This is the 21st lesson in a series of lessons on the book of Jude. In this lesson I will look at verse 19 and talk about unity and division.
Jude 19 says “These are the ones causing division”. In this letter Jude identified the people who cause division.
In this lesson I’m going to take a broad look at what the New Testament has to say about unity and division. As I do that, we’re going to see an example of the kind of division we should avoid. We’re also going to see an example of when there should be a little bit of division in the church, when people should be put outside the church. At the end I will look at the context of Jude and see what all this means for you and me today.
Watch the video or scroll down to read a transcript.
Transcript:
Thanks for visiting Bible Mountain. This is the 21st lesson in a series of lessons on the book of Jude. In this lesson I’m going to look at verse 19 and talk about unity and division.
Let’s start by reading verse 19.
Jude 19
These
are
the ones causing division,
unspiritual,
not having the Spirit.
We see the word division. Obviously, division is the opposite of unity.
Before that, we see the equative verb are.
And before that we see the pronoun these. In this letter Jude identified the people who cause division.
In this lesson I’m going to take a broad look at what the New Testament has to say about unity and division.
And as I do that, we’re going to see an example of the kind of division we should avoid.
We’re also going to see an example of when there should be a little bit of division, when people should be put outside the church.
Then I’m going to look at the context of Jude and see what all this means for you and me today.
Searching for verses in the New Testament that teach about unity and division is a little interesting. There’s not just one word that you can search for.
Sometimes the writers of scripture used the word unity to write about unity.
Sometimes they used the word one.
They also wrote about division, which pertains to the subject of unity.
For this lesson I have some verses from John, Acts, Romans, 1 Corinthians, and Ephesians that teach us about unity and division. Those books contain the bulk of what the Bible has to say about unity and division. And there is the verse we’re looking at today in Jude which talks very briefly about division.
Let’s start in the Gospel of John. This is Jesus talking about His sheep, those who believe in Him.
John 10:16 “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.
Jesus said all of His sheep would become one flock with one shepherd. There’s a concept here that just by virtue of the fact that we believe in Jesus, that alone makes us into one group, or puts us all into one flock. There’s an extent to which we as Christians don’t have to do anything to be one. The fact that we are Christians makes us one, makes us part of the universal church.
We see something similar in chapter 11. This was written about the high priest. This is in regard to something the high priest said about Jesus.
John 11:51 Now he did not say this on his own initiative, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but in order that He might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad.
We see here that Jesus is going to gather into one all the children of God. Again, there’s a certain extent to which we as Christians don’t need to do anything in order for that to happen.
Let’s go to John 17. This was Jesus praying to the Father. This was in the garden right before His crucifixion.
John 17:11 “I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.
Jesus prayed that everyone who believes in Him would be one. We can take this one of two ways. I pointed out earlier there’s a certain extent to which just the fact that we are Christians makes us one. Jesus may have been praying for that to happen.
There’s also the reality that we Christians are human and we’re sinful. We make mistakes. It’s very natural that as we live our lives as Christians here on Earth, we have differences with our fellow believers. That causes discord and disunity. Selfishness might rear its ugly head and cause discord amongst Christians. Jesus may have been praying that those kinds of things would not happen.
Let’s go to Acts 4. As I just said, since all Christians are human, and since we tend to be selfish, it’s inevitable that Christians are going to have disagreements with each other and create discord. Having said that, there was a time early in the church where the Christians managed to get close to the ideal of unity. There wasn’t any of the discord or disagreement that’s natural for humans to have with each other. We read about this in Acts 4.
Acts 4:32 And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.
Early in the church, the Christians managed to attain great unity. It’s almost like selfishness was totally non-existent. We can look at this verse as describing the ideal of what we as Christians should seek to attain. Not that it’s easy to attain this, because this is very difficult. It’s probably impossible for a group of believers to attain this and keep it indefinitely. However, this is what we want to strive for.
Now let’s go to Romans. This was written by Paul.
Rom. 12:4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.
Paul used the analogy of a body to describe the church. As Christians, we’re all part of one body. However, just like a body has different members that have different functions, so too each Christian has a different function. Each Christian has a different set of gifts and abilities. We’re different from one another. We each have different functions. Even though we’re one, we’re also different and separate.
Something else that happened in the early church was that Jews and Gentiles were brought together into the church. When Jesus came to earth, there was a sharp division between Jews and Gentiles. That division still exists today. Jews and Gentiles are two distinct ethnic designations. Immediately after Jesus went back to heaven, when the Church was founded on the day of Pentecost, the church was exclusively Jewish. However, over time the Christians started sharing the gospel with Gentiles. When Gentiles started believing, they became members of the church. That meant two very distinct groups were coming together into the church. Paul addressed that in Ephesians.
Eph. 2:14 For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, 15 by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, 16 and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity.
Jesus broke down this barrier between Jew and Gentile. Within the church, there is no division between Jew and Gentile. We are all part of the same body.
Later, Paul wrote more about the unity of the body.
Eph. 4:4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
Paul emphasized the fact that we’re one body. There’s only one Spirit. There’s only one Lord.
Now, let’s go to 1 Corinthians. This is where we see some examples of division within the church.
1Cor. 1:10 Now I exhort you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all agree and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For I have been informed concerning you, my brethren, by Chloe’s people, that there are quarrels among you. 12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
There were divisions in the church of Corinth because some were claiming to be of Paul, others were claiming to be of Apollos, and others of Cephas. Paul said that mentality was wrong. We should not be dividing ourselves based on which human Christian we follow. We should consider ourselves followers of Jesus Christ. This is an example of bad division. This is an example of the kind of division we as Christians should work really hard to avoid. This is the opposite of the unity that we should seek to attain.
Now let’s go down to chapter five. Here we see an example of when we should cause a little bit of division within the church.
1Cor. 5:1 It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. 2 You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.
There was someone in the church of Corinth who had his father’s wife. That is a gross sin. Paul wrote that that person should be removed. Even though we as Christians are supposed to be unified, we cannot tolerate sin. When there is sin in the church, we need to remove that sin even though it causes a little bit of division.
Paul continued writing about this in verse six.
1Cor. 5:6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?
This is why we are supposed to remove wicked men from our midst. Just as when you put a little bit of yeast in a lump of dough and that yeast permeates the dough and leavens the entire lump of dough, so too, when we tolerate sin within the church, eventually that sin permeates the entire church and contaminates the entire church. As Christians we cannot tolerate sin because eventually it’s going to contaminate everybody. If the church allows someone to stay in the church who’s committing a gross sin like having his father’s wife, then that sends a message throughout the church that it’s okay to do that. When other people are tempted by that sin, then they will start to do the same thing because they saw somebody else get away with it.
Now let’s scroll down to verse nine. Paul continued writing about this.
1Cor. 5:9 I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; 10 I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. 11 But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one. 12 For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? 13 But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.
Paul stated very clearly, again, that wicked men have to be removed from the church. We Christians are not even supposed to eat with any so-called brother who is committing gross sin. Again, the reason for that is if you allow the sin to stay in the church, then it is going to contaminate the whole church, just like a little bit of yeast will eventually permeate throughout the entire lump of dough.
Now let’s go to the book of Jude.
In verses three and four Jude wrote why he wrote the book of Jude. He wrote because certain people had crept into the church. They were distorting grace and denying Jesus.
Let me draw attention to the fact that these people were turning grace into sensuality. They were turning it into a license to sin. I’ll talk about this more later.
Throughout this letter, Jude described these people who had crept into the church. He said they were defiling flesh and rejecting authority.
He said they were blaspheming.
He issued a woe to them and compared them to Cain, Balaam and Korah.
He called them stains.
He applied a prophecy of Enoch to them.
He called them grumblers and fault finders.
Then in verse 17 Jude wrote, “but you beloveds”. Jude started describing what Christians should do in light of the fact that there were people creeping into the church denying Jesus and distorting grace. In verse 17 he said we’re supposed to remember that the apostles had warned us that this would happen, that there would be mockers in the end time following after their lusts of ungodliness.
In verse 19, which is the verse we’re focusing on in this lesson, Jude continued to describe these men who had crept into the church. He said these are the ones who are causing division. In other words the men who are denying Jesus are the ones causing division. The men who are distorting grace are the ones causing division. This is important. Unfortunately, what has happened in American Christianity in recent decades is we’ve gotten to the point where a lot of Christians think that unity trumps everything. They think that maintaining unity is the highest priority of all Christians. Unfortunately, what that often means is that people tolerate sin. They refuse to address it. They want to overlook sin because they don’t want to cause disunity. Often times, when there is a Christian who points out sin within the church and tries to address it, then the person who is trying to remove the sin is accused of causing disunity. That is backwards. Jude wrote that the men who are distorting and abusing grace are the ones causing division.
Remember, we saw in 1 Corinthians an example of division we should avoid.
1Cor. 1:12 Now I mean this, that each one of you is saying, “I am of Paul,” and “I of Apollos,” and “I of Cephas,” and “I of Christ.” 13 Has Christ been divided? Paul was not crucified for you, was he? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul?
We also saw an example of when we should cause some division in the church. There are times we should put people out of the church.
1Cor. 5:13 But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.
Paul told us to remove wickedness from amongst ourselves. The reason for that is because just as a little yeast leavens the whole lump, so too a little bit of sin in the church will corrupt the whole church and permeate throughout the whole church.
This is important for us to remember in the 21st century because today we are dealing with people in the church who are confused about gender or who have an unbiblical definition of marriage. We increasingly have people in the church who think that abortion is okay. If Christians tolerate these beliefs within the church, eventually they are going to permeate throughout the church and contaminate the whole church. These people who have these unbiblical views need to be removed from our midst before they contaminate the whole church. Jude made it clear that the people abusing grace are the ones causing division, not the people who are trying to remove sin from the church.
Thanks again for visiting Bible Mountain. If you have already joined my email list, thank you, and please forward this to someone else who would benefit from visiting Bible Mountain. If you have not joined my email list yet, please do so now. My email list is free. This is the best way to make sure you receive all my content. In order to join, go to www.BibleMountain.com, click on email, and that will take you to a page where you can sign up. Your email address will not be sold nor given away. Once again, thank you for visiting Bible Mountain.