Unfortunately there a lot of Christians who believe what I'm about to share, as well as other things that give them reason to divide the body of Christ. Frankly I am tired of it and am becoming less tolerant of it.
In a nut shell, a Christian friend of mine was recently told by a Christian friend of his, that he was not going to fellowship with him anymore because my friend does not agree with him that the King James translation of the Bible is the only true Bible translation.
That is among the worst and most ignorant reasons for dividing the church that exists.
I understand that the guy believes he is doing what is right in God's sight, and that he believes he is glorifying God, but he is sorely wrong. I'll give you three reasons why.
1) Believing such a thing is not only legalistic, but cult-like.
Legalism is enforcing laws or rules that are not found in the Bible.
Obviously the King James Version (KJV) did not exist when Jesus walked the earth and the Bible was written, therefore the Bible would not command its readers to "read the KJV only!".
But, how much theology and Biblical knowledge did Jesus expect from his disciples before appointing them apostles and commissioning them to carry out the work He began of building His kingdom?
Not much. The disciples understood that Jesus was the Messiah and the Son of God, but to our knowledge, He did not teach them much, if any, theology.
So why do modern day Christians think that there are essential doctrines that one must believe in order to be a Christian, and if they don't believe it, they are required to break fellowship with them?
Same question for being required to read the KJV in order to be a Christian or to fellowship?
I'm sorry, but it is foolish, it is evidence of ignorance of the Bible and it is evidence of immaturity.
A cult is defined as an organization that requires its members to believe what the founders or leadership believe. Members are not allowed to think for themselves.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Ladder Day Saints (LDS) is an example of this. They believe they are the one true church because of their beliefs, and its members are required to believe what its founder and leaders tell them.
This is similar to people and denominations who believe that the KJV is a requirement for being a Christian, and that a Christian must read the KJV only. It is cult-like because people are required to believe what other Christians believe, otherwise they are ousted. The people are not allowed to think for themselves.
2) Christians are the body of Christ and the bride of Christ .
First, because Christians are the members of the body of Christ, the members need to work together in order to function properly. A body needs arms, and legs, and eyes, and a brain in order to fully function properly.
If someone chooses not to fellowship with another because of differences such as whether or not a Christian must read the KJV, then they are choosing to divide the body of Christ, and are the cause of its division and dysfunction. Since unity is so important to God, I can only speculate that this grieves God tremendously and those who cause division and dysfunction will be held accountable to God on judgment day.
Next, because Christians are the bride of Christ, they are to be a clean and spotless bride who is united together and with Him in marriage, just as a human husband and wife are to be.
If the bride is not united as one in heart and mind, then they will not be united as one body with the Bridegroom. The bride cannot be divided and be the wife of the Bridegroom. It is impossible.
If a member of the body chooses to break fellowship with another member of the body, they are essentially divorcing that member by leaving and abandoning them.
God hates divorce right?
Then why is it acceptable for Christians to divorce one another? This also grieves God terribly and whoever does this will answer to God for it.
3) The purpose of the church, and therefore a Christian's purpose, is to make disciples and to multiply throughout the earth in order to make Jesus known so that His kingdom will come to every person, every people, and every place on the earth.
Our purpose is to hasten the Day of the Lord’s coming so that Matthew 24:14 will happen.
Christians need to work together in order for that happen.
God chose to use His people to accomplish His purposes, but His people must be united as one in heart and mind in order to accomplish God's purposes.
One of Jesus's final prayers before being arrested was that His disciples would be united as one. Christian unity is very important to God. Oneness is at the very heart of God.
For Christians to divide over issues such as whether the KJV is the one true Bible translation or not, shows immaturity as well as ignorance to what God's purposes and vision are.
God's purposes are much bigger than the Bible translation you read. Is an accurate Bible translation important? Yes, it's extremely important. But dividing with other Christians over it does not glorify God at all.
On the contrary, it deeply grieves Him and whoever causes division and dysfunction by breaking fellowship with other Christians will be held accountable by God.
I strongly advise and encourage Christians to strive for unity so that God's purposes can be accomplished and Jesus will return. I know that many Christians believe that He will return at any time, but I do not think He will return until His bride is pure and spotless, which in part means united for His purposes and glory. We have a long way to go until we get to that point.
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