THESE WERE MORE NOBLE...WHY?

It was prophesied that division would come in the body of Christ.

There should not have been division within their ranks because the men of God warned them about division.

Notice some scriptures that explain HOW and WHY division would come.

Acts 20-this is a very important chapter. You will find the apostle Paul talking with the elders of the church of Ephesus over at Miletus. Keep in mind that he is talking to the elders of a local church, men who had the oversight of the flock of God which is "among them."

Listen to what he said, beginning at verse 28, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood."

Here we find that the elders have the oversight of the flock of God which is "AMONG THEM." Keep this in mind. Then he said, "For I KNOW this." Now, he did not say there was a doubt in his mind, or that "it might be." He said, "I KNOW this, that after my departure shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock."

It is a rather strange thing that these wolves did not come while the apostles were there. They waited for the men of God to leave, then these false teachers sneaked in and divided the body of Christ.

This is the same way they will do it today. You can let a devout man of God, a faithful man of God, stay there and preach the truth, and very seldom will you ever find a false teacher that will challenge him. But yet you let that man get away from the flock, and then these wolves will come in and try to divide the body of Christ, and that is a shame and a disgrace.

But notice what he said in verse 30, "And of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them."

Also observe that he said, "To draw away disciples after them." When they teach things contrary to the word of God, they are going to draw away disciples...

When this happens, it results in division within the ranks of God, and there is no way to get around it.

That is exactly what the man of God said. He said that division would come, that "even of your own selves shall men arise speaking perverse things."

THIS is why we have so many differing denominational bodies, each with a different creed.

If these creeds did not exist, people would turn to, and read from the Bible. Much division would end, when people find that the Bible doesn't need an "interpreter" (creed language) before it can be understood; rather, read the Bible first - - - THEN you will see the errors in the creed language.

In Acts 17:11, those in Berea were MORE NOBLE than those in Thessalonica...WHY? Because "they searched the scriptures daily, to see whether those things were so...".

To be NOBLE, is to GIVE DILIGENCE; to EXAMINE; to TEST the things proclaimed as "from God" are what God revealed in the Bible. This is what the Bereans did.

Remember, Jesus prayed for us to be united in our beliefs, not divided: John 17:20-21. Would HE have prayed for what was an impossibility?

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