A Christian Response To Sowers of Discord |

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Introduction: When we are mindful of treasure we are on guard against thieves. We treasure our families and so we lock our doors. We treasure our financial resources and so we have passwords for our accounts. We treasure our children and so we are careful about who watches them. Some have wondered about the placement of this warning in the book of Romans. Some have been so troubled by what they see as its abruptness that they have questioned its authenticity. But the explanation for its placement is not hard to discern. There are treasured friends in Christ (we have just seen a list of them), but not all are our friends in Christ. There are treasured co-laborers in the work of the gospel, but not everyone is at work on behalf of the gospel. There are those who love the church, but not everyone loves the church like a shepherd. Some love the church like a wolf. PAUL HAS JUST DEMONSTRATED A MINDFULNESS OF THE GREAT TREASURE REPRESENTED BY THE CHURCH AT ROME, NOW HE SOUNDS A WARNING ABOUT THIEVES. PEOPLE WHO THREATEN THE TREASURE BY DISRUPTION. It is a warning against a kind of disruption that would seek to destroy God’s good work. It is a kind of disruption that stands as a stumbling block, hindering the progress of the Lord’s good work. And he is saying that the church must be armed to deal with it. In this warning we see three ways that the church must arm itself against those who would disturb its peace. Three ways the church must respond when faced with sowers of discord. • THE CHURCH MUST TAKE ACTION REGARDING SOWERS OF DISCORD (vs.17) This is a call to action, this is an appeal, GIVEN TO THE BROTHERS. This is an appeal given to the church. The first way that the church must be armed is by the knowledge of how discord sowers must be dealt with. The church needs to know what action to take when faced with those who would so discord in her midst, and then be committed to taking that action. • THE DANGER DESCRIBED He mentions those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that these people had been taught. What is he describing? It is important that we know. Before we can know where the danger is represented, and how to respond to it, we need to be able to recognize it. We are exhorted to watch out for a certain kind of person. But we must know what kind of person to watch out for before we can identify them. Well, this is a kind of person who CAUSES something. Ποιέω they “make something.” They make, they manufacture, they produce, THEY BRING ABOUT something. They are the cause, they are the explanation for why a certain state exists in the life of a church. What they CREATE is spiritual chaos. • THE CREATION OF DIVISIONS Διχοστασία The create DIVISION, discord, dissension… they divide into opposing groups. BDAG has “the state of being in factious opposition.” • THE CREATION OF DEPARTURES Σκάνδαλον It refers to a trap, a stumbling block, but the Greek Lexicon offers this meaning in the particular context: BDAG – “an action or circumstance that leads one to act contrary to a proper course of action or set of beliefs, temptation to sin, enticement to apostasy, false belief” Both are brought about because of an influence CONTRARY TO THE TRUTH, THE DOCTRINE, THE TEACHING (διδαχή) that they have been taught. TEACHING CONTRARY TO APOSTOLIC DOCTRINE TEACHING CONTRARY TO THE BIBLICAL GOSPEL TEACHING CONTRARY TO THE MESSAGE OF LEGITIMATE SHEPHERDS TEACHING CONTRARY TO THE SOUND WORDS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN DELIVERED TO THE CHURCH TEACHING CONTRARY TO SCRIPTURE It is DIFFERENT doctrine. It is CONTRARY doctrine. It is DEPARTURE in the realm of doctrine, DEVIATION in the realm of doctrine, that is being offered to the people of God. BEWARE OF SUCH PEOPLE. What he is describing is conflict in the realm of IDEAS. Conflict in the realm of DOCTRINE — TEACHING, INSTRUCTION. But this can also manifest itself on the BEHAVIORAL level. Behaviors, attitudes, words, motives, that DO NOT ACCORD with sound teaching. NOTE: Do you recognize that a pastor has the responsibility to watch over the doctrine of the church? Do you recognize that a person is not free to say, to teach, disseminate, anything they want in the life and ministry of the church? Do you recognize that sins against the unity of the church are serious sins? • THE ACTION PRESCRIBED How serious an issue is this? The seriousness of the issue is manifested by the response that it calls for. NOTE: What we are about to learn is something that Paul APPEALS FOR. That tells me that, though this response is correct, it is not always PRACTICED. People can be slow to do this. People can be hesitant to do this, and yet the fact that Paul appeals for it says that hesitation to obey can be costly.