Week 8 – Conflict

Adam Fike
Thursday 3/12

1. God created diversity. This does not make any one person superior or inferior to others; it simply means that people carry differences. Diversity in combination with sin and brokenness will lead to conflict. The world intensifies this conflict by emphasizing certain traits or personalities as more valuable than others.
2. Conflict is biblical. No where in the Bible does God expect His people to be free from conflict. The Scriptures assume conflict as a given and provide solutions and management to deal with it. Romans 3: 22-23 says, “There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” There is evil in every human being, and this naturally leads to conflict. The expectation that there is no conflict in the church actually exaggerates the fact that there is.
3. Jesus came to the world to save people from their sins through both forgiveness and sanctification. Being forgiven, reconciled, and even sanctified from sin does not mean that conflict is wiped out. Conflict will remain until Christ comes again to bring glorification upon us.
4. The visible church is never without sinners. The Church is made up of all kinds of people on different levels and different places in their walk with God. There are nominal Christians, new believers, lukewarm believers, and people still maturing in the faith. Even veteran saints can cause unintended conflict through unintentional sin or lack of understanding.
5. Christians are liable to backsliding and forgetting Christ, which causes them to lose the fullness of the Holy Spirit and fall into sin. Christians are not immune from sin, but the Bible makes provision for such sin, calling believers to repent and receive grace.