Romans 16: 17I 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. 18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
It's important for Christians to be nice and loving people, but just because Someone might give the appearance of being nice and loving, doesn't means that they are doing God's work.
The things that God hatesare listed in Proverbs 6:16-19 "There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers."
I think quite a few of them would be directed to false teachers as they go about saying the wrong things that lead othersaway.
Interesting subject for sure! First, we'd have to understand just how "divisive" is meant. I don't think there is anyone here that posts on a regular basis that hasn't disagreed at one time or another--is that devisive? The thread I started not too long ago about religious titles--there was scripture to back the argument, but many have no problem with it--was I devisive in posting the scripture?
I don't think for a minute that we should just let anything go to avoid a debate. I'd have to agree with what Goose said. Correcting someone in error is not sowing discord, or causing division. The division comes when someone uses opinion, personal feelings, tradition, etc. as the final authority rather than the Bible.
Chad
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"We can have no '50-50' allegiance in this country. Either a man is an American and nothing else, or he is not an American at all."-- Theodore Roosevelt
A wise man's heart is at his right hand; but a fool's heart at his left. Ecclesiasties 10:2
The last four letters in American..........I Can
The last four letters in Republican........I Can
The last four letters in Democrats.........Rats
Erroneous forms of or bases for reasoning commonly used to create or maintain divisions in the Body of Christ
Division in the Church is generally based upon false assumptions or poor logic
The scriptures tell us in numerous places that the Body of Christ is just that -- one Body, already united in oneness in a single Spirit. (For two different authors' expositions of this point, see Lauston Stephens' Pursuing Oneness in Christ and my own Christian-oneness.org). This truth cannot be changed by our failure to accurately perceive it. Therefore, any division in that Body, anything that causes strife or that causes two members of the Body to fail to recognize each other as members of Christ, cannot be the result of correct perception and accurate thought. It must result from some error on our part.
Of course, our experience teaches us that most of the strife which occurs between individual Christians is caused by the unfulfilled (and usually unjustified) expectations of one or both of the parties that their personal needs and desires would be fulfilled (see James 4), from the lust for power (see 3 John) or from hurt pride. These motives by themselves are usually sufficient to keep strife going between individuals, and they are the real underlying motives that generally start wars between larger groups of Christians as well. However, wars between groups of Christians can only continue over long periods of time if they become institutionalized. Institutionalization of disputes between Christians requires, in turn, that the leadership groups on both or all sides, those who would really stand to lose something if the fight died, must recruit and maintain groups of followers who will not question the necessity for the dispute even though it is not really their fight. Convincing followers to accept their leaders' disputes as their own, in turn, requires convincing arguments. But these arguments in favor of strife among God's people are always based upon one or more illogical arguments or false assumptions about the nature of God, the nature of the individual believer or the nature of the Church.
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Jesus said, "he who stands firm to the end will be saved" Mark 13:13.
Live Life in such a way that those who do not know Christ will come to know Him because they know you
Divisivness , like beauty and many other things, is in the eye of the beholder. One can view another as divisive simply because they are not following an agenda of someone else. The word of God is divisive in itself. . .seperating the true from the false. Division is a fact of life this side of Jesus returning.
__________________ And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.
Could one not consider it divisive when an individual intepets scripture differently then another and they say that thier interpitation is correct and the others is wrong even though they both are able to back thier view with scripture?
There are numerous issues that we all agree on, and others we are worlds apart on due to our interpatations being different.
IMO when we agree to disagree on interpatation where both sides have scripture to back them, this is not divisive.
But IMO when there is no agreement to disagree on interpatation where both sides have scripture to back them and one claims that they hold the truth and the other is wrong, this is divisive.
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The Tazman aka Martin Price
Proud father of a Devil Dog
2 Peter 1:19-21 "And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone"™s own interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit."
We should discard our opinions and ideas and let the Bible speak for itself. It doesn't have to be interpreted. It interprets itself. God is powerful enough to speak to us and tell us everything we need and in a way that we all can understand. It is not hard to read 1 Corinthians 1:10 "I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment." And to realize that division is not God's plan for His people. We can be unified on the words of the Bible alone. It is the opinions and "interpretations" of men that cause divisions and divisiveness. Nehemiah 8:8 "They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading." I know it is a crazy expectation and dream, but it's mine, and I'llseek for it forever. You know, as I have said over and over - "Speak where the Bible speaks, and be silent where the Bible is silent."
About divisive people...
