Keep Away From Divisive People
“I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.” – Romans 16:17
In their book “Winsome Conviction”, doctors Tim Muehlhoff and Richard Langer write: “What is the greatest threat to the church of Jesus Christ today? There are so many threats to choose from. Some Christians would identify hazards like postmodern relativism working to unravel notions of truth and the rise of the LGBTQ agenda, intending to turn traditional sexual norms on their head. For others, the great threats to the church look different.
Other Christians feel our most existential threat is the inability to achieve racial justice, or our refusal to confront sexual predators within the clergy, or sexism within our culture. At a global level, relentless persecution and the rise of Islamic fundamentalism threaten the lives of individual Christians and the very existence of the church. But without denying the significance of any of these threats, we believe the greatest threat to the church today is the same as it has been in every generation since the New Testament was written: quarreling.
Persecution strengthens the church. Intellectual and cultural challenges deepen our faith and stimulate our theological thinking. Ethical commitments that conflict with the culture make us stand out as salt and light—or at times may provoke us to purify our own lives to become better salt and light.
Quarreling, on the other hand, is insidiously dangerous because it kills from within. The existential threat of quarreling leaps from the text of almost every New Testament epistle.
Whether the letter is long or short (1 Corinthians or Philemon), quarreling is addressed.
Whether the church is doing well or doing poorly (Philippians or Galatians), quarreling is addressed. Whether the tenor of the epistle is doctrinal (Romans) or personal (2 Timothy), quarreling is addressed. Clearly, the New Testament views this type of discord as a life-threatening virus, a metastasizing cancer set on destroying its host.”
Divisiveness is contrary to loving people. As Christians, we need to show the love of Jesus Christ to everyone.
Thank the Lord for His love for you and the opportunity to love others. Avoid divisiveness and seek to bring glory to Christ.
“Discord and division become no Christian. For wolves worrying lambs is no wonder, but for one lamb to worry another, this is unnatural and monstrous.” – Thomas Brooks
“Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.” – Titus 3:10