Parting Exhortations
October 20, 2013 · Pastor Miles DeBenedictis
In this teaching
In this closing study of Romans, Paul gives a series of parting exhortations: mark and avoid those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to sound doctrine, become well-versed in what is good so the counterfeit is easily detected, and rest in the promise that the God of peace will crush Satan under the church's feet. The teaching ends with Paul's great doxology, that God alone is able to establish believers according to the gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ.
- Romans transitions from doctrine to living; Paul has four "endings," and the final exhortations warn the church about disruptive, divisive false teachers.
- Those who cause divisions rarely identify themselves and are often self-deceived; the way to spot them is by their fruits and obedience to Scripture.
- Scripture lists categories of people the church is to reject and avoid—unrepentant sinners, the sexually immoral, the disorderly, false teachers, those with mere outward religion, and the divisive—while still receiving the weak in faith.
- The best protection against deception is knowing the genuine—the Scriptures—so the counterfeit is recognized, like a bank teller who knows real money by feel.
- The God of peace promises to crush Satan under the church's feet, the unfolding fulfillment of Genesis 3:15 accomplished through Christ and His body.
- The closing doxology grounds believers' assurance not in mastering all Scripture but in God, who establishes them according to the gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ.
Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learn, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly. And by smooth words and flattering speech, they deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedience has become known to all, therefore I am glad on your behalf. But I want you to be wise in what is good and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. ... ()
Paul's final words to Rome warn the church to mark the divisive, treasure the genuine, and trust the God of peace who will crush Satan beneath their feet.
Four Endings to the Longest Letter
The book of Romans deals not just with things we are to believe, but the way we are to live. The first eight chapters address what we are to believe, and chapters 11 through 15 address how we are to live. You would expect the book to end at chapter 15, verse 33—"Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen." With that amen, you'd think it was done. But Paul had sixteen more verses of greetings to people he knew in Rome, even though he had never visited the church.
At the end of verse 16 he says, "Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you." Again you'd anticipate the ending—and you'd be wrong. Paul has four endings. So as we come to verse 17, we find another grouping of exhortations, things fresh on his heart as he considered the church at Rome.
By this point in the letter nearly 10,000 words have been written. Romans is the longest of Paul's letters, which is why it stands first among the epistles; the New Testament letters are arranged from longest to shortest, not chronologically.
Paul Knew This Kind of Person Well
Paul writes about those who cause divisions and offenses because he knew this classification of person very well. These were exactly the type who followed his ministry, seeking to disrupt, divide, and destroy it. We have an adversary, the devil, who constantly seeks to destroy the work of God, often by division.
God used Paul to plant churches in Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe, and immediately after he left, disruptors came to divide them—so he wrote Galatians to call the believers back to the simplicity that is in Christ. The same happened in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Corinth; division got a foothold in Corinth, and Paul wrote 1 and 2 Corinthians to challenge them back to that simplicity. So when we reach , this is a preventative cure—it is preemptive.
Many Bible teachers believe Paul may have penned these very verses by his own hand. The picture of the authoring of Romans is not Paul alone in a dark room with an oil lamp. He dictated to a scribe named Tertius, named in verse 22, with men like Timothy, Luke, Jason, and Sosipater present. This took place in Corinth at the end of 57 into early 58, and the letter was likely carried to Rome by Phoebe, mentioned in chapter 16, verse 1.
After Paul says "amen" in 15:33 and adds his greetings, it seems he turns to Tertius and says, "I have one more thing on my mind." After years of battling those who divide the church, he says, in effect, "Give me that quill"—"Now I urge you, brethren." The word is literally "I beg you." He is speaking to the leaders he has just named, the overseers of the flock in Rome.
Note Them, but They Do Not Identify Themselves
To "note" those who cause divisions and offenses means to set a mark upon them, to identify them, to know who they are. The most difficult part about these seditious people is that they don't identify themselves when they come. They don't show up announcing, "I'm here to divide and spread false doctrine." Many times they are so self-deceived that they don't even recognize they are causing division.
A great example is the author of this very letter. Before he was Paul the apostle, he was Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee whose entire aim was to destroy the church of Jesus. records the great persecution that came at his hands. He believed God was calling him to it—so self-deceived that he thought he was doing God's work. Then on the road to Damascus he saw a great light and heard, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" He answered, "Lord, who are you?" and the voice said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting." Three days later the scales fell from his eyes. He had not realized he was the divisive one.
So leaders—shepherds, under-shepherds—need to be watchful, all the while receiving those who are weak in faith. says we are to receive the weaker brother; Peter says to shepherd the flock gently. We receive the weak, we are gentle, but we are also watchful, walking circumspectly, so that when an individual is clearly there to cause division, we note them.
Knowing the Destructive by Their Fruit
How do we identify the dangerously destructive ones if we are to receive the weak? Jesus answers in : "Beware of false prophets." First, we recognize that false prophets exist—people come in speaking things that are false, sometimes very close to the truth. Second, "they come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves." They look like everyone else; they talk about Jesus, resurrection, heaven, the Holy Spirit, the Father—yet they may not believe as you believe. Third, "you will know them by their fruits"—by what their lives produce.
Paul gives more detail. In , "if anyone does not obey the word of this epistle, note that person"—the same word as in —"and do not keep company with them." Why? Because bad company corrupts good character. The aim of that separation is repentance: "do not count them as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother."
The word "note" appears positively too. In Paul says, "join in following my example, and note those who so walk as you have us for an example." So we mark out those who walk in obedience to Scripture and follow their pattern. But warns of the others, "enemies of the cross of Christ," "whose end is destruction... whose god is their belly." If you knew someone's end was destruction, you wouldn't want to spend much time with them—just as it would have been foolish, with foresight, to buy a ticket on the Titanic in 1912.
The word is the Greek skopeo, from which we get "scope." Observe and mark those who do not walk in obedience to Scripture; don't keep company with them; admonish and call them back. The word "divisions" is one of the works of the flesh in and is tied to carnality in . "Offenses" can be translated as a stumbling block or a snare—a trap that ensnares people and leads them from the simplicity that is in Christ, like those who told the Galatians, "We know you believe in Jesus, but you also need circumcision, the feast days, the dietary laws." Anything added to the gospel may ensnare. The gospel itself is an offense to those who are perishing—but that is a good thing, tripping them up on the way to hell. When someone lays a snare that binds a believer, note that person and avoid them.
Who We Reject and Why
says to receive the weak. Yet there are certain people we are to reject and avoid. Some say that doesn't sound very loving, but Scripture gives a list:
The unrepentant sinner ()—after going one-on-one, then with another, then with the elders, if they still won't hear, reject them. The sexually immoral who call themselves brothers (). The disorderly who walk contrary to doctrine (, 14). Those who teach false doctrine (). Those who have only a vain external religion, an appearance of godliness while inwardly full of dead men's bones (). And the divisive ().
Why reject them? tells us: "those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly." They are self-serving, self-seeking, self-willed. "By smooth words and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the simple"—those who do not yet have a firm grasp on what is true, who are still immature in their handling of God's things. What these false teachers say seems so close to the real.
Know the Genuine and the Counterfeit Stands Out
Years ago we ran a coffee shop in town called His Place, and our manager, Jason Moody, would count the day's money each night. One night, going through the cash quickly, he stopped, went back, and pulled out a bill: "This one's counterfeit." Just by feeling it. I asked how he knew. He said, "I do this every day." Side by side, the real and the fake twenty looked nearly identical to the eye, but to the touch it didn't feel right—and the bank confirmed it. He knew the counterfeit because he was so well-versed in the genuine.
If you tried to study every fake, you'd never identify them all. It is far better to know the real. Jesus said false prophets profess a gospel that sounds similar yet is off. People come to your door speaking Christian words—Jesus, the end of the world, the Holy Spirit—yet their belief is outside orthodoxy. Rather than spending all your time studying the cults and world religions, spend more time studying what the Scriptures say, so that when smooth words and flattering speech come, you are not deceived, because you know the genuine.
Confident in Their Obedience
Paul expresses his confidence in verse 19: "For your obedience has become known to all." Back in , their faith was spoken of throughout the whole world; now their obedience is known to all. Their faith and obedience were a testimony. Their faith was no mere mental assent—it had become faithfulness. Our faith in Christ needs to become faithfulness to Christ.
"Therefore I am glad on your behalf," Paul says. The apostle John wrote in , "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in the truth." The church at Rome was not only believing doctrine but walking in it, and Paul's heart is filled with joy.
Yet he has a desire for them: "I want you to be wise in what is good and simple concerning evil." Jesus said, "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves"—and that word "harmless" is the same word as "simple" here. Know and do what is good; let evil not even be named among us. In context, this brings us back to the counterfeit money. Be wise about the genuine; know the Scriptures. You don't need to master every evil practice of the world to recognize the false. When it comes across your table, you'll be able to say, "No, that doesn't fit," even if you can't quote the exact verse. All Scripture is good, given for our building up (–4).
The God of Peace Will Crush Satan
Now the great promise of verse 20: "And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly." There's an odd paradox here—"the God of peace will crush." How does that fit? Here is how: if anything stands against the peace and righteousness of God, sometimes the only way to remove that obstacle is to crush it. The God of peace will forcibly remove the obstacle, Satan.
But notice the instrument: "under your feet." God will crush Satan using you and me, His church, His body. This reaches back to the very first prophecy in the Bible. In God says to the serpent, "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel." We rightly see the fulfillment in Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection—on the cross, when He said, "It is finished," He delivered the death blow to Satan.
Yet 2,000 years later, Satan still appears to wield power in the world, so the fulfillment of is not yet complete. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, promises that God, through His church, will bring a massive death blow to Satan—and he says "shortly." This was written twenty centuries ago, so we are far closer now than they were then. The picture is like grapes trampled underfoot and splattered—that is what God will do to Satan. Satan used humanity to strike at God, and ultimately God will use His church, filled with humanity, to bring the death blow. Remember Jesus' words in Matthew 16: "On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." We still wait with hope-filled anticipation, but this prophecy will one day be fulfilled.
Greetings from Corinth
Paul gives a second amen at the end of verse 20—"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen"—but he's not done. In verse 21 he sends greetings from those with him in Corinth: "Timothy, my fellow worker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, greet you."
Then verse 22—a great verse: "I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord." Apparently Tertius didn't think he'd get his name in, so he wrote himself into Scripture for eternity. I can't wait to meet him. Verse 23 names Gaius, Paul's host and host of the whole church, a man of influence; Erastus, the city treasurer—a politician in Corinth; and Quartus, a brother. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." That's the third ending.
To Him Who Is Able to Establish You
But he's still not done. "Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith—to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen." Paul, the king of the run-on sentence, gives his fourth amen.
After nearly 10,000 words of exhortation and revelation, this is our fifty-third week in Romans, and we could spend even more time here. Martin Lloyd-Jones wrote fourteen volumes on Romans and died before finishing the book. The word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword; no human being will ever exhaust all the treasure in the Scriptures.
If salvation required mastering all sixty-six books before you were ready, every one of us would be disqualified. But that is not the requirement. We are established not by the amount of Scripture we know but by the King of kings, who authored this word and gives us His indwelling Holy Spirit to direct us. I am thankful God is able to establish us—to root and ground us in Him and in love.
Why God Still Uses Preaching
How does He establish us? "According to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ." For twenty centuries there have been critics of the church; many today say monologue preaching is dead, that we need dialogue. Dialogue has its place, but why is God still using the foolishness of preaching? Because He is pleased to establish us through it.
The preaching of Jesus Christ comes "according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began." A biblical mystery is like a wrapped Christmas package, intended to be opened. Jesus has brought to light what was hidden—as Paul tells Timothy, Jesus brings to light life and immortality through the gospel. The mystery is "Christ in you, the hope of glory," now "made known to all nations." Circle "all nations." This is not for one small group, the descendants of Abraham, but for all peoples.
We preach the gospel "according to the commandment of the everlasting God"—He has commanded that the gospel go into all the world, so that people would come "for obedience to the faith." Paul ends: "to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen." Why has God chosen to do it this way? Because He alone is wise; He has a perfect plan; and to Him be the glory forever. There is no better way to end.
Closing Prayer
Father, to You be the glory. May it be in my life that You are glorified. Lord, help me to live and walk in a fashion that brings praise to Your name, that those around me who see my life would rejoice in You because of what You've done. May that be the reality for each of us here today. God, it is my desire that You would get the glory from my life in every possible way. We thank You that You are able to establish us—to have us fixed, rooted, and grounded in You, Your word abiding in us, and us abiding in Your word. Work out in us Your glory today as we prepare to go from this place. Stir our hearts that we would not be able to remain silent—in our neighborhood, on our school campus, at our office, wherever we find ourselves this week. Don't allow us to remain silent about who You are and how great You are. Help us to live in such a way that loudly proclaims Your glory and grace, not just by our words but by our actions. As the church in Rome 2,000 years ago was filled with faith and faithful even in a wicked and dark city, so in our day help us to be filled with faith and faithful to You in all that we do. In Jesus' name, amen.
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