The Hidden Divisiveness Within Us
God's Truth vs. man's doctrinal classification system.
Not a single Catholic, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, or Baptist has ever walked upon this earth. Zero Calvinists were birthed from that great reformer’s teachings. Not one dispensationalist has ever lived, nor any premillennialist, postmillennialist, or amillennialist. No pre-trib., mid-trib., post-trib., or pre-wrath Christian has ever existed. No cessationists nor continuationists either. None of these have seen a single day’s light.
Why? Because God is Truth, and He birthed none of these terms. All such titles are of earthly origin, man’s attempt to explain our incomprehensible God. He never spoke these words over us, nor did He assign their concepts to our identity. Know this: that blessed day when we awake in heaven, none of these earthly classifications will remain. Only that which God has spoken.
God’s Spoken Truth
Christians, know what God says about you, and speak nothing contrary to it. For reference, below are several terms by which God Almighty defines us:
We are loved by God (John 3:16 and many others).
We are washed, cleansed, holy, blameless, and radiant before God. (1 John 1:9, Ephesians 5:26-27)
We are the bride of Christ. (Ephesians 5:25-32, Matthew 25:1-13)
We are chosen by God. We are predestined by Him. (Ephesians 1:4,11)
We are sealed by the Holy Spirit. (Ephesians 1:13)
We are sons and daughters of God, adopted through Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:5).
We are blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 1:3).
We are seated in Christ, in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:5-6). We are Christ’s body, and He is our only head (Ephesians 1:22-23).
Be careful, Christian, that we receive only God’s descriptors upon ourselves, because His truth defines us. When we presumptuously say, “I’m a _____”, and fill in the blank with a theological or doctrinal belief, we are adding to God’s description of us. We are assuming an identity not assigned by the Almighty.
I’m a Baptist/Catholic/Presbyterian disciple. (see 1 Corinthians 1:10-15).
I’m pre-trib chosen.
I’m Calvinist/Arminian loved.
Unity
Of this we are certain: now we know in part, and see but a poor reflection of Truth (1 Corinthians 13:9-12). Thus, we should hold beliefs and doctrines founded upon non-essentials loosely.
We have privilege to debate and argue over doctrine, but should do so in love and joy! Taking personal offense over someone else’s doctrine is like being angered over the neighbor’s unkept lawn twelve blocks away. That’s because when we say something like, “I’m Calvinist”, we assign a title to ourselves, personalizing it, skewing our already limited view of truth.
Resist the urge.
Division Over Non-Essentials
Divisiveness is a doctrine of demons. Division is a tactic, and divisiveness the tool. The devil’s strategy is simple:
Recognize when a believer receives a blessing of God. A biblical insight, for example.
Leverage something already present within the believer – such as pride – then apply it to that same blessing.
The believer now assumes the blessing came by their own effort, which leads to self-righteousness, which eventually births division. (other options available 😂)
That’s one way the kingdom of darkness takes a blessing and swiftly twists it into a curse. We fall for the trap and do the work for them.
“OK… But what about God calling us to divide over doctrine?”
The verse typically cited for this belief must be twisted until it turns back upon itself, for it is an exhortation to avoid those who cause divisions. Take a look:
“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naïve.” (Romans 16:17-18 emphasis added)
Here, in the last chapter of Romans, Paul exhorts believers to avoid those who cause divisions based on doctrine other than what they were taught. A review of the preceding chapters evidences a heavy hand upon essentials, not non-essentials. It speaks of foundational beliefs such as the means to salvation, peace with God, and the law of the Spirit of life. Even the “do’s and don’ts” arrive near the end in chapters 12-15. To take this verse as justification to divide over denomination or non-essential doctrine is self-condemning.
Yes, it is unfortunate that some Christians use “unity” as an excuse to neglect discernment and embrace sin. However, when we wave a flag based solely upon non-essentials, we are doing the same thing.
Trying to Shove God into a Box
Doctrine is man’s attempt to classify God. But God already did that in Genesis through Revelation. He wrote it as story, history, genealogy, spiritual erotica, exhortation, prophesy, and majestic poetry. He did not script a spiritual engineering textbook with outlines and formulas. Why? Probably because He couldn’t fit into that format:
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
Isaiah 55:8-9
Repent
If God pricked your conscious, that’s exciting! Lean into it. Spend time listening to discover what the Holy Spirit is saying. Stop defining yourself by rigid human terms and instead use words God assigns. Repent of divisiveness. But even more, repent of how it got there. Was it pride? A need to control? Selfishness? Whatever means the kingdom of darkness used to access your mind and heart, repent of that core issue as well because if you don’t, the problem will simply return under a different disguise. And I’ll meet you at the altar, because I am well acquainted with them all. 😁
God bless!
As always, all words are my own, not AI.
- David McCaleb