“The Marks of an UnChristian Church”

(Title taken from William Barclay)

Factors Contributing to Church Division

2 Corinthians 12:20

21 February, 1999

INTRODUCTION

A small town had experienced rapid growth, and the local church congregation had outgrown their building. The members formed a committee to plan and build a new church. The committee told the minister to take care of the flock and they would handle the details of church construction. The minister complied with the request and kept his distance.

As the new building was nearing completion, the committee chairman invited the minister to view their new house of worship. Entering through the main doors, the minister noted only the last row of pews had been installed.

“Since people always fill the last row of pews first, we had a special feature installed,” the chairman said. He pressed a button on the wall and the pew moved forward and another popped up. The minister was impressed.

The big day finally arrived for the first service in the new church. The minister peeked out as the pews filled from the back and then moved forward. He was ecstatic.

When the time came for the sermon, the minister was so filled with joy and goodwill, he delivered his prepared message and then some.

At 12 o’clock, he was still sharing the good word when the church bells began to ring…and the pulpit and the minister slowly descended from view.

We all have our view of how the church is supposed to be. And I don’t think there is a single person in the sound of my voice who does want to be part of a church that is growing and the is full of life and love. We want our church to be all that wants it to be. We want our church to meet the needs of every family member and to be able to reach out to the community.

Background

The church at Corinth was probably one of the most problem filled churches we read about in the New Testament. There was blatant immorality, internal strife and division. It was a church that was planted under the missionary efforts of Paul and so Paul took great interest in that church and had a deep, deep concern for the life and health of that church. His first letter to the Corinthians was very confrontational about the many problems that plagued that church and his second letter, though it was more encouraging, also addressed some concerns Paul still had for the church in Corinth.

There one verse in the 12th chapter that is very telling and leads me to believe that the church in Corinth was still dealing with some internal issues – issues that had the potential of being destructive. For in this verse, Paul lists some eight factors that will, without a doubt, destroy any church fellowship. It is those eight contributing factors to church division that I would like to address this morning.

Actually Paul lists some additional destructive factors in the next verse, but we will only deal with the ones mentioned in verse 20. William Barclay, in his commentary on 2 Corinthians, describes these factors as The Marks of an UnChristian Church. And as we look at them you will see why.

My challenge to us all this morning is this – if we are to have a healthy growing church as the Bible says we should, then we must do all we can to prevent these factors from taking root in the life of our church. Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:3 to “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” That is part of my challenge this morning.

And let me say that these factors are not isolated to this church alone – they can probably be found in most every church to some degree. But if we are to be the church that God has called us to be, we must guard against these that are so threatening to the life and health of any church or any relationship.

1. Strife

Strife is also defined as discord, contention and quarreling. It is a word of battles and denotes rivalry and competition. In the NT, it is often associated with the false teachers who created so much havoc in the NT churches. Strife or quarreling is characteristic of the godless and wicked men whom Paul refers to in Romans 1:29. Paul tells Titus when speaking in reference to quarreling about the law that is literally unprofitable.

It is one thing to disagree but it is another thing to let those disagreements turn into discord and contention. I cannot think of anything that is worth causing strife over.

The church is no place for rivalry or competition. It is not a place where we are trying to win over someone else. Conflict is one thing – and conflict can be good. And adversity is different from strife. Whereas conflict and adversity can actually cause us to grow, if we will learn from it, I cannot see where this kind of strife will be of any benefit. When we get to the point where we are competing with each other, we will never be the church God wants us to be.

2. Jealousy

The word jealousy here in the Greek is zhlos. Originally this word described the emotion of a man who sees a life or an action and is moved to emulate it. The word is used in two ways in the NT. It is used in a good sense of zeal and ardor – specifically of having a zeal for God. It is used of the ardent concern that the Corinthians had for Paul and it is used in John 2:17 where, in the context of Jesus clearing the Temple it is written that Jesus’ “disciples remembered that it is written: ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.”

But this word is also used in a bad sense of jealousy and envy. It is listed as one of the acts of the sinful nature in Galatians 5 and is characteristic of those whom Paul considered in Corinth to be worldly and carnal (1 Cor. 3:3)

There is certainly nothing wrong with wanting something that someone else might have – depending on what it is, of course. The problem comes when this emotion becomes envy and causes a man to desire to have what is not his to have. The problem comes when that emotion turns into a grudge because you are being denied what you see this other person has. The problem comes when we let that desire to have what someone else has drive a wedge in the relationship. And jealousy will certainly do that.

3. Outbursts of Anger

The word anger here is a different word that is used in Ephesians 4:26 where Paul declares that anger is not a sin unless it is unresolved. This anger is defined as passion or passionate longing but it is also used here to mean anger, wrath, and rage. It is not a settled and prolonged anger but it is a sudden flare or explosion of burning anger.

In Romans 2 it is the word that is used of God’s anger and wrath. But it is also used elsewhere of the anger of man as in the case of the people’s anger toward Jesus when He announced that His ministry would be directed to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews (Luke 4:28). In that scenario, the people were delighting in what Jesus was doing until He said something that set them off. He mentioned the word Gentile and they literally became furious and sought to drive Him out of town and throw Him over a cliff. The word is also used to describe the anger and wrath that the people in Ephesus had toward Paul and his companions when it became obvious that they were turning people away from the worship of the goddess Diana. Their anger literally turned into a riot.

This is the kind of anger that has been described as the intoxication of the soul and one that causes a person to do or say things for which he later deeply regrets.

These Biblical examples might seem a bit extreme and we may never see this anger manifested among us to that degree but let’s not deny that it can be a problem for us. And let’s face the issue by asking yourself this simple question: “Have I ever responded to someone in any way that I later regretted?”

4. Selfish Ambition

The NIV translates this word as factions but it literally means selfishness, intrigue and rivalries. It is a word that is found in pre-New Testament times as denoting a self-seeking pursuit of political office by unfair means. It originally described work which is done for pay but then became to describe work that is done for no other motives other than for pay. “It describes the utterly selfish and self centered ambition which has no idea for service and which is in everything for what it can get out of it for self.” (William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians, The Daily Bible Study Series, p. 264) James uses this word as being characteristic of the wisdom of the world and that which results in disorder and every evil practice (James 3:14,16) During Paul’s imprisonment, he wrote to the Philippians that there were some who were preaching the gospel with this attitude. And as we read earlier in Philippians 2, we can see that selfish ambition is the exact opposite of Christ-likeness.

As I considered this attitude, I wondered how many of us have this attitude even when we come to the worship service. How many of us come for no other reason but for what we can get out of it. It comes to a point that it is not about anyone else but me. The only thing that is important is how this will meet my need. And that is not worship.

And when we have that attitude we will always come up disappointed and may end up carrying a grudge because my needs are not being met.

Why is it always about me? Is that what church is all about? Is it about how my needs can be met or about how I can minister to someone else or about how I can honor the Lord?

I also think about how there are so many people in our churches today that most interested in their position or status in the church than they are about the needs of others. When I discovered that this word denoted a self-seeking pursuit of political office by unfair means, that is exactly what I thought about and how this can be somewhat prevalent in the church.

5. Verbal Abuse

Paul mentions two forms of verbal abuse here.

a. Slander is defined as speaking against someone. It is defined as backbiting, detractions, evil speech and defamation. This would be the kind of attacks that are more outspoken in public. This kind of verbal abuse will always be done maliciously for the purpose of defaming a person’s character. It’s funny that the only way we can seem to make ourselves look more spiritual or more religious is to tear down someone else.

b. Gossip is defined as whispering, secret gossip, and tale-bearing. And it is only used in a bad sense. Barclay describes it as “the whispering campaign of malicious gossip, the slanderous story murmured in someone’s ear, the discreditable tale passed on as a spicy secret.” (William Barclay, The Letters to the Corinthians, The Daily Bible Study Series, p. 264)

The book of Proverbs speaks to both of these issues and especially to slander. Let give what Solomon tells us slander will do:

it will bring division between friends – 16:28; 17:9

it will cause hurtful, deep wounds – 18:18

it will fuel the fire of strife – 26:20

it will stir up dissension – 6:19

6. Conceit

The NIV translates this word as arrogance. It is defined as inflated opinion or puffing up. In simple terms, this is pride.

Pride is something that the Scriptures tell us the Lord hates. And if the Lord hates pride and arrogance, how can it be a benefit to the life of His church.

Let me tell you how I think arrogance or an inflated opinion of yourself will effect the life of the church:

Those who arrogant in this way usually think they are better than anyone else and that flies in the face of genuine fellowship.

Those who have a high opinion of themselves will never be teachable or open to correction. Proverbs 10:17 says that “He who heeds discipline shows the way to life, but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.” And listen to what else Solomon says about pride and then you can see how it is of no benefit to the life of any believer or any church.

Proverbs 21:4 “Haughty eyes and a proud heart, the lamp of the wicked, are sin!”

Proverbs 13:10 “Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice.”

7. Disorder

Disturbances and unruliness. It signifies disorder as in political turmoil as well as personal unrest. Jesus tells us in Luke 21:9 that this kind of disorder will be prevalent in the last days. The Apostle Paul experienced this kind of personal unrest as part of the many hardships he endured as an ambassador of Christ. But James tells us in chapter 3 of his epistles that this kind of disorder will be present where you have envy and selfish ambition. Disorder and unruliness is basically the result of all these behaviors that Paul as listed. For when you have strife, slander, gossip, arrogance, selfish ambition and outbursts of anger, you have disorder – you have people doing their own thing at the expense of others. You have a social gathering where it is every man for himself. That is disorder and unruliness and inevitable collapse – whether a church family or a biological family. You cannot survive with this kind of chaos.

Conclusion: Let me close with a few additional thoughts.

1. We are really good at pointing out how this person or that person watches certain movies that they should not watch or partakes of certain substances that Christians aren’t supposed to partake of. We are really good at pointing out how someone does not go to church as much as we think they should. And all the while we are guilty of such things as gossip, slander, backbiting, outbursts of anger, pride and stirring up strife.

2. There are so many people right here around us that are in dire need of genuine love, acceptance and ministry.

And that will never happen as long as there are the kinds of factors that the Apostle Paul was fearing he would find at Corinth.

Let me leave you with one question: “If the Apostle Paul came to visit our church and spent a significant amount of time among us, what would he find?”

Rowland Croucher

(This rough draft… to be tidied up some time!).