Sandwiched between greetings to the Romans from Paul and his companions in Corinth and greetings from the brethren in Corinth to the Romans, the apostle takes the pen to write one of the strongest warnings in his letter. Some commentators think the passage is misplaced. Others think that a later editor added it to the last chapter in the letter. However, in reality, the warning is placed in just the right spot, for the unity of the church rested upon careful attention to Paul’s instructions.
It is fitting that we consider this text as we join together at the Lord’s Table this morning for several reasons. First, in the Lord’s Supper we affirm together the gospel of Jesus Christ. We “proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes,” as we’re told in 1 Corinthians 11:26. The gospel is never to be twisted or reduced to accommodate the trends of the present age. Rather, the gospel is always the same for it is the promise that God gave after man’s fall in the Garden of Eden, reiterated to Abraham, Moses, and David, and then expanded upon by the prophets. John the Baptist came preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt 3:2), calling upon his hearers to repent from their sins because of Him who was coming “to gather the wheat into His barn” and “burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (Luke 3:17). Jesus Himself declared, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). This gospel “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, and the twelve,” along with many others, continues to be the one rock of refuge for sinners (1 Cor 15:3-5). We celebrate this in the Lord’s Supper. Yet it was this same gospel that some twisted in Paul’s day, and so he warns the brethren to keep an eye out for such movements away from the gospel. The Lord’s Supper keeps us honed in on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Second, the Lord’s Supper is a church ordinance, and so represents the gathering of the body of Christ as one covenant family. Jesus gave this ordinance to His disciples and consequently, to His church, by which we remember together our union with Christ in His death and resurrection. Paul’s rebuke and correction of the divided, factious Corinthians found correction at the Lord’s Table. The common loaf and common cup symbolizes the unity the church has in Christ, a unity that is to be cherished and guarded, a unity that concerned Paul with the Romans.
Third, the Lord’s Supper also reminds us that our common mission is the gospel. The Roman believers’ obedience to Christ had become well known yet their testimony faced tarnishing if they failed to be “wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.” As we take the bread and cup together we also commit to watch out for one another, to guard our walks with Christ, and to maintain the testimony of the gospel through this church.
Christ’s church must keep a close guard against anything that would threaten her unity and testimony of the gospel. Until Christ returns, the threats will continue, so the church must remain vigilant. What does it take to be vigilant as a church? Our text helps us to understand Christian vigilance for the sake of gospel testimony and church unity.
Paul uses a word in the Greek from which we get the English word ‘scope.’ To “keep your eye on,” is to scope out, to mark out, to distinguish in order to clearly recognize. “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned.” Dissensions (or divisions) and hindrances (or causes of stumbling) attack the unity of the church. The New Testament epistles give plenty of evidence that dissensions and hindrances brewed in the 1st century. Judaizers craftily slipped in to teach that Christ is not enough for righteousness before God. Gnostics twisted the language of biblical writers to deny that Jesus had a real body or that He experienced a real death for our sin. Libertines flaunted the grace of God and liberty in Christ by advocating immoral behavior as legitimate. Ascetics forbade marriage and called for abstinence from certain foods as the means to a holy life rather than dependence upon the cross of Christ. All of these aberrations and more assaulted the church’s unity, threatening to destroy local communities of believers.
Paul identifies the means of recognizing any root of dissension and division in the church. All are “contrary to the teaching which you learned.” He uses an important noun and verb to express this. The noun “teaching” is the word didache. We translate it better as “doctrine,” for that is precisely what is meant by “the teaching,” just as the ESV translates, “contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught.” Paul does not have in mind teaching in general. We teach on a lot of things in church. We teach on marriage and family, on personal habits and discipline, on applying the Christian life to work and school, on the work of missions and evangelism. While all of these things are important in our teaching, we realize that churches can differ in these areas and yet still be orthodox Christians, enjoy fellowship with one another, and remain faithful to Christ.
Yet there are particular areas of doctrine that give no room to differ and still remain Christian. These have to do with the nature of God revealed as one God in three persons; the nature of Jesus Christ as both God and man without mixture of natures; the saving work of Christ through His perfect obedience to the law, His atoning and substitutionary death, His resurrection from the dead, and His ascension as Lord; the sinfulness of man and his inability to save himself from the penalty of sin; the necessity of repentance and faith as a response to the good news of Christ; the certainty of eternal judgment and eternal life; and the Church as the redeemed of Christ whom He calls His Bride. Though we can add to this list we cannot subtract from it and remain true to the Christian faith. These are essential doctrines by which we identify ourselves as followers of Jesus Christ.
The second key word is a verb, “which you learned.” It is in the same family of words from which we get the term ‘disciple.’ The implication is that we learn as disciples these particular doctrines. We’re not just learning some nice things as though we’re taking a cooking class or a trigonometry class. We’re in the process of being discipled by the truths that we’re learning; these truths or doctrines remain the foundation of our faith, confidence, and hope.
Now, let’s put this together. “Keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned,” or against the doctrines by which you are committed to Christ as disciples. The very truths that anchor your life for eternity in Jesus Christ may be tampered with or twisted or perverted or altered in order to move you away from the centrality of the cross of Christ. “Keep your eye on those” who are attempting to divide the church or fragment the church or create little followings or make cliques by teaching or insinuating or suggesting that the doctrines that anchor you in Christ alone may not be right. The root of division in the church is due to a failure of the church to grasp clearly and remain steadfastly in sound doctrine. Here’s the point that we must take to heart: each member of this church holds the responsibility to understand sound doctrine in such a way that when it’s not being taught or talked about or shared in a discussion he/she immediately recognizes it in order to stand for truth.
Paul does not suggest getting into a lengthy discussion with such folks: “turn away from them.” We would expect that the apostle would tell us to try to correct them for we’re told to teach and admonish one another (Col 3:16). Yet what Paul has in mind is not the run of the mill mistake in doctrine or merely misunderstanding some area of truth but rather, the intentional misstep that would twist sound teaching in order to divide the church. Paul identified Hymenaeus and Alexander in Ephesus as among that number (1 Tim 1:18-20), having made shipwreck in regard to the faith. John called attention to Diotrephes who lacked the humble spirit of Christ and instead sought to draw people in the church to himself and away from Christ (3 John 9-10). “Turn away from them,” Paul instructs, don’t even give them a chance to deceive and subvert you. We cannot live in neutrality toward such deceitful influence and remain a healthy church.
How do we recognize the kind of men or women who would divide the church and draw people away from the unity of the body to themselves? Notice Paul’s description: “For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.” They are not slaves of Jesus Christ, living under His Lordship but they are slaves. Their affections, loyalty, and obedience are not to Christ but clearly focused on self. We can recognize this kind of self-gorging appetite by seeing where such a person’s passions take him. Is his/her teaching or talk or influence for Christ as He is revealed in the Scripture? Does he/she take seriously the teachings of Jesus Christ demonstrated by faithful obedience to Him as Lord? Does he/she treasure Jesus Christ and His glory above all things, particularly including self-glory, personal-praise, and boasting? Does he/she love Christ’s church as the family of God and bride of Christ? Does he/she clearly proclaim the gospel of Christ without apology or excuse or compromise?
If a person is a deceiver, then his appetite centers on self-promotion not the gospel of Christ and glory of Christ. Paul points out their use of “smooth and flattering speech” by which “they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.” Such a person preys on those who are gullible and untrained in the faith and sound doctrine, and those who want to think the best of all people. His speech is “smooth” or seemingly plausible, apparently offering what appears to be fair interpretations of Scripture. “Flattering” is from a word that actually means praise, so it implies speaking finely or using well-chosen words. Listen to some of the smooth-talkers in our day who promote a prosperity gospel as a substitute to the gospel of the crucified Christ. They talk smoothly, flattering their hearers while seeming compassionate and interested in them. Yet run through the questions we just noted. See how they stack up. How can thousands, even millions of people, most professing to be Christians, follow some of the bogus preachers parading around their lavish stages? They are deceived by the smooth and flattering speech. How are they deceived? They have not anchored their lives in the sound doctrine common to disciples of Jesus Christ. Turn away from the smooth talkers and flatterers! Do not give them a hearing!
Paul seems to switch gears from considering the deceivers to addressing the Roman believers, yet what he does is point out the church’s good health and testimony, while cautioning the whole community of believers to avoid presumption. “For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.” In other words, it is not enough that you have a great testimony right now. It is wonderful, worthy of rejoicing over but you cannot coast or live on your past laurels. Just because right now you have such a powerful testimony that radiates from Rome throughout the empire, don’t think that you have no room for improvement or growth. Satan has many devices by which to snare you, so you must never get slack in your growth in holiness.
Paul’s warning sounded like that of Christ Jesus when He said, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves” (Matt 10:16). Jesus taught that in the context of sending out the disciples as His witnesses. Wisdom and discernment must direct them; purity and innocence must protect them from evil. Likewise, Paul told the Corinthians, “Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature” (1 Cor 14:20). In other words, let’s not be experienced in evil! Stay away from it. Guard your heart from indulging in evil. But sharpen your minds and senses to be discerning, to walk in wisdom, to recognize the enemy’s devices, to sense when deception nears, to understand when the gospel is perverted.
Growth in holiness is a lifelong process. We do not arrive to complete sanctification in this life, so we must never give in to the temptation to coast spiritually. Many a Christian has been sidelined by a period of laziness or apathy or carelessness. Know yourself well enough to recognize when you appear to be slipping into such a period and take action. Change your routine, examine your personal disciplines, check your faithfulness in gathering with the church, appeal to a brother or sister to hold you accountable, go to the Scripture—particularly, read and re-read the gospel of Jesus Christ. See what Christ demands of you as a faithful follower. Don’t let up! Grow in holiness as one that is set apart to belong only to Jesus Christ.
How will the Roman believers—and all of us who follow in their footsteps—develop good eyes to discern dissension, take decisive action in turning away from faulty teaching, and grow faithfully in holiness? If you say, “It takes the grace of God,” then you’re right! None of this happens because we happen to be very special, exceptionally bright, and all-together people! It happens when we rely on God’s promises and trust in His grace. That’s how Paul ends this paragraph before returning to greetings from the brethren in Corinth to the Roman church (16:21-23).
For the first time, Paul mentions Satan in his epistle. He gives us a good model: our talk is not to be about Satan but about Jesus Christ and His righteousness! But Satan is unavoidable if we are Christians, so do we live in fear of him and what he might do to us? Paul asserts, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” Ironically, the God of peace engages in warfare! We don’t crush Satan but He does; yet He does it under the feet of the redeemed.
“The God of peace” is an interesting title, which Paul used one other time in Romans (15:33) after calling on the Roman church to strive together with him in prayer for deliverance from those opposing the gospel. Now, as he identifies those who cause division in the church by moving believers away from clarity in the gospel, he again refers to “the God of peace.” The phrase has its foundation in the peace of God that comes through the justifying work of Christ (Rom 5:1). Justifying peace breathes unity in the church. This God “will soon crush Satan under your feet.” He has already defeated Satan at the cross (Heb 2:14-15; Col 1:13); He continues to triumph over Satan as we apply the gospel in our lives (Eph 6:10-20); and He will one day cast Satan into the lake of fire (Rev 20:10). So do not live in fear of Satan but in confidence in the God of peace!
Trust the promise of God and depend on the grace of God. “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” That’s a prayer-wish we offer to one another for it is the reminder that it is the continual supply of grace that sustains us in warfare against the adversary, that guards us from falling prey to deceivers, and helps us to grow in holiness.
We are reminded of the triumph of Christ over Satan and the grace that He richly supplies to us as we join together at the Lord’s Table. Let us feast upon Jesus Christ through the broken bread and cup that He has given to us.
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