Relationships Series

Unfortunately not everyone heeds a warning. “A person who stirs up division/factious man” is from hairetikos, from which heretic is derived. “Heresy,” originally meant a division resulting from individual self-will; the individual doing and teaching what they chose, independent of the teaching and practice of the Church… The heretics of Crete, when Titus was there, were in doctrine followers of their own self-willed “questions” reprobated in Tit 3:9, and immoral in practice. (Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 435). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.). The “person who stirs up division /factious” person will not submit to the Word or to godly leaders in the church. Such a person is autonomous, or a law unto themselves and has no concern for spiritual truth or unity. A divisive spirit is like gangrene. It spreads; it is never satisfied. It poisons and destroys by pitting one person against another. It is so serious that such a person should be disfellowshipped for continuing to do it: “Have nothing to do with him” (Titus 3:10). We don’t hesitate to do that with our physical bodies. Though it is painful, we will use surgery to cut away a part of our bodies that is harming the rest. We do not let toxic malignancy take over. Neither should we allow it to grow in the body of Christ. Christ is the head of His body, the church, and He (desires) to have a healthy body. (Staton, K. (1988). Timothy–Philemon: Unlocking the Scriptures for You (p. 192). Cincinnati, OH: Standard.)

Please turn to Romans 16

Although false teachers certainly are the most devastatingly ones who “stirs up division/factious”, Paul is here casting a broader net, which includes anyone in the church who is divisive and disruptive. Because the consequences of unbiblical insubordination, non-submission, and bickering can be so destructive of unity among the Lord’s people, the apostle commands that one who “stirs up division/factious”, should be rejected by the church if they do not heed the correction after warning him once and then twice. The issues themselves may be trivial, but arguing about them is not. The Lord Jesus speaks of three warnings (Matt. 18:15–17), while Paul speaks of only two. The discrepancy is probably that the Lord’s first warning is a private warning, and Paul simply concentrates on the two public warnings with witnesses and with the church (Benton, J. (1997). Straightening Out the Self-Centered Church: The Message of Titus (p. 176). Darlington, England: Evangelical Press.).

In Romans 16, Paul instructed:

Romans 16:17-18 17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. (ESV)

• These individuals may be long standing members of the church. They may be pleasant and think that they are being genuinely helpful. They may look around and put forward an idea that they think is going to work. This is where the error stems from. Instead of starting first with scripture and building a biblical case, they most often draw upon common practice, or perception. There is no clearer contemporary example than attempting to dumb down biblical expectation with a desire to be relevant. In a well meaning effort to be pleasant and inoffensive, the very life saving truth and process of Godly directive is put aside. When the biblical standard is shown and insisted upon, to continue to push forward with this misguided plan and attempt to draw further proponents is biblically divisive and factious. They need to be admonished (2 Thess. 3:14-15), not given continued opportunity for division, but lovingly called back to orthodoxy.