Division Part 2
Pastors Leslie & Adeline Chua
“Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
This is the second part of my reflection on the topic of division.
In the first part, I wrote about division in the body of Christ arising from pride, selfish ambitions, and sectarianism. God detests such unnecessary and avoidable division in the church, which invariably results in disunity.
I also talked about the inevitability of division resulting from our allegiance to Christ. Our parents, spouse, and loved ones may object to our Christian faith, but that should not compromise our walk and service unto the Lord in any way.
In this second part of my reflection, I will be considering division that is brought about by God Himself. It is not the work of the devil or our carnality. Rather, it is God who divides. God divides those who are His from those who are not.
Dividing the Red Sea
God dividing the Red Sea stands as one of the greatest miracles recorded in the Bible. Even many non-Christians know of the story. It had been made into Hollywood movies including a few in animation.
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In the act of dividing the Red Sea, Yahweh was dividing the Israelites from the Egyptians. Essentially, He was differentiating between His chosen people from the Egyptians, who is a type of the world.
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As the mighty Egyptian army closed in on the helpless Israelites, God parted the Red Sea. The Israelites crossed over to the other side on dry ground. The Egyptians followed in their horses and chariots. When all the Israelites had safely crossed over, God caused the waters to fall back drowning the entire Egyptian army.
In the act of dividing the Red Sea, Yahweh was dividing the Israelites from the Egyptians. Essentially, He was differentiating between His chosen people from the Egyptians, who is a type of the world. That is, Egypt symbolizes the world.
The dividing of the Red Sea is a phenomenal miracle. It is also a sign. Not just of God’s awesome power, but also the division between the people of God and the people of the world.
Who is on the LORD’s Side?
Have you heard of the children’s song, ‘Leaning on the Lord’s Side’? It is a popular Sunday school. Every stanza begins with the question, “Whose side are you leaning on?” Then, it continues, “I’m leaning on the Lord’s side.”
The song has a catchy tune. It is easy to sing and declare that we are leaning on the Lord’s side. However, as our culture becomes darker and intolerant of our Judeo-Christian values, it will get increasingly difficult for believers to lean on the Lord’s side and stand on His truth.
I believe the song draws its inspiration from the story in Exodus chapter 32. It is certainly not a light-hearted story with a happy ending.
The LORD God had just given Moses the Ten Commandments engraved on two stone tablets. This momentous event atop Mount Sinai was marred by the orgies and idolatry at the foot of the holy mountain.
Moses descended the mountain to discover the Israelites worshipping a golden calf. Burning with anger, Moses stood at the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the LORD’s side?”
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Within the community of His chosen people, God also made a distinction between those who were loyal to Him and those who compromised in their faith.
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The sons of Levi rallied around him, He commanded them to kill all who had sinned against the LORD. That day, three thousand were put to the sword.
The LORD said to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book” (Exodus 32:33).
As you can see, God did not just divide the Israelites from the Egyptians. Within the community of His chosen people, God also made a distinction between those who were loyal to Him and those who compromised in their faith.
Which side are you leaning on? Are you leaning on the Lord’s side? These are important questions of faith. God takes the issue of our allegiance to Him very seriously. He does not tolerate compromises, and He frowns on half-heartedness.
Quoting from Deuteronomy, Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and might (Deuteronomy 6:5; Luke 10:27). Jesus demands our wholehearted commitment to Him.
Wheat & Weeds
Jesus told a series of parables concerning the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 13). These parables give us several important ideas about the Kingdom of God.
One of these parables is the Parable of the Wheat and Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30). It is one of the most important of Jesus’ parables. Yet, its truth is obscured to many believers.
The field, symbolising the Kingdom of Heaven, has both wheat and weeds. Wheat represents the true believers while weeds the false believers. Put it in another way, the church comprises of these two types of believers.
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Jesus concluded the parable by saying that the separation of the wheat and weeds will take place at the time of harvest. In eschatological terms, it refers to the end of this present age.
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This may come as a shock to some people. But this is Jesus’ teaching. So, it has to be taken seriously.
Interestingly, the wheat plants and the weeds look similar when they are young. As they mature, the distinction between them becomes clearer. By then, it is too late to pluck out the weeds without adversely affecting the wheat plants as their roots are entangled with one other.
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Presently, we are living at the end of the Last Days, and I believe the separation between the true and false believers has already started. In the last two decades, God has begun dividing His church.
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Jesus concluded the parable by saying that the separation of the wheat and weeds will take place at the time of harvest. In eschatological terms, it refers to the end of this present age.
Presently, we are living at the end of the Last Days, and I believe the separation between the true and false believers has already started. In the last two decades, God has begun dividing His church. It becomes increasingly obvious in the last few years.
Hyper-Grace Theology
At the turn of the century, the church was plagued by the hyper-grace false teaching. Its appeal spread globally like a pandemic.
Unlike the prosperity gospel, the hyper-grace false teaching redefines many aspects of basic Christian doctrines such that it changes the fundamental fabric of Christian beliefs. It has an element of the prosperity gospel. It promotes easy spirituality. God’s grace is hyper to the extent that He no longer disciplines and judges His people even when they live in a pattern of sin and remain unrepentant. God is all about grace and love. His attributes of holiness and justice are de-emphasised. These are just a few examples. You can see why it is so attractive.
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The hyper-grace teaching redefines many aspects of basic Christian doctrines such that it changes the fundamental fabric of Christian beliefs.
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Today, there is hardly any talk about hyper-grace anymore. Not because it has gone with the wind, but its ideas have pervaded much of mainstream Christianity.
To a certain extent, the hyper-grace theology is subtle in its deception. It contains truths with enough dosage of lies such that it can be considered heretical.
It might not be clear for many people, but God has divided believers who hold true to His Word from those who embrace this cultural gospel.
Gender Fluidity & Homosexuality
The next division is anything but subtle. The devil is direct and blatant in this assault on the church. I am talking about the LGBT controversy.
The Bible is clear on its stand regarding the issues of gender fluidity and homosexuality. God has created humanity male and female in His image. Regarding sexual intimacy, God’s intent is spelt out clearly. Sex is God’s gift for a man and a woman to be experienced within the confines of marriage.
Despite biblical clarity, the church is bitterly split over these issues. Entire churches and even denominations have fallen. These entities decide to take stands that are clearly contrary to biblical commands and instructions. They embrace same-sex marriage and ordain homosexual clergy. I often wonder how this is even possible.
In the Gospels, Jesus repeatedly warned His disciples to be careful about deception in the Last Days. Paul mentioned something worse. God will send delusion to confuse those who refuse to love the truth.
Delusion is the inability to perceive truth even when it is placed right before a person. Those who do not love the truth will become deluded to believe in the devil’s lies so that they will not be saved (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12). It is a clear statement of God dividing His church.
Social Justice
Social justice has become the latest rage in the United States of America. It started as a cultural movement to end various forms of discrimination and bring about inclusiveness, justice, and equality to society. As the movement began to rear its ugly head, it is quickly exposed as a political ideology with sinister underlying objectives.
Many American Christians and churches naively embrace the movement without realising that the social justice ideology is anti-Judeo-Christian philosophically. It is fundamentally rooted in Marxism. The idea is to pit one category of people against another category. In the original Marxist doctrine, the proletariat (working class) is pitted against the bourgeois (the wealthy middle class).
Over time, Marxism evolves into a more sophisticated form, which is commonly known as cultural Marxism. While it takes on different forms externally, the underlying principle of pitting one category against another category remains unchanged.
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They are created and then blown out of proportion to destabilise societies with the objective of setting up a totalitarian form of government. It is the spirit of Anti-Christ at work.
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Cultural Marxism proponents survey the cultural landscape looking for social categories to exploit. Then they go about creating categories and then pit one category against another. So, in the last few years, we are confronted with various kinds of social divides, mostly focusing on race, sexuality, and gender – whites against blacks, females against males, LGBTs against straight people, etcetera.
If you consider the issue deeper, you will realise that while these divides are real, they are not big social issues. In other words, they are not systemic threats as widely claimed by the activists.
These threats are imaginary. They are not real. They are created and then blown out of proportion to destabilise societies with the objective of setting up a totalitarian form of government. It is the spirit of Anti-Christ at work.
Do not for a moment think that these are American problems. I often say that whatever happens in America will affect the rest of the developed world, including Singapore.
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Christians must be more discerning and reject the social justice ideology. It is fundamentally incompatible with the teaching of the Bible.
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For example, the problem of “white privilege” has arrived on our shores in the form of “yellow privilege.” Some young and well-educated Singaporeans, including Christians, are swept up by this hollow rhetoric. Recently, our Home Affairs Minister had to address the issue of yellow privilege dismissing it as a myth.
Christians must be more discerning and reject the social justice ideology. It is fundamentally incompatible with the teaching of the Bible.
Be careful what you read. Mainstream Christian publications like Christianity Today promotes the social justice ideology aggressively while The Gospel Coalition is flirting with it. Read with discernment.
God Divides
The world is moving toward totalitarianism in preparation for the eventual rise of the Anti-Christ. Cultural Marxism and the social justice movement are Satan’s scheme toward this end.
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Clearly, this is where the world is heading. Future pandemics and crises - cyber-attacks, climate change, financial and economic crises, etcetera - will serve as catalysts for the formation of a global government for better coordination to fight the fires facing the world.
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You just have to observe where the world is heading with the coronavirus crisis. For health and safety reasons, draconian measures are put into place and civil liberties restricted in the effort to control the situation. This is happening globally with widespread support except for a small number of discerning ones.
I am not making any partisan or political statement here except to point out the trend. Clearly, this is where the world is heading. Future pandemics and crises - cyber-attacks, climate change, financial and economic crises, etcetera - will serve as catalysts for the formation of a global government for better coordination to fight the fires facing the world.
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More causes for division lie ahead. The church is going through perilous times. More crises and therefore challenging times lie ahead. Christians have to navigate carefully and skilfully through the murky waters of deception. We need spiritual discernment to see beyond physical realities.
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I digress. Did I? No, I didn’t.
We have seen divisions in the church due to the hyper-grace and LGBT issues. Increasingly, we are seeing the effects of the social justice movement on the church. Now, rifts are beginning to emerge over the issues of vaccination and vaccine passports.
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I believe that God has allowed such separation to take place even though it taints His reputation. It is the Lord who is dividing His church. Faithful and true believers who know His Word and the times and seasons will be differentiated and separated from the apostates.
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More causes for division lie ahead. The church is going through perilous times. More crises and therefore challenging times lie ahead. Christians have to navigate carefully and skilfully through the murky waters of deception. We need spiritual discernment to see beyond physical realities.
I believe that God has allowed such separation to take place even though it taints His reputation. It is the Lord who is dividing His church. Faithful and true believers who know His Word and the times and seasons will be differentiated and separated from the apostates.
It is necessary because our Lord Jesus Christ is coming back for a spotless bride who will be dressed in fine linen, bright and pure (Revelation 19:8).
Rightly Dividing the Word of God
How can we have spiritual discernment and stand firm in the faith amid unprecedented levels of deception?
By rightly dividing the Word of truth (2 Timothy 2;15)!
The original Greek term for the word, divide, is ‘orthotomounta,’ which means ‘straight cutting.’ The metaphor behind this Greek term is a farmer ploughing in a straight line.
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Are you the wheat or weed? Be on the right side of the divide. Let us be found on the Lord’s side.
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In other words, believers are to handle the Word of God with integrity by interpreting it straightforwardly without veering to the right or left to accommodate their preference and the prevailing culture. A believer who does otherwise opens the door of his mind to deception!
Are you the wheat or weed? Be on the right side of the divide. Let us be found on the Lord’s side.