A
Study of the Book of Romans
Sermon
# 33
“Final Warning Concerning Divisive Persons”
Romans
16:17-20
Tonight
it is my goal to complete our study of the book of Romans with one final study. Let me
begin by reminding you that a person’s final words are always important because a
person’s final words often reveal what is truly important to them. At this point in the text we have an abrupt break in the flow of
thought. Paul had been giving a series of greetings to the believers living in Rome. Then
he suddenly stopped as if he were somehow reminded of something very urgent that he must
share with these believers for their own safety and protection. It reminds us of Jude when
he gave “all diligence to write of the common
salvation” but then he changed what he intended to
do because he was suddenly impelled to exhort the people to “earnestly contend for the faith” and
to “beware of false teachers” (Jude 3 and following).
“Now I urge you, brethren, note
those who cause
divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. (18)
For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly,
and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. (19) For your
obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to
be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. (20) And the God of peace will crush
Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you. Amen.”
In
this section Paul gives us warning concerning certain people who make their way into the
church. How are we to deal with those who are divisive in the church? Paul exhorts us to do two things: “Watch out for them!”
and “Keep away
from them!” (Or as KJV has it) “Mark them and Avoid them!” That
is sound advice.
There seems to be two valid
lines of application here. First, “How are we to deal with those who are causing
strife in the church?” And secondly the much more serious problem of, “How
are we to respond to those who challenge and undermine the teaching of sound doctrine?”
The
Directions For Dealing With Those Who Cause Trouble.
First, They Are To Be Examined.
Paul says that are to be
“watched” or “marked.” The word comes from the Greek word (scopos) and it means to “to look at, observe,
contemplate; to fix one’s eyes and attention upon someone or something.” The
meaning is seen in the modern phrase when we tell someone to “scope it out.”
So what is it that these
individuals are doing?
All too often there are those in a church who
are just plain contentious. Sometimes they want to emphasize a certain doctrine. Often they want their opinions to
carry the day. Some just seem to enjoy being contrary. The end result is strife. But Jesus
emphasized that we should exhibit unity in the church because unity is essential to our
survival.
Sometimes people defend
their actions by saying they are only engaged in constructive criticism. So let’s
define the difference between constructive criticism and destructive criticism.
When one person feels that something is wrong
in the church, and he calls another member off to the side and harshly criticizes …that
is destructive criticism. But another
person, having the same feeling keeps quiet and prays about it until they can go to the
leadership and talk it over in a sweet reasonable spirit, that is constructive criticism.
Paul
says these people are guided by their own desires or appetites. Look at their
motivation. Are they upset because things are not going the way they want them to go and
mounting a campaign in violation to Scripture? Don’t give heed to them. Paul says, "I
want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil."
Secondly, They Are To Be Excluded
· Responding
to Those Who Are Divisive
“…those who cause divisions”
(v. 17)
Paul’s second command
it very clear, he says that they are to “avoid them.”
Some, for the sake of their point of view would destroy the unity of the church. How do we
deal with them? We avoid them! We keep our eye on them and turn away from them. In other
words we don’t listen to them. We are never obligated to hear a person out when what
they are saying is not consistent with Christian speech. If they are tearing down the
church, pastor, deacons, a Sunday School teacher, a worker, or any believer, we should not
listen. God forbid that we listen, and God forbid that, out of a misguided idea of
courtesy, we seem to agree!
I want to share the advice of J. David Hoke on this
verse, he writes, “When you hear someone running another
believer down, you should stop them at once. Try saying something like this: "It
seems that you have a problem with so-and-so. I really think you should talk to them and
not me about it. The Bible encourages us to speak the truth in love to one another, so why
don’t I get you together with so-and-so and we’ll straighten this out?"
That person will do one of two things. They will either get the problem straight or they
will quit talking to you about it.” [ J. David Hoke. “All In The Family.”
Romans 16:1-24 - www.horizonsnet.org/sermons/rom49.html]
You may be saying, "But I may be able to help them if I listen and
share with them." Let me ask you something. Do you help make something right by
doing something that is wrong? We are not to receive accusations about one another. We are
not to listen to someone pull any other believer down. We must not allow others to fill
our minds with things that are only one sided, and may be untrue altogether. It will only
allow the Devil to use those things to create doubts, make us choose sides, and create
strife and discord. If we will stand for righteousness in terms of avoiding those who
create strife, we will send a message that we stand together in Christ.
· Responding
To Those Who Cause Stumbling
“…those who cause …. offenses, contrary
to the doctrine which you learned” (v. 17)
Now on to the more serious challenge of dealing
with those who oppose the teaching of sound doctrine, or “…contrary
to the doctrine which you have learned” (v. 17). The word translated “offenses” is literally (skandalon) and means “to lay a trap or snare
in the path of another to cause them to stumble.” We get the English word “scandal”
from this word. They are preaching and
teaching things that are different from what the "standard of
sound doctrine" (2Timothy 1:13). This is the mark of a counterfeit
believer or a false teacher. Not only are they marked by "what they say" but how
they say it ("smooth and flattering speech" in the next verse). These men are
good...they do not come and speak roughly or so boldly as to disturb people. They
"creep in unnoticed" speaking
sweetly and ostensibly such lovely people. They seemed to have such a desire to advance
the knowledge and the welfare of believers; but there was always something wrong about
what and how they said.
The correct response of
believers to false teachers is not debate nor even dialogue but to “turn
away from them,” to reject what they teach. In Acts 20:27-32
the Apostle Paul warned the elder of the
church at Ephesus, “Therefore take heed
to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd
the church of God
which He purchased with His own blood. (29) For I know this, that after my
departure savage wolves
will come in among you, not sparing the flock. (30) Also from among yourselves men
will rise up, speaking perverse
things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. (31) Therefore watch, and remember
that for three years I
did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears. (32) “So now, brethren, I
commend you to God and to
the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
Paul says that we are to “avoid”
those who are false teachers, we are not told to attack them or destroy them but to deny
them fellowship. Neither is, “Paul is not talking about what
today is often referred to as a “?witch hunt,?” an effort that is determined
to find fault whether it is there or not. Nor is he talking about legalistic and often
mean-spirited and unloving “?litmus tests?” for an orthodoxy that is more
rigid than Scripture.” [John
MacArthur. “The MacArthur New Testament Commentary - Romans.” Chicago: Moody Press, 1994) p.
372]
Paul goes on in our text in
Romans to give two negative reasons why believers should turn away from false teachers.
The first is that false
teachers should be rejected because their motives
are wrong. “For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly…”
(v. 18a).
According to scripture these individuals are driven by self interest, whether that be a desire for
fame or power (over their followers), or merely for
financial gain. Whatever the motivation
or combination of motivations, there are in it for what ever they can get for themselves.
Secondly, false teachers
should be rejected because the result of their heresy is always destructive. “…and
by smooth words
and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple” (v. 18b)
These people have a way with words and they use
their ability to twist the truth that deceives the “simple.”
The word “simple” does not refer to the
intellectual ability of these people. The word means those who “fear no evil from
others” - it means people that are so immature as believers that they have no discernment.
The Defense
Against Those Who Cause Trouble
“For your obedience has become
known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is
good, and simple concerning evil. (20) And the God of peace will crush Satan under your
feet shortly. The grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.”
· Be Committed to God’s Word (v. 19a)
Believers
are best protected against false teachers
by their obedience to Christ and the truth of His gospel. The best protection against
falsehood is adhering to God’s truth. The surest defense against the intrusion by
false teachers is a congregation that has grown strong in the Word of God. There should be
a three-fold commitment to:
1. Listen To the Word of God.
That is to hear it when it
is preached! When the word of God is proclaimed or taught in the church we should give our
attention to the word. We should take
advantage of that opportunity and glean all we can.
2. Learn The Word of God.
Scientists tell us that
people only retain about 10% of what they hear. That means you are going to have to spend
some time in the Bible on your own. Learn how to read and study the Bible.
3. Live
By the Word of God.
It
is not enough to listen to the Word of God, or to learn the Word of God, but the believer
must go one more step and live the Word of God. This is what the Bible tells us to do,
when it says in James 1:22, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers
only, deceiving yourselves.”
· Be Childlike Toward Evil (v. 19c)
“ …. and simple concerning
evil.”
There is a sense in which we
need to be aware of what is going on around us so that we are not deceived by it. But,
there is another sense in which we should be very childlike concerning evil, having never
experienced it and its power. John MacArthur in his commentary on Romans says, “Many Christians rationalize watching
degrading movies and TV programs by claiming they need to be familiar with the ways of the
world in order to better analyze secular culture and be better prepared to witness to
those who are worldly. But it is not necessary to sift through garbage to recognize it for
what it is, and the more we are around it the more we pick up its stench. The more
willingly we associate with evil, the more it will drag us down to its level. To be
innocent in what is evil is not to be ignorant of it or to disregard it. We cannot abhor
evil unless we have some idea of what it is. But, to use a popular analogy, the only
reliable way to recognize a counterfeit bill is to be completely familiar with the genuine
bill. The only reliable way to recognize evil is to be thoroughly familiar with the good,
and the only reliable way to learn what is good is to learn God’s Word." [MacArthur. p. 377]
The end result will be
victory, “And the God of peace will crush Satan
under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you. Amen.”
(v. 20) Paul is reminding believers that when the smoke has all cleared away and the dust of this life has settled down, when Satan has been consigned to Hell and sin and death have all been out away forever, we will still be standing! Our faith in Christ is sufficient to guarantee us an endless eternity in the presence of Almighty God.