Matthew 12:25-26 ESV Knowing their thoughts, He said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?”
I’m going to start by stating up front that I am going to take these verses out of context. Jesus made this statement to refute those who claimed He was using demonic power to cast out demons. Jesus’ argument is that a demon would not cast out another demon because it would weaken the devil’s kingdom and he would not allow it. I’m going to turn this statement around and argue that this is what has happened to the church.
While Jesus was not talking about the Kingdom of Heaven, I believe the truth of this statement is proved by the overall weakness of the church in America today. God’s Kingdom is awesome in power and overwhelms all opposition. The American church is all-in-all weak and ineffective. Certainly there are bright spots but overall, Christians have much to be ashamed of.
Do we set the land afire with our lives of faith and holiness? Do we influence society and draw our culture closer to God? No, actually it is the other way around. Society influences the church and draws the church farther away from God. The church today tolerates sin in its members that would have scandalized secular American society 75 or 100 years ago. As the world at large moves farther from God, it is pulling the church with it. Again, this is not true of all individual churches but the American church as a whole.
I believe that the church’s weakness is due to our lack of unity. The church is divided against itself and therefore is unable to stand against the inexorable drag of society. Decades ago I read someone (possibly Nicky Cruz) say that churches are like street gangs. They have their territory and their colors (identifying marks) and they fight each other for turf (my paraphrase). We are so busy fighting over doctrines and membership and resources that we have little energy left to engage the devil.
Division in the church is like cutting the very tip of your finger off while chopping carrots. Statistically only a small part of your body is immediately affected. The danger of death or serious impairment is quite small. Nevertheless, that relatively small injury will consume your whole body, mind, and attention until the bleeding and pain are abated. Your favorite program could be on TV but you wouldn’t watch it. A phone call you’ve been waiting for could come and you probably wouldn’t answer it. You will deal with your bleeding, painful finger to the exclusion of almost everything else.
That is what division has done to the church to the extent that most Christians are not even consciously aware of how far we have drifted spiritually in the last 50 years. Nor are they cognizant that the drift is becoming faster like a car rolling down a hill.
The answer of course is unity. We need to stop fighting each other and bring our weapons to bear on our true enemy, the devil. If the American church would do that it could be a social force for holiness. We could make America great again in ways that matter for eternity. Yet, I confess, I have little hope of this happening. I fear our petty squabbles will continue to consume us until Jesus’ prediction will come true, the church will never stand against the tide of the world around us.
Heavenly Father, the church is the body of Christ but we have fragmented His body so that it can barely function. Please forgive us and have mercy on us. Grant me repentance unto life where I have contributed to this division. Lord, grant us the miracle of unity so that the world will see You as You truly are.