And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part. (Mark 9:38-40, KJV).
There has always been that tendency in the church to reject those outside of our own little circle. They may be doing a good work for the Lord, and have fruit in their ministry, but because they "follow not us" we want to forbid them to do the works of Jesus or to minister in our midst. This is the operation of an evil spirit of sectarianism designed by Satan to separate and weaken the Body of Christ.
According to the Word of God, "There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all." (Ephesians 4:4-6, KJV). There is not a Catholic Jesus, a Lutheran Jesus, a Methodist Jesus, a Pentecostal Jesus, and a Word of Faith Jesus. There is only one head of the church. His name is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Sectarianism is defined as "adhering or confined to the dogmatic limits of a sect or denomination; partisan, narrow-minded, and parochial." Now, there is nothing wrong with being a part of a particular denomination or stream of faith in the Body of Christ, but when your denomination becomes your God, there is a problem with your faith.
Sectarianism is easily identified when we ask someone the question, "Are you a Christian?" and they answer, "I am a Lutheran or Catholic or Baptist or Pentecostal." There is a problem, because they are identifying more strongly with their denomination than with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Notice the man who was rebuked by the disciples was casting out demons "in thy name." That is, he was casting out demons in the name of Jesus. Jesus said that He would build His church on the revelation of Himself, that He is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. (Matthew 16:15-18) Therefore, as Christians, our true identity is in Him, rather than any denominational label.
Sectarianism,, however, is not limited to denominational people. There are many people who would bristle at the thought of being part of a denomination. However, they can be more denominational than the denominations. In other words, there are those who call themselves non-denominational, but separate themselves into their own little closet of exclusivity, thinking that they are walking in the true revelation of God for today. Those outside their group are not worthy of their time or fellowship. They only want to hear from preachers inside their own little camp. Therefore they are quickly becoming in-bred and narrow. They begin to focus more on their distinctives than the on the true vision and mission of the Lord Jesus Christ, which is to win this world for Him.
Let me ask you a question today? Who is your Lord, Jesus or your denomination? What is more important to your, the traditions of your church or the Word of God. Is pleasing Him more important than pleasing those in your group? Do you love His entire body of believers on the earth or do you limit your affection and fellowship to those who prescribe to your particular line of teaching or denominational view? Look deeply in your heart as you answer these questions. You may be under the influence of an evil sectarian spirit.
You may say, what does it matter? Friend, it matters very deeply to the Lord and to His cause. In fact, Jesus, in his great prayer for all believers before His death on the cross, cried unto the Father, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." (John 17:21, KJV). In other words, if the church will unite in Christ, we will quickly win the world to Jesus.
This, after all, is the bottom line--that people would come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior and be saved from eternal death and destruction, that the world which He died for would be reconciled to God. Sectarianism is evil, because is hinders people from receiving Christ and obtaining eternal life. Carnal attitudes in the church are holding back the great harvest of souls that God has planned in these last days. It's time to repent and get back to our first love.
We need to get back to uniting under the banner of Christ. We need to focus on Him as the Lord of our lives and the Savior of the world. We need to get back to the Bible as our standard of faith, rather than traditions, denominational directives, paperback self-help books or the teaching of a particular minister. We need to be reestablished in the foundational truths such as the depravity of man, the power of blood of Jesus Christ, and the need for repentance and holy living. It's time for the walls of sectarianism to come down and for us to begin to fellowship the whole body of believers in the earth. And it's time for the church to unite and focus upon the one thing that is most important to the Lord Himself, the proclamation of the Gospel all around the world.