The Bible's Call for Division AND Unity

"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household" (Matt 10:34-36).

One of the unfortunate things about people’s reading of this passage is that it almost always gets interpreted ONLY as division between a believer and an unbeliever and we fail to understand that the passage has some application between professing believers. This is the reason why. The Bible calls for division (2 Cor. 6:17) as much as it calls for unity (1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 1:27). The Bible even calls Christians to divide themselves from others who cause division (Titus 3:10), but isn’t this a contradiction? Isn’t it a contradiction one the hand to call for unity and on the other hand to call for division? It’s only a contradiction if one believes in unity at all costs. What the Bible means is that we must distinguish between NECESSARY division and UNNECESSARY division. One the one hand the Bible says to “contend for the faith” (Jude 3) and by using the scriptures we ought to reprove and correct (2 Tim. 3:16) even commanding us that some must be rebuked “sharply” (Titus 1:13) for their divisiveness. I don't know about you, but such commands seem divisive and sound they'd stir up trouble. You see, when the Bible says not to divide it means that we ought not to divide over things not worth dividing over that is things that do not have anything to do with the essentials of the faith. The Bible does not issue a blanket unqualified call neither for division or unity. There are some essential Bible truths that must always be fought for because if changed they would destroy the very foundation for saving faith. The Bible says “watch out for those who cause divisions” yet it issues that warning by identifying the type of division being introduced. It says, “watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles CONTRARY TO THE DOCTRINE that you have been taught” (Rom. 16:17). Christians are being obedient to the scriptures when they warn fellow Christians about other so-called believers causing division because they introduce false teaching into the church. They are truly the ones who cause unbiblical division. It is naïve and unbiblical to say that Christians ought not to speak out against other Christians because “it causes division” such persons, in my opinion, show they don’t understand the nature of the matter.

We do not become perfect the moment we are converted to Jesus. The Bible says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…” (Rom. 12:2). The root of our problems is unbiblical thinking rooted in our sinful nature. We all have ungodly minds that must be intentionally made to conform to the mind of Christ. We’ll always be in process of ridding ourselves of false beliefs and ideologies even in the areas that pertain to what we think it means to be a Christian. God calls Christians to unite around truth and truth is impartial. It is not a respecter of persons. Truth will call us out regardless of whether one is a believer or not. We are to conform to the truth not conform the truth to us. Peter was the leader of the Apostles yet Paul rebuked him when he saw that Peter’s “conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel” (Gal. 2:14). Peter’s behavior swayed because his mind reverted back to his old ways. Christians are called to unite around the truth of God and the by-product of this is nothing less than division. Following Jesus is not for the fainthearted. Cowardice is a sin (Matt. 10:31-33 ; Rev 21:8) and cowardice is easily cloaked behind platitudes such as “we shouldn’t be divided.” Following Jesus is divisive at its very core.