Sunday, April 1st, 2012 – Palm Sunday
Romans 16:17-27
“The Power of Dissent”
Background Information:
- In the preceding verse he has instructed the addressed to greet one another “with a holy kiss.” This kiss was clearly a token of love, unity, harmony. So now in verse 17 he warns the congregation to watch out for people whose purpose it is to disturb this harmony and to create divisions. (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 510)
- The last word in the Book of Romans is simply “Amen.” It does not convey the idea of “I hope, wish, or think this is true.” Rather, it expresses the deep conviction that “I believe it is true!” Do you believe what we have studied? If not, then you are still lost in your sin. You need to embrace the truths in this letter and place your trust in Jesus Christ. (Charles R. Swindoll, Relating to Others in Love: Romans 12-16, 78)
- (V. 17) The older version reads, “I beseech you”; the more modern translation is, “I appeal to you.” The Greek word is a strong one, in fact, a military term at times, “I summon you.” (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Glory, 139)
- (V. 17) Skopeō (keep your eye on) carries the idea of looking at or observing with intensity. It is from the noun form of that word that we get the scope in telescope and microscope. It means more than simply to look at, but to examine and scrutinize carefully. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 372)
- (V. 19) The Greek verb for hear is akouo, and the word for obey is hupakouo. . . Thus in a very literal sense obedience is simply under-hearing–getting under what you have heard and doing something with it. (Donald Grey Barnhouse, God’s Glory, 145)
- (24) The best on the ancient manuscripts on the book of Romans do not include verse 24.
- (V. 25) This mystery (mustērion) does not carry the connotation that word has in modern English, as used, for example, of a mystery novel. In the NT it refers to something hidden in former times but now made known. Specifically, it refers to a part of God’s truth that was not revealed, or was only partially revealed, in the OT. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 386)
Personalities:
- TIMOTHY: If anybody deserved to be called Paul’s “fellow-worker,” that person was Timothy. For the last eight years Timothy had been Paul’s constant traveling companion and had undertaken several special missions at Paul’s request. (John Stott, Romans, God’s Good News for the World, 401)
- The first is Timothy, a choice fellow worker and protégé. Paul reminded the church at Philippi, “You know of his [Timothy’s] proven worth that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father” (Phil 2:22). He commends, praises, and gives thanks for Timothy twice in 1 Corinthians (4:17; 16:10-11), once in 1 Thessalonians (3:2), and numerous times in his two letters to that beloved fellow worker. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 378)
- LUCIUS: Lucius may be the native of Cyrene who was one of the prophets and teachers in Antioch who, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, first commissioned Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:1-3). (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 378)
- This Lucius has sometimes been identified with Lucius of Cyrene, a prophet/teacher in the church at Syrian Antioch (Acts 13:1), or with Luke the Evangelist (“Luke” can be a variant of “Lucius”). But the name was common, and neither identification is likely. (Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Vol. 3, 94)
- JASON: This Jason is likely the same person who gave Paul shelter during the tumult in Thessalonica (Acts 17:5-9). (Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Vol. 3, 94)
- SOSIPATER: One of the first converts in Thessalonica was named Jason and apparently hosted Paul in his home for a short while before the believers there sent Paul and Silas to Berea for their safety (Acts 17:5-10). We learn from Acts 20:4-6 that a man from Berea named Sopater (a shortened form of Sosipater) was among the companions of Paul who met him at Troas after he left Ephesus. Sopater doubtless was among the Jews in Berea who “were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things [that Paul preached] were so,” and was among the “many of them [who] therefore believed” (Acts 17:10-12). The fact that the Jason and Sopater mentioned in Acts were from neighboring towns that Paul visited in succession gives strong support to the view that they are the Jason and Sosipater mentioned here, and that they not only were close friends of Paul but of each other. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 378-79)
- Sosipater is a variant of “Sopater,” the name of a man from Berea who accompanied Paul when he left Greece at the end of his third missionary journey (Acts 20:4). (Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Vol. 3, 94)
- TERTIUS: Tertius, was Paul’s secretary, or amanuensis, who penned this letter that Paul dictated to him, and who here inserts his own greeting. The fact that Paul states that “the greeting is in my own hand–Paul,” indicates that the main body of 1 Corinthians also was written for him (see 16:19-21). His saying, “See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand,” may mean that he personally penned only the closing verses of Galatians (see 6:11). Just as Phoebe had the great privilege of delivering the book of Romans, Tertius had the great privilege of writing it for Paul. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 379)
- GAIUS: Gaius was a host to Paul as well as to the whole church, probably referring to a congregation that met in his house. Because the book of Romans was written from Corinth, this Gaius almost certainly was among the many believers in Corinth who came to faith in Christ through the ministry of Paul and was one of the two men in that church whom Paul had baptized personally (1 Cor 1:14). (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 379)
- ERASTUS: Erastus was the city treasurer of Corinth and therefore a man of prominence and high political office. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 379)
- Erastus may be the same Erastus referred to in Acts 19:21-22 (cf. 2 Tm 4:20). But an inscription has been discovered in Corinth that refers to an Erastus who was an aedile of the city. This title may be equivalent to Paul’s oikonomos (NIV “director of public works”). Even if the two are not identical, Erastus may have first served as oikonomos before being promoted to aedile. (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 513)
- QUARTUS: The last individual Paul lists is “Quartus, the brother” (v. 23c). His name is Latin for “fourth,” while Tertius’ name also stands as the Latin designation for “third.” This may mean that Quartus and Tertius were brothers, their names indicating the order in which they were born into their family. The similarity may also suggest that they were slaves, for in the Roman system, slaves were given numbers for identification. If this was the case, then it is likely that they were being loaned out to Paul by their owner. So Paul was not only encouraged by city officials; he was also supported by common slaves. This demonstrates that where grace abounds, classifications diminish in significance. All Christians are important to God regardless of their status in life. (Charles R. Swindoll, Relating to Others in Love: Romans 12-16, 73)
- When reading the book of Romans, one suspects that Paul has trouble getting through his farewells. There are at least five places where one might think Paul is wrapping up his epistle: 8:39; 11:36; 13:14; 15:13, 33. Apparently his deep commitment to his ministry, and his compassion for the believers in Rome prompts Paul to add “just one more thought” to his letter. (Clarence L. Bence, Romans, A Commentary for Bible Students, 244-45)
The question to be answered is . . . What are Paul’s final concerns as he wraps up this earth changing letter to the Romans?
Answer: First: recognize, avoid and reject those who are opposed to the Gospel. Second, be wise in your knowledge concerning the Gospel. Third, realize the ultimate destruction of Satan in the Gospel. Fourth, the Gospel will establish and secure those who believe. Finally, the Gospel initiates doxology.
The secondary question to be answered is . . . What in the world was Pastor Keith thinking trying to make Romans 16:17-27 as a Palm Sunday text?
Secondary answer: First, Only God knows what goes through Pastor Keith’s mind. But, in Romans 16:17-27 Paul is trying to warn the Roman Church about the hazards of rejecting the Gospel. What could be more natural than to talk about the hazards of rejecting Jesus, which is exactly what took place from Palm Sunday to Good Friday? The crowd of Palm Sunday made all the right confessions about Jesus and His identity and his work. But, as we can see in the rest of the story, they really did not believe what they confessed. By Friday, they want nothing to do with their “Savior”.
The Word for the Day is . . . Gospel
What are Paul’s final concerns as he wraps up this earth changing letter to the Romans?
I. Recognize, avoid and reject those who are opposed to the Gospel. (Rom 16:17; see also: Mt 7:15-16; 18:6; 24:11, 24; Mk 13:22-23; Acts 20:27-32; 1 Cor 16:13-14; 2 Cor 11:13-15; Gal 1:6-9; Phil 3:18-19; Col 2:18-23; 1 Tim 1:3-4; 6:3-5; 2 Tim 2:22-23; 3:1-17; Tit 3:9-11; 2 Jn 4-11; Jude 11-16)
“It is not strange to see that the most dangerous heretics have many followers; every error being a friend to some lust.” — Alexander Nesbit as quoted by Alistair Begg in a sermon “False Teachers Among You” – Part 1
The man who makes it harder for someone else to be a Christian also has much to answer for. The man whose conduct is a bad example, whose influence is an evil snare, whose teaching dilutes or emasculates the Christian faith which he pretends to teach, will someday bear his own punishment; and it will not be light, for Jesus was stern to any man who caused one of his little ones to stumble. (William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series: Romans, 218)
When apostolic teaching is attacked within the church, it is our duty to stand up for the truth of the Scriptures, and if a division comes as a result of it, the cause of that division must be laid to rest on the shoulders of those who deviate from the apostolic truth. It is not just a case of deciding who is the majority and who is the minority. Those responsible for dividing the body of Christ will be judged by God, and that judgment will be against those who have departed from the apostolic teaching. If you ever are involved in bringing divisions in any way in the body of Christ, you had better make very sure that you are standing on the side of the Scripture and not against the Scriptures. (RC Sproul, The Gospel of God: Romans, 253)
Jesus had told the disciples that false teachers would come (Mt 24:11; Mk 13:22-23). Just as false prophets had contradicted the true prophets in OT times (for example, see Jer 23:16-40; 28:1-17), telling people only what they wanted to hear, so false teachers were twisting Christ’s teachings and the words of his apostles. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 293)
The false teachers were motivated by their own interests rather than Christ’s. They embroiled the church in endless and irrelevant questions and controversies, taking precious time away from the study of the truth. Today we could also enter into worthless and irrelevant discussions, but such disputes quickly crowd out the life-changing message of Christ. We must stay away from religious speculation and pointless theological arguments. Such exercises may seem harmless at first, but they have a way of sidetracking us from the central message of the gospel–the person and work of Jesus Christ. And they expend time we should use to share the gospel with others. We should avoid anything that keeps us from doing God’s work. (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 293)
Nowhere does the apostle say or imply that these troublemakers were members of the Roman church. They were probably outsiders, traveling propangandists of error. (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 510)
Does “their own bellies” necessarily mean that these disturbers are all libertines, sensualists? Probably not, for in that case the warning would be directed against only one kind of troublemakers. The real meaning is therefore probably, “self-servers of any description, people who are slaves of their own ego.” Whether they be Judaizers, antinomians, ascetics, or what not, how they love to hear themselves talk! They are filled with an exalted opinion of themselves (cf. Col 2:18, 23). They are living “according to the flesh,” allowing their lives to be determined by the cravings of their sinful human nature (cf. Rom 8:4, 5). (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 511)
We would be amiss if we understood Paul’s instruction here to mean that Christians should have no contact with non-Christians. This interpretation is flatly contradicted by the example of Jesus and the teaching of Scripture. Christ spend a good deal of His earthly ministry with unbelievers of diverse backgrounds and religious persuasions. Indeed, He associated with them so much that He gained the reputation of being “a gluttonous man and a drunkard; a friend of tax-gatherers and sinners’” (Mt 11:19b; cf. Lk 5:29-32). In the Bible, we are encouraged to develop relationships with non-Christians (for example, see Mt 28:19; Jn 20:21-23; Acts 1:8, 8:26-40, 9:1-22). One of the clearest passages in this regard is 1 Cor 5. (Charles R. Swindoll, Relating to Others in Love: Romans 12-16, 67)
We can know that trouble is brewing when we observe any of these three signs: (1) dissension in the church, (2) disobedience to the Scriptures, and (3) deception from the heart. (Charles R. Swindoll, Relating to Others in Love: Romans 12-16, 68)
What we do know is that his fears were not groundless. When he finally did get to Rome he found precisely what he had warned them against. Paul wrote to the Philippians, saying, “Some [here] preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of good will. The latter do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains” (Phil 1:15-17). (James Montgomery Boice, Romans, Vol. 4, The New Humanity, 1928)
Paul is not talking about hair splitting over minor interpretations, or about immature believers who are divisive because of personal preferences, as disruptive and damaging as those things can be. We are to “shun foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless” (Ti 3:9). We are to “refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels” (2 Tm 2:23). Paul is here talking about something immeasurably more serious. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 372)
We are to turn away from them, to reject what they teach and to protect fellow believers, especially new converts and the immature, from being deceived, confused, and misled. Paul often argued and debated with unbelievers, both Jew and Gentile. While in Athens, he “was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and the market place every day with those who happened to be present,” including Greek philosophers (Acts 17:16-17; cf. 9;29; 17:2; 18:4; 19:8-9). He did not, however, provide a platform for those who professed Christ but taught a false and perverted gospel. Such people are not to be debated but denounced. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 373)
No matter how seemingly sincere and caring false teachers or preachers may appear to be, they are never genuinely concerned for the cause of Christ or for His church. They are driven by self-interest and self-gratification–sometimes for fame, sometimes for power over their followers, always for financial gain, and frequently for all of those reasons. Many of them enjoy pretentious and luxurious life-styles, and sexual immorality is the rule more than the exception. Such people “are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things” (Phil 3:18-19). (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 374-75)
Paul does not elsewhere launch into a warning about false teachers in the conclusion of a letter. But he does issue exhortations and warnings that may presume their presence (e.g., 1 Cor 16:13-14; 2 Cor 13:11; Col 4:17). It is a greater mystery why he waits until the very end of Romans to issue such a warning. Possibly he waits until now because the false teachers have not yet arrived on the scene, or because he only hears about the threat as he is finishing the letter. (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 511)
Paul’s message about the false teachers reiterates what is said almost everywhere in the NT on such people. What we have is a stock profile of typical false teachers. In addition to errors in doctrine, Paul says three things about them: (1) They serve themselves rather than Christ; (2) they are crafty and effective speakers; and (3) they create divisions in the church. Paul, in other words, describes the motives, the means, and the results of their ministry. (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 515)
Paul is writing to warn those who are exposed to danger rather than to rescue those who have already succumbed. He is confident–though not without a touch of anxiety–because the faithfulness and stability of his correspondents have made them known throughout the Christian world. Still, those who are forewarned are forearmed, and once again there creeps into Paul’s writing a touch of the pastoral concern which is so strongly marked in so many of his letters. (Abingdon Press, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, 663)
Now this is the most alarming thing that we can ever realize about ourselves. Every one of us is subject to prejudice. There is not one of us that is free from it; the devil sees to that. And the prejudices are almost endless in number. So that when we come to the Scriptures we come with a prejudiced eye and we see what we want to see. That is what the heretics have always done, is it not? They have always quoted Scripture. Some of the modern heretics quote a little Scripture, not much, but even they do try to quote a little. And, if you take the Scriptures with their prejudiced mind and understanding you can make them prove almost anything you like. So the Jews were perfectly happy about themselves, because it seemed to them that the Scriptures everywhere were saying that they alone were saved and that everybody else was lost; whereas the truth was that they were lost and others were saved.
We must always beware of prejudice. We must never read the Scriptures without praying. We should never approach them without asking the Holy Spirit to lead us and to guide us and to direct us. We should deliberately humble ourselves, we should talk to ourselves and say, Now why am I going to the Scriptures? Am I going there only to find arguments to support my case, or am I going there to be instructed, to be enlightened, to have my eyes opened to the truth of God? We should always try to come as little children and be ready to find that we are wrong. (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Romans, Exposition of Chapter 9, 321)
II. Be wise in your knowledge concerning the Gospel. (Rom 16:19; see also: Mt 10:16-17; Acts 17:10-11; 1 Cor 3:1-3; Col 2:1-5; 1 Thess 5:21-22; 2 Tim 2:15; Heb 5:12-14)
“Ignorance is the mark of the heathen
Knowledge is the mark of the Church
Conceit is the mark of the heretic” -Clement of Alexandria – approx 250 AD
It is a gospel which is the consummation of history. It is something which was there from all ages and which at the coming of Christ was revealed to the world. With the coming of Jesus something unique happened, eternity invaded time and God emerged on earth. His coming was the event to which all history was working up and the event from which all subsequent history flows. After the coming of Christ the world could never be the same again. It was the central fact of history, so that men date time in terms of before and after Christ’s birth. It is as if with his coming life and the world began all over again. (William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series: Romans, 222)
It is a gospel which issues in an obedient world, a world where God is King. But that obedience is not founded on submission to an iron law, which breaks the man who opposes it; it is an obedience founded on faith, on a surrender which is the result of love. For Paul the Christian is not a man who has surrendered to an ineluctable power; he is a man who has fallen in love with the God who is the lover of the souls of men and whose love stands for ever full-displayed in Jesus Christ. (William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible Series: Romans, 222)
Parts of that gospel were a mystery for many ages, hidden in the OT (see also Eph 3:8-11; Col 1:25-27). (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 295)
The prophets who wrote various books of the OT were not fully aware of the meaning of their own words; but they wrote, at God’s command, much about the fulfillment of the mystery–the coming of the Messiah, the salvation of the Gentiles, and the return of the Jews (see 11:25). Now, after the coming of Christ and the growth of the church, what they wrote is being understood (1:2). (See also Lk 24:44-45; 1 Pt 1:10-12). (Bruce B. Barton, Life Application Bible Commentary: Romans, 295)
This passage immediately calls to mind several other Pauline texts; such as, 1 Cor 14:20; Phil 2:15; and 1 Thes 5:21, 22; as well as the familiar saying of Jesus, “Therefore be keen as the serpents, guileless as the doves” (Mt 10:16), which, however, does not mean that Paul was necessarily quoting Jesus.
The wisdom Paul here advocates is more than knowledgeability. It is a spiritual as well as a mental quality. Cf. 11:33. It results from sanctified experience. Paul wants the Romans to live in such a manner that they will be equal to the task of choosing what is good in the eyes of God, and that they will be innocent or guileless about what is evil. They should be wise for the purpose of doing and promoting what is right, and should not get “mixed up” with anything that, in God’s sight, is wrong. (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 511-12)
His glory is the visible manifestation of His character. The fullest revelation of the Lord’s glory is Jesus Christ. As the Gospel of John states, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn 1:14). (Charles R. Swindoll, Relating to Others in Love: Romans 12-16, 77)
The difficult question, of course, is how does one distinguish between deceptive error and honest disagreement? Paul does not spell out in detail how to discern the difference. He offers instead some rather common-sense advice: Be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil (v. 19). Well-intended believers have more than once felt they needed to know all the details and innuendoes of some particular evil–whether the matter dealt with false doctrine or immoral behavior. In the name of becoming “experts” on the matter, they have risked their spiritual well-being and sometimes “have shipwrecked their faith” (1 Tm 1:19) by probing the depths of matters where ignorance (or at least innocence) might have been more advised.
At the same time, many Christians take righteousness for granted and do not explore the significance of goodness and the disciplines that foster holy living. To be wise about what is good requires “the renewing of [one’s] mind” (Rom 12:2) and a thought life oriented toward “whatever is true…noble…right…pure…lovely…[and] admirable” (Phil 4:8). Paul notes that the believers in Rome have earned a reputation for their obedience (Rom 16:19) that corresponds to a similar reputation for their faith (1:8). If only congregations of believers today would be noted above all for these two qualities–obedience and faith. (Clarence L. Bence, Romans, A Commentary for Bible Students, 245)
Paul urges the Romans to grow in discernment. On the whole he is very pleased with them. Everyone has heard about your obedience, he says, so I am full of joy over you (19a). Nevertheless, there are two kinds of obedience, blind and discerning, and he longs for them to develop the latter: but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil (19b). To be wise in regard to good is to recognize it, love it and follow it. With regard to evil, however, he wants them to be unsophisticated, even guileless, so completely should they shy away from any experience of it. J. B. Phillips captures the contrast well: “I want to see you experts in good, and not even beginners in evil.” (John Stott, Romans, God’s Good News for the World, 400)
The word Paul uses here is skandalon, from which we get our word “scandal.” He is not thinking of scandalous behavior, though that is also often a problem, but rather of adding things to the gospel that get in the way of those who are merely trying to obey the Bible and follow Jesus Christ. (James Montgomery Boice, Romans, Vol. 4, The New Humanity, 1929)
No institution or movement can rightly claim unity in Christ if they are not unified in and by His Word. Whatever spiritual unity they may have is based on the spirit of this age, which is satanic, not godly. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 372)
The only reliable way to recognize evil is to be thoroughly familiar with the good, and the only reliable way to learn what is good is to learn God’s Word. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 377)
There are many Christians who do not want to be engaged in a laborious study of the Word of God. They say that they want to keep their faith simple and childlike, but there is a difference between a childlike faith and a childish faith. We are to be childlike in terms of our acquiescence to the authority of God, but we are to be adults in our understanding. The Christians of the NT were rebuked to being satisfied with spiritual infancy, with milk, when they should have been seeking after the deeper things of God, the meat of the Word (1 Cor 3:2; Heb 5:12). All we have been examining in Romans is not pabulum. We have been looking at the weightier things of God’s Word so that we might not be simple in our understanding. (RC Sproul, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary: Romans, 507)
Self-gratification as a key principle of morality is the matching heresy to self-determination as a key principle of theology. We decide what is right for us to do by an appeal to our feelings, and we decide what is right for us to believe by an appeal to our preferences. It ought not to be necessary for anyone to have to observe that these are not Christian options. (Harry Blamires, Recovering the Christian Mind, 130)
III. Realize the ultimate destruction of Satan in the Gospel. (Rom 16:20; see also: Lk 10:18; Jn 12:31; Rom 8:31, 37; Eph 6:10-20; Col 2:15; 2 Thess 2:8; Jas 4:7-10; Heb 2:8; 1 Pt 5:8-9; 1 Jn 4:4; Rv 20:2, 10-15)
The devil will not experience even brief victories over Christians who refuse to fall prey to his enticements and who apply God’s counsel in Scripture. This is true for all believers. We do not have to be intimidated by a foe who has already lost the war. If we stand firm in obedience to God, we will find His resources sufficient to trod down our archenemy Satan. (Charles R. Swindoll, Relating to Others in Love: Romans 12-16, 71)
One would expect God to crush Satan under His feet. But, in another twist in the text, Paul informs the believers in Rome that it will be their feet that God will use to bring about this great end to evil. The mystery of the gospel is that God chooses to use fallen (and redeemed) creatures to accomplish His plan for the ages. Jesus heard the accounts of the disciples he had sent out to share the good news and revealed to them that he “saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Lk 10:18). What power God is willing to divest into the hands of His followers when they live by faith and obedience! (Clarence L. Bence, Romans, A Commentary for Bible Students, 246)
It may seem strange that in the context Paul refers to “the God of peace” (as in 15:33), since enjoying peace and crushing Satan do not sound altogether compatible with each other. But God’s peace allows no appeasement of the devil. It is only through the destruction of evil that true peace can be attained.
Probably there is an allusion to Gn 3:15, where God promised that the seed of the woman (namely the Christ) would crush the serpent’s head. But there is surely a further reference to man, male and female, whom God created and to whom he gave dominion. As the psalmist put it, God has “put everything under his feet.” So far this has been fulfilled only in Christ, since God has put “all things under his feet.” Yet still his exaltation is incomplete, for, while he reigns, he also waits for his enemies to be made his footstool. That this will happen “soon” is not necessarily a time reference, but rather a statement that God has planned nothing to occupy the space between the ascension and the parousia. (John Stott, Romans, God’s Good News for the World, 401)
When believers are determined to be of one mind and heart in their fellowship, and refuse to be moved from that position, they have the devil under their feet. Satan is powerless to divide when Christians agree as one to maintain the unity of their fellowship. As long as he is not allowed to divide them with false doctrines and contrary teachings, the believers have their foot on his neck. Paul closes the epistle by invoking the grace of the Lord without which the church at Rome could not hope to deal with the adversary. (C. S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on Romans, 408)
This crushing of Satan has to do with our victory in the sphere of the knowledge of good and evil, the same sphere in which sin first came to Eve and Adam. And it has to do with our knowing and pursuing the good, regardless of the pain Satan or his followers may cause us because of it. (James Montgomery Boice, Romans, Vol. 4, The New Humanity, 1941)
To find your antagonist under your feet was the imagery for a complete and unquestioned triumph. The day of final victory to which the writer to the Hebrews refers is a day when all things shall be put “in subjection under his feet” (Heb 2:8). It is a moral victory of this dramatic finality to which Paul looks forward. (Abingdon Press, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, 665)
IV. The Gospel of Jesus Christ will establish and secure those who believe. (Rom 16:25; see also: Mt 7:24-27; 12:25-26; 16:18; Acts 20:32; Rom 5:1-2; 14:4; 15:2; 1 Cor 14:12; 16:13; 2 Cor 1:21-24; 5:1; 9:8; Gal 5:1; Eph 2:11-22; 3:16-19; 4:7-16; 6:10-20; Phil 1:6, 27; 4:1; Col 2:6-10; 1 Thess 5:11; 2 Tm 1:12; Jas 5:8; 2 Pt 1:10-12; 1 Jn 4:1-7; Jude 24)
It is fitting that the Magna Charta of the Christian faith end with a glorious tribute to its divine Author, Paul, the inspired human writer, breaks forth with words of encouragement and assurance that point to God as their source, support, and goal. The largest portion of this benediction focuses on four truths concerning the almighty Lord and His plan for man.
A. The Giver of Stability (v. 25a). The Greek term translated to establish means “to prop up, make firm, make stable.”
B. The Revealer of the Gospel (vv. 25a-26a). Paul is saying that the content of the gospel is the teaching of Christ. And since Jesus taught that He is the focal point and summation of God’s revelation to man (Lk 24:27; Jn 5:39, 46-47), then He must be the central revelation of the Triune God (cf. Jn 1:18, Heb 1:1-3a). In other words, the Father has always unveiled Himself to man through His Son in the power of the Spirit. Therefore, the only way anyone can come to God is through Jesus Christ.
C. The Proclaimer to the Nations (v. 26b). Since the Savior’s focus is on the world, ours should be also. His mandate is that we proclaim the message of salvation by faith through Christ alone to everyone (Mt 28:19-20). Some will believe, and others will not. Our job is not to pick and choose to whom we will share. Rather, God calls on us to faithfully declare the good news and consistently apply it wherever we are.
D. The Initiator of Obedience (v. 26c). (Charles R. Swindoll, Relating to Others in Love: Romans 12-16, 75-76)
Here, despite the warning, the apostle affirms his confidence that his readers will be able to handle the situation (cf. A similar expression in 15:14 after dealing with the weak and the strong). This assurance is based chiefly on their “obedience” (cf. 1:5; 6:16), which is so well known in the church at large as to make it almost inconceivable that there will be a failure in the matter under discussion. An appeal to one’s record always puts a person on his mettle. So Paul strikes a balance: on the one hand, he has joy as he thinks of the good name of this congregation; on the other hand, he wants to make sure that they are discerning, able to spot trouble and avoid falling into it. (Frank E. Gæbelein, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Vol. 10, 167-68)
When Paul began this letter, he said he longed to visit the Romans that he might impart to them some spiritual gift (1:11). The reason he wanted them to have this gift, he said, was that they might be ESTABLISHED in the faith. Now here he is at the end of this same letter commending the Romans to God that HE might establish them. Why is Paul so urgent about their being established? In the Gk. text “establish” is a builder’s word, i.e., it has to do with a house being lined up squarely with the street on which it is being built. What Paul means then, is that he wants the Romans lined up squarely with God’s program. (C. S. Lovett, Lovett’s Lights on Romans, 409-10)
Believers in Rome were protected against false teachers by their obedience to Christ and the truth of His gospel. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 376)
Through the gospel, God is able to establish the minds and hearts of believers in the truth, to settle us, ground us, and make us firm in Him. No one but a Christian can be certain about God, certain about His truth, certain about His standards of righteousness, certain about His love and care, or certain about being with Him throughout eternity. Only the genuinely converted can truthfully say with Paul, “I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” (2 Tm 1:12). The apostle assured the Corinthian Christians that “God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed” (2 Cor 9:8). (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 383-84)
He frequently uses the term edification. It is a term borrowed from the building industry. The teaching of our Lord at the end of the Sermon on the Mount warns against building a house upon the sand. Those who do so will find that when the floods come the house will be swept away because its edifice had not been established. By the same token, Jesus said, the wise man is one who builds his house upon a rock so that when the storms come and beat against it, the house stands (Mt 7:24-27). We are warned not to be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. As we grow in grace, as our sanctification proceeds, we are to be edified and built up to the point at which our faith, our character, and our devotion are established (Eph 4:11-13). (RC Sproul, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary: Romans, 508)
Their very sincerity and desire to obey may make them easy prey for false teachers. (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 512)
In a world where wolves often wear sheep’s clothing we need alertness and discernment if we are to avoid being deceived. The wisdom which Paul commends is a practical quality, shrewd to discriminate between what is really good and what is so in appearance only. “All that glitters is not gold”–the proverb has a moral as well as a material application. It is easy to be content with a standard of goodness which a more penetrating insight would perceive to be insufficient or even positively harmful. But unfortunately shrewdness of insight often degenerates into nothing higher than cynicism. Because we can pierce the false front of specious goodness, we dismiss even authentic virtue as a sham. When that happens, we have fallen pray to the guile of evil. Paul is not discussing the innocence which is ignorant of evil; he is concerned with the outlook which knows what is wrong and remains uncontaminated by it. And this is a virtue even harder to acquire than the wisdom which he has just commended. It is easier to recognize the good and remain untouched than it is to know the wrong and remain unchanged. One cannot read his words without calling to mind the parallel saying of Jesus (Mt 10:16). The cynic has remarked that in practice Christians are often as wise as doves and as harmless as serpents. It is to avoid that kind of perversion of our values that Paul is appealing to his readers. (Abingdon Press, The Interpreter’s Bible, Vol. IX, 664)
V. The Gospel initiates doxology (Rom 16:25-27; see also: Rom 11:33-34; Lk 1:39-56; 19:37-38)
Theology must become doxology! (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Romans, 310)
The NT is replete with doxologies. At the birth of Jesus, the angel and “a multitude of the heavenly host [were] praising God, saying, “Glory to God in the highest” (Lk 2:13-14). When Christ made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, “the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, saying, ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven and glory in the highest!’” (Lk 19:37-38). (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 382)
Theology, the “study of God,” is not an intellectual pastime. Nor is it only for the good of the church. Its ultimate purpose is to enable God’s people to glorify him more effectively and more passionately because they have learned more about him. (Douglas J. Moo, The NIV Application Commentary: Romans, 516)
CONCLUSION/APPLICATION: How does this relate to Palm Sunday and to us today?:
A- Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of David, the King. The Gospel depends on His leadership, His guidance and His authority. (see: Lk 19:38; Mt 1:1; 8:19-20; 9:27; 12:23; 20:30-34; 21:9-16; 22:42-46; 26:63; 27:11; Lk 18:38-43; 20:41-47; 2 Tm 2:8; 2 Pt 3:18 )
The only gospel of God that establishes men is the gospel that proclaims Jesus Christ. The major theme of Romans, like the major theme of all Scripture, is Jesus Christ. The preaching of Jesus Christ was Paul’s supreme life commitment. (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 385)
B- Jesus is the Lamb of God. The Gospel depends on His atonement, His shed blood, His work of justification. (see: Isa 53; Jn 1:29, 36; Rom 3:21-26; 5:1, 8-15; 1 Cor 6:11; Gal 2:15-20; 3:24; Phil 3:7-10; Eph 2:13; 1 Pt 2:21-24; Rev 1:5; 5:6-14)
C- Jesus is the one who comes in the Name of the Lord. The Gospel depends on His credentials as God, man, and perfect Redeemer. (see: Mt 1:21-23; 21:9; 23:39; Mk 11:9; 15:39; Lk 2:11; 13:35; 19:38; Jn 1:1-14; 3:16; 12:13; Acts 2:21; 8:16; Rom 8:3; 10:13; 2 Cor 5:19-21; 1 Tm 2:5)
D- Jesus is the one to whom we cry, “Hosanna” (save us). The Gospel depends upon Jesus’ ability to save us in every arena of our lives. (see: Mt 1:21; 10:22; 16:25; 21:9; 24:13; Mk 8:35; 11:9-10; 13:13; Lk 7:50; 9:24; 19:10; Jn 3:17; 10:9; 12:13; Acts 2:21; 4:12; 16:31; Rom 1:16-17; 5:9-10; 10:9-13; 1 Thess 5:9; 1 Tm 1:15; 2:3-4; 2 Tm 3:14-15; Tit 2:11; Heb 2:1-3; 5:8-9; 9:27-28; 1 Pt 1:3-13; 2 :2-3; Rv 7:10)
The Gospel shows us, not only the seriousness of our sin; but also the sinfulness of our seriousness. From a sermon by Tim Keller entitled “The Holy One: His Holiness” 22:15 into the sermon
E- Jesus is the Christ, the Savior of the world. To reject Him is fatal. (see: John 3:16-21; Act 4:12)
Worship point: To the extent we know and understand the Gospel will be to the extent our worship will be of Spirit and of Truth. Worship without an intimate knowledge of the Gospel will tend to be superficial, contentless, apathetic, indifferent and/or without commitment.
Spiritual Challenge: Know the Gospel. Defend the Gospel. Live the Gospel. Promote the Gospel.
As in 2:16 and 2 Tm 2:8, so also here, Paul has a right to describe the good news as being “my gospel,” for it had been revealed to him by the Lord; and he, Paul loved it (cf. 1 Cor 9:16), proclaimed it, and was trying, by God’s grace, to show its effect in his own life. See also 1 Cor 15:1; Gal 1:11; 2:2, 7; Eph 3:6, 7;. For “our gospel” see 2 Cor 4:3; 1 Thes 1:5; 2 Thes 2:14. (William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary: Romans, 516)
Here are three preventive prescriptions: (1) gain a working knowledge of the Bible, (2) maintain a watchful eye over the flock of God, and (3) grow in our willpower to reject error. (Charles R. Swindoll, Relating to Others in Love: Romans 12-16, 68)
Quotes to Note:
William Tyndale, the pioneer English Bible translator, wrote these famous words in his prologue to Romans (1534 edition of the English NT):
Forasmuch as this epistle is the principal and most excellent part of the NT, and most pure [gospel] . . . and also a light and a way in unto the whole scripture, I think it meet that every Christian man not only know it by rote but also exercise himself therein evermore continually as with the daily bread of the soul. No man verily can read it too oft or study it too well: for the more it is studied the easier it is, the more it is searched the more precious things are found in it, so great treasure of spiritual things lieth hid therein. (R. Kent Hughes, Preaching the Word: Romans, 305)
There is a remarkable relationship between the last three verses of Romans and the first eleven. In 16:25 Paul speaks of Him who is able to establish you, and in 1:11 he talks of his readers being established. He speaks of my gospel, and in 1:1 of “the gospel of God.” He speaks of the mystery of God which has been kept secret for long ages past, and in 1:2 of the gospel “which He promised beforehand.” He mentions the preaching of Jesus Christ, and in 1:3 the gospel concerning God’s Son. He speaks of the Scriptures of the prophets, just as he does in 1:3. He speaks of the gospel being made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith, and in 1:5 of bringing “about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles.” (John MacArthur, The MacArthur NT Commentary: Romans 9-16, 383)
Christ: The wedge who divides
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