From the early days of the church there have been troublemakers. Jesus assigned the church the responsibility for evangelizing, teaching, and baptizing the world. In the process of their efforts people tried to interfere with the mission. Certain Judaizers came to where Gentiles lived and who had accepted Christ as Savior. They told the Gentiles that they still had to follow certain Jewish laws such as being circumcised. It took the entire group of apostles to gather in Jerusalem for a council meeting to dispute these claims.
A number of books in the New Testament were written in whole or part to address the trouble that misguided people inflicted on the church. In the Corinthian church several problems existed such as disputing which person to follow whether it be Apollos, Paul, or Christ. They also were tolerating adultery within its membership. Part of Paul’s instructions was to establish an identity for how the church should function with deacons, pastors, evangelists, and teachers. Within the ranks of the church there remained confusion that needed to be addressed. Then there was a question of people having problems about eating meat they came from sacrificing animals to idols. When Jesus instructed John to write the book of Revelation, Jesus found many of the churches who tolerated troublemakers.
Whether the troublemakers are misguided Christians or unsaved people disguising themselves as church members, it makes no difference because they all bring trouble into the church. One of Satan’s tools is to cause confusion among the ranks of churchgoers. We have the same thing happening today. Deacons have been more concerned for the price of toilet paper the church spends then they are for the lost in the community. Bitterness elevated in one church about the color of the new roof, so their only solution was to have one side blue and the other side green. That became a glaring testimony to the community about their lack of functioning as Jesus would have them. In another church the person responsible for the finances stole as much is one million dollars. These are examples that I have personally known. I could cite more such as a deacon who objected to the pastor tossing the script to a movie that was non-biblical as part of his sermon. Gossip is a terrible cancer within the church as well as other sins. But what should we do about troublemakers?
Before we turn to the Bible for an answer, we must recognize that it takes courage and biblical knowledge to stand against trouble especially if the troublemaker has a leading position within the congregation. A church that will not address troublemakers is a church in trouble! In addition, addressing these people must be done authoritatively without causing harm to the reputation and function of the church in the community. A church in uproar can lead to a terrible testimony.
A prime example of church troublemakers is in 3 John 9-11. There was a man who loved to have preeminence in the church. While doing so, he refused to receive some apostles. He declared malicious words about them while encouraging other church members to treat the brethren unkindly. In that case, the church was instructed to cast the man out of the church! The basis to do this was to follow good and not evil. Quite frankly, the Bible is most powerful against the evil troublemakers who attempt to stir up discontent and confusion. Always base your reaction against these people on the Word of God. Each case must be treated separately but each case must have a response based on what the Bible says.
If a troublemaker is distributing falsehoods or unwilling to follow the leadership of those duty appointed, that person must be bound by God’s word. Let me repeat myself on purpose as I say the problem in today’s church is not what to do but having the courage to do it. This is not a matter of loyalty to a person. It is loyalty to Jesus and the Bible. Whatever a troublemaker attempts should be thwarted in a spiritual method influenced by the Holy Spirit and guided by Scripture. Making trouble cannot and must not be tolerated because the eternal destination of souls is at stake.
Christian Writer 