Good morning and welcome in everyone. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
Many people have already filed their taxes this year, visiting an accountant or going to a tax preparer. Have you ever noticed that when you enter a tax preparer’s office, they normally have many small cubicles with a desk and some chairs. Sometimes they do the same thing at a college library. These partitions are meant to separate or divide you from the person next to you. When I was in elementary school we used to go to the gymnasium and the teacher would ask a few strong boys to go over to the wall and pull out a huge partition that made the entire gymnasium into two smaller ones. This was so the older children were separated from the younger ones.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
The teachings of Christ are like a partition that divides a room in two. It all comes down to what side of the partition that you are going to be on.
Luke 12:51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
Just as a knife can separate an apple into two parts, the Word of God is a spiritual sword that can divide friends, family, relatives, and neighbors. Those who won’t accept scriptural truth, enter into conflict with others who wholeheartedly receive and trust it. The source of division is God’s Word. We can never turn away our ears from the truth, by rejecting what the Bible commands. If you did, you would never have the desire to repent, to change, to confess or admit fault, or become converted. You can’t become a doer of God’s Word if you refuse to obey it. How can you excel at a job if you refuse to obey the owner? When you point people to scripture but they refuse to accept it through unbelief, it results in two contrary opinions. One who believes what it says and one who doesn’t. This causes division. Those who turn from the truth will end up being separated forever from Christ and those who love and serve Him.
2 Timothy 4:3-4 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
Division means to disagree with someone on a certain matter. Disagreement means to be at variance, discord, or contention with others or a failure to agree on something. It’s amazing to me that a common saying in the world today is “let’s agree to disagree.” That may work in the world, but not in the church. In the Christian church, we are supposed to be joined together perfectly in one mind and in one Spirit.
Philippians 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
If somebody is struggling with biblical truth, or weak in their faith, they need to keep their opinions to themselves, and not to express these views or cause doubtful disputations with other people within the church because it can cause a break of unity, that they would be responsible for. It can also cause fellowship issues with the under shepherds of the Lord, and can result in heretical expulsion.
The thing that brings unity and joins us all together in oneness within the church is our faith in scriptural teachings. When people hold different opinions, contrary from what the scriptures clearly teach, people are entering into a place of heresy. The teachings of the Bible is what our entire faith is based upon. What happens generally in their own mind is that they refuse to accept the truth. Because of that refusal they don’t want to admit fault. What they do is justify themselves, rather than allow their heart to be convicted of the error of their ways, which would cause them to repent and confess their misdeeds. It’s an impenitent heart that ultimately results in division and separation from others who truly believe in Christ.
The Apostle Paul did not want division in the church but to be united together under the same teachings. There will be those who leave the church and don’t return anymore because they reject scripture. They turn themselves into an anti-christ, who deny the truth.
1 John 2:18-19 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
When you are part of a church group, joined with them through baptism and communion, there is not supposed to be divisions going on amongst the members, but Spiritual unity.
1 Corinthians 1:10-11 Now I beseech you, brethren, by 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 perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.
These things are not supposed to happen if everyone is joined together, striving for the faith of the gospel. The Bible is our authority, and it’s teachings are like a sword that is forged in a fire. It’s unchangeable. It’s been sharpened and ready for battle. The reasons why people become contentious is because of somebody’s disinclination to obey it, which creates division with others. Instead of allowing their hearts and minds to be judged by scripture, they set themselves up as their own judge and jury. As their unbelief progresses, some of them begin to claim that the Bible is actually incorrect, or some of the people that God used were in the flesh when they wrote it. They will go even further by trying to use scripture to justify their own heretical beliefs. This creates division, not only from others, but with our blessed God.
Christianity is learning to say, I was wrong and God is right. Anybody who truly is going to attempt to become a saint, needs to believe and accept the same things that the rest of the true church does. The Bible is there to correct, rebuke, and admonish us, so that we can do the will of God. When people don’t accept the truth, the only thing left for them is to believe a lie, which will ultimately result in…..
……The Great Divide
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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