SOME PEOPLE TO AVOID

ROMANS 16:17-18 NKJ 
17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.  

I know you may be thinking that as Christians we are to love and accept everyone.  Actually, we are to walk in love towards people, doing them no harm, but we are not to accept and approve of everyone.   

There are people we are warned to stay away from.  People who cause divisions and are constantly bringing up where the church has offended them.  People who try to pull you away from what you have been taught in the scriptures.  People who would try to separate you from a good church to go with their little group.  Those people are not serving the Lord.  They are serving themselves.  A good way to spot them is flattery.  They flatter you, so you will follow them. They tell you how amazing and spiritual you are so you should be a part of their little weird group.   

I'll try to keep the irritation out of my writing and my voice, but I have seen this too many times.  And the people who follow these division-causing, super-spiritual flatterers never seem to wind up in a good place.   

APPLICATION 

Avoid those people who are always trying to pull you away from a good church.  And I am not just referring to The Ark.  People who are offended at church leadership.  People who are always questioning and dividing.  People who seem to know so much yet do so little in serving God's kingdom.  Avoid them.  See them coming and go the other way.  Or even better, introduce them to church leadership and let the leader know what they are doing.  People like this operate in the shadows.  They don't thrive in the light.  Don't buy into flattery. You are smart, not simple.  And again, I say, avoid them.