by Terry Wane Benton<\/p>\n
There is a huge divide in our country. I look at the huge divide between the right and the left in American politics, to say nothing of the huge divide in religions that claim to believe in Jesus Christ. Why are we so deeply divided? Part of the reason is that we haven’t really learned from Christ. Paul, by the Spirit, expressed this division this way:<\/p>\n
“This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness<\/em>” (Ephesians 4:17-24 NKJV).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
There will always be a deep divide between those who have “so learned Christ<\/em>” and those who have not. We can help one soul at a time to learn Christ and come out of darkness, ignorance, and immorality. Spread the word! It is the only way to reduce the divide.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Terry Wane Benton There is a huge divide in our country. I look at the huge divide between the right and the left in American politics, to say nothing of the huge divide in religions that claim to believe in Jesus Christ. Why are we so deeply divided? Part of the reason is that…<\/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-93088","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":89194,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/lines-of-separation\/","url_meta":{"origin":93088,"position":0},"title":"Lines of Separation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 7, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"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\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":88477,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/vital-starting-points-for-unity\/","url_meta":{"origin":93088,"position":1},"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":70896,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-paul-contradict-himself-regarding-division-in-the-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":93088,"position":2},"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":65421,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/observations-on-worldliness\/","url_meta":{"origin":93088,"position":3},"title":"Observations on Worldliness","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 5, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by George Bosworth We cannot grow spiritually when we cling to worldliness. Nothing new in that statement! But consider I Corinthians 3:3-4: \"For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans? For whenever one says \"I belong to Paul\", and another\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":93088,"position":4},"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":36540,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/old-tricks-from-satans-playbook\/","url_meta":{"origin":93088,"position":5},"title":"Old Tricks From Satan\u2019s Playbook","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Austin Hausner \"Is there a thing of which it is said, 'See, this is new'? It has been already in the ages before us\" (Ecclesiastes 1:10). Solomon reminds us that there is nothing new. This is important to remember because many things that people say are new are actually\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\/2021\/07\/divided-300x188.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93088","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=93088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93088\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}