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Don't know if you noticed that last hymn, the writer. Francis Scott Key. I think this was his better work.
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The other one was good, too, but he's a good one. good one. Turn with me please to Romans 16 as we are approaching the end of our
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Romans time in Romans and um we encounter something very unusual for the Apostle Paul and his letters and that is a very lengthy section of greeting and
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I'm going to leave that to your reading although I will discuss it and I'm going to begin actually in verse 17 and read down through verse 20. Romans 16,
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beginning in verse 17. Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you
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learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ, but of their own appetites.
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and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. For the report of your obedience has reached to all. Therefore, I am
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rejoicing over you. But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. And the God of peace will soon crush
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Father, we ask that you would open the eyes of our understanding to this passage, especially that last verse, that you will soon crush Satan under our
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feet. Help us to understand what that means. Help us to live according to that promise. Help us to walk and keep step with the
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Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit. Help us to do what your word calls us to do. For we know we cannot do it on our own, but only by the indwelling power
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and grace of your Holy Spirit. And all that we do, we know it is what you do within us. And we give you all the glory and all the praise.
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And we thank you that you have chosen to make us vessels of mercy and even vessels of glory. But we ask that our lives might redown to your glory and your honor. For you
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alone are worthy. So we ask that you would be with us in your spirit and in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Paul's letters have very few personal greetings. Uh typically he mentions whoever it is that's delivering the letter to the particular church. Uh he may mention one or two people within the
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church who have had a a particularly helpful um work in his ministry. But here he gives us almost half a chapter
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of greetings. of greetings. And um that that is something to to make note of. And and Ashley asks the question, what why is this here? And and how is it that Paul knows so many people
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who are in Rome? Well, the historical background, I think we find in the book of Acts of Acts and we also find in secular historians because during the reign of the emperor
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Claudius there there was a disagreement among the Jewish citizens in Rome. Sutonius tells us that that disagreement was over one named Crestus
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which I think fairly easily can be understood as Christ. The Jewish community was in an uproar because part of the Jewish community was claiming
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that the Israel's Messiah had come. The Christ had come in the person of Jesus Christ. And the rest of the Jewish community as in Jerusalem so in Rome
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were not happy with this. And so within the Jewish community in Rome, there were riots. There were there were violent outbursts as the orthodox and
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unbelieving Jews were persecuting those who had put their faith in Jesus the Messiah. Well, to the Romans, a Jew is a Jew. And at this point in time, there
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was no knowledge of Christianity. They were just a different sect within Judaism. And so the emperor in order to solve the problem evicted all the Jews from Rome.
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Now again we know this from the book of Acts because this is how Paul met Priscilla and Aquilla and he mentions them here in Romans 16. I I think it's reasonable for us to understand that
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that's probably how he met most of these people. Others he may have met on his travels in Asia Minor who then ended up in Rome and with the Roman church.
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The first mention is of a woman named Phoebe. And the way it reads, I commend to you our sister Phoebe who is a
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deaconist of the churches of the church, excuse me, which is at Kentria. She's probably the messenger undoubtedly traveling in a in a group
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because you didn't travel alone on the roads back in those days. But she is the primary messenger bringing the letter that he has written to Rome and he commends his messenger. That's standard
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practice. Then he goes on to mention those who um have helped him and and what he's basically establishing here to the Romans as he'd been doing all along,
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he's establishing he has knowledge of their situation. their situation. He he knows people who are there who are obvious obviously important people.
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Several of them have churches meeting in their homes. And so these are these are the leaders of the of the Roman church. Now keep in mind that this church had not been founded by an apostle and that
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there was no apostle there in spite of what the Roman Catholic Church tells us. Peter was not here at this time nor at
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any other time except perhaps having been taken there to be martyed. But in terms of his relationship with the church, Peter was
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not the founder or the sustainer, nor was Paul. And so Paul's not trying to establish some type of an apostolic relationship. He doesn't call them the
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his children or he doesn't call himself their father like he does to the Corinthian church. But he also doesn't want to think them to lead them to think that he is ignorant of what's going on
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in Rome. He has said a number of things about uh those who eat meat and those who won't eat meat, those who drink, those who who have different days, those who think all day is the same. This is
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not just some arbitrary theology class. He knows what's going on in Rome. He's corresponding with these people to whom
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he sends greetings. I do want to point out and I think this is very significant if we will consider the timing of this. This is the first century. This is the
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the height of Augustus's empire. And yet Paul mentions in this greeting quite a number of women. It's very unusual in an ancient letter
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to hear. We've already seen Priscilla, I'm sorry, Phoebe, and then Prrisca or Priscilla along with her husband Aquilla. And then also Mary, perhaps
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Junius. We don't really know. probably Junia would be more likely a woman. Trifena and Tri, how do you pronounce that? Trifa,
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that? Trifa, Rufus's mother, Julia, and Ner Narius's sister. It's unusual. And I I say that not to draw any type of lesson from it
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because frankly, I'm not so sure that there's a theological purpose to this these greetings. And I think it there's a danger of making scripture bear more
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weight than it was intended to bear. Individual scriptures or passages can be made to do duties that they were never intended to do. And I don't want to fall into that trap. But I do think it's
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significant that perhaps half of the greetings are to women, which I think indicates that women by the gifting of the Holy Spirit had a
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very major role to play in the early church. And I think they should have a major role to play in the church today. But what is the point? Why is he doing
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all this? Well, I think it's once again establishing Paul's resume or Paul's credentials. He he has been introducing himself to the Roman church because I
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believe he wants to switch his base of operations from Antioch in the east to Rome in the west. that from Rome he might move even further west into the
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Roman territories of Gaul and Hispa Spain. His ministry as far as he knows is not yet done but it's done in the area that he has already canvased with
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the gospel. He feels confident that he can leave the churches of Asia Minor to themselves and to the elders that have been set in their midst during his ministry. He feels confident that he has
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done as much as he can do to introduce the gospel of Jesus Christ into virgin territory to lay foundations where no man has laid a foundation. And he
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acknowledges in his letter that's not Rome. I'm not coming to Rome to be the pope. I'm not coming to Rome to do what other men have already done. And I think
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it is also interesting that as far as we can tell that work of laying the foundation was not done by an apostle but probably by those who were in Jerusalem during Pentecost and who went
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back to Rome as believers. Probably Jewish believers and we know some of these he refers to them as his kinsmen. Some of these are Jewish believers. Some of them are probably gentile believers.
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But Rome is building without the foundation of an apostle because that's not the foundation that is laid for the church. Paul says that there is only one
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foundation that is Jesus Christ. And even apostles like Paul and like Cphus build on that foundation, but also other men like Apollos also build on that
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foundation. So the foundation's been laid. He has no intention of tearing it up and laying another. In fact, he's going to say that he's he's the reputation of their obedience has been
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heard by all. So, he's praising this church for their obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ, but he's also planning on coming to them. And so, he's
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establishing his own credentials by mentioning men and women who were capable of validating Paul's gospel. Another very unique phrase that's only
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in Romans is that he calls the gospel my gospel not because he came up with it as so many modern liberal scholars think but rather because he was taking it to a
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church that was already established and he wanted to prove to them by what he was writing in this letter and now by referring to people who know him, people who have worked with him in the ministry
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of the gospel. He wants to establish that his gospel, my gospel, is the only gospel. It's the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is the gospel is the power of God into salvation to the Jew first and then
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to the Gentile. So, I think this list really doesn't bear much more weight than saying, "Hey folks, these people know me." Okay, we're at the end of my
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letter. You've you've read much of my theology. And again, this is the most theological letter that Paul writes in all of his corpus. But here are some people who know me. Here are people
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who've heard my preaching, who've seen my my work in the gospel, and they can vouch for me. And so, I think there's a there's a purpose. It's not an ulterior
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motive because there's nothing ulterior about what it is Paul intends to do. And that is to spread the gospel from Rome even further west even as far as Spain.
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And as I said earlier establishes Paul's working knowledge of the Roman church. Okay. It it it brings a personal element to what he's already said. He he knows
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who they are. And and this is really kind of a bookend in chapter 16 to what he says back in chapter 1 when he says for I long to see you in order that I I
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may impart some spiritual gift to you that you may be established. That is now you know got to be careful here. I don't want you to think that without me you're not established and yet I am an apostle
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and so I I want to come and impart some spiritual gift to you. But what he's really saying is that is that I may be encouraged together with you while among
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you each of us by the others faith both yours and mine. He recognizes the reciprocity of believers.
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He's not he's not talking down to them as an apostle. He's talking horizontally to them as brothers. Recognizing however that he is an authoritative apostle, he
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does want to come to them. He knows that be by the grace of God, he has something to give them as an apostle, but he also realizes, I have something to receive from you. I have encouragement to
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receive from you. And his longing to see them is not because they're in the imperial city and all roads lead to Rome. It's because he's heard so much
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about them from the people that were expelled by Claudius. Now, when the edict of Claudius was repealed, most of these people like Priscilla and Aquilla went back home. They went back to Rome.
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And now they're here. They're in Rome. They're there ready to receive him. And this is what actually happened. We read in Acts 28 of Paul's journey to Rome.
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And the brethren when they heard about us came from Rome as far as the market of Apius and three ins to meet us. And when Paul saw them he thanked God and
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took courage. took courage. I think that when you read the scripture together and and you see that what he's writing here is then fulfilled that when the church at Rome hears of Paul's
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landing on the Italian peninsula, they go out to meet him and then they escort him as a as an honorable visitor, as a dignitary. They escort him back to Rome
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and he thanks God for that. But I I think it's so important he takes courage. He's in chains. This is not how he planned on coming to Rome. How will
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they respond to me as a criminal? Well, Luke goes on to tell us that for two years he lived freely under house arrest, but people were unhindered in coming to him. And I imagine every day
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there were people in Paul's hope and he was being blessed as he was blessing. So, he knows this church and eventually he will know them by face. He will know
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them intimately. But what is the theological context content? Well, people have tried to make
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doctrine, programs out of these first verses of Romans 16 for example. This was very popular back in the 1970s. uh that is the house church movement because Paul
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greets a particular individual or a husband and a wife and he says and also the church that meets in their house. Oh, that's a house church. Well, let's do house churches.
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I have nothing against a house church except very few people have a large enough house to have a house church. And I would say that that's making doctrine
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where we're reading history. I don't believe that they met in houses because it was some edict from on high. We have no instructions from either the Lord or the apostles that thou shalt
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meet in houses. They didn't have churches. They were still a very small number within the overall population and most of them were quite poor. We learn in 1
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Corinthians chapter 1 that not many of them were noble. Not many of them were mighty. Not many of them were wealthy. There were a few in each church
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who had enough real estate to be able to host the church in their home. Now this in and of itself was a very dangerous thing because the Romans forbade any
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type of secret meeting. Secret meetings to the Romans were dangerous and the church appeared to be a secret meeting and that led to persecution. It wasn't until the church was legalized
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under Emperor Constantine that they began to build churches. But I don't think that we can say, "Oh no, churches are evil. We shouldn't have a place like this. We should rather meet in one
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another's homes and that's the way they did it." without realizing well they did that because that's what they had to do not because they were commanded to do it. So I don't think you can make a
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theological case for the house church. Very controversial topic of deaconists. Phoebe is mentioned uh the new American
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standard says servant but I didn't read that because that's not what the word says. It is the feminine form of deacon. Okay. The the word is not translated servant in first Timothy for example
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when the criteria for the ordination of deacons is given. They're translated as deacons. When Paul writes his letter to Philippians, it's to the elders and the deacons. And and so we need to be
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consistent in our interpretation and not let let our cultural orientation dictate our translation. She is a deaconist. However, Paul does not either defend or
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define that term. And I don't think it's meant for that. I think for Paul, she's a servant of Jesus Christ to the church.
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and she's a servant of a church to other churches. In bringing the letter of Paul to Rome, she is acting as a a servant as a as a deaconist. And I think that to try to establish a
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doctrine from this verse, maybe putting more weight on it than it deserves. I think it is rather better to go to what Paul has to say about the distribution
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of the gifts by the Holy Spirit. and in first Corinthians where he does not distinguish those distributions between male and female but rather gives a very
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strong impression that the Holy Spirit does not make such a distinction except perhaps in certain gifts, gifts of leadership, gifts of authority. All
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other gifts seem to be distributed fairly evenly between the male and the female of the church. So again, I don't want to build a doctrine over verse one
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of chapter 16. I don't want to establish house churches because of the couple of house churches that are mentioned in this passage. What is this for? What is this p? I think it's basically it is
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what it appears to be. Greetings all around. Hey y'all. Okay. I think that's what he's doing. He He's
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simply remembering those that he's met, that he's loved in the ministry of the gospel, that have encouraged him, that have worked with him, and they're in Rome. And he's not going to let this
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letter go without some mention of them because it it establishes his personal knowledge of the church and those who are in the leadership of the church. But
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I think it also gratifies his heart to know that this this city church where he hopes to go soon will be a reunion with people that he has loved and lived with,
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worked with, have been have suffered with in his ministry of the gospel. I think that's what it is. And I think he means it to be that as he as he closes
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his greetings, he says, "Greet one another with a holy kiss." Now, if there is something that we don't know what it is, there it is right there. The holy kiss. Okay, there there there in lies
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the difficulty of establishing doctrine and practice over what we read in the Bible sometimes. What is a holy kiss? Greet one another with a holy kiss. All
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the churches of Christ greet you. So, he's established his familiarity with the church. And now I think Paul actually returns to his final exertation
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and I think it's one of the most powerful and marvelous of any of his letters. He closes in chapter 16 with a crescendo.
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He has had many if we liken Paul's letter to a symphony. And I am not a musician but I do enjoy classical music. In fact,
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I enjoy a lot of different forms of music and I enjoy the instrumentation behind it. behind it. Normally, the crescendo comes somewhere
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in the work in the piece and there have been many and Paul talking about faith. I think Romans 9:10 and 11 are are an interlude and yet have their own
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powerful theme. But in this letter, more than any of the others, he ends with a crescendo. He he ends with a with a with a with a volume, with a tone, with a
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pitch, whatever the terminology is that is heart stirring, leaving you almost shaking in your seat.
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And he says something that that I don't know if you've you've let this verse impact you the way I think it should. And the God of peace will soon crush
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Satan under your feet. There are very few passages like that in the Bible. the Bible. Passages that are powerful that are that
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are graphic and are also incredibly mysterious. And like so many passages in Paul, as we are reminded by the Apostle Peter, this
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is also a passage that has been twisted and mishandled and corrupted. If you don't believe me, spend some time in the charismatic movement
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and you will see believers who think that what this passage means is to prance around some stage yelling at the devil.
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Well, Jude tells us that even the archangel Michael did not issue a riing rebuke against the devil, but said rather the Lord rebuke you.
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After I read that many years ago while in the charismatic movement, my thought was if Michael doesn't mess want to mess with him,
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why do I? Okay, why why would I want to mess with the devil? the devil? This is not an individual passage here. The U is plural.
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It's a passage of the church, but it is also not a passage of the church universal in some esqueological language meaning at the end of the age.
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No, Paul says, "The God of peace whom he had just issued the benediction back in chapter 15." The God of peace in the midst of your warfare and your struggle
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here on earth, the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your head. But he will not do it except by the same means of our warfare
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that he has already laid out in his letters. He will not do it with the weapons of carnal warfare. He will not do it with with bishops and apostles and
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prophetesses prancing around a stage rebuking COVID. rebuking COVID. It's not going to be how it happens. It's not going to be done in a way that the world will recognize as a military
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maneuver because the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. But they are divinely powerful for the overthrowing of strongholds.
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We were referred again to Matthew 12. How can a person plunder a strong man's house unless he first bind the strong man? And this Jesus has done. And now his
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body on earth, the church is called to plunder Satan's home. Meaning people people as the writer of Hebrews who've said held in bondage to the fear of
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death and Jesus has come and defeated the one who had the power of death, meaning the devil. Okay, that that's that is who ultimately our adversary is. But the method of our warfare against him is is
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in it's conssonate with the with our warfare in general. It's it's the armor that we put on from Ephesians 6. It's prayer. It's the helmet of salvation. It's praise.
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It's praise. But I would say that more than even that, it's unity. It's unity within the body of Christ. I think that verse 20 is itself the
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logical or theological result of verses 17, 18, and 19. I don't think it stands out as a refrigerator magnet verse that you can just pluck out and put on your refrigerator. No, I think when you look
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at 17, 18, and 19, you you are you are reading first of all a summary of Paul's view of what the church should be, and I mean each and every congregation.
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And then you're looking at the result when that is attained as Paul says in Corinth 2 Corinthians that he is ready to take every thought captive to the
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obedience of Jesus Christ as soon as your obedience is complete. We don't understand what a unified
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church would be in this world. It has not been seen very often. It has been seen in times of revival when all men were striving as with one mind for the faith
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of the gospel that the works of the devil were overturned in that region. Without any laws being passed, without any guns being fired, without any swords
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being drawn, being drawn, Satan was crushed under the feet of God's people God's people because they were living in harmony. They were walking in obedience and as I
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said and as Paul says in Philippians, they were striving with one mind for the faith of the gospel. So when we look at verse 20, I don't think we have to look far for the meaning.
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harmony even more than doctrinal purity. And I think this is something that especially reformed theologians need to sit up and take notice. We put a high premium on
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doctrinal purity and there should be a high premium on that. But not the highest. This is not to say that Paul advocated or even accepted doctrinal
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aberration. He did not. But he was very patient. He says in Philippians, for example, if you don't have the same mind as what I'm teaching, God will reveal it
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to you. I mean, he was fully confident that what he was teaching was the truth of God. And if the people didn't get it, well, okay, they'll get it eventually.
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And he says, "What I'd rather have is that you are in the same letter that you are all striving with one mind for the faith of the gospel, unity, harmony."
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I don't think we understand how incredibly powerful that makes not just the church but the church as a divinely powerful army powerful army military terms
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military terms but these are the weapons of our warfare and just as in any any military operation if the units do not work in conjunction with one another
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if they do not work in cooperation and in literally harmony then the battle is lost before it even begins. And there is countless examples
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of how that has happened. That should not happen to the church, but it does. Sadly, it happens all too
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I think holiness of life and purity of doctrine are clearly things that Paul emphasizes in his letters. These are things for which we are to strive. These are things that the Holy
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Spirit are is working on in our hearts and in our minds. And I don't want to denigrate them at all. I don't think that that any of our teaching here at Fellowship Bible Church would denigrate
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either holiness of life or purity of doctrine. But I want to emphasize as Paul does the importance and the power of unity, unity of purpose,
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harmony of conversation. And so when he says in verse 17, "Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on
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those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned and turn away from them." And notice he's not speaking only
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to the elders. When he meets with the elders at Ephesus, he puts them in primary charge to look out for the flock among whom God has made you overseer. The elder is the
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shepherd who's looking for the wolf in sheep's clothing indeed. But the admonition to keep an eye out is universal. That we we keep an eye out for those who
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cause dissension. cause dissension. Now again, that's that's a dangerous term and and quite susceptible to
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Paul knows that disunityity renders a congregation vulnerable. congregation vulnerable. Harmony and unity will bring stability and victory. Again, think of this in terms of military. The army that is not
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in union of purpose, unity of purpose is very vulnerable to an enemy who is again Matthew 12, Jesus asks a rhetorical
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question. If Satan is divided against Satan, how can he stand? Well, the answer to that is Satan is not divided against Satan. against Satan. He is a roaring lion roaming about
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seeking whom he may devour. And I think he is particularly sensitive to disunityity within the body of Christ. Disunityity enables Satan. And I don't
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mean Satan in person. It may be just the spirit of unbelief. It may be demons. Satan is not ubiquitous. He's not omnipresent. but he gets the credit for
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all of the malicious, lying, wickedness that goes on in the heavenlies. And so that's how Paul is using his name. But when the church is disunited, when the
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church is going through dissension and schism, it is vulnerable to defeat. When it is unified in purpose, when it is harmonized in love, it is an
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impregnable fortress impregnable fortress that Satan cannot overcome. The gates of hell cannot prevail against it. And that's what Paul is teaching here. Don't
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be vulnerable. be be stable and you will have victory. have victory. But as I said, dissension is one of the most dangerous elements of an army's
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life or a church's life. But dissension is not the same as disagreement. I want I want to be very clear here
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because I can be very easily misunderstood. Speaking from a position of authority in a church, a church, it is very easy to misunderstand what's
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being said as my way or the highway. But I've said many times that unity is not uniformity. not uniformity. Uniformity is is a is a cheap mockup of
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unity. Uniformity is a whitewash seepiler. Everybody looks the same. Everybody talks the same. we might as well wear
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uniforms. That is not unity. Unity is something that is inward. It's something that that touches the ambition and motivation of all of the people involved. Unity
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requires a common purpose and that is the faith of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Uniformity just requires a common outlook, outward appearance. And again,
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it's a cheap substitute. Well, in the same sense, disagreement need not be dissension. Disagreement is natural because we all
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now see as in a mirror dimly. And as we're in the word, as we're challenged to be Bereans and seek the scriptures, we do not always agree on one another's
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interpretation of this passage, that passage, of the typology of of this Old Testament event, or the tabernacle, or the festivals. We don't always agree.
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And so disagreement is natural. And disagreement seeks knowledge. Disagreement isn't, "Well, I just don't agree with you." That no, that's not the responsible disagreement. Disagreement
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is, "Well, I don't see it that way, but I'm going to keep studying." And the other person says, "Well, I do see it this way, but I'll keep studying, too." And so, disagreement is natural, and it
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seeks knowledge. seeks knowledge. Dissension is malicious
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Now, one might argue that there is a slippery so slope between disagreement and dissension. There need not be. Sometimes that slope is there
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and the leadership of the church pushes unsuspecting believers down it. by saying, "Well, if you disagree with me, then you are divisive."
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Okay? No, that that is that is not true. If you disagree with me, that only means you're human. you're human. We do not all see things the same way.
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That does not mean you're divisive. But in your own heart, you will know whether that disagreement has the danger of turning into dissension. Because as I said,
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dissension is malicious and it seeks disunityity. Dissension is a power play. Dissension seeks to undermine the established authority within the church.
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Dissension is not willing to allow disagreement to just run its course. It establishes disagreement as the basis of disunion.
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of disunion. And we've experienced that sadly far too often at Fellowship Bible Church. And I think it is the lot of many small independent churches that disagreement
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turns to dissension. But I will say as best as my ability and I know Mark's ability will allow, we do not view disagreement as dissension.
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So if there is dissension on issues of disagreement, you need to check your own hearts because that's maybe where it's coming
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However, having said that, this is what makes the fundamentals so important and I've mentioned many times over the years that some people make the mistake
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of making everything they believe a fundamental. So if they believe that they should operate differently on one day rather than the other six, that becomes a
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fundamental. If they believe they should sing only the psalms and not hymns, that becomes a fundamental. If they believe that women should not wear slacks but should wear dress, that's a fundamental.
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Everything I believe is a fundamental. go back and read Romans 14. And then when you're done, read Romans 14 and keep reading it until it gets
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through your thick skull that not everything is fundamental. I'm being facitious, but it's it's it's been my life for 35 years,
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and it's so frustrating. You want to almost in a Christian way slap people. This is not that important. This is not the essence of the gospel.
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It's your opinion. It's my opinion. We can disagree as brothers and sisters without dissension. We can actually disagree in harmony and in unity
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because we don't any of us know it all. And so feel free to disagree, but keep your hearts under guard. And do not let
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that disagreement in any way move toward dissension. In that disagreement, seek knowledge. Seek wisdom from God.
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Seek the light that the Holy Spirit brings upon his word. That's what you do in disagreement. in disagreement. Be humble both sides because if there's a disagreement,
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a disagreement, there is always the possibility that one is wrong and the other right or the other is wrong and the first one is right. But there's also the possibility that you're both wrong.
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You can't be both right. And so you be humble and that humility, but even more so that desire for unity within the body will ward off dissension
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and you'll be able to disagree in peace. You say, "Oh, you know, I just don't see it that way, but this is why I see it the way I see it." Oh, I didn't see that. Well, you got a good point there.
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And that's how iron sharpens iron and we we actually provide the the instrument for one another's increase in knowledge as we all search the scripture.
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But Paul mentions a certain type of people who are hindrances to the teaching which you have learned. We have had this phenomenon in
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Fellowship Bible Church. Again our type of church invites that type of person. a person who is seeking their own
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aggrandisement, their own recognition. And the method they use to do that is a very subtle and smooth and flattering
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undermining of the elders teaching. That's what you need to keep an eye out for. That's what the congregation needs to be
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watching for. and listening for. Not that they agree lock step with everything the elders say, but a subtle
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insidious undermining insidious undermining of that teaching, trying to bring in in a in a different way a teaching that runs contrary to the
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elders. If you don't agree with the teaching of the elders of any particular church, fundamentally don't agree, then you probably need to go to another church. But if you attach yourself to a body, a
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congregation, then you attach yourself to the form of teaching that the elders have set forth and propagate hopefully from God's word. Again, you do not have
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to agree on every point, but what Paul is saying, there are those who undermine. And he says, turn away from them. It's it's a very visible uh
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graphic picture that someone comes up to you after the service and that was a good sermon but turn away. turn away. Don't give them any the ears
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to hear the dissension being planted and sown in their mind and then in their hearts. If it continues, I think Paul is
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definitely addressing this to the body, to the believers, because elsewhere he talks about in his pastoral letters, if this continues, it becomes the
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responsibility of the shepherds to remove that person from the church. And that has also happened. Not for any unrepentant sin, not for any
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egregious wickedness, but simply because the person was continuing to subtly propagate a teaching fundamentally different than the elders. And that
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brings in dissension and division, rendering the whole congregation vulnerable. And so unity of purpose, harmony of walk
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is just so incredibly important to the church as an army that I if we would attain to this again, not without not not with
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uniformity, not with total agreement on every point, but rather with a common
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obedience. I don't know. I can't even imagine what be what would be the result. But I know what Paul says the result will be and that is the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet.
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I'd like to see what that looks like. I think it's pretty glorious. I think it redowns to the glory of Jesus Christ and to the blessing of his people.
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I have here in my notes the the fundamentals that we do have to agree on and honestly I don't really think I need to rehearse them but I'm going to anyhow. I think the authority of scripture that
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it is God breathed and it is that by which our faith is informed our faith is nourished and established. I think any any detraction from the
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scripture as authoritative is dangerous. is dangerous. That does not mean as I said before that our understanding of scripture is infallible. That is not the case. But I
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think the whole thing I don't think any of the other fundamentals really have anything to stand on if we don't first stand on the inspiration of scripture.
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How do we know about the virgin birth and the bodily resurrection of Christ? How do we understand the the doctrine of one God eternally existing in three equal persons?
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equal persons? These things come from the scripture. And so if we build upon the foundation of Jesus Christ using the building blocks of his word, then we are building
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according to the Lord and we can work together in harmony and unity. Other teachings may be of fundamental
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importance depending on how they're handled. In Paul's day, that issue was circumcision. He didn't have a problem with circumcision as long as it was being done by Jewish
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Christians. He didn't oppose it. In fact, he circumcised Timothy circumcised Timothy because Timothy's mother was Jewish. Her father was gentile. And so in order not to cause offense in his ministry, he had
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he had Timothy circumcised. So it wasn't the issue of circumcision. It was when circumcision was made to be an essential part of the gospel that it became a fundamental issue. And and so we have to
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ask God for wisdom to understand and discern first of all to know without doubt and firmly those things that are
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non-negotiable. And then the next level those things that are adapora they are matters indifferent but they can become important when someone tries to make of
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them essential gospel teaching in which case Paul says some things like I wish they would mutilate themselves. He gets pretty upset when people start to do
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that. So I would submit to you that harmony and unity does come from humbly submitting to the form of teaching that is established by the elders of the
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church. Again that does not mean fully agreeing but rather submitting and recognizing that God has established an authority within the church for the dissemination
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of scriptural doctrine and for ecclesiastical p practice. I hope that you trust that your elders are seeking the guidance of the Holy
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Spirit in his word in these matters. But if you reserve the very American attitude of independence in thought and in
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action, there will never be biblical unity and harmony here or anywhere else. We do not live in a society
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The Arabic word for submission is, I believe, Islam. And we don't want to live like that. Now, I don't want to live like that
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either. But Paul says to the Romans, "The reputation of your obedience is known to all." And and he's so confident in this church that he can say, "The God of peace will
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soon crush Satan under your feet because of their obedience." Obedience is a characteristic of the people of God.
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We begin by obeying our parents. one of the ten commandments, the fifth commandment. Paul modifies that we obey our parents in the Lord.
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We also obey our magistrates, our government. And yet we can say as a caveat that we must obey God rather than man. You see, in Christ with the Holy
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Spirit within us, we now we now have caveats. We have we might say exceptions. And boy, do we love exceptions. I obey my parents as long as they're in the Lord. Well, yeah. Okay. I
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obey my government. Well, unless they in some way try to command me to disobey God. No, I must obey God rather than men. Obedience to our elders because they are
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the ones who must give an account for the care of your souls. And then finally, obedience to God. But I would submit to you that our obedience of God
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is most powerfully manifested in those other three areas. And that if we are disobedient to our parents, if we are disobedient to our government, if we are disobedient to our
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elders, we are disobedient to God. And again, that renders us vulnerable to Satan. We are not powerful because we are not united. We are not united
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because we're not obedient. And so the reputation of our obedience, what is it? What what would Paul say about the reputation of our obedience? Would he
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say that it's known to all? I I do believe that even a congregation of our size could become renowned for its obedience.
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Its obedience in all manners of life as God has ordained it in his word. Because those little obediences in our life are fundamentally, collectively obedience to
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our God, obedience to his word. And I would submit to you by Paul's writings that an obedient congregation
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is undefeable, indeathicable. Satan looks at it, I think, and says, "I think I'll try somewhere else." I think
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he goes for lowhanging fruit. And frankly, I'd like this congregation to be at the top of the tree, well out of his reach,
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submit to God, and resist the devil. That is what we are exhorted to do, and he will crush
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Satan under our feet. Now, I think this passage, verse 20, as we close looking at it, it's clearly an illusion to Genesis 3, referring to the promise of the seed of woman, who is Jesus Christ,
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who will crush the serpent's head. I don't I don't think it's it's arguable or debatable that that what Paul is thinking of, but his application of it to the congregations in Rome is quite
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remarkable. I do not think he's talking about the Peruseia. I do not think there's anything in the context that indicates that he's looking at some later date, some tribulation or rapture
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or whatever. or whatever. I think in the context, he's looking at the way we live our lives. We are eyes open to those who would do any damage to
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the unity and harmony of the church. And we are vigorous in our obedience as commanded by God to all manner of authority that he has established.
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knowing that in that situation we are all as soldiers together united and ready for the onslaught that Satan might bring.
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But I don't think we need a def to look at it as a defensive position. This is very offensive, very active. God will crush Satan under our feet.
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a unified church, obedient to God's word, keeping in step with his holy spirit and striving with one mind for the faith of the gospel.
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Where those things are, God will shortly crush Satan under that congregation's feet. congregation's feet. Let us pray.
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Father, these words sound almost too good to be to be true. A description of victory that is beyond our wildest dreams. But you are the God
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who does exceedingly above anything we could hope or think. And yet you show us the way. You show us that if we would live
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not considering our own interests but rather the interests of one another, if we would live in unity of purpose, harmony of the Holy Spirit,
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that you would crush Satan under our feet. We do not know what that would look like, but know that it cannot be anything but
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incredible blessing and glory to you through Jesus Christ. So, Father, we ask that your Holy Spirit would take these words of Paul and plant
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them deep within our hearts and then nourish them and water them with other scriptures, with the encouragement of our brethren, with the
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fellowship, with the praise, the singing, the prayers, all of those means of grace by which our knowledge of you grows
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until it brings forth a harvest to your glory. through Jesus Christ. For we ask in his name. Amen.
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Please rise for the benediction from Ephesians chapter 6. Peace be to the brethren and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord
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Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love
