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Gary:
You are listening to a special edition of Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. Still to come, Dave and Tom continue their weekly indepth study of the doctrine of salvation. Please stay with us. We return now to our first program series from 1999 and
CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH
In this regular feature, Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call . This weeks’s question: A frequent reaction to The Seduction of Christianity , is that it causes division within the body. What is your response to this criticism?
Dave:
Well, it depends on what you mean by division. If you mean that we’re dividing over non-essentials and because we don’t like someone or we feel differently about something, that shouldn’t be. Jesus caused division everywhere he went. He was accused of causing division three times in the Book of John, he’s accused of causing division. In Luke chapter 12, Jesus says in fact: I came not to bring peace but a sword. I came to cause division between husbands and wives and parents and children. What Jesus is talking about there is, the truth cuts like a sword and it does divide and that I must make a clear stand for truth because, as we have tried to explain....We’re not saying it, Jesus said it, this is the issue: It’s the truth that sets you free and Jude said we must earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints because false doctrine or false gospel will send people to hell not to heaven. So, therefore, that is something that I should divide over. The news item that we just had--he got involved in dialogue. Jesus didn’t say go into all the world and dialogue. Dialogue is--well for instance, I just the last couple of weeks on trips, I’ve had a limo driver who was a Sikh, had a limo driver who was a Muslim and I had some very fruitful discussions with them. In fact, to such an extent that just a few days ago the Muslim driver wouldn’t take a tip from me. He said I had already given him a wonderful gift because he came to understand the gospel. I didn’t dialogue with him--dialogue is, you try to come to some meeting of the mind--I’ll give up a little and you give up a little and so forth.
Tom:
A consensus. We’re moving from Christian, from absolute to a consensus which is compromise. Right?
Dave:
Right. Paul disputed in the market place. He proved that Jesus was the Christ--he confounded the Jews and the Greeks as well. And, I’m to go into all the world and preach the gospel and I must--you don’t dialogue about truth. I don’t dialogue about whether 2 + 2 = 4, you know. That’s one of the problems in our public schools as most people know. It’s not facts anymore but how do you feel about it. How do you feel about two plus two is four, you know. So, that’s dialogue but that’s not going to get anybody to heaven. So, there will inevitably be division. You know, I’ve had, and I’m sure you’ve had, quoted at us Romans:16:17Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.: “Mark those which cause division among you and avoid them...” and I say, Wait a minute! That’s not what it says, you had better go back and read it again. It says, “...mark them which cause division among you contrary to the doctrine you have received , and avoid them.” You don’t cause division by standing for sound doctrine. We are united in the truth. Division is caused by introducing false doctrine and refusing to be corrected on it.
Tom:
Right. It’s the truth that unites us. I mean, we can try to do whatever we think we can do to come together in unity but if it’s without truth Biblically, there is no unity. You know, it’s interesting how these ideas of division, just as you mentioned, the misquoting of Romans:16:17Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.. We're told that doctrine divides. And it does! But the idea is that it has a negative connotation. We don’t want to get into doctrine--don’t talk to me about doctrine, brother. Just tell me you love Jesus. And, we’ve been through this before. Jesus, who? Without doctrine, without biblical teaching we don’t know who this Jesus is that we’re talking about and that we’re supposed to unite around, but it’s truth.
Dave:
The reason why doctrine divides and truth divides is because it does unite you if you believe it and those who don’t believe it, who reject it, are outside, they are not part of this. So, if we read the prayer of Christ in John 17, for unity, I believe the prayer was answered. We are united, it’s a unity in the truth--it’s a unity in God’s Word and it’s a unity. Jesus says thou art in me and I in thee that they may be one in us. So, it’s a family unity. We’re only united in the family of God because we have been born of the Spirit of God, in the family of God, and we believe the truth of God, we are following him. So, the Bible never says to make unity but it says to keep the unity of the Spirit and this is the Spirit of Truth who leads us into all truth. So yes, there will be division because there are many who reject the truth but we’re not going to compromise with them for the sake of coming up with some false unity. To be unified around error, around heresy is only going to destroy people’s lives, it’s not going to help.
