The Divisive Nature of Sin

By Bob Myhan

In the last three issues of Faith Builder we have dealt with the deceptiveness, degeneracy and destructiveness of sin. We have noticed that each of these leads naturally to the next. Another of its chief traits is divisiveness. It is divisive because of its destructiveness; that is, it divides by destroying relationships—biological, social and spiritual.

Sin divides the sinner from his family. The "Generation Gap" too often becomes a "Sin Gap," whether on account of tyrannical, overbearing, distrustful, unreasonable and non-understanding parents (see Eph. 6:4; Col. 3:21) or as a result of rebellious, cynical, belligerent and disobedient children (see Eph. 6:1-3; Col. 3:20). Husbands and wives also have mutual and reciprocal responsibilities (see Eph. 5:22-33; Col. 3:18,19). Bossy wives and henpecked husbands do not strengthen one another spiritually. Neither do unfaithful spouses.

Jesus Himself said,

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth, I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;’ and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matt. 10:34-37).

Of course, those in a family who come out of sin come to be at peace with God. But those who remain in sin become enemies of their own family members.

Sin divides the sinner from his friends. If one becomes an impenitent sinner his friends must not subject themselves to his adverse influence, because “evil company corrupts good habits” (1 Cor. 15:33). The inspired apostle goes on to write,

     “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? But you are the temple of the living God. As God has said ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ Therefore ‘Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.’ ‘I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the Lord Almighty’” (2 Cor. 6:14-18).

Sin divides the sinner from himself. That is, he is at odds with himself. “’There is no peace,’ says the LORD, ‘for the wicked’” (Isa. 48:22). “So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin” (Rom. 7:25). It was only when the prodigal son “came to himself” that he decided to return home (Luke 15:17-21).

Sin divides the sinner from his brethren because those who are faithful will withdraw from those who will not forsake their sins. “But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us” (2 Thess. 3:6). This is to be done in order to accomplish two ends: to “deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” and “purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump” (1 Cor. 5:1-7).

Lastly, and most importantly, sin divides the sinner from God. When the kingdom of Judah was about to fall, the problem was not the presumed shortness of the Lord’s hand nor the heaviness of His ear; the problem was that Israel’s iniquities had separated them from God and their sins had hidden His face from them (Isa. 59:1,2). This is precisely what Paul meant when he wrote, “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Death [even figurative death] involves a separation, or division, of one person or thing from another (James 2:26). &

Paul Preaches in Athens

By Bob Myhan

Paul usually started evangelizing a new area by going to the place where the Jews worshipped and using the Old Testament scriptures to prove Jesus was the long-awaited Messiah (see Acts 17:1-3).

As Paul began to preach in Athens, however, he did not seem to find a love of the truth among the Jews in the synagogue or the religious Gentiles in the market (Acts 17:17). But "certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him" and showed some interest in his theme of Jesus and the resurrection (Acts 17:18).  

The Epicureans were followers of the Greek philosopher Epicurus (341-270 BC). Opposing the idealistic and skeptical mood of the times, Epicurus wanted to provide security in an unsure world. He grounded his system on the incontestability of sense experience; pleasure and pain are the ultimate good and evil. Intelligent choice is necessary for the good life. Although only fragments of his works remain, his loyal disciples passed on his doctrines of friendship, peace of mind, and spiritual enjoyment as goals of the good life. Under the Roman Empire, Epicureans chose to withdraw from view and the last known member of the school was Diogenes of Oenoanda (fl. 200 AD).

The Stoic were adherents of Stoicism, the dominant philosophy of the Hellenistic-Roman period, founded by Zeno of Citium (c. 333-262 BC). The highest Stoic virtue is to live in harmony with the cosmos. To do this, people must live austere and noble lives, above concern for trivial things, and be able to control emotions. The wise man, or sage, puts his own integrity and duty ahead of lesser interests and feelings. Stoicism was reworked but remained basically unchanged until it faded after the end of the 3rd century AD.

“The Stoics taught that the greatest good in life was to be attained through a total indifference to both the sorrows and the pleasures of the world; the Epicureans, that it was to be obtained through the prudent gratification of every passion and propensity; and they united in denying conscious existence after death. ... In opposition to the former, Paul taught that we should weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who rejoice; in opposition to the latter, that we should deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts; and in opposition to both, that the final goal of human hopes is a resurrection from the dead to life everlasting” (J.W. McGarvey, New Commentary on Acts of Apostles, pp. 120-121).

The Epicureans and Stoics were not in a proper frame of mind to understand the resurrection or any other idea involving the inner man. They did not have a love of the truth for they had “changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever” (Rom. 1:25). Thus, they were curious about Paul’s teaching only because it represented something new.

Try to putting yourself in the shoes of an Epicurean or a Stoic. You would love nothing better than to hear some new thing or idea, but you would have no comforting hope, no outlet for the expression of your needs and fears, and no expectation that such will be heard and responded to in a favorable way.

You can, and should, take comfort in the fact that God’s word does not change and there is no need to learn every new philosophy that comes down the pike. You can use this for support in all aspects of life. You don’t have to try new things. The gospel is tried and true, and will never pass away.

Though Paul was an inspired apostle, he could not convert certain individuals, because lack of interest prevented their believing. Indeed, they seem to have been completely ignorant of the One True and Living God.

Thus, Paul tried to create within their minds an appreciation for the Almighty God, who is the Creator of the universe. This is because one must first be convinced that there is a living God who created all things before one can even begin to develop a love for the truth of God or to understand God’s truth, which is His word (John 17:17).

Christians of today will not be able to convert everyone, any more that Paul was, but we should be able to sit down with the lost and discuss with them, in an orderly way, why man not only needs God but is responsible to Him! &