Church divisions hurt the Lord’s church
The thing that weakens the church the most is the people being people.
Paul’s opening comments in 1 Corinthians deal with members grouping up according to who baptized them. The person who immerses us into the water is probably the least important thing about this step toward salvation, but we see that they found a way to make it an issue. (1 Corinthians 1:10-13) Paul taught Christians to unify the church by focusing on the single source of faith. (Ephesians 4:1-7) We often forget to do that.
Paul also gave us a pretty good standard to follow to help us avoid similar situations.
He named names (1 Corinthians 1:11)
Paul told everyone where he heard about the divisions that were forming and showed us the key to avoiding rumors and gossip – Never say anything you wouldn’t want quoted. Paul goes on to deal with their specific problem, but we can use his pattern to solve our own issues.
The only way we will ever come together on divisive situations is to return to God’s word. More and more, we hear language such as “I think,” or “I believe,” or “In my opinion.” In the Dale Carnegie classes about conflict resolution, the participants are taught that these kinds of words never have a place in an argument. The class teaches the students to lead with factual sources.
This is doubly true when it comes to discussing God’s word.
There is only ONE Lord …
The only thing that matters is what HE said.
August 4, 2014
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