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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional
May 20
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Today's Pathway:
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Having told the church at Rome to greet people that he knew, Paul now tells them that there are people that they should be avoiding. He begs them to "mark" certain people. The word means "to keep your eye on" and carries the idea of observing with intensity. It is much more than a casual glance, and the verb tense indicates that this is to be a continuous action on the part of the believers. The characteristic that these dangerous people have is that they are causing divisions and offences. "Divisions" simply means that which destroys unity. As we have seen in Romans 15, God's goal for the local church is that they should be united in doctrine and practice. A church that is broken into factions is not doing what God wants. In fact, according to I Corinthians 3:3, this is a sign of carnality. "Offenses" are those things which cause men to stumble in their Christian walk. How are these people causing these problems? By teaching false doctrine. They are teaching things that are different than what the church has been taught previously. The implication here is that the church has been taught correctly in the past, but now has people in it who are influencing others to go in a different direction.
When a church finds that it has people in it that are destroying unity, or causing people to stumble in their Christian walk, they need to keep their eyes on these people. This is also true in a larger sense. For example, there are men who call themselves Christians who perhaps have large, well-known ministries, but are dividing Christianity and causing believers to go astray because of their false teaching. These people need to be scrutinized as well. And, according to verse 17, once they have been observed, they need to be avoided. The word "avoid" means "to shun". In a local church setting, it may ultimately mean that these people need to be disciplined out of the congregation. In a broader application, it means that believers should not be following or supporting those preachers or ministries that are teaching people things that are contrary to sound Bible doctrine. Don't bring them in to speak in your church. Don't recommend their books or their conferences. They are to be avoided, because they are bringing spiritual harm to those whom they impact.
Paul goes on to explain what these false teachers are motivated by. They are not interested in serving God, for if they were, they would be teaching His Word properly. Instead, they are serving themselves. John MacArthur correctly states,
"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 false teachers devote their lives to the study of Scripture, but because they have never trusted in Christ for salvation and because they view the Bible as man’s ideas about God rather than God’s revelation to man, they distort His Word and twist it to fit their own sinful predispositions."
Paul says that these people may use good words and be eloquent speakers. But, their real motivation is to deceive those who are "simple". The Greek word means "not bad". These are people who do not set out to reject Biblical truth, but they are seduced by the message of the false teacher, and do not have enough Biblical knowledge to recognize his error. This is one reason why it is so very important the Christians know what the Bible says, and can interpret and apply it properly.
Do you know the Bible well enough to recognize false teaching when you hear it? Are you avoiding those "teachers" who would try to take you away from sound doctrine and practice?
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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