https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/10\/SowersOfStrife.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Romans 16:17-20<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. The contentious hearings leading up to the appointment of Justice Kavanaugh has\ngenerated a lot of discussion on ethics and morality\n A. I was reading an article by Paul Prather, published in the Lexington Herald-Leader\non October 11, 2018\n 1. His expressed concern was not that people disagreed, but the way they\ndisagreed\n 2. “We don’t just disagree with out opponents anymore. We don’t just\ncriticize them. We demonize them. We mock them. We hate them. … We\ndon’t just wish them to see the error or their ways. We wish them\ndestroyed. We wish them imprisoned. We wish them humiliated. …”\n B. This is one of many things that disturbs me about recent events. It is not enough to\ndisagree with another person, people feel compelled to destroy.\n C. It is not an issue reserved only for politics, it is the tremors of disasters awaiting in\nsociety and even in the church\n 1. Paul warned that we must be watchful against those who would cause\ndissension – Romans 16:17-18\n 2. One of the things God finds disgusting are people who cause strife among\nbrethren – Proverbs 6:19\n
II. The Source of Strife<\/p>\n
A. Perversity (crooked thinking) – Proverbs 6:14<\/p>\n
1. A love of sin – Proverbs 17:19<\/p>\n
B. Hatred – Proverbs 10:12<\/p>\n 1. We lose sight of what we are here for: We are here to get as many people\nto heaven as possible.\n
2. Instead it becomes a matter of “I’m right. You’re wrong.”<\/p>\n 3. Contentious, never happy with what others do, always finding fault –\nProverbs 26:21 \n
C. Pride – Proverbs 13:10<\/p>\n
1. Scoffers, making mockery of what you don’t believe – Proverbs 22:10<\/p>\n
D. Being hot-tempered – Proverbs 15:18<\/p>\n
1. Not taking time to think<\/p>\n
E. Refusal to learn – Proverbs 18:6<\/p>\n
1. Any fool can start a quarrel – Proverbs 20:3<\/p>\n
III. The Dangers of Strife<\/p>\n
A. It is hard to stop, once started – Proverbs 17:14<\/p>\n
B. It leads to defilement – Hebrews 12:14-15<\/p>\n 1. We are to pursue peace and holiness. The opposite is falling short and\nbecoming bitter\n
2. The phrase “root of bitterness” is found in Deuteronomy 29:14-21<\/p>\n
a. The fear was some may turn from God and become bitter. <\/p>\n b. Such a person will become stubborn and destructive of what is\ngood\n 3. The Hebrew writer saw the possibility that some in enduring hardships\nbecause of God’s discipline would give up.\n a. But the same problem can arise. It isn’t enough to give up,\nbitterness leads people to want to destroy what they left.\n
b. And by it they become defiled.<\/p>\n 4. There is no peace, no holiness. The bitterness becomes a poison that\ndestroys relationships\n
C. It leads to useless worship – Matthew 5:23-24<\/p>\n
1. The worship referred to here was under the Old Law, but the point is clear.<\/p>\n 2. If you have a disagreement with a brother, settle the problem first, then\nworship God.\n
3. No one can please God while causing problems between people.<\/p>\n
D. It leads to devoured brethren – Galatians 5:13-15<\/p>\n
1. If we love and serve each other, the church will grow<\/p>\n 2. If we turn to fault finding, contending with each other, we will just destroy\nourselves\n 3. The illustration is of wild animals snipping at each other, looking for a\nweakness, until no one is left standing.\n
E. It ruins our influence – Philippians 2:14-16<\/p>\n 1. In order to prove to be blameless, innocent children of God, we must do all\nthings without grumbling or disputing\n 2. Bickering doesn’t show us to be different from the world. It proves the\nbickerers are no different that the rest of the world\n
3. Without unity, efforts at evangelism are destroyed<\/p>\n
IV. It is not what Jesus wants – John 17:20-23<\/p>\n
A. Jesus’ desire for his people is that they be one<\/p>\n
B. By our unity the world knows we are from God<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 16:17-20 I. The contentious hearings leading up to the appointment of Justice Kavanaugh has generated a lot of discussion on ethics and morality A. I was reading an article by Paul Prather, published in the Lexington Herald-Leader on October 11, 2018 1. His expressed concern was not that people disagreed, but…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[1436,1367,231],"class_list":["post-54481","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-contention","tag-disputes","tag-strife"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":62499,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/from-whence-comes-quarrels\/","url_meta":{"origin":54481,"position":0},"title":"From Whence Comes Quarrels?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 5, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Reading: James 4:1-12 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0You all have heard it before, two brothers have a disagreement and soon one accuses the other of being contentious. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0At times, it may be true, but I suspect most don\u2019t understand the charge they are making. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There have been times when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32432,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/dealing-with-hatred\/","url_meta":{"origin":54481,"position":1},"title":"Dealing with Hatred","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 21, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Warfel","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":53761,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/proverbs-sometime-overlooked\/","url_meta":{"origin":54481,"position":2},"title":"Proverbs Sometime Overlooked","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 18, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Warfel","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16899,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-abortion-wrong-except-in-the-case-of-rape\/","url_meta":{"origin":54481,"position":3},"title":"Is abortion wrong except in the case of rape?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 30, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I just recently had a short conversation with someone about abortion. We both agreed that abortion was wrong, but we disagreed with one another on the exception of rape. I do not believe that rape is an exception. Do you? The Bible tells us Deuteronomy 30:19\u00a0\"Therefore choose life\".\u00a0The person\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13943,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-sin-of-pride\/","url_meta":{"origin":54481,"position":4},"title":"The Sin of Pride","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Psalms 73:1-12 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Pride is prevalent in our society \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Pride in our work \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Pride in yourself - often called self-esteem \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Pride in sin. We have a whole month called \u201cPride Month\u201d to celebrate sin \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0D.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Letters come addressed not just to the church, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":21276,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doesnt-a-publicly-known-sin-need-to-be-confessed\/","url_meta":{"origin":54481,"position":5},"title":"Doesn’t a publicly known sin need to be confessed?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 5, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello! I have a question about an article that I have recently found. I am a Christian and grew up in the church always believing you \"need to let the congregation know you have repented of your public sins\" by going forward. In the article \"Does sin require a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54481","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54481"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54481\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54481"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54481"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54481"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}