Keeping the Church Safe (Romans 16:17-20)

We are coming to the end of this letter. I don’t suppose Paul imagined that long series of sermons would be based on what he had written in it. I have two sets of sermons on Romans by two preachers that took several years to preach. As far as we are concerned, this is sermon number 53, and there will be two more after this to complete our series.

As has often been pointed out, this book has had a remarkable influence on church history as individuals and groups and societies grasped the hope its teaching brought into their lives. Sadly, the ongoing nature of its influence eventually declines, and does so for several reasons. Paul, in the verses that we will consider, mentions some dangers that were lurking in his day, and it may be that it is variations of them that diminish the effect of the book’s teachings in every period. So what were the dangers that concerned Paul?

The concern of the apostle (vv. 17-18)

Paul was fully aware that there would be troublemakers in the church. It is likely that the ones he has in mind are Judaisers, who focussed on requiring Gentile believers to practice the Levitical ceremonial law. This large group had infiltrated the Christian church and had influenced a lot of people. On one occasion, they had even affected Peter the apostle and Barnabas the colleague of Paul.

Those who argued for the continuation of the ceremonial law had failed to appreciate the uniqueness of the work of Christ on the cross in liberating his people from having to adhere to those details. In effect, they had a Jesus plus something religion. The outcome was an increase in legalism, the denial of Christian liberty and the creation of divisions. Church members were no longer identified as followers of Jesus, but instead had become identified with certain groups.

Paul wrote this letter from Corinth, and the church there had been affected by various ideas, resulting in the formation of different parties in the church. He was in Corinth dealing with the consequences of wrong divisions and obviously he would not want similar devastation to happen in the church in Rome. So he wrote to them with very clear instructions about what to do.

Basically, Paul says three things to them. First, he points out the teaching style of the false messengers – they use smooth talk and flattery to win over people. If someone is always commending you, watch out, because each of us should know that we all have defects in our spirituality. It is almost like listening to adverts in which the smooth, calm voice assures the viewer that they really will look different of they try the advertised products. But it is all flattery. Paul says that those who fall for the wrong teachings are naïve.

Second, Paul expects his readers to know the doctrines that they had been taught. This may have been one reason why he wrote about those beliefs in his letter to them, because in it he has provided a clear explanation of the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. It is fair to say that a Christian who has understood the doctrines mentioned by Paul in this letter will not be led astray by false teachers. But if they don’t know their doctrines, then they are easy prey. We have a straightforward system of doctrine that has stood the test of centuries – the Shorter Catechism. If we have its statements clear in our minds, we will not succumb to false teaching, unless we have ulterior motives in another way.

Third, Paul gives a very simple way of not being affected by the false teachers – avoid them. In his day, if a person did not hear such people, then they would not be affected by them. Today, it is more complex because there are many ways of spreading wrong ideas – literature, DVDs, TV and radio, and the internet. Paul makes it very clear that believers in Jesus should not listen to false teachings. I suppose we could liken Paul to a doctor who is advising people how to prevent being affected by a plague spreading through an area.

The continuation of a healthy church (v. 19)

The first detail that Paul mentions about the church in Rome in this verse is its public witness – he says that their ‘obedience is known to all’. I suppose he means by obedience their adherence to the gospel and its requirements. This was a good testimony to have, and it brought joy to the heart of Paul even although he had not yet been to Rome to see for himself what the church was like.

Yet in a sense, he went on to say to them that while their past and present was good, they had to ensure that the future retained that standard, and there was only one way to ensure that would be the case. He repeats therefore his instruction to have nothing to do with wrong doctrines. Such a choice is the path of wisdom, says Paul.

There are circumstances in life in which it is not good to be unaware of various factors. It is essential that we know the Highway Code when we decide to drive a vehicle, both for our own benefit and for the good of others. The fact that some people ignore it is not a reason for us to imitate them. On the other hand, there are other aspects of life in which it is to our benefit to know nothing about them, and the one that Paul stresses is that we should avoid any influence that would cause us to move away from the requirements of God.

There are so many voices around today suggesting a variety of things, but the best response to all of them is to know the gospel and its requirements, and stick to them in a prayerful way, depending on the Lord for his protection. If we do that, we will remain a healthy church that pleases God.

The consolation for believers (v. 20)

Paul returns to one of his favourite titles of God – the God of peace. We have already thought about this title a few weeks ago when thinking about Romans 15:33. Here Paul gives an assurance to his readers that total victory is coming for God’s people. The striking feature of this promise is that originally it was a description of the Deliverer promised by God in the Garden of Eden after Adam fell (Gen. 3:15). Jesus is the Deliverer that was promised, but here Paul informs us that believers will share the victory of Jesus. This does not mean that they contributed to the victory.

Paul must have mentioned this promise because he was aware that the enemy would be trying in one way or another to disrupt the church. Writing to the Thessalonians, he expresses his fear that the devil may have tempted some of them to give up the faith (1 Thess. 3:5). The apostle John sent a letter to the church in Thyatira informing them that some of the teachings current in that church came from the devil (Rev. 3:24). So Paul, aware of the fact that the devil was persistent in his attempts to disrupt the progress of the gospel, gave this statement of encouragement to the believers in Rome, which they would have to hold on to in the days ahead when they would face problems.

When we think about the victory of the Messiah over the devil, we should see three different but connected stages in the triumph, which are similar to how we see God’s victory over our sins. Regarding our sins, we know that Jesus paid the penalty for sin when he suffered divine wrath on the cross as he made atonement for us, that he deals with the power of sin throughout our lives as we are sanctified and changed into his image, and that he will remove us from the presence of sin when he returns and brings the new heavens and new earth into existence as our eternal dwelling place. We can apply those three distinctions of penalty, power and presence to our conflict with the devil.

First, Paul describes in Colossians 2 the way that Jesus on the cross defeated the powers of darkness by dealing with their power to accuse his people when they sinned. When a person was crucified, his crimes were stated on a notice above his head. Paul uses that as an illustration and says that our sins were stated on the notice above the head of Jesus. These were the sins for which he died and they are the sins for which the devil tries to have us condemned. But since Jesus has paid the penalty, the accusations fail to proceed. Paul says that so comprehensive was the victory of Jesus that he disarmed the hostile powers and made an open show of the enemy (Col. 2:13-14). So we share in the benefits of the victory of Jesus as far as the accusations of the devil requiring punishment for our sins is concerned.

Second, Jesus is defeating the devil day by day by exercising his power as through the gospel people are brought to a knowledge of their sins and turn to God for mercy. Each conversion is a defeat of the devil, which means that heaven has many victories. When s sinner trusts in Jesus, Satan has been defeated and a captive has been rescued from his grip. The defeat of the power of the devil continues throughout a believer’s life as he resists temptations to sin and instead is enabled to live a holy life. Great power is exercised by Jesus not only in enabling his people to resist the devil, but in helping them to obey the commandments of God. Each act of obedience is evidence of victory over the power of the devil.

Third, Jesus will defeat the devil at the second coming in the sense that he will be banished into the lake of fire forever. At the same time, his glorified people will inherit the new heavens and new earth for ever without a single wrong thought or even a temptation to think one. Never again will they have any contact with the tempter of their souls, nor will his temptations disturb their service of the King. All trace of his activities will be gone.

Paul is describing what will happen at the third stage of the victory of Jesus. The word that is translated ‘soon’ can also mean ‘quickly’. Sometimes we can think or speak in a way that suggests that God and the devil are similar to one another in power. But they are not. When this moment comes, God will deal very quickly with the devil – it will take him less than a second to show the difference between omnipotence and the strongest creaturely power.

The words of the apostle detail for us the determination of God to have this final victory after a long campaign. He promised victory in the Garden of Eden, and I doubt if the devil and Adam and Eve had any idea of the scale of the victory. After all, billions of lost sinners who found the Saviour will participate in it. It will be a marvellous sight to see. The question that arises is where we will be standing when that day comes.