For the church to have unity and boldness

Romans 16:17-20

“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”

When one sees a “watch out” in Scripture they should take very serious what is being said, in this case, we are being told, “to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them.”  But the Holy Spirit does not leave us without a clear picture of what that person looks like in verse 18, “For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.” 

For the church to have unity and boldness it must be disciplined in its dealing with those in its fellowship.  We are told in 1 Corinthians 5:11, “But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slander, a drunkard or a swindler.  With such a man do not even eat.”  The apostle does not stop with this counsel but goes on in verse 13 with these instructions: “God will judge those outside.  “Expel the wicked man from among you.”

Now before you go looking for the evil in your church it would be very wise to look into the mirror, are you sexually pure in your private life, in what you watch, and what you read?  Is there a hint of greed or any items or things in your life that you value more than your relationship with the living Christ?  If so, you may need to take the log out of your own eye first.  Are you above reproach in all your business dealings, what about your drinking, has it become something you need?  Have you deceived someone so that you could get the better part of the deal, then it is time for confession before expelling the wicked man among you for you are the wicked person?  I must confess I’ve found myself in many of these roles and a look in the mirror and confession of that sin to my Father has set me free.

This writer is not attempting to say of the two examples that one is better than the other, but one is more devious and that is the one we find in Romans 16:18.  This person has an agenda of self; they are not interested in submission to Christ, they are deceivers as is the devil.  In the business world, we refer to them as con men and they are smooth, listen and learn to ask the Holy Spirit to give you insight into such people.  For they are “smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.” 

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice