Guard the Church from Deception

Read aloud

Paul urges the Roman believers to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the teaching they have learned. He tells them to avoid such people because they do not serve Christ but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive.

Paul rejoices over their obedience, but he wants them to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. He promises that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under their feet. The grace of the Lord Jesus is with them.

Timothy, Paul's fellow worker, greets them, as do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater. Tertius, who wrote the letter, sends his greeting; Gaius, host to Paul and the whole church, greets them; Erastus the city treasurer and Quartus greet them. The warning and the greetings belong together in a real community.

The warning about divisive people is specific: they create obstacles contrary to the teaching the Romans received and use smooth speech to deceive the unsuspecting. Paul is not telling the church to become suspicious of every disagreement; he is asking them to recognize teaching that fractures the community for the sake of appetites and influence. Obedience includes wise attention to what a voice is producing.

The promise that God will soon crush Satan under their feet stands beside the call to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to evil. The church is not asked to defeat darkness by becoming fascinated with it. A household can learn the sound of manipulative flattery, keep close to trustworthy teaching, and let God's grace guard the relationships that false teachers try to exploit.