Tag Archive: divisiveness

The Divisive, Argumentative Teachers in Chapter 6 of First Timothy

1 Timothy 6 also warns about people who create arguments in order to exploit them for financial gain and to build their own authority. This warning is presented in the context of teaching about respect for human authority and authority in the Church.

The Real Issue with False Teachers is their Hidden Motivations

Like Balaam, false teachers do their work stealthily motivated by greed. They do not openly deny the Lordship of Christ, but deceptively proclaim teachings that permit us to retain our own independence, greed or lust, to seek first our own pleasure, and still, they say, please God. They teach these things not necessarily because they believe them, but to obtain our following and our money.

Heresy is Division in the Church

Heresy is properly defined as divisiveness, not merely believing a false doctrine. Heretics are divisive people. Those who state doctrines with which I disagree, but do so without insisting on division because of my belief, are not heretics. Thus calls for mutual understanding and patience.

Rejection of Unity Makes Us Vulnerable to Divisive Leaders and their False Teachings

Our disunity also leaves us vulnerable to exploitation by false teachers and their distorted religious teachings, with which they seek to win a personal following for their own gratification or profit. proper recognition of the oneness of the Body, and of the importance of living in oneness, protects against divisive people.