1. Troublemakers in the Church Job. 5:1-7

2. Introduction Trouble is annoyance, disturbance or difficulty Eliphaz said “Yet man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward.”- v. 7 Our experience tends to verify his statement Mankind is beset by many problems and troubles Our troubles are not all the same But we all have some

3. The Cause of Man’s Troubles 1. Sin is the basic cause of our greatest problems It has brought sickness, suffering, sorrow and death to the human family 2. We bring some troubles on ourselves By sinful attitudes and actions- Hos. 8:7 And foolish choices 3. But others can also cause us trouble- Gal. 1:7

4. Christians Shouldn’t Be Troublemakers We should be peacemakers- Matt. 5:9 Those who cause trouble are the Devil’s children Yet churches are troubled today Some from without But others are due to troublemakers within God hates such troublemakers- Prov. 6:19 Let us consider those who are troublemakers

5. Not All Accused Are Troublemakers Ahab said Elijah troubled Israel- I Ki. 18:17 Elijah said the trouble was because of Ahab’s idolatry God approved Elijah on Mount Carmel Paul was accused of troubling the Jews- Acts 24:5 God approved Paul by protecting him Festus admitted Paul was innocent- Acts 26:31 Neither are those today who humbly stand for the truth troublemakers

6. Those Who Teach Error The Galatians were troubled by false teachers- Gal. 1:6-7 They insisted that they accept circumcision It doesn’t take a large change to pervert the gospel False teachers lead believers astray and divide the Lord’s church Many errors are taught today, some in the Lord’s church- I Jn. 4:1 All who teach a different gospel are cursed- Gal. 1:8

7. Those Who Teach Opinion as Doctrine We all have a right to our opinions But we must not elevate them or push them on others Human ideas divided the Jews into sects- Acts 23:8 Teaching human opinions makes one’s worship vain-Mt. 15:9 Some preachers are teaching their opinions on marriage and divorce and other matters today Our faith must not be in human opinions or traditions But in God’s word- I Cor. 2:5

8. Those Who Act without Scriptural Authority We must have authority for all we teach- I Pet. 4:11 And also authority for all we do- Col. 3:17 That includes worship and works of the church The reason why we don’t use musical instruments Many churches have added unauthorized works Sports activities, recreation, daycare many others Those who insist on doing these divide churches and are troublemakers

9. Those Who Insist on Having their Way Diotrephes was such a Christian- III Jn. 9-10 He loved to have the preeminence and seized it He spoke against the apostle Refused to receive John’s messengers and cast out those who did The preeminence belongs to Christ- Col. 1:18 We are all brethren- Matt. 23:8 And we must humbly submit to Him and to one another according to His instruction- I Pet. 5:5

10. Christians Who Live in Sin They are described as a bitter root- Heb. 12:15 That would trouble the Hebrews Like Achan who troubled Israel by his covetousness– Jos. 7:25 Caused Israel’s defeat and his family’s death Hypocrites set a bad example They discourage those in and out the church They have an evil influence- I Cor. 5:6 They also damage the reputation of the church

11. In Conclusion Troublemakers in the church need to be disciplined We need to remember God’s view of troublemakers Let us be peacemakers and among those who edify the church Rom. 14:19- Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. You must be a member of the church to build it up Are you a Christian this morning?