HOW AN INDIVIDUAL CAN HELP TO KEEP AND DEVELOP UNITY
IN A FAMILY, A CHURCH, OR A GROUP
A. RECOGNIZE THE PURPOSE & VALUE OF UNITY AND THE HARM OF DISUNITY.
(John 17:20 NIV) "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,
(John 17:21 NIV) that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.
(Mat 18:19 NIV) "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.
(Eph 4:3 NIV) Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
(1 Pet 3:7 NIV) Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.
(Prov 3:30 NIV) Do not accuse a man for no reason- when he has done you no harm.
(Prov 15:18 NIV) A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.
(Prov 17:14 NIV) Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
(Prov 17:19 NIV) He who loves a quarrel loves sin; he who builds a high gate invites destruction.
(Prov 18:6 NIV) A fool’s lips bring him strife, and his mouth invites a
beating.
(Prov 20:3 NIV) It is to a man’s honor to avoid strife, but every fool is quick to quarrel.
(Prov 25:8 NIV) do not bring hastily to court, for what will you do in the end if your neighbor puts you to shame?
(Prov 26:17 NIV) Like one who seizes a dog by the ears is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.
(Prov 26:21 NIV) As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.
(Prov 6:16 NIV) There are six things the LORD hates, seven that are detestable to him:
(Prov 6:17 NIV) haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood,
(Prov 6:18 NIV) a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil,
(Prov 6:19 NIV) a false witness who pours out lies and a man who stirs up dissension among brothers.
B. KEEP THE EXAMPLE OF THE SELFLESSNESS OF CHRIST ALWAYS BEFORE YOUR EYES,
(Phil 2:1 NIV) If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion,
(Phil 2:2 NIV) then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.
(Phil 2:3 NIV) Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
(Phil 2:4 NIV) Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
(Phil 2:5 NIV) Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
(Phil 2:6 NIV) Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
(Phil 2:7 NIV) but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
(Phil 2:8 NIV) And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
(Phil 2:9 NIV) Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
(Phil 2:10 NIV) that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
(Phil 2:11 NIV) and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
See such an example illustrated by Abraham in his strife with Lot.
(Gen 13:7 NIV) And quarreling arose between Abram’s herdsmen and the herdsmen of Lot. The Canaanites and Perizzites were also living in the land at that time.
(Gen 13:8 NIV) So Abram said to Lot, "Let’s not have any quarreling between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are brothers.
(Gen 13:9 NIV) Is not the whole land before you? Let’s part company. If you go to the left, I’ll go to the right; if you go to the right, I’ll go to the left."
(Gen 13:10 NIV) Lot looked up and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, toward Zoar. (This was before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.)
(Gen 13:11 NIV) So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company:
(Gen 13:12 NIV) Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom.
(Gen 13:13 NIV) Now the men of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the LORD.
(Gen 13:14 NIV) The LORD said to Abram after Lot had parted from him, "Lift up your eyes from where you are and look north and south, east and west.
(Gen 13:15 NIV) All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever.
(Gen 13:16 NIV) I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth, so that if anyone could count the dust, then your offspring could be counted.
(Gen 13:17 NIV) Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you."
(Gen 13:18 NIV) So Abram moved his tents and went to live near the great trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.
C. RECOGNIZE THAT CONFLICTS BETWEEN INDIVIDUALS ARE INEVITABLE.
(Acts 6:1 NIV) In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jes among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
(Acts 15:1 NIV) Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved."
(Acts 15:2 NIV) This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
(Acts 15:3 NIV) The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad.
(Acts 15:4 NIV) When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.
(Acts 15:5 NIV) Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."
(Acts 15:6 NIV) The apostles and elders met to consider this question.
(Acts 15:7 NIV) After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.
(Acts 15:36 NIV) Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing."
(Acts 15:37 NIV) Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them,
(Acts 15:38 NIV) but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work.
(Acts 15:39 NIV) They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,
(Acts 15:40 NIV) but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.
(Acts 15:41 NIV) He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
(1 Cor 1:11 NIV) My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.
(1 Cor 1:12 NIV) What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas "; still another, "I follow Christ."
(1 Cor 1:13 NIV) Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?
(1 Cor 3:3 NIV) You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and
quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?
(1 Cor 6:6 NIV) But instead, one brother goes to law against another--and this in front of unbelievers!
(2 Cor 12:20 NIV) For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder.
(Phil 4:2 NIV) I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.
D. LEARN WHEN TOTAL AGREEMENT IS NOT NECESSARY.
(Rom 14:1 NIV) Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.
(Rom 14:2 NIV) One man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables.
(Rom 14:3 NIV) The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.
(Rom 14:4 NIV) Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
(Rom 14:5 NIV) One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
(Rom 14:6 NIV) He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
(Rom 14:7 NIV) For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone.
(Rom 14:8 NIV) If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
(Rom 14:9 NIV) For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
(Rom 14:10 NIV) You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.
(Rom 14:11 NIV) It is written: "’As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ’every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.’"
(Rom 14:12 NIV) So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.
(Rom 14:13 NIV) Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.
(Rom 14:14 NIV) As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
(Rom 14:15 NIV) If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.
(Rom 14:16 NIV) Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.
(Rom 14:17 NIV) For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
(Rom 14:18 NIV) because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
(Rom 14:19 NIV) Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
(Rom 14:20 NIV) Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.
(Rom 14:21 NIV) It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
(Rom 14:22 NIV) So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
(Rom 14:23 NIV) But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
(1 Cor 8:1 NIV) Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
(1 Cor 8:2 NIV) The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.
(1 Cor 8:3 NIV) But the man who loves God is known by God.
(1 Cor 8:4 NIV) So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.
(1 Cor 8:5 NIV) For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"),
(1 Cor 8:6 NIV) yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.
(1 Cor 8:7 NIV) But not everyone knows this. Some people are still so
accustomed to idols that when they eat such food they think of it as having been sacrificed to an idol, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.
(1 Cor 8:8 NIV) But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.
(1 Cor 8:9 NIV) Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block to the weak.
(1 Cor 8:10 NIV) For if anyone with a weak conscience sees you who have this knowledge eating in an idol’s temple, won’t he be emboldened to eat what has been sacrificed to idols?
(1 Cor 8:11 NIV) So this weak brother, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge.
(1 Cor 8:12 NIV) When you sin against your brothers in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ.
(1 Cor 8:13 NIV) Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause him to fall.
(Gal 5:13 NIV) You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature ; rather, serve one another in love.
E, RECOGNIZE THAT GOD CAN OVERRULE EVEN OUR DISAGREEMENTS.
(Acts 15:39 NIV) They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,
(Col 4:10 NIV) My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.)
(2 Tim 4:11 NIV) Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry.
(1 Pet 5:13 NIV) She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark.
F. LEARN HOW TO CONFRONT PEOPLE IN A PROPER WAY AND LEARN HOW TO BE CONFRONTED.
(Acts 15:1 NIV) Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved."
(Acts 15:2 NIV) This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
(Acts 15:3 NIV) The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad.
(Acts 15:4 NIV) When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.
(Acts 15:5 NIV) Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, "The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses."
(Acts 15:6 NIV) The apostles and elders met to consider this question.
(Acts 15:7 NIV) After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: "Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.
(Acts 15:8 NIV) God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us.
(Acts 15:9 NIV) He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith.
(Acts 15:10 NIV) Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?
(Acts 15:11 NIV) No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are."
(Acts 15:12 NIV) The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the miraculous signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.
(Acts 15:13 NIV) When they finished, James spoke up: "Brothers, listen to me.
(Acts 15:14 NIV) Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself.
(Acts 15:15 NIV) The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
(Acts 15:16 NIV) "’After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,
(Acts 15:17 NIV) that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’
(Acts 15:18 NIV) that have been known for ages.
(Acts 15:19 NIV) "It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.
(Acts 15:20 NIV) Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.
(Acts 15:21 NIV) For Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."
(Acts 15:22 NIV) Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, two men who were leaders among the brothers.
(Acts 15:23 NIV) With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings.
(Acts 15:24 NIV) We have heard that some went out from us without our
authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.
(Acts 15:25 NIV) So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul--
(Acts 15:26 NIV) men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(Acts 15:27 NIV) Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing.
(Acts 15:28 NIV) It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements:
(Acts 15:29 NIV) You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.
(Acts 15:30 NIV) The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter.
(Acts 15:31 NIV) The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message.
(Acts 15:32 NIV) Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.
(Acts 15:33 NIV) After spending some time there, they were sent off by the brothers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them.
(Acts 15:34 NIV)
(Acts 15:35 NIV) But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.
(Acts 15:36 NIV) Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the brothers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing."
(Acts 15:37 NIV) Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them,
(Acts 15:38 NIV) but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the wor.
(Acts 15:39 NIV) They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus,
(Acts 15:40 NIV) but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the brothers to the grace of the Lord.
(Acts 15:41 NIV) He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.
(Gal 2:1 NIV) Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also.
(Gal 2:2 NIV) I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.
(Gal 2:3 NIV) Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be
circumcised, even though he was a Greek.
(Gal 2:4 NIV) This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.
(Gal 2:5 NIV) We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.
(Gal 2:6 NIV) As for those who seemed to be important--whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance--those men added nothing to my message.
(Gal 2:7 NIV) On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews.
(Gal 2:8 NIV) For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles.
(Gal 2:9 NIV) James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews.
(Gal 2:10 NIV) All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.
(Gal 2:11 NIV) When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.
(Gal 2:12 NIV) Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.
(Gal 2:13 NIV) The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
(Gal 2:14 NIV) When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
(Prov 24:24 NIV) Whoever says to the guilty, "You are innocent"-- peoples will curse him and nations denounce him.
(Prov 24:25 NIV) But it will go well with those who convict the guilty, and rich blessing will come upon them.
(Luke 17:3 NIV) So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.
(Eph 5:11 NIV) Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
(1 Tim 5:20 NIV) Those who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the others may take warning.
(2 Tim 4:2 NIV) Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.
(Titus 1:13 NIV) This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith
(Titus 2:15 NIV) These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
(Gal 6:1 NIV) Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.
(Gal 6:2 NIV) Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
(Gal 6:3 NIV) If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
(Gal 6:4 NIV) Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else,
G. LEARN WHEN THOSE WHO DISAGREE MUST BE REJECTED.
(1 Cor 5:1 NIV) It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that does not occur even among pagans: A man has his father’s wife.
(1 Cor 5:2 NIV) And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?
(1 Cor 5:3 NIV) Even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. And I have already passed judgment on the one who did this, just as if I were present.
(1 Cor 5:4 NIV) When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present,
(1 Cor 5:5 NIV) hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord.
(1 Cor 5:6 NIV) Your boasting is not good. Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?
(1 Cor 5:7 NIV) Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast--as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.
(1 Cor 5:8 NIV) Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.
(1 Cor 5:9 NIV) I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people--
(1 Cor 5:10 NIV) not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world.
(1 Cor 5:11 NIV) But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.
(1 Cor 5:12 NIV) What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?
(1 Cor 5:13 NIV) God will judge those outside. "Expel the wicked man from among you."
(2 Cor 13:2 NIV) I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others,
(2 Cor 13:10 NIV) This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority--the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.
(1 Tim 1:20 NIV) Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
(Titus 3:10 NIV) Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.
(Titus 3:11 NIV) You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.
(2 John 1:9 NIV) Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.
(2 John 1:10 NIV) If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your house or welcome him.
H. UNDERSTAND THE BASIC CONCEPTS OF TRUE SEPARATION.
(Mat 18:15 NIV) "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.
(Mat 18:16 NIV) But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ’every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
(Mat 18:17 NIV) If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
(Rom 16:17 NIV) I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause
divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
(Rom 16:18 NIV) For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.
(2 Th 3:6 NIV) In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.
(1 Tim 6:3 NIV) If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching,
(1 Tim 6:4 NIV) he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions
(1 Tim 6:5 NIV) and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.
(2 Tim 3:1 NIV) But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.
(2 Tim 3:2 NIV) People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
(2 Tim 3:3 NIV) without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,
(2 Tim 3:4 NIV) treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God--
(2 Tim 3:5 NIV) having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
