I'll show you when McGee talks about the Bible
bus that he drives through the Bible in his radio
ministry and the stops that he has along the
way. Today we're coming in our little Bible bus
to the end of the book of Romans. Romans has
been a remarkable discourse on how to be right
with God. We have learned that mankind is sinful.
and is under the righteous wrath of God. Whether
Jew or Gentile, all have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. But God in His marvelous
grace has provided for man to be redeemed from
his sin through the offering up of Jesus Christ
as our sin offering. the propitiation for our
sins. He paid the full price for our sins once
and for all at the cross. When he died, he said,
it is finished. That drew the line. That summed
it up. The total price was paid at that point
for our sins. We can do nothing more to add to
that. He doesn't need to die again and again.
He died once, and that for all. And now those
of us who by faith receive him and trust him,
the living Savior who rose from the dead, we
are redeemed from sin and made right with God.
God declares us to be righteous in his sight.
And that is really the theme of the whole book,
the theme of justification by faith. That gift
of righteousness which God gives to the one who
repents of his sin and trusts Jesus Christ is
then able to be expressed in the life even though
sin is still within the Christian. We have died
to sin and are alive to God so that that righteousness
that God has put within us can be expressed in
our lives. The Holy Spirit is the precious enabler
who abides within so that we might be enabled
to live pleasing to God. We have learned that
this righteousness as it is lived through us
then is to impact all of the relationships that
we have. But this book was not written to be
a systematic theology text, though it is that.
It is a systematic laying out of the doctrine
of salvation. But it was not written primarily
to be that, rather it is a letter. Paul did not
sit down to write a theology text, he sat down
to write an epistle to a church where he had
not yet been. And as this letter concludes, As
do many letters, it concludes with various and
perhaps even disjointed thoughts. These are some
things he wants to get in as he brings this letter
to those beloved saints to its close. He begins,
as we're going to read it in our text in verse
17, by saying, Now I urge you, brethren, keep
your eye on those who cause dissensions. hindrances,
contrary to the teaching which you learned, and
turn away from them. For such men are slaves,
not of our Lord Christ, but of their own appetites,
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 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 Satan under your feet. The grace of our
Lord Jesus be with you. Timothy, my fellow worker,
greets you. And so do Lucius and Jason and Suscipitor,
my kinsman. I, Tertius, who write this letter,
greet you in the Lord. Gaius, host to me and
to the whole Church, greets you, Erastus, the
city treasurer, greets you, and Quartus, the
brother. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be
with you all. Amen. Now to him who is able to
establish you according to my gospel and the
preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation
of the mystery which has been kept secret for
long ages past, The last words of the Apostle
to the Roman Church in this letter involve three
themes. There is a word of admonition, verses
17 through 20, a word of salutation, verses 21
through 24, and finally a word of benediction,
verses 25 through 27. Let's look at these themes
this morning and then draw some application to
our lives. The first word as he closes is a word
of admonition. The apostle says, I urge you,
brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions
and hindrances contrary to the teaching which
you have learned and turn away from them. They
were facing a danger in Rome as all churches
face. It was the danger of threat to the church's
fellowship by those making division. The word
literally means those who cause you to stand
apart from one another. Those who cause you to
stand in such a way that you're not close anymore.
Those who create division or dissension among
you. And those who also cause or make hindrances.
This word hindrances is the same one that we
saw in chapter 14 verse 13, their translated
stumbling block, and it refers to enticements
or snares. In other words, the apostle is warning
about some people who apparently were even involved
to some degree within their church, who would
cause them to stand apart from one another and
to be ensnared into teaching that was contrary
to that which they had heard and learned. Contrary
to the revealed truth of God. That is the danger.
And it's always a danger. It is always a danger
with God's people. Because you see in the professing
church, in the local church, Satan too is scattering
his seeds with God's. And along with the wheat,
right now in this age is growing the tares. And
sometimes they're very difficult to tell apart.
The only way to tell a wheat plant and a tear
apart is to wait until there is fruit. And then
it's easy to see which is genuine and which is
not. Now the Apostle was saying to us here that
There were some, and I would not necessarily
say they were totally unbelievers, but they were
certainly those who were wrong in their doctrines
and who were slaves to their own appetites. There
were some among them who were characterized that
way. And he says, watch out for them. He says
that we have a duty. Keep your eye on them. Don't
ignore them. Don't pretend they're not there.
Don't pull the rug over a situation and say,
well, it'll go away if we just don't worry about
it, because that doesn't happen. The apostle
says when you see the fruit in a person's life,
and that fruit is dissension or division, and
it is a hindrance to the growth of other people,
keep your eye. on that person. Don't lose sight
of him. Don't be unsuspecting. The idea is be
suspicious. Be suspicious. And he says, secondly,
turn away from him. Shun him. Avoid him. Now
in the day in which we live, there's a big word
that people like to use. cases like this, it's
the word dialogue. If we find people that don't
agree with us, well, let's get it together and
dialogue. And the danger so often with that is
that people dialogue apart from the Word of God.
They lay the Bible aside and they say, well,
let's just get together and talk and see where
we can agree. and they forget about the Word
of God. There's not a problem dialoguing if the
Word of God is the foundation, the basis of it.
He does not tell us here to dialogue with these
people. He says rather that we are to shun them,
turn away from them, avoid them, don't spend
time with them. Generally, he says that our responsibility
regarding them in verse 18 is that rather verse
19, is that we are to be wise in what is good
and innocent toward what is evil. Have you ever
heard somebody say, well I want to go down there
and hear what they say so that I'll be informed.
Or I want to go over there and see what's happening
in that place so that I'll know firsthand what
it's all about. Well that may be wise in some
instances, but I would draw to your attention
what it says in this verse, verse 19. He says
if you're going to be informed, if you're going
to be wise, then be informed and wise about the
right, about the good. But he says stay simple.
Stay uninvolved with. Be innocent regarding that
which is evil. You don't need to be informed
about that. You see that's part of the lie that
Satan sold Eve. She knew that it was the Tree
of the knowledge of good and evil and He sort
of insinuated to her. Well, how are you going
to know what evil is if you don't eat of this?
You see she should have known what evil was simply
by what God said not by personal experience You
and I need to be wise toward what is good, but
we need to remain innocent toward. What is evil?
He tells us that these people that he's talking
about are slaves not of Jesus Christ, but of
their own appetites, their own desires. The thought
is that they have a hidden agenda. They don't
talk about it openly, but they have some goals
that are under the table, so to speak. And that's
really what they're working for, their own desires,
their own appetites, not those desires and goals
that would be Jesus Christ's. And he says in
order to attain these, they use smooth and flattering
speech. In other words, their speech is plausible,
it sounds good on the surface, It is perhaps
insinuating speech. They may employ a false kind
of flattery to get on your good side. But behind
all of that talk is their appetite, what they
really want from you. And he says, don't be unsuspecting
toward people like this. When I read those verses,
I think frankly, of some of the preachers that
I see on television are very smooth and their
speech sounds so good as you listen to it. But
somehow there's something there that just does
not quite ring true. And not infrequently after
a while there are reports that begin to get out
of some things going on under the surface that
they really don't want you to know about. They
would just prefer you listen to them. And so
often their teaching causes division and dissension
among God's people. It's that which ensnares
people from a genuine walk with God and gets
them chasing rabbits in some direction so they
don't make any more progress in their spiritual
life. It's that which plays upon the unsuspecting.
And he says that we are to keep our eyes on people
like that, we're to have nothing to do with them,
we're to turn from them, and to be wise toward
what is good and innocent toward what is evil.
Now he tells us that ultimately the victory of
God is going to be ours. He says the God of peace
is going to soon crush Satan under your feet.
Even though there are people like this around
seeking to hinder the work of God and seeking
to divide the work of God, he says ultimately
Satan is going to be defeated in these kinds
of attempts. Notice he calls God the God of peace.
God has called us folks to peace. And when there
is a teaching or a personality that begins to
disrupt and to create a lack of peace and confusion.
That is not of God. God is the God of peace,
and it is the God of peace who is someday going
to crush Satan. It seems like a violent thing
for the God of peace to do, doesn't it? The language
there is graphic. It's analogous to what is said
in Genesis chapter 3, where the The serpent will
strike the heel of the seed of Eve, but the seed
of Eve would crush the head of the serpent. Talking
about Jesus Christ, of course. And here is but
another word about the same thing, that there
is a day coming when Satan and all of his attempts
to hinder the work of God and God's people is
going to be crushed. And I'm encouraged by the
fact that it says soon. Now we might say not
soon enough, But God nonetheless assures us that
it will be soon. We get very impatient, don't
we? We need to learn to be patient, to wait on
God's timetable. The God of peace will give you
his victory. He will execute judgment upon Satan
and you will experience that peace, that victory.
But what do we do in the meantime because we're
in the midst of a battle? And there are people
who seek to hinder God's work as he describes
here. What are we to do waiting for that victory
to come? Well, he tells us we have the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ with us. Right now we
have the promise of his grace to strengthen us,
to enable us, to enlighten us, and to keep us.
We have the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and
we could not ask for more than that. For in His
grace is all that we need, not only for eternity
to come, folks, but for this life right here
now. And so there is this word of admonition.
Watch out for these people that He describes.
Keep your eye on them. Don't have anything to
do with them. Don't send them money. Don't fellowship
with them. Shun them. Be wise toward what is
good and ignorant, innocent, simple, regarding
What is evil? God is going to give you the victory
someday, though you're in the battle now, but
in the battle even now you have the grace of
God to keep you. That's his admonition to the
Romans and that's his admonition to you and me
today. Now we have a section with some salutations,
some greetings. Already we have had greetings
from the Apostle to certain people. We studied
those last week. But here we have greetings from
some of those who were part of Paul's team. In
verse 21, we have greetings from a co -worker
and several kinsmen. The co -worker is Timothy,
and Timothy is no stranger. He was half Gentile,
half Jew. From the city of Lystra, a young man
that Paul had led to faith in Jesus Christ. a
man who was close to Paul and a man that perhaps
is most frequently mentioned of all of Paul's
companions. Timothy was with Paul there in Corinth
as this letter was written. He calls him my fellow
worker and what a badge of honor that must have
been for Timothy. A fellow worker of the Apostle
Paul, he sends his greetings. But along with
this co -worker, there are several kinsmen. Jason
is mentioned. This is perhaps the same as the
one mentioned in Acts chapter 17, a man who lived
in Thessalonica. We don't really know much about
him other than these two possible references.
And then Solcipitor perhaps is the same as the
one mentioned in Acts chapter 20 verse 4. He
was a man of character. and a man that the apostle
took with him, an appointee of the churches,
to take that offering back to the Jerusalem church.
And then he mentions Lucius. I skipped over him,
didn't I? This is possibly Luke, the beloved
physician, who wrote the book of Acts, as well
as the Gospel that bears his name. There are
others who say perhaps it is Lucius of Cyrene,
Acts 15, verse 1, one of the leaders of the church,
the early church. We don't really know, but the
thing that the Apostle says about them is that
they are his kinsmen. And last week we suggested
to you that the most likely meaning of that is
that they were of the tribe of Benjamin, not
only Jews, but of the same tribe as the Apostle
Paul. In verse 22, we have a greeting from a
scribe, Tertius. You see, the Apostle Paul did
not personally pen all of his epistles. He dictated
those epistles. And in this case, we have the
name of his secretary, his amanuensis, his scribe.
And this man's name was Tertius. I, Tertius,
who write this letter, greet you in the Lord.
And so at this point he takes the pen in hand
and writes a personal word from himself. As I
think of this man Tertius, I try to imagine the
privilege that was his. Have you ever thought
about this? He was part of the miracle of inspiration.
For what we say about inspiration is that it's
the superintending of God the Holy Spirit so
that the writers of the books of the Bible wrote
inherently the very words as well as the thoughts
of God. That means in the case of a man like
Tertius, the Holy Spirit generated the words
within the mind of Paul and he spoke them. But
then the Holy Spirit put his hand over Tertius'
hand so that as he wrote, he wrote inherently
what Paul was dictating. And so Tertius was one
of those key men used of God the Holy Spirit
in bringing this precious book to you and me
today. Then there is a greeting in verse 23 from
Paul's host, a man named Gaius. A man that Paul
apparently had baptized himself, if he's the
same one as mentioned in 1 Corinthians 1 .14,
and there's every reason to believe that. He
may be the same as the man Titus Justus in Acts
18 verse 7. This would simply be another of his
names, Gaius. His home was not only a home for
Paul, but it was the home of that church, apparently,
because it says here that he is host to me and
to the whole church. But that would suggest to
us that Gaius must have been a man of some means.
He apparently had a home that was big enough
to take care of a fairly good -sized crowd for
that day. He was a host to the church and apparently
cared for other needs as well as those needs
arose. So we see in this man, Gaius, a commendable
spirit of hospitality. A man who was willing
to use his home for the Lord, are you? Could
you be commended, as was the man before us, as
a man who hosts other believers? You know, occasionally
we have a music group come through, or we have
a missions conference, or there's some other
activity that we are sponsoring, and we have
a need for homes to be opened up. And I appreciate
those who are willing to use their homes as centers
of hospitality for the Lord. It's the right thing
to do. I realize occasionally that there are
reasons that some of us cannot do that. Yet if
we can we should open our homes to other believers
when there is an occasion for that Whether it's
a drop -in for our small church or the youth
group needs to find a place to settle for a night
Invite them to come in they pay for all damages
I Can assure you of that Invite them to come
in and share your home I think it's significant
that the Holy Spirit includes this in the book.
Here's a man who is a generous man, and that
ought to really characterize all of us, shouldn't
it, with our homes. And then he says in verse
23, the last part of the verse, that there's
greetings from another man. His name is Erastus.
Erastus is called here, at least in my translation,
the city treasurer. This is a word that could
refer to that, but probably refers in a more
general sense to the city manager of Corinth.
And so here's a politician who is a Christian.
The two thoughts are not necessarily opposites.
There are some Christian politicians, and Erastus
was apparently a man of that character. In fact,
the archaeologists have uncovered a pavement
in Corinth that has his name inscribed on it.
And it says on there, Erastus, commissioner for
public works, laid this pavement at his own expense.
Now that's not a bad idea. I wonder if we could
convince the city council of doing things like
that. Apparently, because the title in that inscription
is different than the one in the Bible, Erastus
at one time was the commissioner for public works.
but then arose in the ranks to become the city
manager of Corinth. And he is mentioned here
and sends his greetings along with a man whose
name is Quartus. Now in the Latin that means
fourth, and there are some who suggest that he
may be a brother to Tertius, which means third.
And so you've got the third in the family and
the fourth in the family. Who knows? That's the
only thing I can say about the name Quartus.
There is no other mention of him in the Bible
or even in secular history. What does all of
this tell us about Paul? I think something significant.
What this tells me is that Paul was a team man.
He was a man who surrounded himself with a team
of people so that as he traveled doing the work
of God, there were others who assisted him in
that work, who were associated with him. You
know something? I believe that all of us need
to be team people. I don't believe that God has
created very many Christians to be isolated all
by themselves out there. Now I realize that there
are some missionaries, for example, who must
be gifted to do that and they go out into isolated
areas of the jungle or the desert and they spend
months or sometimes even years nearly by themselves
and only with the people that they're trying
to reach for Christ. I think though that the
rule is, that's the exception, the rule is that
we need to be team people. Are you part of a
team? Are you part of a growth group, for example?
Two or three or maybe ten people who meet together?
Are you associated with a small group on a more
intimate level? People tell us that we can only
know a certain number of others. I have heard
that it's only possible for any of us to know,
to a decent degree, a hundred people. Now some
may know more than that and others fewer. But
my point is that we can't know everybody in this
church and you can't even know everybody in your
small church. We need to be a part of a smaller
group. Now it may be that you find your team,
your group identity at your school. There's nothing
wrong with that as long as that group is not
hindering you in your spiritual walk. And the
same would be true at your office. It may be
that it's there that you find your intimate identity
with a small group. But I believe that God has
built that into all of us with just a few exceptions.
Now my challenge to you is this. If you are a
part of a group out there in your office or your
school or somewhere else, if you're part of a
group that is not building you and helping you
spiritually, then you need to find another group
where you can get that sort of help. I would
not necessarily say lay aside your others. You
may be able to reach them for Christ. But then
on the other hand, you may need to separate from
them if they are dragging you down spiritually.
My point is that we need to find a group somewhere,
an intimate association with a few individuals
where we can be helped along spiritually. We
need that. God hasn't created you and your wives
to sit there retired in your apartment by yourself
all week to watch television and to be sort of
isolated by yourselves. God wants you to be a
part of a group. Career young person, God wants
you to be a part of a group. It may not be so
difficult for you. You're a little more free
for that kind of thing. You know who it's really
tough on? I think it's tough for mothers with
small children to find that kind of identity.
With one or two or five other mothers, perhaps,
so that they can talk on an adult level. I got
a real charge out of my wife yesterday. She often
gives me charges. She told me that a fella had
called her from a church in California. I'd called
out there to get some information and he had
called back with that information for me. And
she said, do you know he talked to me? And he
gave me that information for you. He talked to
me like an adult. He did, huh? And you know,
I was reminded again that a mother who is with
small children all day long enjoys conversation
beyond goo goo and da da and stop it! Go to your
room! And those kinds of things. But it's really
tough. I think it's really tough for mothers
with small children to find that. But we all
need it. Now I don't know where you're going
to find yours, but find it. Find it somewhere.
Say, I don't know where to start. Well pray,
ask God to show you where to start, to find that
group identity, that team, that team of people
who will support you and be with you and help
you. Let's move ahead to verses 25 through 27,
the benediction. No, we're not quite done yet,
but Paul is just about. His benediction is a
dedication of the book. He dedicates it to God.
He says to him, and in verse 27 he picks up on
his thought again, to the only wise God through
Jesus Christ be the glory forever. That is the
dedication for the book. In the dedication, he
gives praise and glory eternally to God. for
two things. First for his work and secondly for
his word. Now what is the work of God for which
he gives glory to God? It is that work of establishing
his people. Not a him who's able to establish
you according to my gospel and the preaching
of Jesus Christ. That word establish is an important
word. It means to fix. It means to set, S -E
-T. It means to make stable. It comes from a
root word which meant a prop. Back behind these
curtains are some props for a play that's going
to be presented here in a few weeks. And those
props are supported. They're sets, we call them.
Now what this word is telling us is that God
props us. He sets us. He establishes us. He holds
us up. You and I are not left to hang on by our
fingernails to the Christian life. But it is
the work of God to establish us who belong to
Him. I like that. Back in the book of Exodus,
there is a story about Moses. The people of Israel,
you'll recall, are down there in the valley,
and they're going through a war. Moses is up
on the mountaintop with Aaron and Her, and he
has the rod of God in his hand, and as he lifts
that rod of God, a symbol of intercession before
Jehovah, The people of Israel are winning the
battle and as he lures it, because he's tired,
they're driven back. And so what he needs is
somebody to steady his hands and to hold up his
hands so that that rod can stay there. And so
Erin and her take a hand and they hold up the
rod of God along with Moses. And the people of
God won the victory. Now in the Greek translation
of that Old Testament passage, it's called the
Septuagint, this word establishes you when it
says, they held up the hands of Moses. Dear folks,
you and I have one who holds us up, it's God.
It's God. It is he who is committed to establish
you. To make you stable you say but I feel like
water at 211 degrees Don't we all at times? But
let me tell you God is even working in that situation
Ultimately to only strengthen you more God's
work is to establish you and Paul praises God
for that and by the way in second Peter 1 12
He tells us that the means of God doing that
is the word You and I are not established just
by God zapping us with little things from heaven
every now and then. You and I are established
as we spend time in the Word of God. God uses
it to establish us, to set us. That's His means.
But then He praises God for His Word, the Gospel,
the preaching of Jesus Christ. And he says three
things about this word of the gospel. He says
it has been kept secret, it's now manifested,
and has been made known. When he says that it
has been kept secret but now is manifested, he's
really defining that word mystery that you see
in verse 25. refers to that which has before
been in silence. Nothing has been said about
it, but now it has been told. That's a mystery
in the Bible sense. Now what is the mystery?
Well, the mystery really is the Church of Jesus
Christ. You see, in the Old Testament, there
wasn't a word about the Church. Not a word. It
was in silence. Now we can go back into the Old
Testament with our New Testament flashlight and
we can see prophecies and hints about the church,
but if we didn't have that flashlight, we'd still
be in the dark about it because it was a mystery.
And it was not revealed until the New Testament
time through the Apostle Paul. He is the apostle
of this message of the church. He is the man
that God used to declare it so that we understand
it. And the real heart of it is, as we have already
studied in Romans, that no longer does God favor
the Jew, but God looks at Jew and Gentile alike
and both may come directly to him and be united
in Jesus Christ without any more distinction
between Jew and Gentile. That's what has been
made known. Listen, listen to me. That has been
the purpose of God from long ages past. You know
what that refers to? That refers to way back
yonder before time even began. Before there was
a calculation of years and months and so on,
way back then, God's purpose was to redeem mankind.
and unite mankind to himself. And the church
was the heart of that. Do you realize that today,
if you're a Christian, you have entered into
a relationship with God that God planned before
he ever said, let there be light, and that God
had you in view to be a part of that? That's
an amazing thing. The purpose, the focus of all
of history is that of which you are a member
and a part, the Church of Jesus Christ. And someday
when we get beyond time and we look back, I don't
know how God's going to do it, but I think somehow
He will. Maybe it's going to be on a video cassette
or maybe there's going to be a I don't know what,
but we're going to look back on time when we
get in eternity. You know what we're going to
see? We're going to see highlights and things
happen here and there, but the thing that's going
to tie it all together is God's redemption through
Jesus Christ and his bringing together of Jew
and Gentile into one body in Christ. And we're
going to marvel again that we were and are part
of all of that. And God says this thing has been
made known to all the nations. Somebody said
the book of Romans is a missionary manifesto.
Because this good news of redemption in Jesus
Christ and God's purpose for the ages is not
something for just the white race or just for
those who speak the English language or for those
who are in the Western culture, but this is a
message for the world. And that's why we invest
thousands of dollars every year and hours of
praying time into missions. Because it is God's
purpose that this message be made known to all
the nations to bring them to the obedience of
faith. Men are called the sons of disobedience
in the Bible. We are the children of disobedience.
it said, because we're sinners. But God intends
for us to be brought to obedience. And where
do we start? We start by obeying the command
to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. For not
to believe on Him with all of your heart is to
disobey God and to go to hell forever. The obedience
of faith begins by obeying the gospel, to believe
on Christ, and then that obedience begins to
express itself in our lifestyle. So we begin
to obey God instead of disobey God. Do you see
that the reason that God saved you, my friend,
is that He might bring you into obedience to
Himself? He wants you to live an obedient life.
Are you doing that, Christian? Are you doing
that? Or is there an area of gross disobedience
in your life? If that's the case, will you today
repent of that? Come back to your Father and
say, Father, I want to be obedient. Forgive me
and give me grace in this area that I may be
obedient to you. He has called us to the obedience
of faith, this only wise God, and to him be the
glory forever. He deserves glory from your life
and mine. If you are saved, and I hope you are,
you can summarize your purpose for living in
that one phrase, the glory of God. And I hope
that our lifestyle today and our words and our
thoughts is consistent with what glorifies God.
If it's not, let's deal with it and stop playing
around with sin and let's get to the place of
obeying and trusting and bringing glory to God
through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. Heavenly
Father, I thank you for these closing perhaps
even disjointed words of the Apostle. They stimulate
me and I trust all of us as we look at them.
And Father, there are some applications in the
admonition and the salutation and in this benediction
for each of us. I pray that our lives will be
in conformity to your will. Lord, it's so easy
for us to go on day after day and to fantasize
and to think that everything is all right without
taking a close look. Forgive us for that insensitivity
to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Father, I pray
especially for that one who may be here today
without Jesus Christ, who has never obeyed and
believed on him. That one today would obey and
trust Jesus Christ under the saving of his soul.
And I pray this for Jesus' sake as well as his
and in Jesus' name. Amen.