Romans 16:17

Romans 16:17

Romans 16:17-18 says, "Now I beseech you, brothers, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the faith which you have learned; and avoid them. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."

You must not believe everyone who claims to teach the truth. There are false teachers, and there are people whom you should not follow and should not listen to. Be careful. First John 4:1 says, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world." You must look deeper than the good words and the fair speeches that they will make, or you will be deceived. The Apostle John warned about false teachers. John said to be especially careful to note what someone believes about the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. First John 4:3 says, "And every spirit that confesses not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of anti-christ, whereof you have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world."

An anti-christ is someone who teaches against Christ: someone who does not make the proper confession about Christ. Remember the great confession that Peter made to Jesus. Peter said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." To say that Jesus is the Son of God, means that He is God the Son. Jesus is divine. Anyone who reads the Bible and comes to a different conclusion, does so because they do not have the Spirit of God. They have the spirit of anti-christ. Be careful. Many false prophets have gone out into the world, and because some of them are very good speakers, they deceive the hearts of the simple.

John warned us about one kind of false teacher who does not believe the right things about Jesus as the Son of God. Here in Romans chapter 16 Paul reminds us of another kind of false teacher, another kind of teacher that should be avoided: one who causes divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine that Paul taught us. The main doctrine that was taught in the book of Romans was the doctrine of justification by faith, by faith without works. Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 3:28 says, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law." If you do not understand the book of Romans, then you do not understand the gospel of Christ, and you do not understand the importance of justification by faith alone. If anyone teaches salvation in such a manner as to take away from justification by faith, then that person is taking away from the significance of the death of Jesus on the cross. That person is causing offences contrary to the doctrine that we have learned from the Apostle Paul. Listen to what Paul said in the book of Galatians about those who teach things that corrupt the meaning of the gospel by adding human works to the idea of justification by faith. The Bible says in Galatians 1:7-8, "...but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed."

When Paul tells us to "mark those who cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which we have learned," he is probably also talking about those who teach things in such a way as to take away from Christian unity. The doctrine that Paul just taught us in Romans Chapter 14 and 15 was the importance of Christian unity. Jesus prayed that all of His believers would be united as one. It is God’s will that every believer in Jesus would be united with every other believer in Jesus. Anyone who teaches things that hurt this unity is doing damage to the family of God, and is a teacher that should be avoided. We hurt the testimony of Jesus Christ, and we limit what God can do through us when we are divided. Jesus said, "A house that is divided against itself cannot stand."

What are some of the ways that people have caused divisions by what they have taught? Some have caused divisions by the way that they emphasize their system of theology. Some have caused divisions by the way that they emphasize their denominational affiliation. Some have caused division by an attitude of arrogance and criticism. And some have caused division by the error of racial prejudice. Remember that Romans 16:18 says that; "they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ."

We know that the churches of the first century were made up of Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, slaves and free, and were from various cultures and races. Because they were able to have such diversity and still retain unity, Paul said to the believers at Rome in Romans 16:19, "For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil."

One of the goals of every believer should be to know more about that which is good and to know less about that which is evil. Human beings tend to copy the behavior of other humans. The more that you see and think about the sinful things that are done by the unbelievers, the more that you will be tempted to do the same things. One way to avoid falling into temptation is to simply avoid being in the place of temptation. Even Jesus said to pray to God to lead us out of temptation.

Be "wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil." Satan lied to Adam and Eve and told them that they would benefit from tasting of evil. They found out the hard way, just like you and me, that all of Satan’s apples have worms. We must learn to be simple concerning evil. The word that is translated "simple" literally means to not be mixed with. Our goal must be to participate in good, but to not let the good be tainted by evil: to have bread without leaven, because a little leaven leavens the whole lump. Holiness is being separate from evil. It is the goal of being a friend of sinners without participating in their sins. It is similar to the admonition to "be in the world but not of the world".

We are involved in a spiritual contest: the struggle between good and evil. The clear teaching of this biblical concept is that you will conquer evil, not by attacking it, but by avoiding it. That is one of the keys to victory in a practical way. But the ultimate victory over evil will come directly from God. Romans 16:20 says, "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." If you believe in Jesus, you are on the winning side. The final outcome will be victory and you will be victorious. The outcome has already been decided, because the victory was won by Jesus when He paid the price for sin on the cruel cross of Calvary.

In verse 19 we see that our own will and our own decisions are involved in the struggle against evil in a practical way; but in verse 20 we are reminded that the ultimate victory comes only from God. That is why the last part of verse 20 says, "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." We are totally dependent upon the grace of God. That which God gives us freely through Jesus, and that which God gives us abundantly without us earning it or deserving it: the grace of God. We needed the grace of God for salvation and forgiveness of sins because on our own we were without God and without strength, but where sin abounded, grace abounded more. We also need the continuing grace of God in a life where we so easily fail. If it were not for the grace of God, no one would be able to live a life of faith in a world of sin. But there is always grace to help in time of need, because God is a gracious God who freely and abundantly gives to those who rely upon Jesus. Do not underestimate the riches of His grace that are available to you, and do not underestimate how much you must depend upon and rely upon His grace. To emphasize the importance of grace, Paul repeats the same phrase in Romans 16:24 and says, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen."

Romans16:21-23 says, "Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you. I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. Gaius my host, and of the whole church, salutes you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city salutes you, and Quartus a brother." An interesting note about verse 22, is the fact that even though the book of Romans came from Paul, it was actually penned by a man named Tertius. What this means is that Paul dictated the letter, and Tertius was a scribe: he wrote the letter as Paul dictated it to him. The reason that Paul dictated the letter, and did not write it himself may be because Paul had severe problems with his eyes. Even with physical limitations, Paul learned to live and serve and accomplish the tasks at hand. Where there’s a will there’s a way, especially when you depend upon the grace of God.

Romans 16:25-26 says, "Now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith." Above all other things, the book of Romans is the book of the gospel of Jesus Christ. If you want to know all the wonderful details of the doctrine of the gospel of Jesus Christ, then you must understand the book of Romans.

In Romans chapter one Paul introduced the gospel, and he said in Romans 1:16, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes." In Romans Chapter 1 and verse 16, we are presented the good news in the context of salvation: salvation from sin, salvation from guilt, and salvation from hell. It is the good news that if you have sinned, then you can be forgiven because of Jesus. And then here at the conclusion of the book of Romans at the end of Romans Chapter 16, Paul mentions the gospel for the last time, not in the context of salvation from sin, but in the context of a Christian being established who is already saved. That is, a Christian being rooted and grounded and sustained by the means of the gospel and because of the gospel. The gospel of Jesus Christ was not meant to stop with salvation. It was meant to continue into every area of your life. Jesus said that He came so that we would have life, and so that we would have it more abundantly.

Notice the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament that is again revealed here. "The scriptures of the prophets" refers to the Old Testament prophets. The gospel of Jesus Christ reveals and manifests the true meaning of what the Old Testament prophets were writing about in their Messianic prophecies. Without the New Testament, the Old Testament could not be properly understood. What the Old Testament prophets had to say was similar to a mystery, because it could not be understood. They had a few clues about the Messiah that was to come, but it was all very mysterious to them. Through Jesus Christ, the case has been closed and the mystery has been revealed. There is good news for the world: Messiah is not only a King, He is also a Savior. When He was born, God said, "You shall call his name Jesus, because He shall save his people from their sins." Sinners can be forgiven. Those who are in darkness can find the light of the world. And those who sit in the shadow of death can find eternal life in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. And once they come to Jesus, they can find life the way that it was meant to be. You were born to serve the Lord, and if you are rightly related to God through Jesus Christ, your life has an important purpose in the plan of God. You can dedicate everything that you do to God and His glory, you can live by faith, you can walk with God, you can talk to Him as man talks to his friend. And even though the world may not notice you, you are important to God. You are so valuable and so important to God that He has revealed to you the gospel of Jesus Christ, and He has given you the book of Romans so that you can be blessed beyond measure by understanding the depths of the meaning of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You will find that there is no end to the width or the height or the depth of the love of God as it is revealed in the Gospel.

Paul concludes the book of Romans by pointing us once again to God. He says in Romans 16:27, "To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen." The wisdom of God is past finding out. If you have any wisdom, then it really came from God, because He is the source of wisdom. If you lack wisdom, then you can ask God for it, because God gives to all generously, according to James.

Jesus said that only God was good, and now Paul says that only God is wise. Those who are wise in their own eyes will eventually be proven to be foolish; but how wise God has been to give us the gospel. Without the gospel of Jesus Christ, we would perish in our sins, and we would come to the end of our lives with no hope. The last verse of Romans says, "To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever." "For ever" literally means unto the ages. There will be ages to come. We now live in the age of grace, but it will end one day and another age will come, and then another and another. But throughout all the ages one thing that will not change will be the gospel of Jesus Christ. The world may pass away but the gospel will remain forever, and if you have nothing else, you will always have the gospel to be thankful for.

This is the end of our study of the book of Romans. I hope that you have enjoyed the messages as we have gone through Romans verse by verse. Sermons can be found on youtube. The book of Romans is a great book. May its promises and its teachings ever be a blessing to you, and may you return to it again and again to be reminded of the love of God as it is expressed in the doctrine of justification by faith in Jesus.

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