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Four reasons for division in the church

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In a previous post, I outlined the problem of division in the church. Today I discuss the reasons why it takes place.

Causes of Division

DivisionI can think of four reasons why church leaders cause division over non-essentials:

  1. Pride
  2. Misunderstanding
  3. Insecurity and
  4. Idolatry

Pride

It is all too common to find those who feel superior to those who do not properly understand doctrine. If I am honest, I must admit that my inner Pharisee seeks to move me toward such feelings. It is easy to become proud.

Yet, this is not how we see Jesus and the Apostle Paul functioning in the New Testament. Yes, they taught and argued to bring people to a correct understanding of doctrine, but one does not sense in either Jesus or Paul any attitude that would promote division over non-essential doctrine. If anything, one senses feelings of sorrow over those who misunderstand the Gospel.

Paul points to Jesus as the example of one who humbled himself for the purpose of bringing us to salvation. The very Gospel that is to unite us was made possible by Jesus’ example of humility. To the Philippians Paul wrote:

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:5–11, ESV)

Misunderstanding

Those who promote division often have a misunderstanding of what it means to be set apart. Jesus told us that his coming would result in disagreement rather than peace. Jesus also told us that his followers would have to endure persecution.

But we should not be seeking the disagreement, it may find us, but it should be something that we try to avoid. If an offense is to come, let it be the offense of the gospel and not the offense of those who seek to speak in God’s name. We don’t need to take hard stands on issues such as the preferred Bible translation, or wearing of cosmetics or many of the really silly things that have divided believers over the years.

Jesus told us that the defining mark of the Christian is to be love. If anything is to set us apart from others it should be the radical way we love those around us.

Insecurity

I have seen in some a need to be reassured of being part of the “in” group. The insecurity manifests itself by setting up doctrinal litmus tests to see who is in and who is out. This could be over eschatology (the study of last things – interpretation of prophecy) or some other doctrine that is set up as the test for orthodoxy.

When I look at who hung around Jesus, I have to marvel that churches work so hard at defining who is in and who is not. Jesus hung around with drunkards, hookers, thieves, terrorists and every other category of societal outcast. The one and only test for inclusion into his group was a love for Jesus.

Why then do we feel the need to quantify who is in and who is not? Jesus knows. Can the knowledge that Jesus knows be enough for us?

Idolatry

I love Scripture. I spend time reading it and studying it so that I am on a path of increasing understanding of how God intends me to live and how I should understand the world around me. I believe that this study will lead me into correct belief and practice.

But there is a danger for those who put high value on correct understanding of the Bible. Our desire for correct understanding can eclipse our love for the one who gave us Scripture. In other words, we can be so enamored with correct understanding, we can lose sight of the purpose for gaining that understanding. Our study is to draw us more deeply in love with the God who gave us the Bible.

When our love for correct belief causes us to be unloving toward someone who believes differently, then perhaps we have made an idol out of our doctrine.

Conclusion

Jeremiah 17:9 tells us that our hearts can lead us astray. When division comes, the first place we should look for blame is in our own hearts. Am I causing division out of pride, misunderstanding, insecurity or idolatry? Am I working to be the cause of resolution to the division or am I promoting it?

Unfortunately, the world around us thinks of the church as judgmental and contentious. May we begin to allow God to change our hearts so that we can be known for our love?

Discussion questions: Do you agree with this assessment? Have you experienced any of these, and if so, how did you respond?

Division vs. Diversity in the Church

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DiversityI’ve been thinking about my post of 5 days ago regarding division in the church and feel the need to clarify something. Unity in the church does not equate to uniformity. We should not all look the same inside the church because the people in the culture around us are not all the same. Within the bounds of correct belief and practice is the opportunity for diversity.

I understand that diversity has become almost a technical term for support of LGBT rights, but I will use the word anyway.

Dictionary.com defines diversity this way:

  • the state or fact of being diverse; difference; unlikeness: diversity of opinion.
  • variety; multiformity.
  • a point of difference.

We do not all like the same kind of music, a particular preaching style will appeal to some and not others. Some enjoy the opportunities that large congregations provide and some like small gatherings. Some like liturgy and others are put off by it. You get the idea, there is room for the exercise of preference within the church. We should embrace diversity.

Diversity in the church is a good thing, we are to make the gospel understandable to all people. We need to be diverse in our approach to the culture around us.

So, the traditional church should not be smug about its adherence to tradition. The church that exercises freedom in worship should not feel itself superior to the “stuffy” churches around them.

The Apostle Paul addressed this in the Corinthian Church. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul takes them to task for allowing the use of the gifts of the spirit to cause division in the church. It was wrong then and it remains so now. Read 1 Corinthians 12-14 to understand Paul’s response to the Corinthian Church.

I worship at a church that does not place high value on liturgy and tradition. But that should not prevent us from working with churches in the area that are big on tradition. If we are united in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, our diversity in expression should not cause animosity between us.

We should be able to work together to bring the Gospel to our community in its various expressions. We should be able to give opportunity to draw people to Christ in a worship style that is appealing to them. Again I turn to Paul’s letter to the Corinthians where Paul states:

“To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” (1 Corinthians 9:20–23, ESV)

The point is that we should allow for diversity of expression so that we can present the message of Jesus Christ to the culture around us. We can be unified in our message of the Gospel while being diverse in our expression.

Diversity is a good thing.

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