As an introduction look at Acts 2:44-46. The church is said to be "all together", t be "with one accord", and th have "singleness of heart". Look just 2 chapters later at Acts 4:32, now only most of them are together. It has gone from all to a majority. Looking at Acts 8:1, we can see that the church scatters due to persecution. It also spreads as more converts are won to Christ.

As the church scattered geographically opportunity to divide increased. Jewish converts may have insisted on clinging to the Law and its works. Accepting 100% grace can be hard when works is taught from childhood and dominates the Jewish culture so some figured they had to keep the Law to maintain or keep salvation. Gentiles with pagan roots entered the church and mingled their beliefs with the true teachings of the early church. That's why we have most of our holidays now.

By the time Paul enters the pictures he is writing to put out fires and squash divisions It has all gone down hill from there. The Church, which was was first called Christians back in Acts, continued to be just Christians or disciples of Christ or Followers of the Way for some time. Then a big argument erupted and the Great Schism of 1054 caused a major split in the trunk. The Orthodox and Catholic churches came forth. Each of these branches continuing to split further and further as time marched on. Then came the Protestant Reformation and plenty of shoots came off the trunk. Study your history, you will see that as splits occurred it was often over power issues rather than doctrine. Satan and the sin of pride was trying to destroy the church.

A line of tape was placed down the center aisle of the church before the service began. I pointed to it and said that we would be splitting our church in half: the right and the left. Then I walked over to a friend on the left and said,

"Frank, Mary, I love you both but you are on the wrong side. You need to move over to the right with the rest of us real Christians. These left siders are all related and I bet some of them are even from Alabama. You can decide for yourself but look who sits over here on the right. We have the preacher's family, the pianist, and the choir director. It's the better side Why even Jesus said the sheep would be on the right and the goats on the left So do you wanna be a sheep of the Good shepherd or just some old goat?"

It would be real silly for this church to compete in such a way trying to build our own side up by tearing down the other. But we do. No, this aisle may not be the dividing line but what about the yellow line on the road? "That church down the road did this or that. I'm glad I don't go there." What about the words on that sign out front - the words Baptist Church? "Well they're Episcopalian you know." What about the color on our skin? Why do we divide the house of God? Do we not know what Paul said that "there is neither male nor female, Jew nor Greek, slave nor free"?

The Bible is quite plain if you believe on him and confess him as Lord, and repent of sin then you are a child of God.

If someone believes Jesus is God who became flesh and came to earth to die for all our sins and confess that sin, are they saved? YES
Is he still saved if as he studies apocalyptic scriptures, he believes ithe rapture happens after the tribulation? YES
Is he still saved if he gets sprinkled with water instead of dunked in a pool? YES
Is he still saved if he believes he can lose his salvation if he's not good? He may be crippled by fear and guilt but Yes he's still saved
Is he saved if he shouts a little and gets charismatic? Praise God Yes!
The true question is this: Does the blood of Jesus sufficiently cover all our sins and stupidity or do we have to earn apart of our salvation by thinking the right things? And the answer is YES. We are saved 100% by Grace - not 90% grace and 10% righteous works and not 10% right beliefs either. There are certain basics that are essential Jesus is God. I am a sinner. Jesus died for my sins. Jesus rose to give me new life and hope. If you believe this then whether your name tag says Protestant, Orthodox, or Catholic you are a child of God and you are my brother or sister.

This is hard to accept because I grew up knowing the Baptists had it all right and every one else was all wrong but two things in particular made me realize my error…

1. Jesus not the Baptist church is the way truth, and life. The church is but a sign post pointing to the way.
2. Jesus promised the true church would always be around and yet Protestants didn't come along until the 1400's. If you believe John Smyth founded the Baptist church, then we weren't around until the early 1600's. Did Jesus' church die out and reappear 1500 years later? Or if you follow Carroll's trail of blood history with its various "Baptistic" independent groups then did the church die in one place and return in another many times over thru the ages changing names and side doctrine along the way? Either way or form of Baptists, the Southern Baptists weren't in existence until the civil war. The true church is all believers in Jesus and the true church has never died just as Jesus said it wouldn't

Look with me at the words of Jesus Christ our Lord recorded in Mark 9:38-40. The caption at the top of this page in one of my bibles reads, "Jesus Forbids Sectarianism" I I may be allowed to retell this story in modern times...

John the elected spokesperson of the 1st Apostolic Church of 12 comes to Jesus whining. "Hey Jesus there's a guy who doesn't go to church with us. He's been doing some stuff in your name."
"Lord these people aren't one of us but they are doing works in your name"
"Jesus you better do something about them"
"Or tell us what you want us to do?"
"Maybe we should file a cease and desist order against them, Jesus. They don't go to our church so make them stop because they must be wrong"
Now notice very carefully here what Jesus says in v. 40 "Leave them alone. If they are not against me. they are for me."

If they believe in the Lordship and Deity of Christ leave them alone! If they believe Jesus died for their sins leave them, alone! I think we'll be surprised to see a lot of Baptists don't make it to heaven because church membership doesn't save you. If you think getting dunked in that pool back there saved you then, my friend, you are going to hell unless you realize that Christ alone cleanses you of sin. Some Baptists won't make it but I won't be surprised if in heaven we find there's some Methodists there, some Episcopalians, some Russian and Greek Orthodox, some Assembly of God, some Church of Christ, some Catholics, and some from the "Non-denominational" denomination. He who is not against the true message is for it. If they don't say that Jesus is not God but say that he is and that he came and died for us then they are for us not against us even if they're not in our little group.

Now we should lovingly correct them. But I thank God salvation has everything to do with His grace and mercy and nothing to do with my righteous deeds or right doctrine.

Let's look at three questions regarding diviosn in the church.

Why do we have division in the church?

1. The Ugly

Let's start with the ugly - Satan. He may at times appear as an angel of light but he has an ugly black heart and wants to destroy us. He uses anything and everything he can to try to divide us. Many of us are afraid of change, we're afraid of anything that's different. After all we are "conservatives". Beacuse we're afraid of change, Satan uses that fear to drive a wedge into the body of Christ. And whats worse is that once he has it started, we take the hammer away and beat it into the body of Christ ourselves. We argue over which translation to use, what to wear, what music is appropriate, and so many other trivial silly things.

Read I Corinthians 1:10-19

In verse 10 Paul urges us to please get along. Paul asks us to lay aside our differences and find common ground. It's well and good to discuss the fine points with others but stick to core doctrine for what really matters. Salvation is by far the most important teaching of the church. If Paul wrote today to the church at Newnan, verse 12 might well read. "Are you of John Wesley? Of John Paul? Of John Smith?" In verse 13 Paul asks a rhetorical question. Is Christ divided? Duh NO! Jesus ain't divided so you get all of him or none of him. You have him or you don't. Jesus isn't divided so then his body isn't either. Paul adds, "I didn't die for you". No church leader died for you. Jesus did. Don't look at leaders but thru them to look at him. Then in verse 17 Paul says cunning words & eloquent thoughts don't matter simply the preaching of the cross. The message of the cross is this - Jesus the savior and son of God died for you and rose. Thinking you have to have all the right beliefs nullifies the work of the cross.

Satan may be ugly but we ourselves are bad.

2. The bad

Our own foolish pride is the bad within the church that divides us. There are three areas of pride where members of the church divide themselves.

We may have pride in a respected individual - perhaps an author or a preacher. We have those that will divide themselves based on the interpretations of men like Tim LaHaye, John Hagee, and Clarence Larkin  In reading 1 Corinthians we see two main factions hit on a few times. There is the group that claims to be of Paul; they are the oldest group. "We are first," they say. Then there are those who follow the great speaker Apollos. They are the the eloquent group "We are best" is their rally cry. First or last, best or worst - it does not matter only that which is given to Christ will last.  I know whom I have believed, and I am totally persuaded that he is able to keep me heart and soul which I have committed unto him. (2 Timothy 1:12) Christ - not an apostle, not a preacher, not a pope, no man but Christ can keep us. He is to be the one we rally behind.

Perhaps we divide out of a sense of pride in a group. We claim to be a member of the SBC or AOG. "My church is Southern Baptist" or "mine is Assembly of God". Who cares? Have you ever stopped to see what each denomination believes - the core of many is the same and it is this core that makes us Christian not every nitpcky trivial belief or notion. Withing these denominations we may even subdivide based upon what fellowship we are pat of. My local church or your church fellowship again should not matter for we are all to be a part of the undivided body of Christ.

Perhaps the worst divider is pride in our self. We aren't that bad. We are better than others. You can't believe what others may say; you have to do it all yourself and rely on your own ability to properly interpret scripture and research history. Prideful arrogance all of it. We say that Sin is sin right? But do we practice it? No. We accept some sins as part of the Christian life but not others. We accept liars but not murderers. We can accept that a Christian might battle demons of alcoholism but we can't believe a Christian would struggle with the sin of homosexuality. If sin is truly sin why do we draw lines on the really bad sins? If some church's are condemned because they make prayer requests through dead saints, why is it OK for us to visit the graveside of a loved one and talk to them? See we divide ourselves over sin and pride. My sins are OK but yours are not so I have to separate myself from you. Wasn't this the look at me at least I'm not like so and so hypocritical attitude of the Pharisees that Christ repeatedly condemned?

It's all just prideful arrogance. Proverbs 16:18 warns us that pride leads to destruction and arrogance causes falls.

And then there is the good.

3. The good

The false makes the good more apparent.  In I Corinthians 11:19 Paul writes, "For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you." Leave it to our wonderful Jesus to turn Satan's attacks and our own weaknesses into a strength.

There must be some disunity. It makes true belief look better. If I want to look tan I'll stand next to my wife Dana. She makes even my faint tan apparent. Llikewise a true believer is obvious with phonies around. The "send me your money" preachers make true servants that struggle to make ends meet while preaching the Word look more obvious. Cults and sects like Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons make true Christians more obvious.

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