The Romance of Romans-Part 123

Romans Chapter 16 cont'd

I urge you to take note of and avoid those people who cause divisions and offenses by embracing or promoting doctrines that are contrary to the ones you have learned. These kinds of people are not concerned with serving the Lord Jesus Christ, but with filling their unsatisfied desires. They employ good-sounding words and manipulative monologues that deceive the hearts of the undiscerning.
The testimony of your faithfulness to God has been reported throughout the whole world and I am glad that you've been honored like this. Just make sure that you preserve your spirit of innocence- be "streetwise" in good, but not in evil! And soon, the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Yes, Lord, let it be!

Comments:

We are nearing the end of this extensive and intensive world-changing letter and seems to me as if Paul keeps thinking of final words to say and blessings to offer and, as a result, we end up with several benedictory closings in this final chapter. He is like a proud father who boasts in the well-being and well-doing of his children...though he had never had the opportunity to visit the believers in Rome in person. It was a great victory for the believers throughout the world to have a faithful and vibrant congregation of Christ-followers in the capital city.

It would be so wonderful if church communities never had to deal with negative influences or deceptive and destructive people in their midst. Sadly, it has never been and will never be in this age. The Church is planted in the earth in the midst of a spiritual battle zone and God's ancient enemy, given that he cannot overthrow God himself, is always at work to assault and tear down the people of God...and God's beloved creation...on every possible front. Satan does this primarily, on the visible level, by using both witting and unwitting people...as ambassadors of error, disruption and deception.

Still, though it is tempting to use unholy means of dealing with these kinds of people and their influences, believers must rise above evil and overcome it with good. The Church has been compared to a mighty rescue ship in the ocean waters where people are drowning from shipwrecks in the sea. Many are saved by the efforts of the ship's crew. The ship is "in the sea"...by design...but if "the sea gets in the ship", then the ship will ironically and tragically lose its purpose for being and fail in its mission. The Church is called to navigate within the broken and sinful cultures of the world, but it must be on guard to not allow sinful cultures to invade and run unchecked within it. How can we do this without becoming overly defensive, unloving, self-righteous, negative, controlling and fearful?

The New Testament offers us a godly "polity"...a way of governing the community of faith...that equips us to deal effectively with troublesome people and influences in a way we can live out the challenge of Michah 6:8--to do justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God. Believers need to be forearmed for the inevitability of dealing with these kinds of situations and people so that we are not left to our own reactive devices when such events crop up.

More to come....