DIVIDERS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

Romans 16:17-19

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

There are people in this world who love to be dividers.

These people look for any way possible to disrupt relationships and create chaos. You can find them in workplaces. You can find them in families. And you can find them in churches.

People like this, who relish opportunities to spawn schisms, have been around since sin entered the world at Eden’s great fall when the first couple allowed temptation to lead them to willful disobedience and a separation from the God who made them and blessed them with an abundance.

Since then, Satan has continued to use people to divide and will continue to do so until Christ returns and vanquishes him from creation.

So given that dividers are alive and well in our world today as they have for the ages, we should see what the Bible has to say on this subject and one such place is in the final chapter of Romans as we find Paul addressing the Christians in Rome. Here’s what he wrote:

I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.  Romans 16:17-19

Note the first thing we need to do is be on the lookout.

I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.

God wanted unity. Unity with Him which in turn would lead to unity with each other.

There was only one problem.

All people were sinners and God would have no part of anyone who sinned.

And so God so loved the world that He gave His only Son Jesus to pay the sin penalty for all creation so that they all might be pardoned through Him and live with God forever. All anyone had to do to be united with God was to be saved through His Son.

Therefore, Jesus became the means by which all people could be united with God and one another. He was the anti-divider.

The Roman Christians had been schooled on the Gospel, on the salvation that God provided through Jesus and the unity that salvation provided. They were also instructed on the truth that they were still sinners, despite being saved. They were still prone to the attacks of Satan who indeed prowls like a hungry lion waiting to devour the vulnerable and drag them down into the pit of iniquity (1 Peter 5:8).

And so it was critical that the Jesus followers in Rome be on guard for anyone who might try to divide.

It was also critical for the Roman Christians to avoid associating with anyone who sought to divide.

Why?

Because Christians can be tempted to join in, encouraged to be a partner in the act of divisiveness. Paul called dividers for what they were, self centered sinners who served their own desires instead of Jesus, skillful manipulators who used “smooth talk and flattery” to “deceive the minds of naïve people” who fell for their deception.

The Roman Christians had a good reputation for being obedient to the Lord who would always lead them away from sin toward righteousness. Paul encouraged the believers in Rome to continue to exercise wisdom so they would do good and remain above reproach in regard to any evil doing.

Through this passage, we are given a playbook to follow ourselves in today’s life environment.

First, Jesus believers need to be on watch for dividers. They exist and we need to trust that the Lord will expose them, bringing them out of the dark and into the light.

Next, we need to be hypersensitive when it comes to who we relate to, not just when it comes to those who sinfully seek to divide but any people who willingly choose to sin in any way. We can never underestimate the power of influence which can just as easily draw someone into evil as it can good.

Finally, we need to be intentional about maintaining a good reputation in the Lord, uncompromisingly steadfast in allowing His will to be done in our lives. For when we do, we will be wise in the Lord who will lead us away from transgression and deliver us from evil.

Thanks be to God for the gift of His precious and holy Word.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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