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Question #25

25. Why is the church so divided?  Why is the Bible so vague on issues that cause divisions?

While the church suffers many divisions, the reasons are few. First, there are divisions because individuals, churches, denominations add various opinions to Scripture's clear teachings about what makes a person a Christian. When opinions become determinative for who is or is not a Christian, fellowship is broken and division occurs. Second, divisions exist because there are individuals, churches, or denominations that do not teach the "whole counsel of God." In other words, they leave out clear Scriptural truth for a variety of reasons. The Scripture is clear about how one becomes a Christian. There is one essential fact to be believed (that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God) and one essential act to be obeyed (to be immersed into Christ for the remission of sin). When you add to Scripture in this issue, you teach too much. When you fail to teach what Scripture teaches, you teach too little.

Let me add this. The Bible teaches there are three reasons, and only three reasons, to exclude members from the church. First, when a member no longer believes in the deity of Jesus, they should be removed (1 John 2:18-23).  Second, when a member is guilty of sexual immorality, they should be removed (1 Corinthians 5). Third, when a member seeks to build a faction around himself or an opinion, he should be warned twice, and then removed (Titus 3:10-11). None of these actions is designed to exact retribution.  Rather, they are intended as redemptive and the disciplined individual repents he should be received back into the church family.

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