Is Disunity Ever Justified?

It sounds harsh, I know, but is it ever OK to not have fellowship with a member of the Lord’s church? What would you say? What does the Bible say? Let’s take a look.

Scripture does give a few examples that we can learn from. The first one we can look at is in 1 Corinthians 5. In the first verse, Paul is addressing some sexual immorality that has one brother caught up in as he’s dating “his father’s wife”. What did Paul instruct the church to do with this brother? “Deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?” (vs. 5-6).

In order to keep the unity and peace of the church, when someone is actively engaging in a lifestyle that is not in line with the will of God and they aren’t maturing, they must be called out on it and if they don’t take care of it, they need to be put out so that they will hopefully see the error of their ways. Fortunately, in this case, this man did as we see in 2 Corinthians.

Another instance would be false teachers and there are quite a few warnings of them in the Bible, most notably in 2 Peter 2. We are told to not have company with them. Paul alludes to this as well in 1 Corinthians 15. There were those who were denying the resurrection and he instructs the church, “Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” (v. 33)

Now, this term gets thrown around a lot so I want to try and clear it up a little. A “false teacher” is not someone who just might have a different belief than you. Anyone can be taught one-on-one the correct way as we see with Aquila and Priscilla in Acts 18:26. Go and see what they did. We are to still strive for unity and love one another.

The way the Bible talks about false teachers is someone who intentionally tries to cause division with doctrine contrary to Christianity. Many of them are in it for power or fame and seek to purposefully divide the household of faith. We must not let that happen.

How can we combat these wolves in sheep’s clothing? Staying united. Remember there is power in numbers and if our bond is strong enough, it cannot be broken. Also, anchoring our faith in the word of God so we can teach those weaker in the faith that may become led astray by incorrect doctrine. We cannot correct these teachers unless we know what God’s word says to begin with.

Christianity is unique. Different from every other religion in the world. I can list a few reasons why but judging from what we’ve already been talking about here, one of the most distinct characteristics is the bond we have with each other. We know we can’t make it through this life alone, so God has given us a way through it…together. We weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15) and like I said earlier, it’s what sets us apart from the world who thinks they are all alone.

See, the world loves darkness (cf. John 3:19). So, when they witness a group of people, who are from all different cultures and walks of life, coming together in unison, this causes them to scratch their heads because that’s not what they’re used to seeing. There are even some who are so deep in darkness, it’s hard to even fathom what light is even like. That’s what believers in Christ are supposed to do; shine the light of Jesus into the world and show them that there is a new way of looking at the world.

Sounds easier said than done though, right? I get it. Just like anything in this life, it takes time to adjust. As they say, practice makes perfect. Seeking unity may be hard at first but the more we grow, the easier it becomes.

The best example we have is probably Romans 14. Here, Paul is instructing the church at Rome how to interact with one another. This particular congregation was comprised of both Jews and Gentiles, and like I stated earlier, they were still trying to come to terms on how they could both be worshiping the same God. For centuries, they despised one another, but now through Christ, they are united.

In this chapter though, Paul uses an illustration of two brethren; one stronger in their faith and one weaker. No matter where you are in your journey, keep in mind there will always be ones stronger than you and, of course, weaker in knowledge than you. Paul tells the stronger brother to not judge the weaker one based on the days they observe or food they eat. Verse 13 sums it up pretty good which states, “Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.”

The church is made up of many different people who will have all sorts of different perspectives on a variety of things. When we come together, let’s focus on the things we have in common rather than the things we don’t see eye to eye on. Then, if you have to do any judging, save it for further down the road until you are more comfortable with each other to actually listen and understand more about each other. Only then will we have a better understanding of one another and the difficult discussions become a lot easier.

Let this be a challenge for you. Strive for unity amongst God’s people and show the world the love of Christ through the Holy Spirit.