No Divisions

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 1:10, wrote a passionate plea, “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.” The situation at the church of Christ in the ancient city of Corinth was this: “Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:12). The church had become divided into four disparate groups, each pledging their allegiance to some faction. The congregation lacked unity. It was in danger of breaking apart. Paul was inspired to write the book of First Corinthians in order to avoid that outcome.

Unity, solidarity, and loyalty are keys to the success or failure of every congregation of the Lord’s people. In the Lord’s prayer, recorded in the book of John, Jesus prayed for the apostles, and then He prayed for us — “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me” (John 17:20-21). It is our responsibility to carry out the Lord’s wishes. Are we helping to make the Lord’s prayer a reality, or are we standing in the way of that goal?

These Scriptures all beg the question: “How can this be possible?” How can so many different people, with different opinions and different points of view “be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment?” Some would argue that such a feat is impossible, but the Bible reveals the answer. “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5). If we will all agree simply to obey the will of the Lord, then we need not be divided into various sects. We can stand united, if all stand upon the will of Jesus Christ. It is the only solid foundation upon which religious unity can be based. “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable” (James 3:17).

When we abandon the will of the Lord, in favor of our own will, or the will of some other human being, then the church begins to fracture and divide. Such division is sinful and shall provoke the wrath of God against us (1 Corinthians 12:25). Sometimes, it is necessary for there to be division in the body of Christ. When Christians behave in an ungodly manner, it may be necessary for the church to withdraw its fellowship from those who will not repent and change their ways (2 Thessalonians 3:6, 14-15). When preachers preach false doctrine, sound brethren are to “mark” and “avoid” them (Romans 16:17-18). Christians have an obligation to uphold the unity of the church, but not at the expense of doctrinal soundness!

That is why it is important for every Christian to understand the difference between religious issues, which are matters of opinion, and those which are matters of faith. The Lord’s church ought never to be divided over a matter of opinion. It is only natural that there will be conflicting opinions in a large group of people, but how we respond to those conflicts makes all the difference. Jesus taught us to “deny” ourselves (Luke 9:23). That means that, when things don’t go our way at church, we DON’T set out to try and split the church! As a preacher, my own “tongue-in-cheek” view of such conflicts has always been: “Sometimes, you just have to let the brethren do some stupid things.”

When it comes to matters of faith, it may be necessary to draw a proverbial “line in the sand.” It is the duty of every faithful Christian to insist upon sound preaching and teaching, as well as religious practices that are in harmony with God’s will. If we see or hear something that is unscriptural, then we must sound the alarm (1 Thessalonians 5:21). If we do not deal with false brethren in the church, then there is no telling how much damage they might do. As Paul put it, in 2 Timothy 2:16, “their word will eat as doth a canker.” Literally, they are a “cancer” in the body of Christ, which needs to be removed.

In October of 1986, a group of about 150 Christians split off of our congregation to form another church to compete with us for the souls of our community. No one asked them to leave us. They were not “kicked out.” Some of them have claimed that they left because of a “personality conflict.” If so, then they are guilty of having divided the body of Christ for no good reason. Others claim that they left so they could be free to teach and practice things that are contrary to the New Testament. Either way, they are guilty of sin and they need to repent. We hope and pray that the day will come when they will repent and rejoin the Lord’s body (2 Peter 3:9).