Pastor Ralph Posted February 5, 2014 Report Share Posted February 5, 2014 Q4. (1 Corinthians 3:17) Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ’s church? What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pickledilly Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 The Church is the place of God’s dwelling on earth; that truth on its own makes it holy and sacred. Many dire warnings and serious consequences were given in the O.T. about violating anything that is holy to God. The Church is the keeper/messenger of the gospel and its mission of bringing redemption to the lost and condemned. God is very serious about that mission and won’t tolerate those who would use the Church for their own agendas or position. The Church, filled with the Spirit of God, is the embodiment of God on earth. We are to be growing/maturing in the character of Christ and be His mirror image to the world. It’s a dangerous position to be in for anyone who hypocritically presents himself as a follower of Christ but disparages the Person of Christ with ungodly behavior and motives. To ignore the holy status of the Church, the uncompromised message of the Church, and the character of Christ as the nature of the Church is an offense to God and man. It misrepresents who God is and the life-transforming quality of the gospel of Christ to the lost world. It’s detrimental to other believers in a local congregation and in the larger Body on the whole. And it is especially injurious to new believers, who don’t yet have the maturity in the Word to face such hurt, confusion, and disillusionment with the right perspective. Like Pastor Ralph, I’ve witnessed/experienced the division and loss caused by even just one determined person who is motivated by such carnal thinking and immaturity. It’s an awful thing. Then, the church has to turn its focus inward to healing wounds and divisions, rather than its ministry of the gospel. People inside and outside the church view the whole mess - and the Church - as hypocrisy. Dealing with differences within the church takes spiritual maturity (which is what makes it so difficult!). Scripture teaches us the concept that we must first know what is truth in order to live in freedom (John 8:32), which means knowing the Word. And then we must apply the principles of unity. Paul takes up many issues in chapter 4 of Ephesians: the manner in which the redeemed are to live, the bond of peace that maintains the unity Christ has established, the various gifts of the Spirit given to build up and mature the Church, the corruption of the old self in contrast to the righteous and holy new nature we have in Christ. He warns of falsehood, deceitful schemes, and corrupting talk. He counsels believers to confront lies and deceptions with truth in a loving way, to guard against harboring anger, to beware of bitterness/malice. Then He summarizes all of that by exhorting everyone involved not to grieve the Holy Spirit, which reminds us that all sin is ultimately against God Himself (Psalm 51:4; Luke 15:18). We are to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the excellence of our calling in Christ. And we’re called to strive to reflect His qualities of humility, gentleness, patience, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Even if the offender does not. No one wants it to come down to this, but sometimes it may be required to exercise “church discipline”. This is only for errant believers, and must be done scripturally with the goal of restoration (Matthew 18). This should begin with the prayerful, humble, loving effort to discuss the sin at hand in a PRIVATE discussion. It is NEVER appropriate to call someone out in front of the congregation, especially as a first step. This would be a time to share concerns, to listen, to explain God’s Word, and to pray together. There is a process of steps to take if the person is unrepentant, steps that might need to ultimately lead to the undesirable point of having to “tell it to the church” (vs.17; which shouldn’t require every detail of the situation). All of this would only be relevant to a situation where a believer was defensive of a persistent sinful position that is damaging to the health/purposes of the church and exerts an evil influence in the Body. Jesus is at work to purify His Body so that we will shine as lights in the darkness of the world. He was a friend of sinners, but He always condemned sin in God’s people with the desire for restoration. In the more generalized sense of unity in the universal Church with its many denominations, we should certainly respect and value everyone who has built their faith and church creeds on the foundation of 1Cor. 2:2 –everyone who decides to know “nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified”. The same principles apply to this relationship that are to apply among individual congregations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
van Posted March 8, 2014 Report Share Posted March 8, 2014 God is not a God of confusion and disunity. We should do all that we can do to make sure there is order and unity in God's house because Christians within n the church are held accountable by God. When you hurt the least of those, you are hurting God and God will punish you severely for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IvoryEagle Posted March 11, 2014 Report Share Posted March 11, 2014 Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ's church? BECAUSE THERE IS NO MEASUREMENT AS TO THE ULTIMATE IMPACT. WHILE ONE PERSON MAY BE INJURED, THEY BECOME A INSTRUMENT OF HURT BY SHARING THEIR EXPERIENCE AND COULD UNWITTINGLY DESTROY OTHERS INTENTION TO JOIN THE INNOCENT CONGREGATION. A WOUNDED SOUL IS A POWERFUL SATANIC TOOL! What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? OPEN DIALOGUE AND ACCESSIBLE LEADERS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerbrand van Schalkwyk Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ's church? What are better ways to deal with differences in the church?There are 2 reasons churches break up, one is good - the church has grown so big that it cannot be accommodated at a single place, so the church divides and still continue to work in unity. The 2nd is what this question is about. Usually pride or anger or both are involved. Often offence (hidden pride) is involved. Pride has no place in the church - the Body of Christ. When pride enters own thoughts and believes are taught, not scripture. Usually lies and back stabbing is involved. These things does not belong in the body of Christ, it is like a festering wound that damages the Body. This will especially hurt young believers who would expect to see love in the church, not worldly emotions. By damaging the Body through pride we are separating ourselves from Christ, and when God calls us back it can be very painful, or if we refuse to obey, it can lead to eternal pain!!! Praying together, asking God for guidance, not forcing our will on others, treating each other with respect and love, living what we preach. Allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us, then our actions can never be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion of Grace Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 There is such harsh punishment for those who are involved in hurting God's church because they have become instruments that undermine God's work. New tender believers are specifically mentioned here. When disunity and disgruntled fighting or pride or worldliness enter in and cause new believers to doubt or fall away, God takes that very seriously. Anyone He has called and has declared to be His son or daughter is very precious to Him. He takes very personally any damage done to them or to HIS reputation. When anyone specifically sets out to ignore good spiritual direction on how we are to live from a Biblical standpoint, then they themselves have fallen away and God either disciplines or punishes those people. The Bible gives instruction on how to deal with our differences, but the most important difference that can be made is when we submit our OWN hearts to cleansing, acknowledging our own weaknesses and sins and allow the Holy Spirit to change our hearts. Sometimes we are right and sometimes we are wrong in disagreements with others, but we have to face our own weaknesses in any situation and allow God to help us through it in a Godly way. When we learn to trust Him to intervene in His perfect way, then we can be at peace and gracious to our adversaries or we can trust HIM to open doors for our visions if they are in His will. We don't have to go in kicking, screaming and demanding or worse yet, deceitfully working behind the scenes, trying to get our way, involving others in deceitful practices. That is Satan's work for sure. That's why it would be punished. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jwalane Mofokeng Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 Q4. (1 Corinthians 3:17) Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ’s church? Because God's is sacred What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? Mat 18:15 Jesus said if your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won him over.Therefore, the issue is not how much loss you have sustained. If your brother has offended you, and the matter is not cleared up, he will not be able to get through to God; there will be obstacles in his fellowship and prayer. This is why you have to admonish him. If some offenses will indeed stumble your brother, you must point out his fault to him while he and you are alone together. Anything that should be dealt with must be dealt with carefully. You may let the matter go easily, but the other party may not be able to get through like you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sank T Monius Posted March 12, 2014 Report Share Posted March 12, 2014 1 Corinthians 3:17 Q). Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ's church? A). God's temple, the church, is sacred. And we must not defile or harm it! # Q). What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? A). Talk, with love, about the differences and pray for one another. "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you" (John 15:12). And let God be the final adjudicator (thy will be done). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hanks Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Q4. (1 Corinthians 3:17) Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ's church? What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? As believers, while involved in building up God’s church, we need to be sure that our acts of faith are blessed with the power and grace of God. Our sole motivation must be that the name of Jesus Christ be glorified. I feel that there is an awesome responsibility on those who preach the Word and they are in no way to deviate from it and thereby cause believers, especially tender new Christians, to go astray. Differences in the church can be dealt with in a mature and just way by focusing on our Lord Jesus and putting away our own pride and selfishness. After all it is not about us but it is all about Jesus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JanMary Posted March 13, 2014 Report Share Posted March 13, 2014 Q4. (1 Corinthians 3:17) Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ’s church? As Paul reminded the Corinthian's, the Church corporately and individually is God's permanent dwelling place, and is holy. To bring corruption, false doctrine, discord, into His holy place is working to tear down and destroy God's Kingdom. We, through the power of the Holy Spirit are to be about building up, encouraging, and strengthening one another, not tearing it apart. Tender new believers are easily damaged or discouraged and will leave the fellowship to seek solace in the world. (I've read that there are just as many believers who no longer attend a church fellowship due to such wounds within the church, as there are believers who do attend church...tragic indeed) This I'm sure, breaks the heart of God, and is most likely why the church is relatively powerless, irrelevant, and ineffective in the world today. What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? As individual believers, our approach to disunity should be to diligently seek the Lord's solutions for issues. To "muzzle our mouths" as the Psalmist so quaintly put it in Ps 39:1, rather than spewing our opinions around carelessly when we disagree...to consider others and the consequences of our words before we speak. When we recognize that Satan's goal is to tear down God's kingdom, and that he works through discord and division, ("divide and conquer"; "isolate individuals" so they are more vulnerable prey; "a house divided against itself cannot stand", "a little leaven spoils the whole lump") we will be vigilant to thwart his attacks in the church. When we keep in mind that in the church, as in marriage, or any relationship really, the goal is to cooperate and to extend grace in the face of foibles and differences of opinion in order to build bridges to one another. Church splits occur mainly over solvable issues. An elderly friend told me about a split years ago in her church over the issue of wearing hats. The ones who split and left became known as "the mad hatters". Silly, prideful, stubbornness destroyed a church which the entire town took note of and avoided both the old and new church like the plague! A local church just split over the issue of the pastor hiring his son as youth pastor, over a more qualified individual...that individual left with 600 members and started a new church several miles away. We are being watched by the world and when we behave no differently than they, we lose in every way! ( I appreciated Pickledilly's thorough answer regarding handling doctrinal issues, so left that area to her wisdom and expertise.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brothered Posted March 14, 2014 Report Share Posted March 14, 2014 Q4. (1 Corinthians 3:17) Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ’s church? What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? There is only one proper way todeal with differences in the church and the is theBiblical way. Go to the brother, if you see yourself as spiritual and tell him his fault in a loving way. If he dis-agrees with you and you see fit to carry it futher, get a couple of brothers and all of you go to visit him again. If that doesn't work, tell the bro to grow up of he will have to go before the congregation. Sadly sometimes it has to go that far but that is stupidty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spen Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Q4. (1 Corinthians 3:17) Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ's church? Every believer is a valued member of the Body of Christ and like the scriptures is valuable for caring for and performing the tasks for which they have been gifted. The ultimate reason being they, each one, has been called and saved and set apart by the precious blood of Christ to become members of His Body.” What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? “Preach, teach and love like there is no tomorrow that day of the Lord when any differences will be burned away, and all will be held accountable.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lighthouse2014 Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Q4. (1 Corinthians 3:17) Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ’s church? What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? I have seen divisions and church splits in the past. It brings much unneeded chaos to the congregation. A pastor may understand the Word differently than another. Instead of trying to bring the congregation together on issues, they become hard hearted and decided to elect a new pastor. Thus, half go one way and the rest the other. Though both divisions eventually prospered, there were many hurt feels, gossiping and even losing church members period. With prayer and guidance from the Holy Spirit all these problems could have been avoided. The trouble makers were eventually confronted and expelled, however, new believers were dumb founded that such havoc went on in the congregations of Christ. With kind and diligent explanation, plenty of prayer and hope the new believers would continue on in the faith of Christ and His church. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WinstonY Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Q4 The harsh punishment for those hurting the church must be for those who are intentional. Surely God will not deall so with the unintentional. As a superintendent I felt that youngsters should attend till they finished the program. Early maturing ones often wanted to teach instead. When they were denied they and sometimes parents stopped attending. Looking back I see I was wrong and had hurt the church. How severe should be my punishment? Or have I already been punished? Probably severe punishment is handed out because we often do not look upon others as being better then ourselves. A better way to handle such situation s is to be looking out for the interest of others. In my case I should have considered what was best for the youngsters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charisbarak Posted March 15, 2014 Report Share Posted March 15, 2014 Yes, these things do injure people--especially young believers, and discourages curious unbelievers who will probably not want to accept Jesus now. We are not only ministering to fellow believers, but to nonbelievers who may have been drawn to church by God. Only one side wins and everyone loses. This is why the punishment is so bad for those who bring discord..... Only when people are brought together to pray, discuss and use the Bible to solve problems, will there be unity. We are all Christ's body--we're His temple--the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Just hurting one person hurts His church. Lord, show us to love as You loved!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delivered Posted March 16, 2014 Report Share Posted March 16, 2014 Q4. (1 Corinthians 3:17 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?) Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ's church? The church Paul is talking about is not that of the house of Paul's, Appollos, or Cephas, (denominations) but those whose foundation is established "FIRM" on the Jewish Messiah, Yesua, (Jesus) as the Gentile's know him by, and it is "WE" who Paul is talking about, "WE" are the temple where the Holy Spirit dwells and not that of denominations. It is why "WE" are to put on the mind of Christ so we will not be a house divided, tossed to and fro with every doctrine, it is "WE" who are called to stand firm on our "FAITH" - not forgetting, it is "WE" who have been purchased with a "GREAT PRICE" this is why Paul is warning those who are walking in the flesh, therefore, glorify God in your body, (temple) and in your spirit, which are now that of God's. What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? Differences in the different denominations, churches are so many today, there is no way for me to answer this question as it is worded here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar Jim Posted March 20, 2014 Report Share Posted March 20, 2014 Q4. (1 Corinthians 3:17) Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ’s church? The Church is the earthly bride of Christ Himself. It is the bride being prepared for her Husband at the wedding feast of the Lamb. God takes a very dim view of people who would by their actions harm the bride of His Son. What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? That's the hard question. If talking things out fails, if both parties believe so strongly that they are the ones in the right and in the will of God . . and don't forget: both side have probably prayed earnestly to God about whatever matter is bothering them . . there's not much that can be done. In such a situation it could be better to leave the church and worship somewhere else than to hang around and make things worse. With the plethora of different denominations and non-denominational churches these days, surely there'd be one that would accommodate any believer's disparate beliefs. Better to go there than to continue to disrupt the harmony of the church with which you have a disagreement that can't be solved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted March 28, 2014 Report Share Posted March 28, 2014 One of the fruits of the flesh is division. Division causes the local church to cease its effectiveness for the cause of Jesus Christ. In addition, its worldliness can disillusion any believer. However, because there is so much of the world in the local church splits are often inevitable and sometimes for the better. Particularly when a local church ceases to be a Biblical and becomes a social club, Bible club, becomes inward focused, or a place where Masons advance themselves. The best way, when possible, is prayerfully in fellowship with the Holy spirit sit and work out problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Jerry Posted April 3, 2014 Report Share Posted April 3, 2014 I think that there is harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ’s church is because God is wanting to bring everybody to him. When there is a split in the church that hurts everybody involved. It probably even drives some people out the church and they will their hope in Jesus Christ. A better way to deal with differences in the church is to bring the difference up to the leadership in the church. If they are really trying to bring harmony to the body then they will listen and take the appropriate action. But we have to remember that they will not please everybody so they need to insure that they are following God’s instructions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haar Posted April 16, 2014 Report Share Posted April 16, 2014 Q4. (1 Corinthians 3:17) Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ's church? What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? The harsh punishment for hurting the body of Christ is meant to deter those who may intentionally want to destroy the body of Christ. Differences in the church can be dealt with by prayers and by conflict resolution through dialogues, tolerance and love . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blezed Posted May 20, 2014 Report Share Posted May 20, 2014 Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ’s church? 1. God's church is sacred, holy and clean. We are a part of that church and God is not pleased with anyone that want to destroy the church. What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? 2. Through much prayer many differences can be solved. It is also good to talk out those differences to try to come to a happy medium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixonle Posted May 21, 2014 Report Share Posted May 21, 2014 Q4. (1 Corinthians 3:17) Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ’s church? What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? First of all, we are held accountable and responsible for the edification of the church; i.e., the teaching in the faith and the building up of the church. When the schisms/splits occur, the LORD must be quite disappointed because the church is being hurt by people being at odds with one another but also by splitting and people leaving for better green pastures… We have the responsibility to communicate and work together as the people of God rather than working against the will of God by putting forth our selfish motivations. God expects the church to work together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
csreeves Posted May 26, 2014 Report Share Posted May 26, 2014 Q4. (1 Corinthians 3:17) Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ’s church? What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? Divisions, splits cause pain in all denominations. I feel we are not punished harshly for this behavior thus we portray allot of the World in our Churches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixonle Posted June 21, 2014 Report Share Posted June 21, 2014 Posted 21 May 2014 - 08:35 AM Q4. (1 Corinthians 3:17) Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ’s church? What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? First of all, we are held accountable and responsible for the edification of the church; i.e., the teaching in the faith and the building up of the church. When the schisms/splits occur, the LORD must be quite disappointed because the church is being hurt by people being at odds with one another but also by splitting and people leaving for better green pastures… We have the responsibility to communicate and work together as the people of God rather than working against the will of God by putting forth our selfish motivations. God expects the church to work together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Commissioned Posted November 29, 2014 Report Share Posted November 29, 2014 Q4. (1 Corinthians 3:17) Division and church splits injure people, especially tender new believers. Why do you think there is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ’s church? What are better ways to deal with differences in the church? There is such a harsh punishment for those involved in hurting Christ’s church because the Church is sacred. The church is Jesus Christ's gift to His Father, and when He presents the Church it must be spotless. Jesus Himself told the Church how to deal with differences in the church and that is the pattern that the Church should follow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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