Bible Thoughts November 28, 1999
"Now I beseech you brethren, through 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 perfected together in the same
mind and in the same judgment"(I Corinthians 1:10).
One of the saddest events that can occur among the Lord's people is that of division. The church at Corinth had a problem with this and Paul is attempting to get such corrected. He would point out that Christ is not divided, that no one was crucified for them but Christ, and they were not baptized into some man. Holding allegiance to those who would lead the saints astray and causing division seems to plague the people of God throughout her history. It occurred not only in apostolic times, but has taken place in generations since. Satan does his work well when it comes to many situations that disrupt the unity of the Lord's church.
While there are many examples from the history of the Lord's church since Pentecost that could be used to illustrate the point of this message, the division that occurred in the generation that followed World War II can serve to prove the point. Men began to create human institutions for the spread of the gospel and the care of the needy that had no Bible basis for existence. Many passages were used to prove that point; many debates were held to try to resolve the scripturalness or unscripturalness of such practices. It became evident that no New Testament passages justified the existence of the institutions of men built by brethren. The introduction of those human inventions forced many to leave the congregation of which they were a part in order to please God with a clear conscience. The result of this division stands today as a monument to the innovations of men.
During the time of the aforementioned divisions, the faithful resolved they would support the work and organization of the church as found in the New Testament. Those who supported such human organizations forced brethren to mark those causing division and form new congregations in order to carry out the commands of God. Convictions brought forth by obeying the truth caused a separation from the innovators. The division that has followed is truly a monument to the works of men and the devastating affect that such has on the Lord's people. Yet, those who stood firm for the truth held their ground and followed the New Testament pattern on the fields of benevolence and evangelism. Many congregations became strong advocates for the Lord's way and grew in spirit and in number. There stands today churches throughout our land who have not sold their souls in following the ways of men.
There also arose those who had personal agendas that would cause problems and, yes--even division, among the faithful. These type of divisions resolved around personal opinions and preferences rather than the word of God. Battles over the Lord's Supper at night, whether the church could have a treasury, the appointment of elders, the located preacher, use of Bible classes, and a myriad of other issues arose. Too often, rather than solve the problem in the light of God's word, a few would separate from the local body and begin meeting in homes. This writer is acquainted with incidents of this nature. The local body was splintered and a work was hindered over issues that should have been easily settled by the scriptures. Rather than use this approach, a few would leave to pursue their own agendas. This writer only knows of one such separation that proved to turn out for the good. This happened because the leaders of the faction moved away and some good brethren became involved in the local work.
Issues that cause division and separation of brethren are, too often, matters of personal preference that should never be a problem. Some don't like what the elders are doing(even though they cannot prove it unscriptural) or they don't care for the preacher or the Bible classes or the procedure for services or the friendliness(or lack) of the brethren, and a host of petty items that has little to do with what the scriptures teach. How shameful that we permit ourselves, as the body of Christ, to let our humanity overshadow what is right and often bring sorrow among the saints. And so, unhappy with a local situation, there are those who will rush out and start meeting in other places(often a home), separating themselves from a faithful group of Christians.
The proper approach in these matters is to resolve that the Word of God will be the criteria for settling difficulties and differences. One's personal preferences(likes and dislikes) is not the standard for deciding what is good in God's sight. Only the scriptures have the answers and if we appeal to anything else, including our feelings, emotions, and personal likes and dislikes, we are wrong! That is me and that is you!
If a congregation is doing something wrong, it needs to be pointed out. If the preacher or teachers are teaching something that is wrong, it must be confronted. There was no problem in the institutional battle of the past in regard to settling a problem: faithful Christians pointed out what the scriptures taught.
Let not the body of Christ in any locality be splintered by those who become unhappy because things do not go their way, even though nothing wrong can be established. Personal agendas should never be allowed to hinder the work of the church in any community. Paul did not want the brethren at Corinth to be lined up behind him or Apollos or Cephas. The inspired apostle wanted unity and peace based upon the will of Jesus Christ. Should we settle for anything less?