Niagara Falls Church of Christ

2011 Tennessee Ave.,  Niagara Falls, NY  14305

(716)285-6534 (716)285-6534 (for phone and fax)

James Lawrence, Herschel Walker - Elders

Eddie J. Cornelius, Minister Emeritus

In the book "The Stone-Campbell Movement" by Leroy Garrett (College Press Publishing Company, Joplin, Missouri), I came across the following statement on page 11: "Restorationism, as herein defined, has always been divisive and always will be, and when it gained sufficient influence within the Movement it divided it." As I understand it, the author of this book explains the difference between what he calls "The reformation movement" and "The restoration movement". The former he views as a movement toward unity and the latter as a movement that brought division among, what he calls "all believers."  Statements such as this caused me to ask, can anyone really teach the Bible as God gave it without appearing, to some, to be divisive?

The Bible, the word of God, is, in my view, the most divisive book known to man. Some may be shocked that a preacher of the gospel and a member of the church of our Lord Jesus Christ would make such a statement, but before you decide let us consider its validity.

The word "divisive" is defined in the Scott, Foresman Advanced Dictionary as "tending to cause division or disagreement." This is certainly true of the Bible.

Perhaps the earliest example of the word of God being "divisive" is to be found in Genesis 4:3-8. Here the commandment of God led to a division between two brothers so severe that it led to murder. To Abram God said ". . . Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will show thee: ²And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:" (Gen. 12:1-2). In order to please God Abram had to be separated from his own family! By the standards of some today this would certainly qualify as "divisive." In Exodus 23:20-33 God commanded His people Israel to have nothing to do with the people of Canaan. There was to be no compromise or interaction of any kind if they wanted to enjoy the blessings of God. Perhaps none today would consider this to be divisive but this and other such commandments were a constant source of friction and war between Israel and her neighbors. These are but a few of many such Old Testament examples of the commands of God being divisive. But what about in the New Testament? Surely such divisiveness is not to be found there!

John the Baptist preached the word of God so forcefully it cost him his life. John, who was a Jew, condemned Herod the tetrarch, who was also a Jew, for his relationship with his brother's wife Herodias. The division between these two Jews was so strong that Herod cut of the head of John for preaching the word of God. Was the word a unifying factor for these men or was it divisive? There are those today who say it is alright for one brother to take the wife of another brother. They justify it on the basis of "the unconditional love of Christ" and condemn those who preach the word of God as it is written as being unloving and divisive.

Jesus Christ said: "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. 35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. 36 And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10:34-38). The word of God is a unifying force only to those who are willing to ". . . speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Cor. 1:10). Only those who speak with the voice of "change agents" view the preaching of the gospel as it is written as divisive and harmful to the church of Christ.  Of these the Bible says: "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; ⁴He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, ⁵Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself" (1Tim.6:3-5). Divisive? Absolutely!!!