Repelling an Attack

 

I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

—Romans 16:17-20

“Divide and conquer!”

Have you ever heard that phrase? In Latin, divide et impera (dee-VEE-day   eht   eem-PER-ah) means either “divide and rule” or “divide and conquer.” Many historians attribute this phrase to King Philip II of Macedon, the father of Alexander the Great.

Known as a consummate warrior and harsh military commander, King Philip also created a very interesting secret strategy to develop an initial foothold in the Greek City-States he wanted to conquer. This strategy allowed King Philip to later conquer those living in each particular City-State without an enormous expenditure of either financial resources or human capital.

You might suspect this strategy involved a mighty conquering army that rushed into the land, dividing the native forces, and taking control. But, King Philip had a much more subtle plan.

He would select either a revered building, or a revered philosophy, or a revered individual of the particular City-State. Then, he would take action against that building, philosophy, or individual. He would tear down the building, or threaten to do so. He would attack the philosophy, or begin a process of diminishing it. He would start a whispering campaign against an esteemed individual and, through outright lies or half-truths, stir up controversy about that highly regarded person that would eventually bring about that person’s humiliation and destruction.

In each case, King Philip’s emissaries would so inflame the people of the particular City-State that the people would takes sides regarding the building, philosophy, or individual. Soon, the people would have divided themselves into smaller, contentious groups. As their in-fighting accelerated causing great turmoil and confusion, King Philip would sweep in with his army and take control of the City-State.

Most of the time, King Philip had to expend very little financial and human capital to achieve his objective. His takeovers usually required a minimum of actual violence. In fact, while he personally possessed a very ruthless and cold-hearted, narcissistic/sociopathic personality, many people—even his most ardent foes—saw a public persona that seemed kind and gentle on the surface.

(It is worth noting that the older Philip became, and the further he traveled away from people-groups most similar to his own, the more ineffective this strategy became. It was in these later attacks, in more far-away places, that he earned his reputation as a ruthlessly harsh commander in battle.)

Most of us may think of the term “divide and conquer” as a ruthless battleground strategy. But, it actually represents a very clever, decisive, enormously deceptive, and quietly subtle methodology. Sadly, as we look around us today at people-groups and institutions that have suffered destruction at the hand of a corrupt leader, we can often see this strategy of a King Philip II-like narcissistic/sociopath playing out right before our eyes. It is, quite frankly, heartbreaking.

And, that brings us to the Scripture passage at the beginning of this blog post. The Apostle Paul, as he concludes his long letter to the Christians gathered in Rome, warns them about the King Philip II-like strategy of “divide and conquer.” He urges them to watch out for those who would divide the believers in a particular gathering by pushing forward philosophies that do not square with what the Bible records that the Apostles were actually teaching. Such a strategy may possess a degree of subtlety that almost allows it to go unnoticed until it becomes too late to reverse. Yet, Paul makes it crystal clear how to respond: “… stay away from them.”

Yes! Stay away from those who begin a process of dividing the believers. Watch out for the very subtle activity that may represent the beginning of a campaign to fundamentally transform a body of believers, in order that a force coming from the outside may take control.

Follow Paul’s instruction to “… be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.” Paul even tells the Roman Christians why he asks this of them. Because “… the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.”

The only real antidote for an attempt to “divide and conquer” comes from Paul’s parting wish: “The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”

Is the body of believers (the church) to which you belong experiencing a hostile takeover led by outside forces that wish to fundamentally transform your group into something that seems evil to you? If something seems “evil” it likely is evil! You must follow Paul’s instructions: “… stay away from them.”

Am I suggesting that you leave your church? Of course not! But, do not allow yourself to become pulled into the sphere of evil influence that wants to conquer your church. Keep away from them! Recongize this is spiritual warfare. Use the spiritual weapons of prayer, fasting, and the obedient application of God’s written Word to turn back the evil. Gather together with like-minded believers and support each other.

If you decide to act—by taking steps to repel the evil—by all means: “Be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.” Know the difference between behavior that seems righteous and godly and obedient to Scripture, and behavior that seems evil, and ungodly, and disobedient to Scripture.

No matter how many of your friends fall into the trap set by your very own “King Philip II” don’t become one of them.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Fully Reconciled

 

“If your brother [or sister] sins against you, go and show him [or her] his [or her] fault, just between the two of you. If he [or she] listens to you, you have won your brother [or sister] over. But if he [or she] will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he [or she] refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he [or she] refuses to listen even to the church, treat him [or her] as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

—Matthew 18:15-17

“This must be one of your most favorite topics. You write about it often.”

Of course, you are correct. It is a favorite topic of mine. Or, at least it has become a favorite topic of mine over the last three decades or so. Nevertheless, I must seriously ask you: “Has anyone among your circle of believing friends ever taken an evil action against you?” By that I mean, has any single one of the people around you who profess to believe in the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ ever lied to you, or lied about you, or spoken hurtful words to you, or spoken harmful words about you, or taken some hurtful action against you? In other words, has another believer ever sinned against you?

If you answer “No!” to this question, I suggest you might well represent one of the most fortunate people on earth. Virtually all of us, at some point in our lives, have had another believer lie to us, or speak ill of us, or take action against us, or in some other way commit a sin against us.

The question: “What do we do when another believer sins against us?”

The Scripture passage at the beginning of this blog post represents one of the most often-quoted and least-followed commands of Jesus in all of the Bible. As usual, Jesus’ teaching seems quite clear. He offers four specific and distinct steps when another believer sins against us:

1. Go to the one who has sinned. Show that one what he or she has done. Wait to see how he or she responds. If that one confesses the sin asking for forgiveness, repents of the sin, and expresses a willingness to provide restitution when this can be done, then the party sinned against should extend forgiveness and treat the matter as concluded.
   
   
2. If the one who sinned does not confess asking for forgiveness, nor repent, nor expresses a willingness to provide restitution when this can be done, go once again to the one who sinned and take one or two other believers with you and confront that one for a second time. If he or she confesses the sin asking for forgiveness, repents of the sin, and expresses a willingness to provide restitution when this can be done, then the party sinned against should extend forgiveness and treat the matter as concluded.
   
   
3. If the one who sinned still does not confess asking for forgiveness, nor repent, nor expresses a willingness to provide restitution when this can be done, then make a report to the whole body of believers. This will offer the one who sinned the opportunity to receive the wise counsel of the entire church. If that one confesses the sin asking for forgiveness, repents of the sin, and expresses a willingness to provide restitution when this can be done, then the party sinned against should extend forgiveness and treat the matter as concluded.
   
   
4. But, if the one who sinned refuses to repent and seek forgiveness, then Jesus instructs the church to excommunicate that one in the hopes that separation from the body of believers will bring that one to full and absolute confession, repentance, restitution, and restoration.
   
   

You can clearly see why very few individuals, and even fewer churches, have the courage and tenacity to actually employ this potent instruction from the King of Kings. In our current society with its sociological norms and its propensity for divisions of almost every kind, it takes a willingness to go way out on a limb to actually confront a person when that one has sinned against you. It takes even more courage to follow through with the second, third, and fourth steps of this process.

But, whenever a believer, or body of believers, puts to use this very wise teaching of Jesus—confession, repentance, restitution, leading to full reconciliation—an increase in harmony among believers and within the church, along with a heightened effectiveness on behalf of Christ and His Kingdom, will often come to pass. It’s clearly worth the effort.

So, if we have one or more Christian people who have sinned against us and have breached the brotherly and sisterly relationship we must have with each other in the Lord Jesus Christ, we absolutely must lovingly, carefully, prayerfully put Jesus’ teaching on this matter to good use. For nothing surpasses the joy that comes from true reconciliation.

Is this a big issue for me? Yes, it is. And, it should be for all of us, as well.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Marking Time or Bearing Fruit?

 

All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.

—Colossians 1:6b

“No matter what we do, no matter what we say, we will never belong!”

The frustrated words of my dear friend, Jerry, cut through the song on the radio as we drove out of the parking lot at work on our way to lunch. The nature of our jobs at the insurance company where we worked often put us on the “other side” of various issues from many of the individuals with whom we worked.

As fire protection engineers, our job required us to evaluate the relative hazards at each insured property. Sometimes our assessments prevented eager underwriters from writing the insurance on a particular facility. And, for those facilities already on the books, our recommendations sometimes forced the underwriters to approach the existing insureds with some mandatory new requirements.

We had become “buzzkills” before that word even existed in the vocabulary. As a result of our profession, even within our own company, most colleagues treated us as outcasts. No one wants to become an outcast. Everyone wants to belong.

Have you ever thought about the fact that Christians—literally “Christ’s-ones”—belong to an enormous group of individuals that reaches back in history more than 2,000 years? If you identify with the Lord Jesus Christ and accept the truth that He died for you on Calvary’s cross, so the shedding of His blood would pay the penalty for your sins, and if you accept the truth that His resurrection from the dead has secured your place for all eternity in heaven, then you belong to a worldwide fellowship of likeminded believers.

The question for this fellowship—and for each individual gathering of believers in a local church—derives from the Apostle Paul’s statement in the Scripture passage at the beginning of this blog post. Of the church in Colosse, Paul declares:

“All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you...”

That question each one of us, and our churches, must ask: “Are we bearing fruit and growing?”

The heart of the ministry of individual Christians can be described as “Christian Spiritual Formation”: exhibiting, encouraging, and enabling Christlikeness in people’s lives. As Christians mature in their faith, the church becomes both the agent of the Kingdom of God and as a compassionate community in which people feel loved and accepted and where they are enabled to heal and encouraged to grow. I submit that a key element of personal spiritual fruitfulness and growth rests in each individual’s efforts at “exhibiting, encouraging, and enabling Christlikeness” in himself or herself, and in others.

So, how are we doing? Are we taking steps to exhibit, encourage, and enable our own Christlikeness? Or, are we simply marking time? And, what about our churches? Does the gathering of believers to which we belong—and to which we give our support—exhibit, encourage, and enable Christlikeness in its members? Do our churches reach out to a lost and dying world with the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ in an effective and life-transforming way? Or, are our churches marking time—standing still with little or no forward motion on behalf of Christ and His Kingdom?

If we consistently spend more time talking about our favorite sports team, our favorite television program, our favorite movie, our favorite restaurant, our favorite vacation spot, or any other worldly distraction than we spend talking about the amazing things God does in our lives, then perhaps we need to make an adjustment. Likewise, if our churches spend more time dealing with internal issues where our pastors, or governing boards, or members draw battle lines against other members they do not favor, perhaps our churches need to make an adjustment.

After all, we belong to a worldwide fellowship. We need to seek and find individual spiritual fruit. And, we need to seek and find local, national, and global spiritual fruit. Both as individuals and as a worldwide body of believers, we are either “growing” or “going.”

What shall we do? Shall we continue to mark time? I say, “Let’s grow! Let’s bear fruit!”

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Unconditional Love

 

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints—the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth.

—Colossians 1:3-6

When you go to your mailbox to retrieve your daily mail, do you stand right there and look through the mail to see what you’ve received? I do. I can’t wait to see what “treasures” await me in the daily mail.

Sometimes, an interesting catalog of electronic gadgets has arrived. Sometimes, I receive a magazine that I particularly enjoy reading. Sometimes, I spot a bill to pay. While I can’t say that bills bring any joy, at least I know that by promptly paying the bill I will avoid any late charges.

Sometimes, among all the other mail, I will see a personally addressed letter. I always quickly look at the return address to see who’s written the letter to me. If the return address does not disclose the name of the sender, then I immediately open the envelope to discover who has taken the time to write to me and to read what that one has to communicate.

Getting mail can become the highlight of one’s day. At least in the world of those of us who have stepped back a bit from the daily grind, receiving mail becomes a lifeline to the world.

Imagine the thrill that the Christians at Colosse must have felt when they received a letter from the Apostle Paul. His reputation had certainly preceded him. His work on behalf of the Kingdom of God had become well known. People held a particular fascination with Paul because many of them had heard the terrifying stories of his earlier days—when he was known as “Saul of Tarsus”—and had gone about persecuting believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

But then, they had heard about a miraculous encounter Saul had on the road to Damascus that changed him completely. From that time forward, with a new name and a new attitude, Paul became an amazing servant of the very One he had previously hated.

So, here comes a letter from Paul. And, what does he write to the Christians at Colosse? Well, you can read those opening words in the Scripture passage at the beginning of this blog post. Please take note that Paul commends the Colossian Christians for:

“… your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints …”

Imagine such a commendation! I don’t know about you, but when I read those words I am prompted to examine my own heart to determine if Paul could write those words to me. Would Paul commend me for my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and for the love I have for all the saints—that is, my fellow believers?

That first part? Well, I certainly have walked with Jesus for a long, long time. And, with the help of the Holy Spirit, I have put all my faith in the power of Jesus’ resurrection. But, that second part? I guess, with more than a little embarrassment, I have to confess that I sometimes find it very hard to love all the saints.

I have trouble loving the saints who have taken direct action to harm me. I have trouble loving the saints who have spoken lies about me, or have treated me in an unkind way. I have trouble loving the saints who have taken a profoundly different view of Scripture, or theology, or salvation, or sin, or repentance, or virtually anything else that I consider so very important. I have a hard time loving the saints who judge me without even really getting to know me. And, on and on … I am embarrassed and ashamed of my inability to lay aside the hurt that I so often feel and turn my wounded heart toward love. I know this is not what God expects of me.

I am also very ashamed that I am way too critical of my fellow believers. In fact, increasingly as I get older, I find myself loving my brothers and sisters in Christ less and less. I am reminded of a silly anonymous little poem that a dear saint of God shared with me many years ago.

To live above
With saints we love,
That will be glory!

To live below
With saints we know,
Well, that’s another story!

So, as I read Paul’s opening remarks to the Christians at Colosse, I am convicted by the Holy Spirit of my own lack of love for all the saints. May the God of Mercy and Grace continually remind me that, even though I am myself completely unlovable, He has chosen to love me and send His Precious Son to die for me and to forgive my sins. How can I fail to respond to God’ great love for me? How can I not lay aside the hurts that I feel so deeply and open my heart in order to love all of my fellow believers?

What about you? If you do a personal check-up and seek to apply Paul’s words to yourself, what results does your self-assessment show?

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Bless the Giver and Receiver

 

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”

—John 3:16-21

During the last year, did you celebrate your birthday? I surely hope that you did. And, if you did, what gifts did you receive? As much as you enjoyed receiving those amazing gifts, I know a secret about them. That’s right. I know a secret about each gift that you received. Do you want to know that secret? Okay, I’ll tell you. Here’s the secret: the ones who gave those gifts to you enjoyed giving the gifts every bit as much as you enjoyed receiving them. That’s one of the truly neat things about gifts. They bless the receiver and they also bless the giver.

The very familiar Bible passage at the beginning of this blog post contains one of the most well known verses in all of Scripture. It says:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

This verse talks about the greatest gift ever given. God loves us so much that He gave us His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to be our Savior and Lord. Anyone who believes in Him—that literally means any person, any mom, any dad, any uncle, any aunt, any grandma, any grandpa, any boy, or any girl, anyone, anyone at all, who believes in Him—will have eternal life!

Wow! What a truly spectacular gift! God, in His mercy and grace, has given us this amazing gift. And, this great gift blesses us, but it also blesses God as the Giver of that Gift. It blesses Him because He loves us so much that He wants to make certain that we will have a relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus. He wants to make a provision to forgive our sins, so that we can spend eternity with Him.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

Do We Know Who We Are?

 

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

—Romans 8:15-17

Does anyone ever ask you any questions? Of course they do. I am quite certain that people ask you questions all the time. And, I am also quite certain that you probably ask quite a few questions yourself: “What’s for lunch?” or “Who’s your favorite football team?” Questions offer a very important way for us to seek out and receive information. We frequently use questions to obtain information that will help us live our lives.

Sometimes questions deal with subjects that appear quite easy to answer. For example, “Hey! What’s for dinner?” Other questions require a great deal of thought. And, maybe such questions even require us to look quite hard to find the answer. For example, if I asked you: “Who are you?” You might say to me: “I am Tim.” Or, “I am Sharon.” In other words, you might answer my question by telling me your name.

Or, maybe, when I ask: “Who are you?” You might say to me: “I am a man.” Or: “I am a woman.” In other words, you might answer my question by telling me your gender.

The Bible often can give us some very interesting answers to questions that we may ask. For example, when I look in the Bible for an answer to the question: “Who are you?” The Bible gives me this answer: “You are a child of God. You belong to Him.”

Imagine that? When someone says to me: “Who are you?” I can answer: “I am a child of God. I belong to Him.” I know this statement rings true because I have the testimony of the Holy Spirit in my heart that I do, indeed, belong to God through the resurrection power of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

In October of 1956, as a nine-year-old little boy, at the end of an evangelistic service, I responded to the invitation given by Rev. Oral Bradford, a visiting evangelist and chalk artist. Rev. Bradford prayed with me and I surrendered my life to Jesus. I acknowledged the sacrifice that Christ made for me on Calvary’s cross. From that day forward, right up to this very day, when I am asked: “Who are you?” I can quickly respond: “I am a child of God. I belong to Him.”

Do you know what? You can give that very same answer, too. If you have acknowledged God’s gift of eternal life through the Lord Jesus Christ, and I ask you: “Who are you?” You can truly respond: “I am a child of God. I belong to Him.”

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}

 

The One in Charge

 

But this word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God: “Say to Rehoboam son of Solomon king of Judah, to the whole house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the rest of the people, ‘This is what the Lord says: Do not go up to fight against your brothers, the Israelites. Go home, every one of you, for this is my doing.’” So they obeyed the word of the Lord and went home again, as the Lord had ordered.

—1 Kings 12:22-24

Do you like to go out to eat? Maybe you’re like me and most of your away-from-home eating experiences take place at McDonald’s or one of the other fast food restaurants. But perhaps, on some special occasion, you’ve gone to a real sit down restaurant where a waiter or waitress comes to your table and takes your order.

Once in a while, when we go out to eat in such a restaurant, things don’t seem to go very well. Maybe we wait for a long time for the waiter or waitress to come and take our order. Or, maybe after he or she takes our order, we wait a very long time for our food to arrive so we can begin eating. When that happens, we may wonder aloud about who’s in charge. It seems when things don’t go well at a restaurant it’s because no one seems to take control of things—no one seems to be “in charge.”

One of the lessons contained in today’s Bible text at the beginning of this blog post centers on the fact that when things happen around us, we don’t ever have to wonder whether or not God remains in charge of things. God’s always in charge. Whatever happens, and whenever things happen, we can be quite certain that God is at work to bring the outcome that He wants.

At the end of the chapter preceding today’s Scripture passage, King Solomon had died. Of his two sons, Rehoboam and Jeroboam, the first son had remained faithful to his father. The second son had rebelled against his father and fled to Egypt.

Upon Solomon’s death, Jeroboam returns to the Promised Land. And, Rehoboam acts on some bad advice from his peers, rejecting the recommendations of his older advisors. As a result, the people rebel, and the Kingdom becomes divided. Ten tribes form the Northern Kingdom and invite Jeroboam to become their king. Two tribes, Judah and Benjamin—along with most of the Levites who had no land holdings—form the Southern Kingdom where Rehoboam reigns.

In the verses at the beginning of this blog post, Rehoboam has assembled an army of 180,000 fighting men to attack the Northern Kingdom. But, God intervenes. He orders Rehoboam and his army to stand down. God reminds them that He remains in control and that He has brought about the division of the kingdoms.

God always remains in control. In fact, one of the wonderful things about belonging to God—about being His child—is that we can always be absolutely certain that He’s in charge. I hope you will remember this fact. No matter what seems to happen in or around our lives, we can always remain certain that God’s the one in charge. He graciously and lovingly controls what goes on in our lives.

 

_{Copyright © 2026 by Dean K. Wilson. All Rights Reserved.}

_{More info at www.DeanKWilson.com}