WATCH OUT FOR THOSE WHO CAUSE DIVISIONS
WATCH OUT FOR THOSE WHO CAUSE DIVISIONS
“I urge you, brothers and sisters, 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. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.” (Rom. 16:17-18).
Rome, as you know, was once the capital of the world. At that time people from all over the Empire lived in Rome. When these diverse people came to Christ their different languages and cultures made unity in the church more difficult. Sadly, Satan infiltrated the church and used these differences to cause divisions. Causing division, as our text indicates, was “contrary to the teaching” they had learned. Jesus wants the church to be united. At the risk of omitting important verses, here are a few Scriptures selected from the book of Romans that stress the importance of unity.
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“Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.” (Rom. 13:8-10).
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“Accept those whose faith is weak without passing judgment on disputable matters” (Rom. 14:1).
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“Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls” (Rom. 14:4).
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“Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.” (Rom. 14:13).
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“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and mutual edification” (Rom. 14:19).
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“We that are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up” (Rom. 15:1-2). •
“Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you in order to bring praise to God” (Rom. 15:7).
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With these Scriptures in mind, Paul warns the brethren to watch out for those who cause divisions. Causing divisions is contrary to the teaching of Christ! People who cause division are not serving our Lord Christ but their own appetites!
CHRISTIAN UNITY AND WORLD EVANGELISM
John chapter 17 contains the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in the Bible. Jesus prayed this prayer the night before He was crucified. His prayer is divided into three parts. First, He prayed for Himself (Jn. 17:1-5). Secondly, He prayed for His apostles (Jn. 17:6-19). Finally He prayed for everyone who would believe in Him because of the testimony of the apostles.
Please note that Jesus made an association between the unity of believers and world evangelism: “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” (Jn. 17:20-21)
Jesus prayed that we would be “one” so that “the world may believe”. A divided church will not win the world for Christ. This is why the devil is so focused on dividing the church.
DESCRIBING THOSE WHO DIVIDE THE CHURCH
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They are not serving our Lord Christ but their own appetites (Rom. 16:18).
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“In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” Yet these people slander whatever they do not understand, and the very things they do understand by instinct—as irrational animals do—will destroy them. Woe to them! They have taken the way of Cain; they have rushed for profit into Balaam’s error; they have been destroyed in Korah’s rebellion. These people are blemishes at your love feasts, eating with you without the slightest qualm—shepherds who feed only themselves. They are clouds without rain, blown along by the wind; autumn trees, without fruit and uprooted—twice dead. They are wild waves of the sea, foaming up their shame; wandering stars, for whom blackest darkness has been reserved forever.” (Jude 1:8-13) “These are the men who divide you, who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit (Jude 1:19).
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Those who divide the church are like Diotrephes who loved to be first and refused to welcome the brothers (3rd John 10).
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“I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul?” (1 Cor. 1:10-13).
- “God is not a God of disorder, but of peace” (1 Cor. 14:33).
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“For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.” (II Cor. 11:13-15).
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“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.” (Acts 20:29-30).
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“But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. Many will follow their depraved conduct and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. In their greed these teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.” (2 Pet. 2:1-3).
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Etc.
LOVE IS THE ANSWER
“One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.” (Mark 12:28-34)
This teaching about love has always been in the Bible. “This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another” (1 Jn. 3:11). Loving God with all your heart is found in Deut. 6:4-9) and loving your neighbor as yourself is in Lev. 19:18. The disciples knew these Scriptures but lacked the power to put them into practice. Throughout their three years with Jesus they had many disagreements, and they seemed to be growing worse. On the night before Jesus died they were indignant with one another (Matt. 20:24). Instead of loving one another they were constantly arguing about which of them was the greatest. (Matt. 20:20-28; Lk. 22:24-27).
The command to love was an old commandment, but Jesus gave them a “new” commandment about love. He said: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (Jn. 13:34-35). Loving as Jesus loved was now the new standard!
Just as Jesus was “supernatural” this “new” love was also “supernatural”! No amount of teaching could produce this kind of love it had to come from God. So Jesus commanded His disciples: “Stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Lk. 24:49). This command was repeated in the book of Acts “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised” (Acts 1:4). “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). It was only after the Holy Spirit came that they were sent to evangelize the world.
Remember! The “fruit of the Spirit” is love (Gal. 5:22). It is this supernatural love that solves the problem of division in the church!
THE SUPERNATURAL LOVE OF CHRIST IN PAUL
The supernatural love of Jesus is manifest by His willingness to forgive the men who crucified Him. These cruel men had beaten and spat upon Jesus. They had treated Him with total disrespect. They had mocked His deity and scourged him without mercy. They had compelled him to carry his cross until he fell beneath it’s weight. They had driven nails into his hands and feet and then sat down to gamble for His garments. That’s when Jesus said: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk. 23:42).
This supernatural love is precisely the kind of love that Paul had for the Jews who persecuted him. Please consider:
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After Paul’s conversion the Jews in Damascus conspired to kill him (Acts 9:23).
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When he came to Jerusalem the Jews again tried to kill him (Acts 9:29).
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The Jews stirred up persecution against Paul and drove him out of Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13:50). Paul then went to Iconium.
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Then the Jews in Iconium conspired to mistreat and stone Paul but he escaped to Lystra (Acts 14:5-7).
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The Jews from Antioch and Iconium followed Paul to Lystra and persuaded a mob to stone him. They did stone Paul and dragged him out of the city thinking he was dead. God, however, raised him up and the next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe (Acts 14:19-20).
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The Jews also persecuted Paul in Thessalonica, Berea, Corinth, and Ephesus. In Jerusalem some Jews from the province of Asia had Paul put in prison. Then more than 40 Jews took a vow that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul (Acts 23:12-14).
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Paul summarized his persecution by the Jews to the Corinthians: “Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” (2 Cor. 11:24-28)
WE TOO NEED THIS LOVE THAT SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE
Paul explained to the Corinthians that it was the love of Christ that compelled him (2 Cor. 5:14). Please prayerfully consider Paul’s love for the Jews. “I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit—I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen.” (Rom. 9:1-5). This kind of love cannot be learned in a class room, it has to come from God! Those who have this kind of love will never cause divisions in the church!
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Eph. 3:14-21)