Those who lead as God would have them lead follow this passage.
Good leaders will do this to put an end to the abuse of people and the creating of contention in a community. It is not from selfish motivation, or love of exercising power. God honors such courageous action that follows His wisdom by upholding its effectiveness. Notice that good and strong leaders also love, befriend and reward those who are pure in heart and gracious.
Behind the Scenes
These scoffers are most damaging over long term, often moreso than those who are outright wicked or immoral. Such people can create an insidious sub-culture that is unhealthy and ungodly. They become more and more a threat to genuine community. This stuff happens in churches, businesses, governments, clubs, and in many other groups.
Factious people are those who are self-willed, always right, and force people to take sides on issues, issues they even make up. These issues often involve certain people, typically those in leadership, and as a result these factious people often gather a following. Refuse to enlist in their “cause,” which is not Gospel truth, though they make it sound like it is.
Even in a Church
Who is the factious person in a church? He or she is a separatist, a partisan, one who has chosen without good reason to join or create sects. Such a person stirs up division in a church, forming dissident groups.
Scripture is quite stringent on the issue of divisiveness. God is serious about unity in His Church. Titus was instructed to give the trouble-maker two warnings about his behavior. This provides ample opportunity to correct behavior; and it is done in hope of bringing about a spiritual recovery.
When it gets to this point, the leaders and the church can be certain that the expelled one is perverted and sinning. By persistence in divisiveness and recalcitrance the individual has condemned himself or herself.
Being “warped” means perverted in character, not seeing straight, being mentally, morally, spiritually twisted. The term “sinful” means willfully and knowingly persisting in sin. And “self-condemned” means that the person provides the basis for his or her own removal through antagonistic behavior.
Reassurance at Last
The principle from Proverbs and the instruction from Titus both address a difficult responsibility that all leaders encounter when leading groups of people. It requires wisdom, love and courage from God to successfully handle and resolve the challenge of the factious person.
It is a good thing when factious or divisive people are removed. Almost immediately a sense of relief and freedom comes over a congregation and people find themselves much happier. This is additional confirmation from the Lord.
Have you ever experienced such relief when leaders acted with such courage and care? Have you ever had to trust those making such decisions without having personal knowledge of all the details?
Proverbs 22:10–11 ESV “Drive out a scoffer, and strife will go out, and quarreling and abuse will cease. He who loves purity of heart, and whose speech is gracious, will have the king as his friend.”Like many Proverbs, this one speaks of the ideal king, who acts under God’s authority while guided by His wisdom. On the whole, civil authorities will bless those under their governance by expelling or banishing the scoffers, mockers, instigators, trouble-makers, factious ones from their presence and from positions of power.
Good leaders will do this to put an end to the abuse of people and the creating of contention in a community. It is not from selfish motivation, or love of exercising power. God honors such courageous action that follows His wisdom by upholding its effectiveness. Notice that good and strong leaders also love, befriend and reward those who are pure in heart and gracious.
Behind the Scenes
These scoffers are most damaging over long term, often moreso than those who are outright wicked or immoral. Such people can create an insidious sub-culture that is unhealthy and ungodly. They become more and more a threat to genuine community. This stuff happens in churches, businesses, governments, clubs, and in many other groups.
Factious people are those who are self-willed, always right, and force people to take sides on issues, issues they even make up. These issues often involve certain people, typically those in leadership, and as a result these factious people often gather a following. Refuse to enlist in their “cause,” which is not Gospel truth, though they make it sound like it is.
Even in a Church
Who is the factious person in a church? He or she is a separatist, a partisan, one who has chosen without good reason to join or create sects. Such a person stirs up division in a church, forming dissident groups.
Scripture is quite stringent on the issue of divisiveness. God is serious about unity in His Church. Titus was instructed to give the trouble-maker two warnings about his behavior. This provides ample opportunity to correct behavior; and it is done in hope of bringing about a spiritual recovery.
Titus 3:10-11 ESV “As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing that such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.”However, if this person does not repent, then he must be rejected for the sake of the church. Rejected means avoiding association, shunning, officially removing, dismissing, driving out, though not necessarily formally ex-communicating. On account of the integrity of the group, for the peace and safety of the soul, and for the glory of God in His Church, leaders are given the instruction to expel divisive people.
When it gets to this point, the leaders and the church can be certain that the expelled one is perverted and sinning. By persistence in divisiveness and recalcitrance the individual has condemned himself or herself.
Being “warped” means perverted in character, not seeing straight, being mentally, morally, spiritually twisted. The term “sinful” means willfully and knowingly persisting in sin. And “self-condemned” means that the person provides the basis for his or her own removal through antagonistic behavior.
Reassurance at Last
The principle from Proverbs and the instruction from Titus both address a difficult responsibility that all leaders encounter when leading groups of people. It requires wisdom, love and courage from God to successfully handle and resolve the challenge of the factious person.
It is a good thing when factious or divisive people are removed. Almost immediately a sense of relief and freedom comes over a congregation and people find themselves much happier. This is additional confirmation from the Lord.
Have you ever experienced such relief when leaders acted with such courage and care? Have you ever had to trust those making such decisions without having personal knowledge of all the details?
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