DIVISION
Discord usually takes first hold upon the thorns; it is nurtured among the hypocrites
and base professors in the church, and away it goes among the righteous, blown by
the winds of hell, and no one knows where it may end. ME475
Divisions in Churches never begin with those full of love to the Saviour. 607.11
Besides, Satan always hates Christian fellowship; it is his policy to keep Christians
apart. Anything which can divide saints from one another he delights in. He
attaches far more importance to godly intercourse than we do. 657.602
When you hear of disturbances in churches you need not so much seek to compose the
differences among the members as to amend the men themselves. 1368.450
I never heard of quarrels among devils, nor did I ever read of sects in hell: they are
all one in their hatred of the Christ and of God. 1643.82
Why are we not one? Sin is the great dividing element. The perfectly holy would be
perfectly united. The more saintly men are, the more they love their Lord and one
another; and thus they come into closer union with each other. Our errors and our
sins are roots of bitterness which spring up and trouble us, and many are defiled. Our
infirmities of judgment are aggravated by our imperfections of character, and our
walking at a distance from our God; and these breed coldness and lukewarmness, out
of which grow disunion and division, sects and heresies. 1890.152
A church divided in its doctrine,—what can it do? If it has to spend its strength in
continual debate, what force has it with which to conquer the world? 2439.544
Time was when they that feared the Lord spake often one to another; I am afraid
that now they more often speak one against another. 3295.149
The strength that is spent in division is so much taken away from service. 3527.411