\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDownload Audio\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\tText: I Corinthians 11:17-22<\/p>\n
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I. You hear all sorts of excuses when you attempt to talk to others about Christianity.<\/p>\n A. “Well, I can’t take that Christian stuff seriously. You folk are all suppose to\nworship the same god, love your neighbor, and things like that, yet look at all the\nfighting going on between factions.”\n B. I had a similar argument made to me by a couple of Mormons. “Look at\nChristianity, it is fractured, what, three thousand different ways? Surely this\ncannot be God’s doing and God’s people.”\n C. A Muslim couple want to say that there was something wrong with Christianity\nbecause it is so divided, unlike Islam, which they state was united.\nII. It is not that the charge is without merit. There have been and are numerous infightings\nand fractions among those calling themselves Christian.\n A. Over the centuries, Catholics and Protestants have been killing each other,\nsometimes with the support of the local government.\n 1. Even today Catholics and Protestants kill and maim each other in the\nprovince of Ulster, Ireland.\n B. Christianity is fractured into numerous denominations with contradictory beliefs\nand doctrines.\n 1. Even these denominations split over issues such as women priests,\nhomosexuality, or even the literal truth of the resurrection.\n
C. Among our own brethren, divisions have occurred over a variety of issues.<\/p>\n D. Unbelievers see Christianity in such a sorry state that they conclude that it does\nnot deserve continued existence.\nIII. To answer this charge, we must first recognize that there are two separate charges rolled\nup into one.\n
A. First is the charge that there are disputes among brethren<\/p>\n
1. Disputes are not a new phenomenon. <\/p>\n a. The herdsmen of Abraham and Lot disputed over grazing land –\nGenesis 13:6-12. This led to Abraham and Lot agreeing to go\nseparate ways to avoid future disputes.\n b. Paul and Barnabas had a disagreement over taking John Mark with\nthem to preach as he had left them before in Pamphylia – Acts\n15:36-40\n c. There was a dispute between brethren from Judea and those from\nAntioch over circumcision – Acts 15:1-2\n
d. The church at Corinth had internal disputes – I Corinthians 1:10-12<\/p>\n e. A dispute arose between Euodia and Syntyche in Philippi –\nPhilippians 4:2-3\n
2. Disputes occur among any group. It is not limited to Christians<\/p>\n
a. Republicans disagree with Democrats<\/p>\n
b. Marriages end in divorce<\/p>\n c. Singling out Christians as having occasional differences would be\nunfair. Christians acknowledge that we are all sinners and are\nimperfect.\n
3. There is a big difference between Christians and other groups.<\/p>\n a. We expect Republicans to dispute Democrats. Our system of\ngovernment is actually set up to encourage such disagreements.\n b. However, Christians teach that disputes among Christians are\nwrong!\n (1) Discord is listed among the deeds of the flesh in Galatians\n5:19-21\n
(2) Proverbs 17:14 – Abandon quarrels.<\/p>\n
(3) Proverbs 20:3 – Honor is in ending strife.<\/p>\n
c. Instruction is given on how to solve problems between brethren<\/p>\n (1) Sort it out quickly, preferably that very day – Ephesians\n4:26-27\n
(2) Seek a solution – Matthew 5:23-26<\/p>\n
(3) Steps to take in reaching agreement – Matthew 18:15-17<\/p>\n (4) Disputes should be settled among brethren and not before\nnon-believers – I Corinthians 6:1-8\n 4. Disputes occur, but it does mean Christianity is the cause of the disputes. \nIt means that one or more people are not following the principles laid\ndown in God’s Holy Word.\n B. The second part of the charge is that there is factions among those calling\nthemselves Christians.\n
1. This, too, is not surprise as fractions occur in most groups<\/p>\n
a. There was a faction between the Pharisees and the Sadducees.<\/p>\n (1) The Pharisees were a party among the Jews who placed\ngreat emphasis on the observance of rites and ceremonies. \nThey saw themselves as superior to common people. Some\nof their beliefs were the immortality of the soul, the future\nresurrection of the body, and the existence of angels and\nspirits.\n (2) The Sadducees drew members from the ruling class of\nJewish society. They denied the possibility of a\nresurrection or the existence of angels and spirits\n b. The Corinthian church was rebuked for the factions developing\nwithin them – I Corinthians 1:11-16\n c. We see nations re-aligning borders, joining together, and then\nfractioning apart.\n
d. Division is not unique to Christians.<\/p>\n (1) The Mormons have two major branches. One based in Salt\nLake City and another based in Independence, Missouri.\nEstimates are that there are over 400 groups under the\nMormon belief system according to a Wikipedia article.\n (2) Islam is much the same. It is divided between Shia and the\nSunni. Within these are over 70 different schools of\nthought.\n 2. But what is important is that divisions among God’s people are\ncondemned.\n a. There should only be one body (Ephesians 4:3-6) with Christ as its\nhead (Colossians 1:18)\n b. The very term “denomination” means a dividing, a separation\nwhich should not exist.\n
c. God never gave approval to dividing his church.<\/p>\n 3. If Christians followed the teachings of God, then there would be no\ndivisions. We would be united.\n a. It is the altering of God’s will that causes division because these\nalterations are man-made.\n b. If you can make a change, then why can’t I make a change. Who\nsays your change is better than mine?\n
c. When many men become involved, there many divisions result.<\/p>\nIV. In any group of people, there will be differences of opinion and separation into “us and\nthem”\n A. The church recognizes that disputes will happen, but it condemns them and\nteaches how to overcome them.\n B. Denominationalism is condemned as well. Those who wear the name of Christ\nshould not be dividing into splinter groups.\n C. The argument against Christianity, as given, is a result of the bad practices of\nthose who do not follow the true teachings of Christ. Christianity does not cause\ndisputes and divisions, it teaches how to remove them.\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: I Corinthians 11:17-22 I. You hear all sorts of excuses when you attempt to talk to others about Christianity. A. “Well, I can’t take that Christian stuff seriously. You folk are all suppose to worship the same god, love your neighbor, and things like that, yet look at all…<\/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_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[37,642,1277,1367],"class_list":["post-62279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-apologetics","tag-christianity","tag-denominationalism","tag-disputes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":53106,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/christianity-concentrate\/","url_meta":{"origin":62279,"position":0},"title":"Christianity Concentrate","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 8, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Warfel, Jr. Lessons from Matthew","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":90655,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/real-christianity\/","url_meta":{"origin":62279,"position":1},"title":"Real Christianity","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 21, 2025","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":67358,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-christianity-is-all-about\/","url_meta":{"origin":62279,"position":2},"title":"What Christianity Is All About","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: Ephesians 1 by Don Bunting One (or Two) Chapter Lessons","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":48502,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-christianity-rules-or-a-relationship\/","url_meta":{"origin":62279,"position":3},"title":"Is Christianity Rules or a Relationship?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 26, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Tommy Peeler God Has a Plan","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":64155,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/joys-of-christianity-gods-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":62279,"position":4},"title":"Joys Of Christianity: God’s Grace","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 23, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Garry Floyd","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":48631,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-did-christianity-survive\/","url_meta":{"origin":62279,"position":5},"title":"How Did Christianity Survive?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 29, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"by Tommy Peeler God Has a Plan","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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62279","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=62279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62279\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}