Alba 8-7-2022
BE WISE IN WHAT IS GOOD
Romans 16:17-21
Before smart meters, overcoming locked gates, tall fences and snapping dogs always presented a challenge for meter readers. They were required to actually read all meters, no estimates allowed.
One time a worker in Oklahoma succeeded in getting past a particularly vicious watchdog tied to a chain that was long
enough to give him the ability to cover the entire back yard and driveway.
Later, the owner was curious and questioned the man's supervisor: "How was he able to get past that watchdog?" The workman was asked about it. "That's easy, boss," the meter reader said. "I parked on his chain."
That was a wise decision! And it was a good decision. In life we need to make wise and good decisions because there are many choices out there. And also because many are false choices.
There are those who may appear to be harmless to our spiritual lives, but are as dangerous as a vicious dog. That is why we have the warning from the apostle Paul in Romans 16:17-21. He writes:
17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.
19 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. 20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
This kind of warning of false teachers is not new. Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-16, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits.”
And in Acts 20:29-30 Paul warned the elders of the church in Ephesus saying, “29 For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves.”
Even today we have these same issues. We have those who, knowingly or unknowingly, work against the plan of God and seek to mold the church to their likeness! Or worse yet, they are trying to eradicate the church from society.
There are many false teachers in our world today, and many of them gain a large audience - mostly by telling people what they want to hear. Whether it be that God wants everyone to be healthy and wealthy, or that you can live anyway you want, as long as you sincerely believe what you believe and love like you want to love.
Do you want to get rich and seek a life of materialism? You can find those kinds of churches. Do you want to keep your religion as just a nice ritual kind of thing that doesn’t demand too much of you? You can find those kinds of churches. Do you want a religious approach that says that any kind of sexual or relational expression is okay? Yup, you can find those kinds of churches too.
There is tremendous pressure for us to abandon the teachings that have been handed down to us from Jesus and the apostles. The pressure comes from our society in general, which has become so liberal and atheistic. And Paul warns that it can even come from inside the church.
Who are these people we are warned about? The apostle Paul tells us that they are those who serve their own belly. In other words, they are utterly focused on gratifying their own desires.
These individuals may be professing Christians, but they seek their personal comfort rather than the glory of God. They are not prepared to accept the instruction for the child of God in II Timothy 2:3 “You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.”
Their attitude can be described as, “Let Jesus have the beatings, the sweat and the toil; give me the praise and the glory.”
They are uncomfortable if confronted with any teaching that challenges their thinking, or with teaching that exposes their private sin, or with teaching that confronts their self-centered desires.
The result is they cause divisions and put obstacles in the way of those who are trying to obey God's Word. How do they do this? By deviating from the Word of God!
They teach doctrines contrary to what the Bible says. They teach doctrines that resemble what one finds in the Bible. But there are subtle differences. Differences that make all the difference!
The devil is behind all of this. Satan has been on the attack since the beginning. Satan has tried to do all kinds of things to destroy and eliminate the church of Christ.
Satan’s first attempt to destroy the church was through persecution. But he soon found that the more he persecuted the church, the faster it grew. (Acts 8:4) And so Satan watched as the church spread from Jerusalem, to Samaria, to Galatia, Asia, Macedonia and Achaia.
When Satan discovered he could not stop the church through persecution, he changed his tactics. He decided to destroy the church through corruption and division.
Therefore, Satan prompted certain men to teach false doctrines in all the churches that Jesus built through Paul and through other apostles and disciples. And he continues his dirty work today.
Paul warns us to watch out for false teachers, and to avoid them. We need to watch out, in other words do not be caught unaware. When dogs see something or someone outside their fence, they become agitated. They will run from one end to the other, barking at them.
They want to examine them. Keep on eye on them. Protect their territory from those who might try and take it away. In the same way we need to keep our eyes open for those who would hinder the work of God by teaching false doctrine or by hindering God’s work through trouble.
Michael Stark, minister with the New Beginnings Baptist Church in
Dawson Creek, British Columbia tells of an experience he had
saying he briefly worked with a congregation that chose to align with what was comfortable rather than with what was right.
Under his ministry, there were people who were making their decision to become Christians. Here is how he tells the story:
“The first person to respond to the appeal from the pulpit was a gracious lady from Barbados. As she came on a Sunday morning to present herself as one who had trusted Christ and who now sought baptism as a believer in the Risen Son of God, I rejoiced with her and presented her to the congregation as a new creature in Christ.
“Suddenly, a man stood up and shouted from the congregation, “She cain’t be saved! I ain’t talked to her yet. I’ll decide if she is saved.” It was the chairman of the board.
“Now let me say that you will find no boards in the Word of God except from a shipwreck. Nevertheless, he was chairman of the board, and he was insistent that she couldn’t be saved until he said so.
“His rude interruption necessitated a meeting of “the board.” After considerable discussion, the board decided that I could determine if a person was saved or not. I gently rebuked them by pointing out that I was incapable of deciding anything.”
He told them, “However, as a congregation, we could hear the testimony of those who confessed Christ and thus receive them for baptism and church membership. We had no ability to see the heart, though we could hold those who confessed Christ to the standard of the Word after they had openly identified with Him.
“This board seemed unable to grasp the concept. The conflict had forced into the open a problem, however.
It would mean many more meetings as “the board” tried to determine whether to adhere to the Word of God or defer to one cantankerous old man.”
About such things he says, “I have one word of advice for you when you find yourself in such a group—don’t debate, vacate.” That sounds a lot like what Paul says in our text, “avoid them.”
I have been reading a book entitled “There's a Hireling In the Parsonage” by James Spinnati published by T.N.T Ministries in 1996. In it one minister of a Christian Church in Indiana tells of his experience.
He writes: “It took me a while to find out what everyone believed about the word of God. I learned one thing from this experience, never take anything for granted. Don't think for a minute that because people are called Elders of the church, that they must be doctrinally sound.
“This was the case at this congregation. The eldership was a mess. In two years I found out some startling facts. One elder didn't even think you had to be baptized! Another one didn't believe in the inerrancy of the Scriptures. Still another one's wife came to church, but she was a Jehovah's Witness!”
He asks, “How can you possibly have a spiritual church with unspiritual leadership?”
The apostle Paul says that those who teach things opposite of the scriptures are able to deceive the hearts of the simple. These deceivers introduce teachings that sound plausible, but they dilute the message of life.
The “simple” are naive people who have not matured enough to know that everything that sounds good isn’t always good.
Too many Christians haven’t grown deep enough to be able to recognize a counterfeit when it appears before them.
Just like people in banks study real money so that they can recognize a counterfeit bill when it appears, the people of God should be so familiar with the real thing that when a counterfeit appears, it can be recognized and exposed for what it is.
It takes the wisdom of knowledge of what the Bible teaches to determine what is truly good and godly. We need to encourage an attitude of becoming “Berean Christians” who examine “the Scriptures daily to see if these things” are so (Acts 17:11).
Paul expresses his confidence in the Christians in Rome that they won’t be taken in by false teachers. And he rejoices in their obedience, and wants them to focus on and be wise in what is good and right, and remain innocent about what is evil.
We are not to be innocent in the sense of a lack of knowledge, but in a lack of involvement with evil. Paul then offers a powerful and hopeful promise: The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. (vs. 20)
That promise alludes to the well-known prophesy of Genesis 3:15 where God says to the devil, “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.”
That is a prophesy at the very beginning of the Bible that tells us a baby would be born one day in Bethlehem. That would be Jesus. He would come to bruise, to crush, the devil at his head.
Does it sound contradictory that the God of peace is going to crush somebody?! The fact that God is a God of peace doesn’t mean He avoids the battle.
It is not peace at any cost, but peace through triumph over evil. The God of peace will make sure that truth prevails. He will crush Satan’s attempts to introduce error and destroy the church.
When Jesus died on the cross it may have seemed like a vital blow, and that the devil had won. But that is not the case. As horrible as it was, Jesus' death, burial and resurrection give us hope.
From a spiritual perspective that was like a blow to the heel of Jesus. The real damage from Jesus' death on the cross was to the head of Satan.
When we are in Christ, we have His protection. The devil still is able to threaten, but ultimately Jesus holds his chain.
We can know that God has had a plan for our salvation from the beginning. We know, because He reveals that plan in the Bible.
So when we know His word, His love and His forgiveness, we can be assured of God's victory over sin. And it will keep us wise in what is good and simple concerning evil.
I am so thankful to God that He has made a way for us to be saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, and that we could become the church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
CONCLUSION:
When God’s people are feeling overwhelmed, this is where He points us. Jesus has defeated Satan and we get to share in that victory! The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
Christians in Rome in the first century needed to hear that word of encouragement. Maybe you need to hear it today too. Jesus give us a claim in what is really His victory!
On March 28, 1990 Michael Jordan scored a career high of 69 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Jordan had 18 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals.
He made 23 of 27 field goal attempts and 21 of 23 foul shots for the ninth-best single-game scoring performance in NBA history. A total of 69 points.
His teammate, the Bull’s rookie forward Stacey King who scored one point said, “I'll always remember this as the night that Michael Jordan and I combined to score 70 points.”
That’s about how our victory with Jesus may look, but He shares it with us just the same! We get to say, We win in the end!
Of course, Jesus did it all. Only what Jesus did on the cross made our salvation possible. And He calls us to Himself.
We take those steps to Him through faith, turning from sin, confessing His name and being baptized into Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins.
