“Christians” to Stay Away From

You may have experienced or witnessed Christians or
pseudo-Christians who have divided the body of Christ. The Bible speaks to us
about them in several places.

“They said to you, ‘In the last times there will be scoffers
who will follow their own ungodly desires.’ These are the men who divide you,
who follow mere natural instincts and do not have the Spirit” (Jude 18-19).

“Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second
time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man
is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned” (Titus 3:10-11).

“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. 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” (Romans 16:17-18).

“I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no
divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought”
(1 Corinthians 1:10).

“In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a
church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it. No
doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s
approval” (1 Corinthians 11:18-19).

We are to be separate from those who divide. How do we
recognize them? There will be indications:

·      
They will secretly slip into the church (Jude
4).

·      
After they are in, they will say that grace is
freedom to sin (Jude 4).

·      
They will deny Jesus Christ the Sovereign Lord
(Jude 4).

·      
They will gossip.

·      
They will slander.

They will do all of this so well that many of the believers
will believe them and enter into their sins.