Works of the Flesh: Divisions

Let us continue our examination of the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-20 with "divisions":

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these: fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousies, wraths, factions, divisions, parties...

The word translated here as "divisions" is the Greek word dichostasia, defined by Thayer's as, "dissension, division". In the New Testament, it appears that this term is directed specifically at those who would cause divisions within the church itself (this will be made more evident in our future discussion on "sects"). Paul even says that the brethren are to "mark" those that cause the divisions and occasions of stumbling (Romans 16:17).

From this usage we may reasonably conclude that we must stay away from division. Jesus prayed for unity, not division, for His disciples (John 17:20-23). God's desire, then, for His people to be unified, and not divided. Yet, in a way, we may see a paradox with Paul's statement in Romans 16:17: if we are to be unified, how can we "mark" one who desires to cause division, because is that not a form of division in and of itself? If we think about this, and search the Scriptures, we may find that we cannot simply say that we must always have unity, and that there is never a cause for division that is justifiable: such would cause, as we shall see, glaring contradictions in the Scriptures. It must be said that there are only a very few times when division is the only option to heal a dispute, and in those times generally someone has a false conviction or does not heed the message of the Scriptures. Let us look at what types of things may trigger division and see how the Christian ought to respond.

Many times divisions might be triggered because some members of the church begin to believe that practices not specifically or generically authorized by the Scriptures are actual liberties and may be practiced without sin, yet perhaps some other members of that church may not believe such things. They may not be convinced that the practice is a liberty, and desire to practice without it. From Romans 14:13-18, 23, the following truths are evident: if one is not convicted that a practice is right in the sight of God, that person has no right to perform that practice. Likewise, if a brother or a group of brethren believe some practice to be a liberty and another brother or part of that group of brethren do not hold that belief, those without belief ought not be compelled to sin against their conscience and those who believe in the liberty need to forsake it to continue in unity.

Unfortunately, in the Lord's body today many brethren simply dismiss this notion and consider those who do not believe in the liberty to be "antis," "legalists," and "those denying God's grace." These brethren teach fervently that it is these "anti" types that are the cause of the division, since they will not accept their extra-Scriptural practices. Yet what is the message of the Scriptures? If the one who does not believe in the liberty informs those who believe in it in a Christian manner concerning how they believe and why, Paul charges that the practice be removed immediately to not cause offense. Therefore, according to the Scriptures, the one that compels another to accept the legitimacy of a practice or find another church is the one causing the division, and the one who falls under the condemnation of both Galatians 5:20 and Romans 16:17.

There are also many who cause divisions with the teaching of false doctrines. Those who bring false doctrines into the body of Christ often do so for ungodly reasons and use worldly tactics (1 Timothy 6:3-5), and the church will divide because of them and/or apostatize from the true Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thessalonians 1:6-9). Such false teachers may believe that they are doing the proper thing, "reforming" the church to conform to their values, but in the end they only bring condemnation upon their own heads (Galatians 1:6-9). Let us recognize the truths of the Scriptures and not cause division by bringing in false doctrines.

Divisions also are triggered by the improper attitudes that a member or many members of the church may possess. In 3 John 1:9-10, Diotrephes' desire for pre-eminence and his arrogant and haughty attitude compelled him to cast out some members of the church because they associated with those who accepted the desires and teachings of the inspired Apostle over his own desires and teachings. This improper-- and truly "fleshly"-- attitude caused even greater sin to come upon Diotrephes because of his divisive spirit, and the members of the church where he assembled would have been well-advised by Romans 16:17 to mark him for his attitude, for his "causing divisions and occasions of stumbling."

We have seen many forms of division, and there is always an improper, carnal spirit involved when a division occurs. Either some people do not want their precious liberties questioned, or someone does not want to be deemed a false teacher and honestly believes he teaches properly, or someone has an attitude that leads him to foster divisions within the body of Christ. We must stay away from all of these forms of divisions, focusing instead on what is best for each other and not causing offense (Romans 14:13, Philippians 2:1-4). If we may do these things, we will not be the source of divisions but instead a source of edification for the building up of the people of God.

Ethan R. Longhenry
evangelist@norwalkchurch.org

The church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio

Thank you for reading the electronic version of our bulletin, Good News for Norwalk. If you live in Norwalk or happen to be traveling in the Norwalk area, we would certainly love to have you visit one of our assemblies!

Our location:

386 North Edgewood Drive (just off US 250 just north of Norwalk's city limits)
Norwalk, Ohio 44857

Our assemblies:

Sunday morning assembly: 10:30am
Sunday evening assembly: 6:00pm

Our Bible studies:

Sunday morning Bible study: 9:30am
Wednesday evening Bible study: 7:00pm

For More Information

If you have any questions or comments about anything you have read here, or desire more information, please contact our evangelist, Ethan Longhenry, at evangelist@norwalkchurch.org.

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