Sowing Discord
Proverbs 6
- 12 A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
- 13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
- 14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
- 15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
- 16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
- 17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood,
- 18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief,
- 19 A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
I. The Definition of Discord
DISCORD: GREEK Lexicon – strife, contention
Dictionary DEFINITION: lack of concord or harmony between persons or things: such as marital discord.
disagreement; difference of opinion.
strife; dispute; war.
Music. an inharmonious combination of musical tones sounded together.
any confused or harsh noise; dissonance.
(GIVE ILLUSTRATION OF DISCORD ON THE PIANO)
Synonym is VARIANCE: to cut into two parts, cleave asunder, sever
Galatians 5
- 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
- 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
- 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Similar words in this passage:
- EMULATIONS – excitement of mind, ardour, fervour of spirit zeal, ardour in embracing, pursuing, defending anything. zeal in behalf of, for a person or thing, the fierceness of indignation, punitive zeal, an envious and contentious rivalry, jealousy
- STRIFE –a desire to put one’s self forward, a partisan and fractious spirit which does not disdain low arts, partisanship, fractiousness
- SEDITIONS – dissension, division
II. The Description of Discord
The Bible paints a pretty detailed picture of the kind of person that sows discord.
Proverbs 6
- 12 A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.
- 13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;
- 14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.
Let’s look at them:
- A naughty person – destructive, worthless, good for nothing, base-fellow, ruin
- A wicked man – WICKED: trouble, sorrow
- He winketh with his eyes – Proverbs 10:10 He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow…
- Speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers – he’s influential
- Froward – mentioned twice – perversity, perverse thing
A. It is in his mouth – vs. 12
B. It is in his heart – vs. 14
- Luke 6:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.
- He deviseth mischief continually – MISCHIEF – bad, disagreeable, malignant, unhappy, sad
III. The Dissemination of Discord
Both times that the Bible warns of a person that uses discord, it uses the word SOWETH.
The term is used for sowing seed.
A person that sows discord does it the say way a sower sows seed.
A. Seeds are small and look insignificant.
B. Seeds fall on a variety of soils.
C. Seeds only need a little bit of water and light to grow bigger
D. Seeds can lie dormant for years before taking root.
IV. The Dangers of Discord
A. It Disrupts the Unity of the Church
- Romans 15:6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace shall be with you.
- Philippians 1:27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;
- Philippians 2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
- 1 Peter 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:
B. It Diminishes the Focus of the Pastor
Note Paul’s urgent warning in Acts 20.
- 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.
- 29 For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.
- 30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
- 31 Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.
Key truths:
- Of your own selves shall men arise. – they will be inside the flock
- Speaking perverse things – same word as FROWARD in our text in Proverbs 6:14.
- To draw away disciples after them – they want to recruit to their side; their team; their position.
Paul’s burden – three years of warning night and day with tears.
How much time did he spend fighting discord and division?
How much more time could he have spent witnessing? Discipling new converts? Preaching the Word?
C. It Dampens the Power of the Ministry
- Mark 3:25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
V. The Discarding of Discord
God is pretty clear about how He feels about a person that sows discord.
Notice verse 15 – Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.
If that wasn’t clear enough, God said it again, only stronger.
- Verse 16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:
HATE: enemies; foe; full of hate
ABOMINATION: a disgusting thing, abomination, abominable
Proverbs 18
- 5 It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment.
- 6 A fool’s lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.
- 7 A fool’s mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.
- 8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
- Proverbs 13:10 Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.
- Proverbs 22:10 Cast out the scorner, and contention shall go out; yea, strife and reproach shall cease.
Conclusion: I will tolerate a lot of things in the church, but sowing discord is not one of them.
I have a two-strike policy on that.
I will admonish, rebuke, reprove, correct, instruct – whatever word you want to use, but I will only do it once.
After that, it’s over. No more chances.
I am more afraid of a person that sows discord than I am a rattlesnake.
More men of God have been run off over someone sowing discord than false doctrine.