The Marrero Family Making The Most Of Life!: Satan's second greatest tool,division in the church.

This post may step on a few toes,but sometimes things just have to be said.

A while back I did a post about Satans greatest tool being the destruction of the family.You can read it here http://marrerofamilymakingthemostoflife.blogspot.com/2011/10/satans-greatest-tool-destruction-of.html I believe the second greatest tool of Satan is division in the church.

Satan is very crafty and if he cannot steal your soul the next best thing is to make you an ineffective Christian.What works more effectively to make you ineffective,then to have believers fighting and bickering among themselves.

Having trouble and condescention among God's people serves two purposes,#1 you're too busy fighting amongst yourselves to be an effective witness and #2 It's a very poor testimony to those around you.

Matthew 5:14

¹⁴Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
¹⁵Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
¹⁶Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

One major issue that I have unfortunately seen time and time again is Christians seeming to forget what The Great Comission is.
Mark 16:9, After Jesus was raised from the dead this is what he said.
⁹Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
¹⁰And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.
¹¹And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.
¹²After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country.
¹³And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
¹⁴Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
¹⁵And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

Our great comission as Christians is to preach the Gospel to the unsaved world,but yet there is so much strife and dissention in the church amongst God's people that we have truly lost our first love,which is loving and serving Jesus.

Jesus himself told The Church at Ephesus

Revelation 2:3-5

King James Version (KJV)

³And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.

⁴Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

⁵Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

Sometimes people can get so caught up in the minor things,like who's listening to this, and who's wearing that, and what programs are you involved in, and how do you teach your children? Those things themselves become more gospel to them than the actual Gospel is.

I'm not talking about having standards that The Bible clearly points out. God calls us to have standards.We are to be salt and light.

Matthew 5:13

King James Version (KJV)

¹³Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

1 John 2:15-16

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁵Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

¹⁶For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

1 Peter 2:9
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light;

Somewhere between having Biblical standards that The Bible clearly defines and maybe a preaching or teaching on other ways to live, there has become great division amongst the brethren.

What we need to remember is that Jesus didn't come to heal the well he came to heal the sick.

Luke 19:10

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁰For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

We need to remember that babes in Christ are just taking in the milk of The Word and haven't gotten to the meat yet.Jesus is the one that needs to change them it is not our job to.

I'm sure that Matthew the tax collector or Mary Magdalene the lady of the night were not the most desirable people to be around.

One of the biggest problems that The Pharisee had with Jesus was that he ate and associated with sinners.

Luke 15

King James Version (KJV)

¹Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.
²And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
³And he spake this parable unto them, saying,
⁴What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
⁵And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing.
⁶And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.
⁷I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.
⁸Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?

Jesus used this parable and the parable of the Prodigals son to show the rejoicing of a lost person receiving Christ and being found (saved.)

But yet many not only don't want to associate with the lost,but don't want to associate with Christians that are not up to their standards as well.

It's such a sad thing.I'm sure it truly grieves God to see us have that kind of attitude.I pray that God convicts me anytime I try to take that speck out of someone elses eye,when I have a log in my own.

Matthew 7:2-4

King James Version (KJV)

²For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
³And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
⁴Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

One of the ways that Jesus says we will be known is by our love for one another.

John 13:34-36

King James Version (KJV)

³⁴A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
³⁵By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

I have to ask you if Jesus were to come today would he see that genuine love that shows you are his disciple or would he see something more like this "Sister so and so doesn't wear this,brother so and so doesn't do this."

Finally let us remember,
¹²For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
¹³For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
¹⁴For the body is not one member, but many.
¹⁵If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
¹⁶And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body?
¹⁷If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling?
¹⁸But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.
¹⁹And if they were all one member, where were the body?
²⁰But now are they many members, yet but one body.
²¹And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
²²Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
²³And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
²⁴For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered the body together, having given more abundant honour to that part which lacked.
²⁵That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care one for another.
²⁶And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.
²⁷Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
²⁸And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
²⁹Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles?
³⁰Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?
³¹But covet earnestly the best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.