This is the sixty-third in a series of verse-by-verse expositions of the book of Romans. This message was delivered at Hillcrest Baptist Church on the morning of October 26, 2014. This message warns against the dangers of false teachers, and the ultimate victory of Christ. This post contains an audio recording of my message, along with my sermon notes and a study outline. Please note that the sermon notes are not a full transcript.
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Romans 16:17-20
v.17:
One last admonition, a warning against Satan’s seduction.
We are to avoid false teachers. They are divisive, and will destroy the church.
Paul spent much of his time, refuting false teachers and false doctrines. It is no less important in today’s world.
“divisions” means dissension, disagreements and hostility.
“offences” means scandals and resentments.
We (especially the preacher) need to be on guard against those who come to divide the local church.
One of the main things we need to do is to teach the Word of God, as it is written, as thoroughly as possible.
Heresy will make little progress in the church that is well grounded and doctrinally sound.
v.18:
False teachers serve only themselves, they are flattering, well polished and charismatic.
They will proclaim a christ, but not the Christ of the Bible.
Paul often warns of these kinds of people (as do other N.T. writers).
2 Timothy 3:1-5
Jude 1:16
They use flattery to speak to itching ears, and they do it all for personal gain.
They may tell you how great you are.
They may tell you that you can be problem free, illness free and prosperous.
They may sound as if they love you deeply, but they are unloving, and only care about themselves.
They say these things to draw followers, and line their own pockets.
They are in it only for themselves, and don’t care about you or anyone else.
We are told to turn away from such people, but sadly, this is what people want to hear.
Sound doctrine is not what the masses desire, they’d much rather hear fables.
Indeed, fables have become their doctrine, rather than the truth.
2 Timothy 4:3-4
This is all too true in our world today, where the comfort of flattering words will attract the masses, while the uncomfortable truth often turns people away.
However uncomfortable it may be, only the truth of the Gospel can lead people to salvation.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
It is the truth of a sinful, depraved and helpless humanity, in need of a perfect and righteous savior, that people need to hear.
It is the truth of Jesus Christ, that needs to be constantly on our lips.
We also need to be constantly watchful against a worldly spirit, which is dangerous to ourselves and the church.
v.19:
Paul was well aware of the obedient nature of these saints, but he had one simple goal for them – to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil.
Discernment regarding good and evil was Paul’s goal for them, underscoring the importance of knowing the Word of God.
When you know the truth, you can spot what is good.
When you know the truth, you can spot a lie and discern evil.
v.20:
They needed Godly knowledge to discern the evil and the lies, which Paul attributes to Satan, who is the father of lies.
Satan will take a little lie, and cover it in a lot of truth, it’s more believable that way.
But, a lie is still a lie, no matter how much truth surrounds it!
Satan likes to work from within the church, it’s easier that way.
Satan is dangerous, he is no joke, we must be cautious, because we can’t handle him on our own.
Jude 9
Even so, we can have victory over him.
James 4:7-8
Satan may be the instigator of strife and division, but God has him on a leash.
Paul ends this final admonition on a positive note.
No matter how bad things may look, God still has the victory.
We can take heart, because the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ is with us. (v.20)
In Defense: The Blog 
Posted on October 30, 2014
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