When We Differ<\/a>.)<\/p>\nChristians are taught to walk in love and unity. Paul wrote, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:1-3). The rest of the chapter describes how this ought to be done.<\/p>\nThose within a local church should never want to divide. Churches sometimes split over matters that should have been resolved. This is especially a problem when we fail to deny self and follow Christ’s example: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus<\/em>…” (Philippians 2:3-5). Selfishness will cause division, and we need to distinguish between selfishness (getting what I want) and godliness (doing and being what God wants). If everyone acted like Christ, there would be no divisions.<\/p>\nUnfortunately, divisions occur, but let’s not make the mistake of thinking that any differences we may have require division. Passages like Romans 14 make clear that we are to forbear with one another over certain types of issues, even if the disagreements seem significant to individuals (e.g., the distinction between clean and unclean was no small matter to them). When would separation become necessary? More can be said, but here are some starting points:<\/p>\n
Matters of Liberty and Conscience<\/h2>\n
When matters of liberty and conscience are pushed on others, division is inevitable. This is part of the point in Romans 14. If I do what my conscience forbids, I have sinned because I have not acted from faith (Romans 14:23). We may need to forego certain rights to help maintain peace and ensure we aren’t placing stumbling blocks before others. It is one thing to practice something individually; it is another to impose that practice on others, forcing them to participate against their conscience. Romans 14 is not about corporate or congregational action, but rather individual practices. To involve the entire congregation in something means that all within the group are taking part, regardless of conscience. We need to distinguish what we do as individuals from what we expect the whole congregation to do. In Romans 14, both sides of these personal practices (strong and weak) are taught not to despise one another (Romans 14:3). Division will occur when we do not respect these principles.<\/p>\n
People Who Cause People<\/h2>\n
Divisive people are to be marked and avoided. “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>\nJohn writes, “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works<\/em>” (II John 9-11). Separation from such teachers will be necessary if they fail to repent.<\/p>\nSeveral warnings about false teachers are given in Scripture (I John 4:1; II Peter 2:1-3; Acts 20:26-32; III John; Jude). While we will do all we can to maintain peace, those who fit these categories are not to be tolerated under the umbrella of unity. They have crossed the line, and our desire for unity should not whitewash the “error of lawless people” who carry others away (II Peter 3:17).<\/p>\n
Immoral People<\/h2>\n
Those who practice immorality without repentance are to be marked (I Corinthians 5). The church at Corinth took pride in having tolerated a man who had his father’s wife, but this was not commendable. They were told to “deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord<\/em>” (I Corinthians 5:5). A division becomes necessary in the face of unrepentant evil, for light and darkness cannot coexist (cf. Ephesians 5:11).<\/p>\nNone of this negates the need to be patient and seek to bring people to repentance. Revelation 2-3 shows several congregations where there were those who were doing right and those who needed to repent. The first action was not to divide, but to instruct. We are not to divide over every point of difference, but neither are we to fail to address and instruct while we have opportunities to do so. There will be those who want to hear the truth and are willing to submit to it. There will be others who will not endure sound doctrine, and their actions might result in divisions. We don’t want division, but neither can we turn aside from truth (II Timothy 4:1-5).<\/p>\n
Pursue peace with all, but always keep peace with God first by standing for His truth in love. The rest will follow.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Doy Moyer (Note: for starting points about what to do when we differ, you can see “When We Differ.) Christians are taught to walk in love and unity. Paul wrote, “I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,…<\/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":[27],"tags":[1200,301,231],"class_list":["post-89194","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-disagreements","tag-division","tag-strife"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":44094,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/walk-worthily\/","url_meta":{"origin":89194,"position":0},"title":"Walk Worthily","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 5, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer \"Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/walking-240x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":89101,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/when-we-differ\/","url_meta":{"origin":89194,"position":1},"title":"When We Differ","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 5, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Working with people is challenging because we often have differences that extend beyond preferences in styles and tastes. We sometimes differ over what we deem significant matters, and we need to know how to approach not only the issues but also the fact of our differences and\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":83126,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/working-together\/","url_meta":{"origin":89194,"position":2},"title":"Working Together","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer The people of God are characterized by work. This is not a drudgery but a blessing demonstrating God's fellowship with His people and His people with one another. Salvation is by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), yet God's grace teaches us to \"renounce ungodliness and worldly passions,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Men-Working-300x200.avif","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":88477,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/vital-starting-points-for-unity\/","url_meta":{"origin":89194,"position":3},"title":"Vital Starting Points for Unity","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer All believers should, at the least, accept that Jesus wants His followers to be united together. He prayed \"for those who will believe in me through their (the apostles') word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you,\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":96457,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/humility-among-gods-children\/","url_meta":{"origin":89194,"position":4},"title":"Humility Among God’s Children","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 4, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"by Rowland Gbamis \"Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble\" (I Peter\u00a05:5 KJV). In a world that celebrates self-promotion, personal branding, and the relentless\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":87145,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-does-unity-look-like\/","url_meta":{"origin":89194,"position":5},"title":"What does unity look like?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear Jeffrey, I'm struggling a bit with what unity really means in light of scripture, and I'd appreciate your guidance. From my study, I understand unity to involve being \"of the same mind and judgment\" as in I\u00a0Corinthians 1:10-11, and having the humility and love described in Philippians 2:1-5.\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\/89194","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=89194"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/89194\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=89194"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=89194"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=89194"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}