A Brief Exhortation Concerning Theology and Division

In recent times I have seen amongst dear brothers and friends a very tragic scenario played out. Something of which we read in the 1st epistle to the Corinthian church when Paul makes a staggering accusation calling the brethren there carnal.

"Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?" (1Co 1:12-13)

Recently there has been a resurgence of the study of theology. This in and of itself is not a bad thing and is actually a sign that a near revival may in fact be on the horizon as a hunger for the apostolic faith always proceeds and results in historical revival. So the hunger for a return to the apostolic way is actually a sign of the times as we can expect a great reviving of the church of God before the return of Christ to set up His millennial kingdom. However, the saddening thing is that we have not just witnessed a hunger for truth, we have also seen a sharp division, if not actual and vivid, hidden and vague. The division may not be in causing visible sects and groups; the division may very well be a sectarian mindset that leaves us mentally divided and maybe even unconsciously anathematizing certain brethren simply because their view of this or that thing differs slightly than ours.

The saddening thing is that we have many people who are strikingly similar to aspiring cult leaders. The classic mindset of unity in the essentials has been lost in our uncanny ability to major on the minors. The forest has been lost in our microscopic examination of why certain birds prefer to nest in birch tree rather than willows. I think it is time we take a step back in retrospect and find out where exactly we lost our love for the forest and the other observers, even if they may disagree with our limited knowledge of the intricacies of each point of study.

I have said before that the modern church is like the ancient Greek Areopagus, always searching for that new idea. Sadly the new idea, and each modern theological development is in actuality a step away from true apostolicity. Rather than seeking the new we need the old. Jesus said that "no man having tasted the old wine straightway desires the new". So the question has to be asked whether or not the ones we see constantly seeking the newest strain of popular thought have actually tasted of the old time apostolic reality. When we cut through the hazy fog of complicated theology and regain the simplicity that is in Christ, returning to a sense of the vital reality of God, division disappears with our insatiable appetite for the newest doctrinal development.

Never in history have we seen such a shift in the doctrinal winds; and never in history have we seen such a large number of influential men and woman get blown away with the winds. It seems that as the westerlies of heresy begin to blow, we are hearing in greater number the snap of sails blown taught as the spinnakers of man's wisdom cause many a immature believer to crash into the rocks of confusion and division. We must learn again to rightly divide the truth so that we don't wrongly divide the church.

So we must be careful to heed the words of scripture rather than reasoning with them. In our systematizing we have become hearers of the word, but not doers. We have lost the preciousness of the words of Christ. Jesus said that the doctrine is known to be true if we are doers of the word. So let us concentrate on the classic words of the hymn "Trust and obey for their is no other way". One day someone will pick up the Bible and simply believe, and when they do all of our perceived intelligence and presumption will be squashed by a demonstration of power, rather than simply a dry and powerless logical progression.

Let us take heed as the time quickly approaches.