“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive<\/em>” (Romans 16:17-18).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n There are appropriate reasons for division in the church. In times of false teaching or wrong practices, there needs to be a clear distinction between those who are genuine and those who are false (I Corinthians 11:19). These fractions will allow proper actions to be taken, whether it be correction, repentance, and reunification (II Corinthians 2:7), or correction and loving discipline (I Corinthians 5:5). The ultimate goal in both scenarios is for the congregation to be as whole and healthy as possible.<\/p>\n by John Ivar Andresen on Flickr.com<\/p><\/div>\n However, some like to cause division, and others are willing to be divisive, given the right opportunity. Some crave the chaos, friction, and pandemonium that ensue with division. Some have their own agendas and are willing to sacrifice the unity and health of a congregation to get what they want. Some divisive people are members, some are preachers, some are elders, and some are deacons. Regardless of the position they hold or the role they fulfill, this divisive heart is evil.<\/p>\n Paul writes to the Romans, urging them to watch out for such people. He tells them to avoid such individuals since they do not hold to the doctrine of the Lord Jesus; rather, their first allegiance is to their own appetites. They can be smooth talkers and flatter with the best of them, but they will deceive and bring destruction. Look carefully in moments of division. Are they building up the body of Christ (Ephesians 4:12)? Are they trying to maintain the unity of the Spirit and obtain the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3)? Or are they destroying the temple of God?<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Chadwick Brewer “I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the…<\/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":[27],"tags":[301],"class_list":["post-79248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-division"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":70896,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-paul-contradict-himself-regarding-division-in-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":79248,"position":0},"title":"Did Paul contradict himself regarding division in the church?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi. I'm seeking clarification on why, in I Corinthians 1:10, Paul condemns division and pleads them to \"speak the same thing\" and be of the \"same mind and the same judgment.\" But ten chapters later, in I Corinthians 11:18-19, Paul seems to say that divisions are a \"must\" since\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":53790,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/a-limited-sphere\/","url_meta":{"origin":79248,"position":1},"title":"A Limited Sphere","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: II Corinthians 10:7-18 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Without a doubt unity is important to God and His people - John 17:17-21 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is something to strive for - Ephesians 4:1-3 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Division is condemned - I Corinthians 1:10-13 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul, when he entered Jerusalem wanted to join with other Christians\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":85263,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-scriptures-are-for-correction\/","url_meta":{"origin":79248,"position":2},"title":"The Scriptures Are for Correction","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 3, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0by Terry Wane Benton A few years ago, a gospel preacher said the Bible was not written to correct denominationalism. He thought he had some big point he was making. I pointed out that the Bible was not written to correct Muslims or Mormons in any direct way either, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92291,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/division-in-a-local-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":79248,"position":3},"title":"Division in a Local Church","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 21, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Robert L. McDonald via Expository Review, November 1984 \"And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91141,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-to-exercise-church-discipline\/","url_meta":{"origin":79248,"position":4},"title":"When to Exercise Church Discipline","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 9, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Kyle Ellison The question of when to exercise church discipline is both agonizing and grueling, one that elders and members must grapple with from time to time. Elders feel the weight of this without a doubt, since they are charged with watching for the souls of those under their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":61856,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-benefits-of-false-teaching-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":79248,"position":5},"title":"The Benefits of False Teaching (Sermon)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 8:18-39 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is said there is a silver lining in every cloud \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Paul tells us that God can turn even wicked events to the advantage of the righteous (Romans 8:18-39) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But it is hard to imagine any good coming from the work of those\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":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79248","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=79248"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":95120,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79248\/revisions\/95120"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/divisive-300x200.avif\")