Based on Romans 16:17-20 (New King James Version)
“Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”
Some folks might say that this passage is a little contradictory in the sense that it says that we should be careful with those that cause division, and that we need to take some distance from them; but in another part of the Scriptures, the Lord Himself prayed in this manner: “I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” John 17:20-21. So then, when should there be unity and when should there be separation?
The first thing, and what is essential is that we need to understand that Biblical knowledge, from Genesis to Revelation, is vital. Presently, one of the greatest problems that the universal church of Christ has is the lack of knowledge of the Word. Many are not studying the Scriptures as they should. They are satisfied with just knowing a little bit, listening to bits and pieces in church on Sunday (if they even go to church regularly), etc. And unfortunately, when the knowledge of God is taken so lightly or not seriously, many mistakes are made, and people expose themselves to Satan’s deceptions, demonic doctrines that have infiltrated churches, and ravenous wolves that go into the ministry only to sheer sheep. By not knowing what is necessary, they become easy prey to those that the Word is warning us about. And well, how can you not fall into the trap since they use soft words, flattery, using an apparent care or adulation so they can take advantage of people? They seem like people that are kind, with nice and convincing smiles. And the greatest weapon they have is that they will tell you what you want to hear, appealing to your desires and selfishness. What they teach sounds and seems like the truth, using certain Bible passages to support what they want to say. They are subtle and difficult to detect. Therefore, if you don’t know the Word as you should, the only thing that will happen is that the ignorant will walk tranquilly towards eternal perdition, while they fill with money the pockets of evil people.
Coming back to our passage, the Bible explicitly teaches that we should be united, but only when we agree with the Holy things of God. It is possible that we may not agree on every little thing, but we must agree on what is essential. In relation to divisions, the Lord taught the following: “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.” Matthew 10:32-39. The Apostle Paul showed an even more stricter path, with reference to our relationship with supposed brethren in the faith that are walking in disorder: “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.” 1 Corinthians 5:9-11. So then, the Lord is very clear with the type of company we should avoid. We must be very careful with the company we keep, and who we follow with respect to spiritual leaders and guides. As the saying goes: “Tell me who you go with, and I’ll tell you who you are.”
So, how can we know when there are bad intentions in a supposed servant of God that is only looking to fill their belly? In the first instance, you need to use common sense. If a person is more well off than the people that support them, there is at least a problem here. Even more so, the Apostle Paul taught that servants should work, as he gave his own example. The only times he was not able to keep a regular job was when he was in jail, or because of health problems, or due to extenuating circumstances. Otherwise, Paul always worked with his hands to support himself. At the very least, if a person is supported by a congregation, they should live humbly, no matter how rich the congregation might be.
The second way you can tell that you are being prey to some wolf in disguise is when they tell you what you want to hear, especially when it has to do with feeding your ego, excusing your sin, and looking for your own well-being; as examples. How do I know this? Because based on the Scriptures, everything is for the glory of the Lord (and not our glory); the Lord is always calling us to repentance, to change, and to sanctification; and the Lord teaches us that we may even have to lay our life down for Him at some point. With this same reasoning we can understand that psychology (as an example) in the ministry has no relationship with what the Bible teaches, because if you look at things in a psychological manner, the sins you commit will always be someone else’s fault, and not your own. Everyone is responsible for their own sins. Neither a person’s background matters, nor what your parents did or didn’t do, etc. If a person sins, they sin because they wanted to, and they have to repent from their sin so they can receive God’s forgiveness. And there is always a choice, even if the choice means death. Just as the heroes of the faith did when Caesar commanded them to blaspheme, by acknowledging him as lord, and renouncing to Jesus as Lord. Their choice was either blaspheme and live, or not blaspheme and die. They chose to die. They had a choice.
Finally, we need to be wise in what is good. We need to look for God’s knowledge, if we want to avoid being prey to someone with evil intentions. So then, do you understand the need for more Biblical knowledge, for your own good? Lord bless! John