Sunday 22 January 2023

Divisions



First Corinthians 1:10-13, 17

Brothers, I urge you, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, not to have factions among yourselves but all to be in agreement in what you profess; so that you are perfectly united in your beliefs and judgements.

From what Chloe's people have been telling me about you, brothers, it is clear that there are serious differences among you.

What I mean is this: every one of you is declaring, 'I belong to Paul,' or 'I belong to Apollos,' or 'I belong to Cephas,' or 'I belong to Christ.'

Has Christ been split up? Was it Paul that was crucified for you, or was it in Paul's name that you were baptised?

After all, Christ sent me not to baptise, but to preach the gospel; and not by means of wisdom of language, wise words which would make the cross of Christ pointless.

These are Paul's words in his first letter to the Corinthians. It seems that even then there were arguments and factions and divisions as to what, or whom, to believe and to follow.

Paul makes it clear. "Don't follow me or anyone else. Follow Christ."

And now, 2000 years later we are still arguing as to which Church is the true and genuine one. The Catholics believe that they are the true Church because it was established by Christ through Peter. As a Catholic, I raise my eyebrows at some (many) of the Church's teachings, dogmas and beliefs. I once wrote to a priest that the Catholic Church portrays itself as superior and aloof from other Churches. He proved the point by ignoring me.

At a time when  the world is becoming more secular and materialistic; at a time when people seem to have stopped believing in eternity and are only focused on the here and now; is it not time that we "Christians" present a united front and behave as Christ would want us to.

We Christians sometimes/often sully His name by our behaviour.

24 comments:

  1. Hi Victor, truthful post. The church is not a house made with hands (Acts ch. 7 v. 48), it is the body of Christ on earth (1 Corinthians ch. 27), and each believer is a part of it. God bless.

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  2. ...many have forgotten First Corinthians 1:10-13, 17!

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  3. That's very true. It's not God that deters people from becoming Christians, it's Christians.

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    1. Well said, Liz. God bless you. Please call again.

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  4. Dearest Victor,
    Yes, it often is such a true fact! Divide and conquer one also can say as a divided people is far easier to surprise, to handle or whatever.
    Did do the readings yesterday on this and know very well what the content is about.
    Oh, your newest book also arrived in the mail but the coming week will be very busy for us as we have a guest staying with us for two nights.
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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    1. Yes, Mariette. This was the reading in Church today.

      Thank you so much for purchasing my latest book. I hope you like it when you have time to read it. In the meantime, enjoy the company of your guests.

      Best wishes and God bless.

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    2. Our guest (husband of Pieter's niece) arrives on Friday...)...

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    1. Thank you Christine. Best wishes always and God bless.

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  6. This speaks to me! Even as a child, I witnessed prejudices against other synods of the same (Lutheran) church. Today, there exists significant challenges and ill-will in the United Methodist Chuch. Many have dis-affiliated and I'm pretty sure ours will as well when the congregational vote occurs next month.

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    1. Rather sad I think. We quarrel on what divides us rather than rejoice in what unites us. And Paul wrote about it all those years ago.

      God bless, Mevely.

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  7. God should be our authority not man.

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  8. We do need to present a united front more than ever, Victor, I agree. I just read this chapter in my Bible today, so the sentiment was fresh on my mind. Let us pray for the unity of the church!
    Blessings!

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    1. This was our reading in Church today, Martha. What hope is there for the world if Christians can't unite?

      God bless you.

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  9. That is the question, can the Christians unite. They surely are not doing a good job these days.

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    1. Sadly you are right, Bill. Christians are a bad example of Christianity.

      God bless you.

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  10. While we may not all agree on every point of doctrine, it doesn't mean we can't have fellowship in Christ and work together.

    I believe He means for each of us to be a member of a local body of believers for being discipled and so we can support, uphold, teach and worship together. We are also each supposed to be concerned about fellow believers in other churches and make ourselves available to assist, pray with and work with them.

    As one older African-American pastor said, "We need to get it together because when Christ comes back, it will be for a bride, not a harem!"

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    1. Very good points, Mimi. Thank you so much.

      God bless.

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  11. It would be wonderful if Christians would present a united front, but it seems like people can't agree on anything lately.

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    1. Got it in one - people can't agree on anything these days.

      God bless, Kathy

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