Confessing Loyalty As Sin

I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought…What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? (1 Cor. 1:10)

Paul follows up this appeal with information on the divisions in the church. These divisions were not on theology or ecclesiology. The quarrels simply were about loyalties to teachers. To our knowledge, the teachers were even in fellowship with each other. These loyalties were sins and needed to be repented of and forsaken. They caused the disunity.

Today these loyalties are still one of the major causes of church divisions. However, today loyalty is considered a good word; it is a virtue. When it comes to following teachers, however, loyalty is not a virtue. It is a sin. It is hard to confess something as sin when we think it is good. Nevertheless, we must confess this sin.

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Roots by the River

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