Do Not Give In

What Courses division

Gal. 5:19-21; Rom. 16:17;

Food Act 6:1-3; Israel want cucumber

Money Stealing Church Money - Judas Joh 12:3-7

Accusation of misappropriation

Wastage

Sending money to others

Donating falsely

Position Disciple of Jesus

James and John Mat 20:20

Aaron and Mariam Num 12:1-10

Abiram Num 16:1-2; 32

Prefered Personality giftens and purification of giftens 1 Cor 3:4; John 3:22-36.

Teaching

Singing

Pastoring

Injustice

Unrightunrightfulful Judgement

Unbalance Judgement

Leaders Disagrement on Issue

Restance to Issues James 1:3

Resistance to a change

What does "division" mean?

📷There are three words in the New Testament (NT) which are translated "division" according to Strong's Concordance (which is keyed to the KJV):

diamerismos—breaking up; discord, hostility. This word is used twice in scripture:

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Gal. 5:19-21 NKJV) 17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. (Rom. 16:17 NKJV) dichostasia—division, dissension, standing apart. This word is used only once, by Jesus:

51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. (Luke 12:51 NIV) schisma—a rent, as in a garment; a division, dissention. This word appears 8 times in the NT:

16 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment; for the patch pulls away from the garment, and the tear is made worse. (Matt. 9:16 NKJV) 21 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. (Mark 2:21 NIV)

40 On hearing his words, some of the people said, “Surely this man is the Prophet.”

41 Others said, “He is the Messiah.”

Still others asked, “How can the Messiah come from Galilee? 42 Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David’s descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?” 43 Thus the people were divided because of Jesus. (John 7:40-43 NIV) 16 Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, “This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath.” But others were saying, “How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?” And there was a division among them. 17 So they *said to the blind man again, “What do you say about Him, since He opened your eyes?” And he said, “He is a prophet.” (John 9:16-17 NASB) 19 Then a fresh division of opinion arose among the Jews because of His saying these things. (John 10:19 AMP)

Characteristics of a Divisive Person

📷How can I tell if a person is creating division according to the biblical use of the word? Let's let the Bible answer this as well. Look more closely at the context of the word and we can identify characteristics of the divisive individuals living in the first century.

They cause offenses (Rom. 16:17). The Greek word "offenses" here means "a snare, stumbling-block, cause for error." It does not mean he/she "upset me" or "said/did something I disliked." In other words, the divisive person causes others to trip up (stumble) and sin in their walk with GOD. They do not follow NT teaching ("the doctrine which you have learned"—Rom. 16:17). This does not mean that the allegedly-divisive person believes 100% the same thing that I do about every topic. The NT shows us that Christians can disagree over non-essential matters. Paul and Barnabas disagreed contentiously (Acts 15:36-40). The entire chapter of Rom. 14 is devoted to "disputable matters" over which Christians disagreed (and still do). Instead, Rom. 16:17 is referring to an individual that is following and/or teaching a "different gospel, which is not another" (Gal. 1:6-9). They do not serve the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 16:18). Jesus said:

15 “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? 17 So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 So then, you will know them by their fruits. (Matt. 7:15-20 NASB)

What kind of life does the person lead? Are they known as an imitator of Jesus or do their works betray them as a hypocrite or an evildoer?

They serve their own belly (Rom. 16:18). What does the person stand to gain from their actions? Do they appear to be motivated by greed or selfishness? Again, as Jesus said our fruit tells others what type of person we are. They deceive simple-minded people with their speech (Rom. 16:18). Look at the person's companions. Are they people you would consider to be simple-minded people, babies in Christ, milk-eating Christians unable to discern right and wrong? Or are they people who think for themselves and have a reputation for searching the scriptures diligently and studying the Word (Eph. 4:12-16)? This should tell us a lot. They seek to have people say, "I am of <insert person's name here>.", rather than, "I am of Jesus." Paul discussed this problem at the division-plagued Corinthian church:

10 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. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 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.”

13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. (1 Cor. 1:10-15 NIV)

As a bit of an aside, these verses are a key reason why denominations bother me, and why I've chosen not to be part of one. "I follow Apollos," sounds a lot like "I'm a Southern Baptist," and "I follow Cephas," sounds like "I'm a Calvinist," and "I follow Christ" like "I'm a Church of Christ-er." I believe it is absolutely possible for modern day Christ-followers to be Christians without being part of a denomination or possessing what I call a denominational mentality (i.e., the attitude that all Christians are part of some denomination and that Jesus' body is comprised of the collection of all denominations). I intend to write more about this in the future and, once I do, I'll link that post(s) here. In the meantime, you can read more of my thoughts on this in the bonus download at the end of this article. Their other works can be found in Gal. 5:19-21:

19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.  (Gal. 5:19-21 NIV)

They seek recognition among their brethren (1 Cor. 11:18-19).

They don't care about other members of Jesus' body (1 Cor. 12:25).

They are grumblers and complainers (Jude 16).

They walk in their own lusts (Jude 16).

They flatter people with their speech in order to gain an advantage (Jude 16).

They are mockers (Jude 18).

They are worldly-minded (Jude 19).

They do not have the Spirit of GOD (Jude 19).

Internal driving spirit

Counting oneself as wise 1 Cor 3:18