Divided and Conquered - Part 4 - Conquered but not Destroyed (continued)

(Photo source: kimmierose.com)

Ever since I started writing about division within the church a month or so ago, I've been hit with temptation
after temptation to be just as divisive as I'm saying is hurting the church. Fortunately I've seen it for what it really is, a test to see if I am willing to practice what I preach - or in my case, write - but it has been difficult nonetheless. However, I tend to see adversity not as a sign of being wrong, but in fact more confirmation that I'm heading in the right direction. I have millions of stories to tell about that - autobiographical stories - but since I want to continue on picking up where my last post left off, I might as well leave that rabbit trail alone.



So picking up where I left off in my last post (Divided and Conquered - Part 3 - Conquered but not Destroyed), I had just finished up talking about a few ways in which we can overcome the enemy's strategy of dividing us, as the church, against ourselves. (I highly suggest reading that one first before reading this one.) Now I'll go on and continue laying out some more ways in which we can overcome division:

• We should be careful not to force upon our fellow brothers and sisters, either personally or from a hierarchy, excessive rules and regulations, especially with regards to matters of opinion. In the earliest years of the church, when the leaders all gathered together in Jerusalem to discuss the implications of Gentiles being given the same salvation as the Jews, Jesus' brother, James, who was the leader of the church in Jerusalem at that time said,
  

  "Therefore it is my judgment that we do not trouble those who are turning to God from among the Gentiles, but that we write to them that they abstain from things contaminated by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood." - Acts 15:19-20

  In this meeting they also decided to send Paul and Silas out to the Gentiles, and with them sent a letter, this part of it, though similar, just as poignant:
  

  "For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell.” (verses 28-29)

  What most Christians in our day, especially leaders, miss is that this was the first major meeting to decide how the church was going to cope with diversity, considering that before Peter and Paul's experiences with Gentiles experiencing Jesus' saving love the church was comprised only of Jews who had come to follow Jesus. The major cultural differences presented by this change weren't met with a massive list of rules and regulations, but with only a small number of instructions - in fact, only 4 -  with the intent of not heaping burdens on the shoulders of others. Yes, in the letters that followed Acts, Paul and Co. address specific issues, giving further instruction as problems arose, but even with the further instructions given, the same spirit behind their words remained, that they were not trying to be a burden to their fellow brothers and sisters, but that they were genuinely trying to help them, to help give clarity and shed light on what living out life - true life - in Jesus entailed.
  
  Needless to say, this wasn't exactly popular with a lot of the early Jewish Christians, who often observed the customs of old, but Paul spills a lot of ink confronting these troublemakers who tried to force upon all Christians all of these extra rules and regulations that were part of the old law, the law that was fulfilled through Jesus Christ and his death and resurrection. And I daresay there will be plenty of modern-day 'Pharisees' and troublemakers who will have a problem with what I just said as well - which may prompt them to become unwitting agents of division within the church in their opposition. Even in this way, we should pray for them and respond to them with nothing but love, compassion, and respect, for they still are our brothers and sisters.
   
• With that said, there are major differences among us that will need to be addressed from time to time. Because we have come from such diverse traditions and teachings, and because the 'lenses' through which we view scripture are sometimes vastly different, there are times when approaching false understandings and teachings is necessary. There are harmful teachings out there that will need to be confronted, just as there were in the days of the early church - Paul and Co. had to address them in their writings as well - but we need to remember the case of Apollos when doing so (Acts:18:24-28).
  
  Apollos was eloquent and knew the Scriptures well, and was even effective when speaking to people, but his understanding wasn't complete. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him speak and realized this, rather than opposing him or treating him harshly for the misunderstandings his teachings revealed, they pulled him aside and explained more fully what he hadn't grasped, and after that he made an even greater difference in the world. Were it not for their patience and compassion, Apollos might have been an effective teacher of half-truths, or he may have been completely discouraged when he met opposition from people he thought were 'on his side' and eventually just given up, or he may have just opposed them as vehemently in turn. I wonder how many Apolloses Christians have done wrong by being so vehement and lacking the patience and love necessary to confront them in love - and how different our world might be today had they taken Jesus' words and the example of Priscilla and Aquila more seriously.
  
  We cannot neglect respect, love, compassion, and patience when it comes to addressing ideas and teachings that do not fit with the way of Jesus and his life and teachings and the teachings of the early church as found in the New Testament. It is so essential, that I will go so far as to say that even if someone were to be rightly confronting a false teaching, if they do so without the essential Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), if they attack with venom or vehemence, they become an agent of division themselves - essentially an agent of the enemy - their words become useless noise instead of helpful instruction and their efforts are not of Christ. This goes double for leaders who preach and teach, for if they pass on that vehemence to those they teach, if they instruct others to be divisive in their encounters, they are not only being an agent of division, but they are teaching others to be agents of division as well - they are essentially training agents of the enemy - which is even more dangerous and detrimental to the body of Christ. I am not being overly dramatic about this either - the ends never justify the means, and if anything is done without love, even something we consider to be noble, it is not of Christ, no matter the result.
• With that said, I also want to encourage everyone not to take offense easily, either with those who don't follow Jesus, nor with fellow brothers and sisters. Be humble enough to listen with kindness and love, and be open to the Holy Spirit using others to help us as well, for none of us is perfect, and we all need help and clarification sometimes. Be slow to speak, and slow to anger (James 1:19), willing to live out what Paul says about love in all of our interactions (1 Corinthians 13:4-7), understanding that we all have our quirks, insecurities, and issues, and being willing to bear with one another as we unintentionally rub each other the wrong way at times.

We are the Body of Jesus Christ, called to love one another, called to put aside divisiveness, pride, and anger, called to be the presence of Jesus Christ all throughout our world. I haven't even begun to scratch the surface of overcoming the division that plagues and eats away at us, but I hope that it's a start. I hope that everyone who reads this will take serious my words and consider them prayerfully and honestly.