Those who are pretenders, claiming to be Christian but do not care about living for Christ, do more damage to the gospel than anything else. They divide the church causing brothers and sisters to come against brothers and sisters.
These people pit one brother against another by shutting down the truth-tellers, those who want to follow the Bible. They do this like a boss with their narcissistic assertions that the one who loves Christ, the Bible, and the truth, are the divisive ones.
This is why it is so important that we get out of the organized one-man pastor system, it divides when the attendees are not allowed to call out errors in the body.
Most people who attend gatherings today are of the mindset to, "go along to get along, because of this they accuse those who want the truth of causing division when the division is because of the false doctrine the church is disseminating.
Romans 16:17
"I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them."
God commands us to watch out for those who bring in false doctrine. The church is full of narcissists who refuse to be corrected. They cannot be approached to have a dialogue because their pride is so massive they become angry when they are told they might be wrong about something.
Titus 3:10
"As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him,"
When someone will not listen, is full of arrogance without regard for others, treating others disrespectfully to control them, the only recourse we have is to stay away from them.
Those who act narcissistically will only diminish our walk with Christ. They are not an asset to the Lord or to us, they must be removed from our lives. I do not mean in marriage, that's a different matter, but family and friends who work against what God is doing in our lives, these people will hinder our walk and must be avoided.
Never fear, when we remove ourselves from these people you may feel guilty about it, perhaps they will repent and change you might think. Whether or not they "might" change is not the issue, the issue is what are they right now.
If someone we have left behind does change the Lord knows all about that and they know where to find us as the Lord leads them back into our lives. Never keep a toxic person in your life with fantasy thinking they may change one day.
Also, staying in a wicked person's life does not help them grow or change. The truth is they are likely to remain stuck in their toxicity because we have coddled them.
Isaiah 26:10 "10 Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness, he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD."
It is Christ Who changes lives but only if a person wants to be changed by Him. Those who show no desire to be changed by Christ will not change because you were friendly to them, or because you allowed yourself to be their punching bag. Go ahead and pray for them, this is the love of Christ, but do not attempt to play God by remaining with them. You are not more special than God is, if He cannot reach them then what makes you think you can?
Love people by praying for them, but have in your life only those who love Christ with all their heart, their soul, and their mind.
Never allow others to pressure you into staying in contact with wicked people. Those who would pressure you in this way must also be removed from your life.
Christ and the apostles never lingered in the lives of those who rejected Him. They moved on, surrounded themselves with Christ lovers, and kept themselves from being tainted by the toxicity of the wicked person.
Hallelujah, we are free to choose our close friends!
Proverbs 12:26 "The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray."
Proverbs 27:17 "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend."
Proverbs 13:20 "Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble."
Proverbs 17:17 "A friend is always loyal, and a brother is born to help in time of need."
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