Divisive people

“Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him.” Titus 3:10
We all know, or know of, people who come into churches, fellowships, or groups of friends and try to go about turning part of the group against another part. They encourage people to form cliques, they wheedle their way into positions of influence and then shun various people and speak against them. They use gossip and backstabbing techniques to divide the body.
There is no doubt that such tactics are Satan’s idea, and anybody doing them in the body of Christ is doing Satan’s work. We are called to unity in the Spirit. This doesn’t mean that we need to agree on everything, or that we need to be best mates with everyone in our church fellowship, but we do need to realise that we are brothers and sisters with all true believers in Christ. And just as natural brothers and sisters don’t always get along, sometimes we will find it hard to get on with our fellow believers. But we are still family, and as such, we need to look out for each other.
We need to be aware that Satan is always trying to infiltrate the church by some means or other. It may be through a popular book or reading programme that seeks to replace the Word of God with man’s wisdom and secular psychology. Or it may be through people, who come in and stir up dissension. Jesus called these wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15).
The reason Paul says here to give a divisive person two chances, is because sometimes believers get the wrong end of the stick. They think they are trying to do something helpful, but it is in fact dividing the body. If a true believer is warned about what they are doing, they will repent and desist. But a wolf will keep trying.