What Does The Bible Teach Us About Those Who Plant "Seeds "of Discord?
"Sowers of Discord" sow the seeds of bitterness, anger, distrust, and hatred into the
ground of other people’s hearts. These actions do not come
from the Spirit of God. Such divisive behavior is included in what the bible
calls “the works of the flesh.”
Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are
these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions,
heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of
the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that
they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
This is not
a fleshly battle but a spiritual one. It is not ‘this man vs that man’ but ‘the
spiritual enemies of Christ versus his Church.’
Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places.
Sowing
Seeds of Dissatisfaction and Conflict
Sowers of Discord
are
usually driven to serve their own interests and are themselves driven, scourged
and mired in relentless spin. These Sowers
exploit the passion/emotion of others, and, more often than not, derive pleasure
from conflict.
Sometimes they are aware of what they are doing but sometimes they just
play
into the hands of spiritual forces that are intent upon destroying the
mission of the church. They regularly nourish these feelings that drive their
behavior by brooding on, real or perceived: past injuries, present
suspicions and
future
insecurities.
They are often propelled by inner turmoil.
The Sower of Discord probes the vulnerabilities of
other's; seeking for weak points to expose and exploit. "Sowers of
Discord" generally may present some valid points but generally do not
offer constructive criticism. Instead of pulling God's
people together, they divide them. They project their angry
hostile behaviors onto people in the congregation (usually the leaders). The
targets are usually not the cause of the
antagonism, but merely recipients of it.
"Sowers of
Discord" seek to attract followers to make their divisive cases appear
stronger. Some reasons why individuals follow "Sowers of Discord" include
the fact that people sometimes mistake "Sowers of Discord" for
activists.
They may present themselves as working for a good cause. It’s easier to
lose focus on yourself when you are able to critically look at others. Negative
emotions, lies, half-truths and
innuendo are often far more exciting than the truth. To
the natural man, bad news is more exciting than good news. All believers must
guard their heart.
Believers are
told to not speak evil about each other. 1 Corinthians 13 teachs us that love
should be the ways of all who believe. Love isn’t prideful. If you keep a list
of wrongs people do that isn’t biblical love. If you are suspicious and think
evil of your brethren – that is not Christian love.
James 4:10-12 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he
shall lift you up. Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that
speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of
the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of
the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy:
who art thou that judgest another?
1 Peter 2:1 Wherefore laying
aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil
speakings,
Proverbs 23:6-8 Eat thou not the bread of
him that hath an
evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: For as he thinketh in his
heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. The morsel
which thou hast eaten shalt thou
vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.
This verse
says this person will go through the motions of fellowship with you but that
their heart is not with you. That isn’t righteous. That isn’t Christian love.
What
Does The Bible Teach Us To Do About "Sowers of Discord?"
The immersion of a repentant believer takes away the
penalty of sin, but it does not mean that it takes away the “sinful nature.” The
sinful nature will take time to be removed. We need daily to fight against it.
Leaving behind sinful nature and developing the new man inside us requires us to
walk in the Spirit (Gal 5:16-25). The “sinful nature” and the “Spirit” are
against each other. Christians need to crucify “the sinful nature with its
passion and desires” and to keep in step with the Spirit.
The scriptures instruct us that loving church discipline
must be exercised so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and that they may
return to the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 5:5 To deliver such an one unto Satan
for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the
Lord Jesus.).
Confrontation And Expulsion
The Sower of Discord should be approached following the
Matthew 18 Protocol. It is here we find that after a third admonition to
repent of the sinful behavior that the congregation is to expel such a one from
the fellowship. “Expel the wicked man from among you” (1 Cor 5:13). Paul is
quoting from the Book of Deuteronomy (Deut 17:7; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21, 24; 24:7.)
They were to purge the evil from among them. The reason for that was to remove
signs and possible influences of evil. Paul argument in 1 Corinthians 5 is that
the same as a little yeast “corrupts” the whole dough, in the same way that one
man’s influence can corrupt the whole body. “A rotted apple, rots the whole
basket.” There are times when a cancer must be cut out; there are times when
drastic measures must be taken to avoid infection. Paul’s desire was not to hurt
the man or to show Paul’s power. It is the pastor’s desire to protect His infant
Church from the ever threatening infection of the world. This is, in effect,
like a quarantine of an unclean person from the rest, which may completely cut
off the person from spiritual Israel if they remain unrepentant.
Let’s read Matt 18 here:
Matthew 18:14-18 Even so it is not
the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should
perish. Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his
fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy
brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two
more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.
And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if
he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a
publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be
bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in
heaven.
This passage
tells us to not treat the offender as part of the Body any longer. Other
scriptures that can help us relate how to handle ourselves in such a matter
might include:
Titus 3:10 A man that is divisive after the first and second
admonition reject; [KJV2000] This means
do not accept them in fellowship as a brother.
2 Thessalonians 3:14-15
And if any man obey not our word by this
epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed.
Yet count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
[KJV] This means you cut them off in love ...
not in hatred. Some may call it ‘tough love.’
Romans 16:17-18 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which
cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and
avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but
their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the
simple. [KJV] To ‘mark’ them means to keep an
eye out for them and warn others. This verse says to ‘avoid them’ which
reiterates the dis-fellowshipping of the unrepentant offending individual.
1 Corinthians 5:9-11 I wrote unto you in an epistle
not to company
with fornicators: Yet not altogether with the fornicators of this world, or with
the covetous, or extortioners, or with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out
of the world. But now I have written unto you not to keep company, if any man
that is called a brother be a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater,
or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such an one no not to
eat. [KJV]
World English Dictionary rail
2 (reɪl) ( intr ; foll by at or against
) to complain bitterly or
vehemently: to rail against fate
Truth In Love
It must be clearly understood that we are not to reward
evil for evil. We are not to treat the offender as an enemy but as a quarantined
brother under discipline until he repents and returns or rejects the Body
himself (at which point they are “cut off” having no light in them).
Galatians 6:1 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which
are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering
thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
The idea is that when the person loses his “ Christian
community” this will cause him to think and ponder. It will cause him to change
his life and heart and turn to God. When he does so, then you have gained your
brother! The end game is reconciliation. That is the desire of the Father. That
is the desire of the congregation. So the purpose of church discipline
is to cause change, to destroy the sinful nature and to rid all the evil
influences within the people of God.
We need to “speak the truth in love” (Eph 4:15), and in
order to do so we have to see them as brothers and not as our enemies. It is our
purpose that they renew and restore their relationship with God. Pray to God, be
thoughtful, choose the words, speak with grace and leave God with the results.
Love and harmony is what we are trying to promote, and that is what we need to
display in the context.
After Paul wrote to the church in Corinth to withdraw
fellowship from the erring brother, he would write in the Second Letter to the
Corinthians, chapter 2, and verses 5 to 11 to restore this man to fellowship.
2 Corinthians 2:5-11 “But
if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not
overcharge you all. Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was inflicted of many. So that contrariwise ye
ought rather to
forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be
swallowed up with overmuch sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you that ye would
confirm your love toward him. For to this end also did I write, that I
might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things. To whom ye
forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I
forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ;
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his
devices.” Here comes in play the restoration. Full restoration means
forgiveness, comforting and reaffirmation of love. The person needs them in
order to heal. God knows the heart, and we trust to see him/her “produce fruit
in keeping with repentance” (Matthew 3:8).
It’s
understandable that taking this disciplinary action on a brother makes the
church uncomfortable. It should. It is not meant to be easy ... but it is
expected to be done.
Leviticus 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou
shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
No Compromise
And then, there is the question of priorities --- What value do you place on the
Lord's work?
We must decide
whether our love and loyalty is to be to some friend/brother of
ours --- or to God. To do nothing, concedes to the "Sower
of Discord" the right to continue behaving destructively; damaging God's people and
discrediting God's church. "Sowers of
Discord" are not loved or blessed simply by letting them have
their own way. Letting a small child play with matches
is not a loving action. Permitting a drunk person to drive a car
is not a loving action. Allowing "Sowers of Discord" to wreak havoc in
the midst of and at the expense of the Lord's
Church is not a loving action.
Sometimes when we try to help a friend, we merely encourage him to continue
in his sin. Sympathizing with him in his backbiting and criticism will
never bring him to be ashamed --- it will only encourage him in his sin. If the
Church were to follow Christ's teaching --- this person would be excluded from
church fellowship with the end hope of full reconciliation. Remember, we are men
under authority, and our Master expects us to seek to gain the lost.
Download a pdf
version of this article for printing and sharing
m@dan
med-awn'
kɔrd; v. dɪsˈkɔrd