None of us wants to do anything that God hates. To help us avoid such action, Proverbs 6 tells us seven specific things to beware of: “A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood. An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, a false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren” (Prov. 6:16-19). Looking at this list, we want to concentrate on the last phrase.
The very idea of discord means that brethren are disagreeing with one another, thinking ill of the other and in the most extreme case, wanting to excommunicate the other person from the ecclesia.
Sowing tares
The ideas of “sowing” seed and “disfellowshipping” draw our minds to the parable about the enemy who sowed tares in a man’s field. To sow tares, the enemy showed at least two of the characteristics from Proverbs 6. He had a heart that devised wicked imaginations and feet that were swift in running to mischief. In addition, he introduced trouble into the field of good plants.
The problem now raised was that there were good plants and bad tares. The real damage that could come from the tares would be for an overeager householder to rip them out too soon and, in the process, root out the wheat. It’s much better to let the tares grow among the good grain to be separated at the harvest.
Furthermore, it is a dangerous thing to go about labeling tares before the harvest because we don’t have the insight of Christ, our householder. Our vantage point is as stalks of grain in the field. We’ve all been guilty of judging someone prematurely, or judging without having all the facts before us. Christ has all the facts and will identify the tares at the judgment seat. Until then, our responsibility is to govern our own individual growth and to support the growth of others around us. Removing tares from Christ’s field is dangerous.
Judging others
The flow of thought in Matthew 7 is instructive. It starts with, “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged” (Mt. 7:1-2). We must be very cautious about judging others and equally careful about encouraging others to think ill of their brethren.
Why can’t we judge? Because we can’t see clearly to do it. We must first cast out the beam out of our own eyes before we can see clearly to judge those around us (vs. 4-5). Experience reveals that if we concentrate on our own problems, we won’t have much time for the other person’s weaknesses; and if we do try to correct another, having worked on ourselves first, we will be much more sympathetic toward the other person.
Being generous
In verses 7 and 8, we see God’s generosity. He will give us what we ask for; He will help us find what we seek and will open to us when we knock. Our own behavior should be modeled after God’s as we, too, should be helpful and generous.
In addition, we need to remember we will be treated as we treat others. If we want to be treated with kindness, consideration and love, we should treat others the same way. We can not be accusatory and judgmental toward others without expecting the same attitude to be shown to ourselves.
We know that being generous in our attitude toward others will not be easy for “strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.” This warning is not given where it is because we are inclined to be overly generous with brethren and sisters. Just the opposite –we’re more likely to condemn than to forgive.
Determining false prophets
After being told how careful we must be in judging others, we are now told to beware of false prophets. Without trying to judge people’s motives and read their hearts, how do we know the wolves in sheep’s clothing?
By their fruits.
The wolves will be easy to determine because they will not produce the fruits of obedience. They will be harsh, not gentle; materialistic, not spiritual; argumentative, not peaceable.
The characteristics of the unacceptable are revealed by their own words in verse 22: “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?”
What’s wrong with that? Examine their focus — they show no signs of introspection, of removing the beams in their own eyes. All their attention was outward — warning others, casting devils out of others, doing showy works. And they say nothing of love.
Paul tells us all the works in the world are nothing without love. “And though I have the gift of prophecy…and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing” (I Cor. 13:2-3).
Paul associates many characteristics with love, for “Love thinketh no evil…beareth all things…endureth all things.” He does not associate love with judgment or demanding the removal of those we suspect of being tares.
The rejected sow discord
Throughout scripture, people who fail to serve God often do so by placing barriers before believers. We would have no trouble identifying the Pharisees and Judaizers as men who sowed discord among brethren. The Pharisees judged the disciples for eating with unwashen hands. The Judaizers wanted to add the burdens of obeying the law to new Gentile converts. Others wanted to circumcise Gentiles. In every case, they wanted the conformers to judge the non-conformers.
None of these barriers were the will of God. Rather, they insisted on these things because that’s how things had always been done. In fact, the people who put these barriers up did so precisely to make service more difficult. Placing unreasonable barriers before fellow-believers is in contradiction to what God does for us — He opens doors when we knock; He doesn’t close them. “Let us not therefore judge one another any more; but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way” (Rom. 14:13).
Avoiding the problem
The ultimate test of our service is the word of God. Going back to Proverbs 6 we read, “My son, keep thy father’s commandment…when thou goest, it shall lead thee…for the commandment is a lamp and the law is light…” (vs. 20-23). If we are wholly scriptural in what we do, we will avoid all problems. When it comes to correcting another, the scriptural instruction is to “Restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself…let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.”
The instruction to us now, as we approach the emblems, is the same, “Let a man examine himself.” If we do this, we will have a more generous attitude toward those around us. And when we remember Christ’s body was broken for our brother as well as ourself, we will never want to sow discord by turning one brother against another.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One