Wherever there is a faithful and discerning believer willing to step out on a limb and warn others about a false teacher or teaching, there is always a crowd of professing Christians there to start the outcry: “You’re causing division in the body of Christ! Just leave them alone! Plenty of people are getting saved and are being helped by this person/ministry/teaching! You’re just sour, or jealous, or bitter and unloving!”…etc. On and on the accusations go. I’ve been on the receiving end of this myself.
If I’m honest, though, I’ve been there…when I was younger in the faith; more impressionable, more naïve, and less understanding of the scriptures that familiarity, growth, teaching and study give those who have maturity. And while I don’t claim to be a mature Christian, I’m certainly not a baby anymore. I’m maturING, praise God. He in His wisdom and preservation have kept me from falling into dangerous traps of many wrong teachings and teachers, and given me a love for Scripture that makes me long for understanding, and love those who teach God’s word thoroughly and without personal bias or compromise. And increasingly, I appreciate those who are more mature than I who are willing and loving enough to warn me and others away from bad teachers and ideas, and point us to the truth.
But, as I’ve had this attitude myself in my younger days, and see it constantly now directed toward people I have great respect for, I would like to have an answer for this accusation about causing division. Is this a legitimate concern? Are these discerning people really just stirring up trouble and attacking good people? And, even if their concerns are legitimate, shouldn’t they just leave them alone and “let God judge them?”
There’s a short answer to this: No.
Emphatically no.
Precisely the opposite.
I’d like to introduce at this juncture someone who was, according to God’s word, excellent at causing division. It happened everywhere he went. His name is the apostle Paul.
One account of this occurrence is found in Acts 14, verses 1-5.
Verse 1:“At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed.”
Wow! These guys were amazing preachers and teachers and proponents of the gospel! A “great number” believed! What a wonderful ministry these men had!
Well…the account doesn’t stop there. But I want to say here that most Bible teachers are measured by this yardstick, and this one only. Is their “ministry” effective? Do they have a lot of followers? Are they amazing and effective speakers? Do they get visible results?
Let’s read on.
Verse 2: “But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.”
Ah, so now we have opposition. This was typical of Paul’s ministry. He would preach the truth, unfiltered, unvarnished, unapologetically. The Lord would use the faithful preaching of His truth to change hearts and souls and bring them to salvation in Jesus Christ. But they had enemies…vicious enemies.
Who were they? The pagans? The ungodly? Nope. They were the Jews. Religious people, devout people; people devoted to the word of God—at least, in all appearances. The problem was they hated the parts about their sin. They hated the parts that accused them and called them to turn from their self-serving self-righteousness, to admit their helplessness, and to trust fully in the God-Man their leaders had just crucified, but who His followers testified had risen from the dead and was proclaiming as their Messiah and Savior. The call to repent and turn from their sins was far too humbling and far too costly. So their strategy is to stir up the general populace against them and attempt to make their ministry ineffective…to gain more people to their side.
So, Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet and left the city.
Uh, no. That’s not what happened. They were emboldened by the opposition:
“So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly…” (verse 3a).
They spoke even more boldly. They stayed, loving these people enough to refute the lies spread about them and their message. And then what happened? God blessed them even more and authenticated their message with miracles, as He often did with the apostles who were spreading this new message of salvation in the finished work of Jesus Christ. The miracles weren’t performed in order to impress and amaze, but to prove that their message was truly from “…the Lord, who comfirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to do miraculous signs….” (verse 3b). This, by the way, is the legitimate purpose of the miraculous sign gifts given to some of the early believers. It was a confirmation that the ones who were able to do these signs and wonders were enabled by God and that their message was true. This was true in Jesus’ ministry as well, as attested by the man He had healed who had been born blind: “We know that God does not listen to sinners. He listens to the godly man who does his will. Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing” (John 9:31-32).
But back to Paul and Barnabas.
What happened to the people of the city because of their godly preaching and miracle working? If you listen to people today, you would think there would be a city-wide revival. Their favorite Bible teacher has scads of followers. Their revered leader performs healings. If we add up all the people who follow them and claim to follow Jesus, we ought to have revival and godliness breaking out all over the place! Is this what Paul, the beloved apostle who wrote 13 of the New Testament books by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, experienced?
Again, no.
(Verse 4a):“The people of the city were divided…”
Ack! What? Divided? Division? Paul and Barnabas caused division?
Okay, maybe they divided the people who believed the Old Testament from those who rejected it. Right? Surely he would have united those who all claimed to believe the scriptures if he was truly godly!
Guess again. Still no.
(Verse 4b): “…Some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.”
The division was between groups of people who both claimed to believe and be dedicated to the scriptures! The reason? The Jews claimed to believe the scriptures, but twisted them to fit their own beliefs--and promoted false teaching--while the apostles actually believed the scriptures and taught the full, offensive, unflattering truth. And they weren’t shy about saying the Jews were wrong. See what scathing words Paul has to say about those scripture wielding, Law-abiding Jews who seemed sincere, and were promoting good works as part of salvation: “Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (Gal. 1:7-9)
He soundly condemned the teaching of those who were trying to look good in the eyes of men, and in so doing condemning themselves and perverting the gospel—making it into no gospel at all! “Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?”
Whew! Paul himself would be condemned by today’s audience for his biting remarks toward those who seem to be going around claiming to teach the Bible and promote godliness and truth, but are really perverting its message--by either adding to it or leaving things out or redefining or replacing its teaching with softer words.
So what happened to Paul and Barnabas in Iconium?
“There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to…Lystra and Derbe and the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the good news” (verses 5-6).
I find myself asking, who wasn’t involved in this evil plot? It seems like everyone except the true believers are on board! Here is unity, if unity is what people are looking for. Gentiles and Jews were generally not very genial toward one another, but in this case, their hatred for the truth united them…much like the enemies of Jesus: Pharisees and Sadducees, who were theologically in opposition to one another (see Acts 23:6-7), and Herod and Pilate, who were enemies until the day they turned Jesus over to be condemned, and from then on were friends (Luke 23:12). These people united their forces against the truth. This is where we end up when we sacrifice truth at the altar of unity.
Truth must trump unity. Division will and must occur when truth and almost-but-not-quite-truth meet. This is necessary. This is important. Why? “For there are many rebellious people, mere talkers and deceivers, especially of the circumcision group. They must be silenced, because they are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach” (Titus 1:10). Who are these rebellious people? Obvious sinners? Devil worshippers? Nope. They are religious, scripture quoting teachers…those “of the circumcision group”. And “they must be silenced”! But how?
Now this gets interesting. “Therefore rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of those who reject the truth.” (Titus 1:13-14) Do you know who the “them” is Paul is saying to rebuke? Not the false teachers…but the believers who are listening to them! Why? So that they will be “sound in faith” and refuse to listen to those who “reject the truth”!
We are far too easily offended. Do we not realize how vulnerable we are to deception? Do we not know how deceitful our own hearts can be? Do we not recognize our own need for wisdom and God’s guidance through careful study of His word and the wisdom of mature believers who go before us and love us enough to protect us?
Division isn’t always a bad thing. Jesus said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be members of his own household’” (Matt. 10:34-36). And Paul, even when rebuking a troubled church for its division acknowledges: “When you come together as a church, I hear that divisions exist among you, and in part I believe it. For there must also be factions among you so that those who are approved may become evident among you.”
The truth must be divided from error. We need to listen and receive correction humbly, and take the warnings from more seasoned and biblically literate believers seriously. Let us examine the scriptures diligently as the Bereans (Acts17:11)…that we “may learn not to exceed what is written, so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other” (1 Cor. 4:6).
Truth necessarily divides. Lies can't be included. Half-truths don't belong. Subtle almost-truths must be pointed out and warned against lest they be the wedge that widens the door to more and more wrong thinking.
"The precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes...Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward."
~Psalm 19:8,11
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