoughts on Division<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s in this self-sacrificial Christ-centered way that the modern church would be known by the love we have for one another while simultaneously known by our unshakeable unity with the total truthfulness of the living Christ<\/a>. Social media still might not like it but that doesn\u2019t matter. This would be an undeniable testimony of what the true church professes to believe. The church would in this case never pit unity against truth but rather passionately embrace the truth and each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The church would therefore rightly divide against denial of\nthe truth, abject sin, and those who cause division. At the same time the church\nwould be a diverse group of people willing to interact and submit to one another\nabout any countless non-moral good. This would come with the willing sacrifice\nof our own personal positions, always striving to be united in one mind and spirit,\nconstantly working until we all together grow to the full mature stature of\nChrist our head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this effort, elders should help the congregation along to avoid division in the church over non-essentials. Be mindful to identify those who are taking advantage by generating the divisions or leveraging their supposed weakness while simultaneously rarely (if ever) taking sides in non-essential issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The church today is known by her division. She\u2019s gotten a reputation. Maybe social media makes it seem worse than it is, but that doesn\u2019t matter. That said, this doesn\u2019t mean that all divisions are wrong. Paul, noting the divisions in ancient Corinth (1 Cor 11:18) pointed out that through divisions they would identify their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Not all divisions are wrong. But that doesn't mean that not all divisions are right either. This post examines the causes of division in the church.","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8,13],"tags":[942,939,943],"class_list":["post-4354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-church","category-human","tag-division","tag-love","tag-unity"],"yoast_head":"\nCauses of Division in the Church - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Is division in the local church ever allowed? Is unity at all costs the mark of true Christianity? What shouldn't Christians divide over? Read to find out.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/biblearchive.com\/blog\/causes-for-division-in-the-church-rey-reynoso-bible-archive\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Causes of Division in the Church - Rey Reynoso's Bible Archive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Is division in the local church ever allowed? Is unity at all costs the mark of true Christianity? What shouldn't Christians divide over? 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