A Church Divided

A Church Divided

SIGNS OF THE END TIMES PART 5

At that time, many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other… 

Matt 24:10

What happens when people of faith turn on each other?

In his famous Olivet discourse, Jesus tells us that before the end comes, people will turn away from the faith and hate each other. He was talking to his disciples, who would soon learn a thing or two about hatred and betrayal. All but one of them would be martyred for their faith in Jesus, the first of a long line of Christian martyrs. Paul himself was often the victim of hatred from his fellow Jews over his preaching.

Over the centuries, we have seen faiths warring against each other—Islam, Christianity, Judaism, even atheism, which is faith system in itself. Yet when Paul wasn’t being stoned or run out of town by the Jews, he was trying to put out fires between the believers themselves.

 For while there is jealousy and strife among you,
are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? 1 Cor 3:3

In chapter 6 of this letter, Paul admonishes the believers for suing each other, saying they are already defeated by their own disputes.

Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers, 6 but brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers? 7 To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? 8 But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers![a]

James addressed the same issue in his letter.

What causes fights and quarrels among you?
Aren’t they caused by the selfish desires that fight to control you? James 4:1

Throughout history, Christians have fought each other. The Thirty Years War saw a succession of battles between Catholic and Protestant nations of the Holy Roman Empire and led to eight million deaths. England fell into a constant state of unrest for a century after Henry VIII broke away from the Catholic Church so that he could divorce his wife and marry someone else. Ireland was wracked by a pseudo-religious divide between Catholics and Protestants throughout much of the 20th century. The American Civil War saw Christians fighting on both sides, with both sides claiming God was with them. 

But is the problem of Christians fighting Christians getting worse?

It’s hard to say if it’s worse now, but the lines dividing Christians have changed starkly. Once upon a time, Christians fought over the biblical interpretation of spiritual truths and how they should be applied. But sin was still sin. Repentance was necessary for salvation. Everyone seemed to agree on that. The political and cultural mores of the times didn’t matter.

Even during the Civil War, when slavery divided North and South, there was no question among Christians on both sides that slavery was evil. The leaders of the Confederacy couldn’t argue that slavery was a moral good, so they changed the conversation to one of economic viability and state’s rights. Robert E. Lee, himself a slave owner, wrote, “Slavery as an institution is a moral and political evil in any Country.” Lee believed that Christianity would lead to the emancipation of the slaves rather than any political movement. Indeed, the Abolitionist movement was spearheaded by Christians John Wesley, William Wilberforce, and Charles Finney, to name a few. 

Today, however, the Church is splitting over those very moral issues that used to be unequivocal. The Bible is clear on what sin is, yet many churches want to change the teachings of the Bible to fit the culture we live in. This is especially true on hot-button issues like homosexuality, gay marriage, abortion, and female pastors, where modern, progressive churches have turned away from the Bible and look to secular humanism for inspiration. 

The Southern Baptist Convention is a prime example of this split. The SBC (it no longer refers to itself as “Southern” in order to distance itself from its slave-supporting origins) was at one time considered one of the most conservative denominations, upholding the Bible as the sole source of morality and truth.

And yet, in the 70s, it began to kowtow to the culture, first passing several resolutions upholding abortion rights and then supporting the theory of evolution, stating that Genesis 1 was not a literal narrative of creation. Soon, it was actively recruiting homosexuals to its seminaries.

There was a “conservative takeover” in the eighties, and many of these policies were walked back. Even the leader of the SBC, who had adamantly supported the pro-choice platform, suddenly became pro-life. (Flip-flopping is not just for politicians)

But things changed again in the 2000’s. SBC leaders claimed that the Bible only “whispers” about homosexuality while it “shouts” about much graver sins like greed and materialism. In other words, homosexuality was not a big deal. “Like a child disobeying a parent,” according to SBC President JD Greaer. 

Russell Moore, former head of public policy at the SBC, pushed the denomination further and further into left-leaning policies, embracing the idea of “white guilt,” supporting the transgender agenda, and forming ties with Islamic groups, animal rights groups, open borders groups (including those funded by George Soros), and the climate change agenda. He claimed that Jesus was an “illegal alien” (Jesus was a Jewish man living in Israel, but oh well, who cares about facts?), and he called Western culture “demonic” (but not because of abortion and sexual immorality, because that stuff is okay now, apparently). 

But then the SBC seemed to reverse itself again, upholding its own faith statement on women pastors. Paul was clear on this subject.

 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man. 1 Tim 2:12

This doesn’t exclude women from ministry, as some have suggested. Paul had many interactions with women in ministry, like Phoebe (Romans 16) and Priscilla (Acts 18)  and greatly respected them. Women have an important role in the church. But under God’s authority, Paul taught that women should not teach or lead men. 

You’d think this was settled—the Bible is clear. And yet, there was a virtual uprising in the SBC when it broke fellowship with several churches for ordaining women, including Saddleback, the megachurch led by Rick Warren. A two-year battle ensued in which other churches broke away from the SBC in protest. In June this year, a constitutional ban on women pastors failed to pass.

Those promoting the idea of women pastors usually do so by reasoning that, in Paul’s day, women weren’t educated or qualified. Nowhere does Paul say that. His reason is quite clear.

For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner  1 Tim 2:13-14

Modern people don’t like this explanation at all. It’s chauvinistic and sexist, an example of backwards, patriarchal thinking. 

And yet it appears that the churches who have chosen to defy this command have fallen into other grave deceptions, just as Eve did. 

Scripture tells us that God formed us in the womb (Isaiah 44:2, Psalm 139:13, Ecc 11:5) and He knew us before we were formed (Jer 1:5, Isaiah 49:1) and yet many mainline denominations support abortion rights. 

Scripture tells us that sexual immorality is a sin, including homosexuality and adultery (Lev 18:22, Lev 20:13, Romans 1:26-27, 1 Cor 6:9-10, 1 Tim 1:10), but many mainline denominations and even non-denominational megachurches condone homosexuality and ordain homosexuals as ministry leaders. 

Scripture tells us that marriage is between a man and a woman (Gen 2:24, Matt 19:4-5, 1 Cor 7:2, Mark 10:6-9), yet many churches now perform gay marriages. 

Scripture tells us that God created us male and female (Gen 1:27, Gen 5:2, Deut 22:5, Matt 19:4). Yet, many churches support transgender ideology, celebrate Pride Month, and have drag queen pastors. 

Among these mainline denominations are the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, the United Church of Christ, the Presbyterian Church USA, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Megachurch pastor Andy Stanley’s Northpoint Church held a conference on homosexuality in which he emphasized inclusiveness and compassion but never once brought up the biblical teaching on homosexuality. (Stanley himself calls those teachings “clobber verses.”)

Clearly, churches are turning away from the faith in order to appear more acceptable to the culture. Often, they will use the mantra “loving your neighbor” as the catchall for tolerating and even celebrating aberrant behaviors. We are called to love all people, right? Jesus ate with sinners, after all. He was beloved by prostitutes and tax collectors.

They seem to forget that while Jesus did love people and had compassion for them, He also called them out of sin. After he saved the woman about to be stoned for adultery, he said, “Go and sin no more.” Jesus didn’t hang out with prostitutes because he agreed with their life choices. He hung out with them so they would follow Him, listen to Him, and allow Him to change their lives. They were sick—He was the cure.

It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick;
 I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Mark 2:17

But many churches have abandoned the idea that sin is sin, focusing instead on what they believe is Jesus’ unconditional love.

Rebecca Todd Peters, a pro-choice Presbyterian pastor, professor, and activist, takes this kind of love to the next level. She said in a sermon,

If Jesus were here today, he would be a clinic escort distracting women from the hatred of the protesters or an abortion doula holding women’s hands and offering support and love as they end their pregnancies. And I expect he would have a stern word for self-righteous legislators who use abortion as a political issue rather than showing compassion for the people seeking abortions.

In the Word According to the Reverend Doctor Peters, Jesus would have saved the woman caught in adultery from being stoned to death by admonishing the crowd on their patriarchal views of sex. Then he would have sent the woman on her way with a “you’re doing fine” pat on the back and perhaps add, “If you get pregnant, let me know, and I’ll walk you to the abortion clinic.”

Satan loves this sort of thing. It’s what he does best—takes the truth of God’s word and twists it into something completely different, into the very antithesis of itself.

Jesus himself warned this would happen and made clear the consequences.

For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 

Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven Matt 5:18-19

We mess with God’s Word at our own peril. The enemy uses these moral issues, even the least of these commandments, to cause rifts in the church and to make Christians despise and distrust each other. Eventually, many will turn away from the faith altogether.

A house divided against itself cannot stand. (Mark 3:25)

The stage is set for the End.