“A LACK OF UNITY” (GAL. 5:20)

INTRODUCTION:

1. A family was taking a trip across the United States.

2. When Sunday morning came, they decided to keep driving and not stop for worship.

3. Instead they decided to turn the radio on and listen to a sermon.

4. As they listened to a highly skilled preacher speak, the family passed by a small church building in the country.

5. One of the children spoke up and said, “I’m sure they are not hearing as fine a sermon as we are.”

6. The dad responded, “No, but they are getting something that we’re not.”

7. Inside the car, this family was missing out on fellowship.

I. ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS THE CHURCH OFFERS IS FELLOWSHIP.

A. Not only is there a sense of togetherness in the church, the church is an institution that bonds

people together.

B. All kinds of different people are tied together through the church. Some examples:

(1) If we are members of the church, we share the same Master. We have the same Lord.

We are all bound by the same person.

(2) If we are Christians, we have left the same place – the same post. We have come out of the

world and the kingdom of darkness. Col. 1:13

(3) If we are Christians, we have all been baptized for the remission of our sins. We have

been added to the same spiritual body by the Lord. We are all members of the same

organization.

C. If we are Christians, we have many beliefs in common.

(1) We believe in a risen Lord.

(2) We believe in remembering Jesus’ death on a weekly basis.

(3) Once a week we come to a place and commemorate what He did.

(4) When we assemble, we agree on many things.

(5) We agree on what constitutes worship.

(6) We share a belief in the Bible. It is God’s word and it is the standard for our lives.

(7) We share a belief in heaven and hell.

(8) We share a belief in a coming resurrection and judgment day.

(9) We share in a common hope – heaven.

(10) If we have children, we share in the hope that they too will become Christians.

D. There are many things that bind Christians together.

E. Because of Jesus we have several things in common.

II. SINCE CHRISTIANS HAVE ALL OF THESE THINGS IN COMMON, THERE SHOULD BE UNITY. THERE SHOULD BE A BOND THAT IS AS STRONG OR STRONGER THAN OUR TIES TO PHYSICAL RELATIVES.

A. Though this should be the case, such is not always true.

B. In Gal. 5 there are two special words at the end of v. 20.

C. The KJV renders these words as “seditions” and “heresies”.

D. The ASV uses “divisions” and “parties”.

E. The first of these words (seditions/division) is a rare word.

F. It is found only one other time in the NT – Rom. 10:17 – QUOTE.

(1) Sedition/division is a powerful word.

(2) It means that unity is destroyed.

(3) It describes the severance of fellowship.

(4) This word says that togetherness is ripped apart.

G. Paul says this is a work of the flesh.

H. Let’s look at this word in light of the church.

I. If we are Christians, we have a common bond with other Christians.

J. We not only have one bond, we have several bonds.

K. Our bonds are not only long term; they are eternal.

L. One would think that in light of our relationship with one another, destroying a bond with another Christian would be unthinkable.

M. Severing fellowship would be out of the question.

N. Ripping apart our togetherness would never be done.

(1) While things should work this way, we know what reality is.

(2) There are times when fellowship and unity are severed.

(3) This severance is all too often based on a petty reason.

O. How many times have you spoken with a Christian who felt mistreated?

P. Or maybe you have felt mistreated and said in your heart:

(1) “I am done with that person. They have made me mad.”

(2) “I will never talk to him again.”

(3) “I don’t want to be in the same room with her.”

(4) “I am going to sever all ties with them.”

Q. I have heard these statements at times.

R. Paul must have heard similar things in his day.

S. When these kinds of statements are made (or thought) we have the sin of sedition/division.

T. Perhaps we are mistreated or abused; maybe we really were wronged – though we were wronged there is a bigger issue.

U. The bigger picture is that we are tied together.

V. We have a bond that is far greater than the wrong we experience.

W. If members of the church would remember and apply this there would be a lot less feuding and fewer grudges would be held.

X. I can find only three reasons to sever fellowship from a fellow Christian.

Y. Reason #1 is false teaching.

(1) Some have recognized the strength of the Christian bond.

(2) It has been argued that this bond is so strong that religious error must be overlooked.

(3) We accept each other no matter what is believed.

(4) I appreciate people emphasizing the strength of the Christian bond but I must object to the idea that our bond justifies ignoring error.

(5) God says that error can destroy our bond with others.

(6) In Rom. 16:17 where this word is used, Paul said, “mark those people. Turn away from them.”

(7) Since Paul wrote both Gal. 5 and Rom. 16, severing fellowship is not wrong if error is involved.

Z. The second thing that justifies cutting ourselves off from a fellow Christian is sin.

(1) If people are willfully involved in some sin and after repeated warnings and

encouragement they will not repent, 1 Cor. 5 teaches that we must practice withdrawal.

(2) In 1 Cor. 5 Paul told the Corinthians to withdraw from such a man even though there were strong ties with this brother.

(3) The bonds of Christianity were broken by willful sin. They can be restored.

A. If ties are not broken because of false teaching or willful sin, I can think of only one other reason

to break the relationship with a fellow Christian. This reason can be summarized by the word “threat”.

(1) An area congregation recently baptized a man.

(2) Shortly after he became a Christian he began to make threats.

(3) The safety of some Christians was in jeopardy.

(4) When asked about using a restraining order against this man, I said, “Yes.”

(5) This man’s threats were really a form of sin.

(6) Since he would not repent, breaking the bond with him is also authorized by I Cor. 5.

B. Unless we have one of these clear cut Biblical reasons to sever fellowship we need to maintain our

bonds with one another.

C. Cutting off another Christian without good cause is a work of the flesh.

D. One reason this is wrong (and there could be others), is that we have an incredibly strong bond

amongst ourselves.

III. IF A COMPLETE SEPARATION IS CONDEMNED, WHAT CAN BE SAID ABOUT A LESS DRAMATIC SEPARATION? WOULD THIS BE OK?

A. This takes us to the last word in Gal. 5:20.

B. Paul referred to “parties” or “heresies”.

C. These words describe a group who has a particular set of beliefs.

D. For example, there was the “party” of the Pharisees. Acts15:5

E. There was the “heresy/party” of the Sadducees. Acts 5:17

F. There was the sect/heresy/party of the Nazarenes. Acts 24:5

G. Even Christians were described by this word. Acts 24:14

H. The group of Christians was different from the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Nazarenes.

(1) The final word in Gal. 5:20 is used to describe cliques.

(2) If a congregation has two or more groups and the groups are separate they are cliques.

(3) These groups can take many forms.

(4) In some large congregations the groups may be quite open – one group is “traditional” and the other is “contemporary”.

(5) In other places the cliques might not be so visible.

I. In addition to completely isolating ourselves from someone, Paul also condemns dividing up into

groups and being exclusive.

J. This type of thing is another way to deny our ties to each other.

(1) Perhaps only a few here have heard about the man who died and arrived in heaven.

(2) This man was delighted to be in heaven and he sought out Peter.

(3) He asked Peter to let him take a quick look at hell.

(4) He said this would increase his appreciation of heaven.

(5) Peter and the new man in heaven when to visit hell.

(6) They saw a table loaded with food.

(7) The table went farther than the eye could see.

(8) Every kind of wonderful food was on it.

(9) Around the table were people who were starving to death.

(10) The man asked Peter for an explanation.

(11) How could these people be starving with so much food close by?

(12) Peter said that everyone who wanted to eat had to use chopsticks.

(13) Each chopstick was 4 feet long.

(14) As you can imagine, it’s impossible to eat with a chopstick that is 4 feet long.

(15) The man had seen enough so he asked to return to heaven.

(16) As he looked around he saw a table identical to the one he had seen in hell.

(17) The same food was on the table. The only difference was the people.

(18) In heaven everyone was full and happy.

(19) The man asked Peter about the eating procedure in heaven.

(20) Peter said, “We also have 4 feet chopsticks here.”

(21) This really perplexed the man. Why would this work in heaven but not in hell?

(22) Peter said, “Here we feed each other.”

CONCLUSION:

1. I am fairly certain we will not find chopsticks in eternity.

2. This silly tale does make one point quite well: We are bound together. We have many ties to each

other.

3. Cutting ourselves off from another Christian, or joining ourselves to a group and excluding others, is

wrong.

4. Unless there is a Biblical basis to remove fellowship, fellowship must be maintained.

5. If you are a Christian who has cut yourself off from someone without a Biblical reason you need to

repent.

6. If you are not a Christian, you can experience a bond that is the greatest the world will ever know.