But Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?”
Matthew 12:25-26 NKJV
In our Scripture passage for today, the Pharisees were thinking that Jesus was driving demons out of people under Satan’s power. Jesus pointed out here that this makes no sense. Why would Satan cast out himself? Why would Satan fight against himself?
The Bible tells us that Satan loves to cause division among believers. Paul spoke of this in his letter to the Romans and his letter to the Corinthians. I Corinthians 1:10 says, “I appeal to you brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.”
In Romans 16:17, Paul wrote,” I appeal to you brothers to watch out for those who cause divisions among you and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”
Titus 3:10 says, “As for a person who stirs up division, warn him once and then twice and have nothing more to do with him.”
Paul warned these churches of false teachers. Today, we still have false teachers, but sadly we have individuals who also like to stir up division. Satan loves to see churches and families divided. This gives him a foothold and all he needs is just a tiny crack in the door and he can bust in and take over. This is why unity is so important.
In March 1799, Patrick Henry used the phrase, “United we stand, divided we fall” in his last public speech. We would do well to remember this today. Jesus tells us we will suffer persecution here on earth and we should be careful to stand united with our fellow believers.
I have been through church splits and family splits, and I can tell you it can be gut wrenching. So, how do we avoid division?
Well, we begin with prayer and Bible study. Pray to God and search for his answers to you in His word. Do your best to make peace with your church member or family member. Paul said in Romans 12:18 that we should do all we can to live at peace with one another.
But then we must go back to what is said in Titus 3:10, if a person continuously stirs division, we must have nothing to do with them. Division and chaos are of the devil. They are evil and we should avoid evil (1 Thessalonians 5:22).
We must watch for this kind of behavior. When someone believes that they are just fine and everyone else around them is the problem, be careful around that person because at some point you also will be a problem for them.
We know that God desires obedience more than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22). In Matthew 5:23-24 Jesus says that before we offer our sacrifice if our brother has something against us, we should leave our gift on the altar and go and reconcile with our brother and then come and offer our gift.
Division creates chaos and confusion. We are told in 1 Corinthians 14:33 that God is not a God of confusion but of peace.
The devil wants to see chaos and confusion in our families and in our churches. If you are experiencing division with a family member or within your church, do your part to set things straight. If the other person refuses to work with you, then you must walk away. Love them and pray for them.
Do not take part in the arguing, chaos and confusion. And be very careful to guard yourself against pride. Often times where there is division, it goes on and on because of pride. We are told in Proverbs 16:18 that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirt before a fall.
Divided we fall, be united in Christ and stand firm in the armor God provides (Ephesians 6:10-18). When we stand with Him, we cannot fall.
Have a great day!