This evening we will return to the short series, which this week, I entitled: “Sins among the Saints.” Many people in our quasi-Christian world think “saints” are sinless people, but true Christians know better. “Saints” are nothing more than sinners whom the Lord has forgiven. “Saints” are people whom the Lord has “declared to be righteous;” they are “justified” by divine grace. They are sinless only through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, but in real life that is not the case. As long as a Christian lives in this world, he will be prone to sin, and those sins will come in a variety of dark, ugly shades of gray.
Before we return to Proverbs 6 and those seven sins against which God declares His hatred, let’s consider, as an illustration, our Lord Jesus’ “Parable of the Tares.” Please turn to Matthew 13:24-30. “Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. The word “tares” is found in the Bible in only this one chapter – only in this parable. It refers to a particular weed, which I am told looks much like wheat until it ripens and heads out. It has no nutritional value, but like every other weed, it consumes the moisture and nutrition in the soil. “But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.”
I know that I am taking this away from Jesus’ original intention, but the application I’d like to make is similar. The “Kingdom of Heaven” is the rule of the God of Heaven over this earth. And it doesn’t matter where God rules, He has enemies – in Christian countries and societies – in Christian homes – even in the churches of Christ. Those rebels may attack the rule of God in many ways, but the one I am considering this evening is “the sowing of the tares of DISCORD among the brethren.”
I will try to make this as light, educational and pleasant as possible, but going back to Proverbs, I must remind you… “these six things doth the Lord HATE; yea, (these) seven are an ABOMINATION unto him.” The hatred of God against sin is so strong He sent His only begotten Son to die to rid us of these things. The horrible value of sin is so negative that only the death of Christ could possibly meet it. Christians should hate sin as much as Christ and our Heavenly Father hate sin. And if out of the hundreds of sins of which man is capable, these seven are specifically mentioned, then it should take our breath away to hear of them being practiced or to see them so close at hand.
In thinking about this particular sin of discord sowing, and following the idea of weed spreading…
Let’s begin by considering the SOIL into which this seed is sown.
“These six things doth the LORD hate; yea, seven are an abomination unto him… he that soweth discord among BRETHREN.” “Among brethren…” I know that this could be applied in several ways. We could apply it physical families, like Cain and Abel, the first sons in Adam’s family. This principle applies to teams, whether we are talking about sports or groups of employees. And it could also apply to brethren within a nation – fellow citizens. There is no war more noxious, wicked, heart-breaking and disastrous than a war between brethren. But my primary thought is not to family feuds or civil wars.
I am more concerned about those who are brothers and sisters in family of God, and even more specifically in any of the churches of Christ. Is it possible that weeds could grow up in the pristine soil of the House of God? Really? Is it possible for momma’s wonderful lasagna to get moldy sitting in the fridge for a while? Is it possible for the family dog to get so angry that it bites one of the children? Is it possible for the very first of all human families, with a mother and father not long removed from the perfections of the Garden of Eden, for two of the brethren to find discord to the point of murder? Yes. How interested do you think Satan was in the family of Adam and Eve? I would say he was very interested. Why wait until the 20th century to attack the home with rampant divorce, transgenderism, fatherlessness and brotherly anger, when every family of every century were all contained in the very first human family? The Devil went after the first of all families, and he’s been after every godly family ever since.
In another of Jesus’ parables, the Lord talks about seed being scattered on a roadway, on rocky ground, and into a thorny weed patch. Ah, but then there was the good ground. Of course, we know that weeds are often going to grow where good seed won’t. But isn’t it logical that clean top soil, which has been sifted and cleansed of rocks, roots and other seeds, might then become even more vulnerable to the evil introduction of weeds? What I am trying to say is that what should be the pristine soil of the Lord’s church, may in fact be especially vulnerable to the sowing of discordant “tares.” And as I already said, there are no wars more noxious, wicked and disastrous than wars between brethren.
Even though we may not be seeing it in our church, as least in the way in which I would like to see it … Those churches which are experiencing the greatest growth, revival and divine blessings… Those churches which are producing thirty-fold, sixty-fold and even hundred-fold – even those churches which are filled with God’s blessings, may experience the tare-sowing of Christ’s enemy. This evening I would like to use “brethren” as a reference God’s family within any of the Lord’s churches.
Since we aren’t likely to actually recognize Satan, who should we look for as the SOWER of this discord?
What sort of person would do this sort of thing in a church? First of all, it could be some well-intentioned person, who didn’t really know what he was doing. Perhaps, he got on the internet and stumbled onto an eloquent persuader of men, who turned his mind away from one or more of the doctrines of his church. With this epiphany in his head, he might feel sorry for his friends who haven’t heard this before, so he begins to share. But, as I say, it is not what his church teaches; it is not among the published doctrines of his church. He doesn’t necessarily mean to cause a distraction or discord, but that is what he does.
Who doesn’t enjoy getting a frozen yogurt or fancy ice cream at the expensive little shop down the street? That is fine, but by-in-large, you need to feed your body at home, feasting on the meals that momma fixes. Similarly, you might be blessed by a good and godly preacher on the internet. But as a member of one of the Lord’s churches, your church at home should be the primary place where you are fed. Just as there is a lot of political disinformation on the internet, there is just as much, if not more, religious garbage out there. I won’t tell you to turn off your computer, but I will tell you to be very careful in its use.
Who might be sowing discord among the brethren? Quite often that person is more concerned with himself than he is about you. Simply put: he is selfish. I hope after more than thirty years, you know that I have your best interests at heart. I want this church to experience God’s blessings, and if I must decrease that you and the Lord might increase in this place I am willing to make that sacrifice. It is not about me, but for the sower of discord, it is almost always about him.
To be more specific, his desire may be for power and position. He may be motivated by any number of varieties of greed. He may be sowing those bad seeds with a desire to divide the flock – in order to conquer some of the flock. And nine times out of ten, he is motivated by pride – “Look at what new information I have discovered.” “Our pastor is living in the past – five decades ago. Follow me into the present – and into the future.” The Apostle John was writing about this subject in his third letter, when he said, “Beloved, follow not that which is evil (discordant and divisive) but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God; but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.” And we might add that his sin is hated by God. In that same context John said, “I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.” Why wasn’t Diotrephes receptive toward John? “He loveth to have the preeminence.” Many times the disruptive, discordant people yearn for the limelight.
And sometimes the sower of discord is blatantly evil – some people’s actual purpose is discord and destruction. There are a lot of horrible crimes in this world – murder, rape, treason and so on. But to my way of thinking, few criminals are more heinous than the arsonist. Some people start fires and sow discord simply because they enjoy seeing things burn, caring very little about the collateral casualties. Solomon tells us that God abhors these people.
“These six things doth the LORD hate; yea, seven are an abomination unto him… he that soweth discord among brethren.” I will say with all the kindness I can muster, but I will say it with absolute seriousness. Fear the wrath of God if you are a sower of church discord. God’s Apostles iterate and reiterate the need for UNITY in Christ’s church and in the work of the Lord. David sang in Psalm 133 – “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.” Jesus said, “Blessed are the peace makers.” If God has ordained unity in His church, woe to the person who deliberately disrupts it. The sower of discord might come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but he will eventually be turned into ash before the wrath of God.
What might we compare to the tare SEED?
Like a grain of mustard, or a sesame seed, discord can germinate out of something relatively small. And what is smaller, or more apparently powerless in itself than a simple word? And yet…. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver” – Proverbs 25:11. On the other hand, “Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell” – James 3.
Sure there are lots of things which might severe close friends or brethren, like Cain and Abel’s sacrifices. Jacob and Esau didn’t get along because of jealousy, and the same was true of Jacob’s many children. Christ was hated by the people of His nation, and perhaps by His own family for a while, because of His righteousness. But usually when it comes to sowing seeds of division, it begins with words. But what a pandora’s box of problems human words contain.
How about the gossip who misrepresents someone else? It doesn’t have to be an out-and-out lie. Just a simple exaggeration or minimization of someone can cause a third person to overreact, and a rift is created. My mother said it so often, when I was a kid, I thought it was Bible: “If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.” There might be the unkind word. “O, but in this case it is true.” Yes perhaps it is true, but did it need to be said? Is the discord and division that comes as a result, worth sharing an unkind truth?
And what about the word spoken in anger – a hot word? Again, it may have been true and even necessary, but did it have to be spoken in that harsh way? “The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.” After Adam’s boys offered their sacrifices to the Lord, and God had respect for only one of them, the Lord spoke to Cain about his failure. But even after that, a short while later, “Cain TALKED with Abel his brother; and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him” – Genesis 4:8. What did the brothers discuss? How did the discussion go before it turned violent?
Whatever was said, the HARVEST was this discord of the most violent kind – murder.
What sort of crop does this seed produce? First, I suppose is pain. As we all know by experience, the body is not the only thing about us which can be hurt, feeling pain. Emotions can be wounded by words as easily the skin can be cut open with a blade. And people who would never consider punching someone in the face, may be quick to gash open the soul of that other person with a sword of words. And then – just as easily as a leg wound can become infected, so can a person’s spirit.
In the festering – that is when the divisions begin to appear. Remember the Bible’s use of a body to illustrate the Lord’s church. When that leg becomes infected, it not only causes the whole body to suffer, but it may result in amputation. At that point, the one-legged body cannot carry the gospel into the world as it should.
I could go on other effects of ecclesiastical division, but I need to point out one more thing:
There is a way to REPAIR the field infected with tares of discord.
The Lord has created a herbicide especially designed for this noxious weed. Proverbs 10:12 begins by saying, “hatred stirreth up strifes…” I was surprised while studying this subject to find that the Hebrew word translated “strifes” in this verse is found in only two other verses, and one is our original text where it is translated “discord.” “Hatred stirreth up strifes” (discord between brethren, and the verse goes on); “but love covereth all sins.”
What is the remedy, or better yet what is the prevention, of discord among the brethren? It is brotherly love. Jesus said, “(brethren) by this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” Two chapters later He commanded us “to love one another, as I have loved you.” Paul said, “Let love be without dissimulation,” and we might say that “dissimulation” is related to “discord.” Paul even prayed: “the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another…” Peter said, “See that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.”
Discord destroys or damages churches as mightily as the discord between Cain and Abel devastated the family of Adam. This is why Paul told the church in Rome: “Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” – Romans 16:17. He used that same pleading tone of voice again in I Corinthians 1:10 – “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.”
The Lord has told us there are seven things which He specifically hates. Remember that one of them is “he that soweth discord among brethren.” And what God hates is infinitely hated.