If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.

-1 John 4:20-21, ESV

There is a common saying in our day: “I love Jesus, but I can’t stand His followers”.  While most Christians wouldn’t say this out loud, the prevalence of conflict in many churches shows that many church members believe this statement.  There are certainly times where church conflict is appropriate (which I will address in the next post), but the conflicts I have seen in churches I have attended since childhood have not fallen into that category.  Instead they indicate a lack of love for one another, which as we will soon see indicates a lack of love for Jesus.  My very first post stated that we need to love what Jesus loves—and Jesus loves the Church, so failure to love the Church is very serious. 

You Cannot Love Jesus Without Loving the Church

Many people will say that they love Jesus, but Jesus Himself gave us the litmus test by which everyone will know if we love Him or not: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).  The Great Commission tells us what it means to be disciples of Jesus: those who are baptized and taught to obey everything He commanded, especially the command to love one another.  Therefore, Jesus is saying that if we don’t love our brothers and sisters in Christ, we are not really His disciples.  John makes this even more clear: “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother” (1 John 4:20-21).  Since God is unseen, it is relatively easy to love Him in a superficial and theoretical sense, but that is not real love.  The love of 1 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 5, and other passages is very real and practical: the committed and selfless sacrifice exemplified by Jesus Christ.  This type of love can only be proven through action, so we demonstrate that we have that love by acting in love toward our neighbors—most notably our brothers and sisters in Christ.  John is saying that if that practical love for one another is absent, love for God is absent as well.  It is quite simple: if you do not love the church and those in the church, you do not love God. 

If you do not love the church, you do not love the Triune God.  It naturally follows then that you do not love Jesus either.  The church as a whole is commonly referred to as the Bride of Christ—both the universal church and all the local churches that comprise it.  To hate any person in the church then is to hate a part of the Church Body that is the Bride of Christ.  The Church is one with Christ, so to hate the Church is to hate Christ and to oppose the Church is to oppose Christ.  It can be nothing else.  What’s more, there can be no greater insult to any groom than to insult his bride.  When that Groom is the omnipotent God, such insults are most unwise.  Even worse than insults would be doing anything to threaten the Bride.  God will destroy anyone who destroys His Church (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).  We often think that such warnings are focused on those outside the church, but some of the worst enemies come from within.  Far more churches have been destroyed by divisions within than persecution without.  One such enemy from within was Alexander the coppersmith, who was excommunicated by Paul for his blasphemy that was so damaging to the church that Paul used some of his last recorded words to warn Timothy about him (1 Timothy 1:18-20, 2 Timothy 4:15-16). All such divisions stem from a lack of love for one another.

Loving the Church Means Loving Its Leaders

Some of the worst hatred displayed in any church is directed towards the leaders of the church.  This is nothing short of open rebellion against God.  We are commanded to submit to all of the governing authorities that God has placed over us (Romans 13:1-7, 1 Peter 2:13-17), which includes the elders and deacons in the church.  They are the ones appointed by God to lead the church, so God commands that they be honored and obeyed (1 Timothy 5:17, Hebrews 13:17).  Everyone in authority has been put in that position by God, which is especially true of church leaders.  In a previous post, we found that all authority comes from God, who gives it to whoever He wills.  He has given authority over the local church to the elders, so to question or challenge that authority is to question and challenge God Himself.  God takes rebellion very seriously, likening it to the abomination of witchcraft that deserves execution (1 Samuel 15:23).  When we fail to honor and submit to our pastors, we are in serious sin. 

In the church, this usually consists of armchair Christians who simply criticize their pastors, but sometimes morphs into open opposition against them.  They form factions then bring baseless accusations against the pastors, causing division in the church.  This is explicitly condemned in Scripture. 

But avoid foolish controversies, genealogies, dissensions, and quarrels about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

-Titus 3:9-11, ESV (cf. 1 Timothy 5:19)

Scripture clearly condemns those who stir up division in the church in the strongest terms, describing such a person as warped, sinful, and self-condemned.  Therefore, division in the church is extremely serious. 

This is evident by its prominence in 1 Corinthians.  The Corinthian church had a myriad of problems that Paul needed to address urgently.  They were not only tolerating but celebrating the worst sexual sin.  They were arguing over secondary doctrines and spiritual gifts.  Their worship was chaotic and brought disdain from outsiders.  They were treating communion with contempt.  They were even denying the resurrection.  But Paul delays addressing these in order to deal with their divisions as of first importance.  They had divided into factions based on support for their favorite leader and disdain of other leaders.  Some claimed to follow Paul, who had planted the church.  Others claimed Apollos due to his eloquence and rhetorical skill.  Still others claimed Peter, likely because he was the leader of the apostles.  Finally, others claimed to only follow Christ, likely meaning they rejected all church leaders.  By dividing themselves in this way, they had forgotten that Paul, Apollos, and Peter were all on the same team: the team of Christ.  In claiming a particular leader, they were not only dishonoring other leaders but actually dishonoring the leader they claimed.  Therefore Paul responded by reminding them that the focus must be on Christ, not His servants (1 Corinthians 3:5-9).  These divisions were a sign of their spiritual immaturity, since their pride and envy meant they were living according to the flesh and not the Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:1-4 cf. Galatians 5:17-23).  And if the letter was insufficient, he threatened to come and deal with the situation himself (1 Corinthians 4:19-21).  Clearly we must be wary of division in the church.  Stirring up division in the church is a horrendous sin.

The Root of Division

If stirring up division in the church is such a grave sin, why is it so prevalent?  Causing division is listed among the deeds of the flesh that are the antithesis of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:20), so it comes from our sin nature.  Fights and quarrels come from sinful desires (James 4:1-3), so the root of divisions in the church is pride and self-centeredness.  This should come as no surprise, since we saw here that those make up the true enemy of God’s people.  It was his fragile ego that caused Haman to plot genocide against the Jews, so it should come as no surprise that pride causes division in the church.  It is pride that turns respectful disagreements into conflicts that damage the church.  It is pride that causes people to refuse to submit to their pastors, instead maligning them and bringing baseless charges against them. It is pride that leads people to form factions rather than compromising where possible for the good of the church.  Love is patient, kind, not envious or boastful, not arrogant, rude, or selfish (1 Corinthians 7:4-7), but the pride that causes division is the opposite.  If we considered others more important than ourselves and looked to their interests rather than only our own (Philippians 2:3-4)—which is what loving one another requires—the vast majority of church conflicts would be avoided.

It is important to note that pride is the cause of division but not disagreements.  We will often have disagreements about secondary doctrines, procedures, plans, and strategic direction.  When we have these disagreements while honoring and loving one another, they do not stir up division.  It is only when those disagreements are in the context of pride and self-centeredness that they sinfully stir up division.  Therefore, we should not seek to avoid all disagreements but ensure they remain in the context of love and honor that God requires. 

This is a Salvation Issue

To be a Christian is to love Jesus Christ, which we demonstrate through love for His Church.  It naturally follows then that to hate the Church is to hate Jesus Christ, which is the antithesis of being a Christian.  Therefore, it is appropriate to question the salvation of anyone who claims to be a Christian but does not demonstrate love for the local and universal Church.  This may sound extreme, but it is what Scripture teaches: “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him” (1 John 3:14-15).  The point is clear: our love for one another in the church is evidence of our salvation, so its lack should raise serious questions.  This is not to say that salvation is somehow dependent on our love for the church.  Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, not by any amount of love we have for one another.  Still, love is the first of the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22), so if we aren’t seeing the fruit, we need to examine the root with much fear:

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

-Hebrews 10:26-31, ESV

Like all persistent sins, failure to love the church is a very serious issue.  Many who claimed to be Christians but proved they were not by their failure to love the church will be condemned on the Last Day, so we must treat division as if salvation is at stake—because it is!  The public nature and potential damage to the church of stirring up division means that it is appropriate for those who stir up division to be placed under church discipline per Matthew 18.  After they have been publicly rebuked and called to repentance, they should be excommunicated if they continue without repentance.

Nevertheless, this must be done in a loving manner—just like all church discipline.  If God desires that all people will come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9), we should desire that as well—no matter how much the offending parties may have hurt us.  Stirring up division can be a sign that someone is not really a Christian, but it does not guarantee that they are unbelievers.  All Christians are susceptible to backsliding and error, which can include stirring up division for a season.  Even while addressing the divisions in Corinth, Paul repeatedly affirms that they are in fact believers.  Plus, Paul’s purpose for handing Hymenaeus and Alexander over to Satan was that they would repent and ultimately be saved.  No one is beyond salvation.  If someone is elect, the Holy Spirit will one day regenerate that person and apply Christ’s atonement to them, no matter how much division they may have stirred up in the church beforehand.  Even one of the strongest statements of condemnation for such people refers them as having been bought by God, therefore holding out some hope that they would repent and thereby prove to be elect (2 Peter 2:1-3).  Therefore, while we must confront those who claim the name of Christ but stir up division, we must continue to pray for their repentance.

In the end, we must never forget that if we do not love the church and those in it—including its leaders—we do not love Jesus.  Failure to love the church in its most extreme is seen in stirring up division in the church.  Therefore, if we are causing division in the church, we must immediately repent, examining ourselves to ensure we are actually in Christ. We must similarly call to repentance all those who stir up division, solemnly and lovingly warning them of their precarious position.  This is not to say that conflict and division in the church is always wrong.  In the next post, we will look at when it is appropriate and even necessary.  But we will see that whenever there is division in the church, there must be unbelief somewhere.  We must demonstrate to the world that we belong to Christ by our love for one another.

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, ² complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. ³ 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.

-Philippians 2:1-4, ESV