Tuesday, February 11, 2014

SEVEN THINGS GOD HATES- #7: DISUNITY IN THE REMNANT

These six things the Lord hates,
Yes, seven are an abomination to Him: 
A proud look,
A lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
A heart that devises wicked plans,
Feet that are swift in running to evil, 
A false witness who speaks lies,
And one who sows discord among brethren
Proverbs 6:18-19 
There are more divisions in the western world over the Gospel of Jesus Christ than there are plays in the Seattle Seahawks offensive playbook. In fact, the only thing most real Christians ever agree on is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, Who was born as a baby, nailed to a Cross and everyone (except some liberal dying mainline denominations) believes He rose from the dead, on Resurrection Sunday.

So why is discord sown among the brethren - something which the Lord hates, by the way? The answer can be found in human nature. The seeds of discord were being sowed, believe it or not, while Jesus was still alive! Here were the greatest men who ever lived, after the LORD Himself of course, yet some of them were debating who would be the greatest (see Luke 9:46-47 "46An argument started among them as to which of them might be the greatest. 47But Jesus, knowing what they were thinking in their heart, took a child and stood him by His side). 

These men got over themselves and gave all, including their lives in the cause of spreading the Gospel. They fulfilled the mission Christ gave them. They suffered persecution, hunger, pain and then death. But they stood strong to the end. While they were doing that, the Apostle Paul noticed all kinds of divisions. He was not talking about the Gnostics and others who perverted the pure milk of the word. He was speaking of true believers who were just very incorrect in their thinking. Read this portion of Scripture here in from 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 HERE:
                    10 Now I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions among you. 12 Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or “I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
                 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. 16 Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. (Courtesy Bible Gateway).

We do the same things today. We have charismatics criticizing baptists criticizing Assembly of God criticizing Campbellites criticizing Calvinists criticizing.....fill in the blank! With the power and freedom of the internet, entire websites are visiting war upon fellow believers for this or that doctrine.  Some are saying (unbiblically and incorrectly) that those who don't speak in tongues are not Christians. Some are saying if you say you heard a word from the Lord, you made it up. Some are saying....actually, I hear so much of it, the entire thing is tuned out!

There IS MAJOR heresy out there. There is the Prosperity Gospel - Name and Claim it heresy. This is leading many in some of the poorest countries of the world away from the True Gospel of Jesus Christ. How dare these so-called "preachers" with their $1000 suits and BMW's tell some poor granma who is a shut-in, an unemployed carpenter in Nigeria or a plumber in Phoenix to "just speak it, send in a seed and checks will show up miraculously in the mail"??!! We are not to fellowship in that. 
There is the emergent church, which is selling a "new Jesus"....because apparently the Jesus Who the Father sent is not good enough. We are not to fellowship with them.
There is the apostate church which supports abortion; unbiblical marriage apart from God's decree of a man and a woman; and even ordains ungodly couples - of those whom God Himself indicated that He gave over to their abominations in Romans 1:18-31. We are not to fellowship with that.
There is the liberal church which does not believe the bible, does not believe the Virgin Birth or even the Resurrection...but in something called "social gospel"...or its synonym "social justice"....neither is the gospel or the justice of God.....and on and on.

This is NOT the discord that the Great God of Heaven despises. We, who are called by His Name, are to have NO part of any of this...all the while praying that they will all come to a knowledge of the True Truth (as Francis Schaeffer said). 

The discord comes in Bible-believing followers of Jesus letting pride, greed and the lost for fame and power cloud their Jesus'-bought hearts and turn on their brothers and sisters in Christ. The discord comes these same people use Scripture or Biblical traditions to their own selfish ends to further their agendas. The discord comes when people branch out on their own, using the ways of the world and appropriating the Name of God unto it....all the while claiming to be "working for Jesus"!

So what does God really desire, to soothe His anger at the abomination of separation? Read the following; search your heart and see if you (or I) have anything against or brother....leave our gifts at the altar...and go make it right! 
Blessed Unity of the People of God

Psalm 133 

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.
It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the Lord commanded the blessing— 
Life forevermore. 

No comments: