How Do You Handle a Divise Person In God's Body?

Every one of us has met a person before who would like nothing more than to pick a fight. They are the type of people who have not forgiven others and seem to find anything to knit-pick with someone else in the group. The word that first comes to mind with such a person is "divisive." They desire to divide the group and to get a party on their side against the person seen as being the offender.

God's word clearly instructs us not to take an offense. To constantly forgive and confront. Our instructions in the Bible are clear in how we should confront a brother who seems to have sinned against us. Jesus instructed us in Matthew 18:15-17,

"If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.' If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector."

This instruction is clear and simple. Yet so many people choose to ignore it. They choose to instead wage a war whether it be a loud and obvious war or a cold war. They hold a grudge, make a huge issue out of little things, or "gang-up" on others. These are the divisive people. They clearly ignore God's instruction in this verse.

The Bible teaches us also how to deal with divisive people. Paul instructed Titus about the policy towards divisive people in Titus 3:10-11.

"Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned."

The same type of principle is recommended for dealing with a divisive person as for dealing with someone who sins against you. Confront the person about what they have done. Confront them again with someone else. If the divisive person still will not listen, don't associate with him. That means throwing the person out of the church.

Some might say its cruel to throw out an unrepentant or divisive person out of the church. Better to hand them over to Satan as Paul instructs rather than they stay within the church and lead many away from Christ. We have to gauge what is better for the group than the one person. Just as with our own families we have to decide what's better for our children first than what is best for the wounded person.