If you’re a guest, we’ve been studying the New Testament letter of Romans, and were getting down to the final verses. Two weeks from now, we’re turning to the book of Acts, to begin a series we’re calling IMPACT. We didn’t spend eight months in Romans to say, “Gee, that’s so nice what God’s done.” No, what is Lakeside going to do about what God has done? What is God calling us to be and do?
This week we’re in Romans 16. What most stands out in this chapter is how almost thirty people are singled out for encouragement. A funny thing happens when we single one another out for encouragement. We get embarrassed. We get nervous that maybe we’re encroaching on God’s glory, or taking credit others deserve. It’s not a sin to accept encouragement. The Bible commands us to encourage one another! If someone encourages you, just say “thank you.” It’s okay!
Romans 16 reads like one of those Emmy Award speeches. Paul races through this litany of names, only to tag on a few more before getting off the stage. In Romans 16:21-23 Paul is like, “And thank you Timothy, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater… and thank you Tertius who wrote this letter… and Gaius whose house I stayed at, and all his friends… and thank you Erastus the mayor, and Quartus…”
Maybe you are like Paul and you thought of a few more people to squeeze into your list, a few more people you thought of who needed encouragement. There is still time to head out to the encouragement wall in the lobby. Take a post-it-note, write someone’s name, and write what you admire about them in the Lord!
A Dire Warning about Satan's Work
In the midst of Paul’s encouragement, in Romans 16, he abruptly shifts gears. He’s marveling over Christ’s work in these people’s lives. You can feel his emotion, his joy, his admiration, his profound love, his deep gratitude for all these people. But then wham. Romans 16:17, “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.” Not everyone in Rome is singing Kum-Bah-Yah together by the same camp fire. Not everyone is about what the Kingdom is about.
As a church, we cannot be naïve about certain things. In Romans 16:20 Paul says, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” Just like this “danger danger” warning seems to come out of left field, so the mention of Satan in verse 20 also seems to come out of left field. We cannot be naïve about the fact that just as fervently as God’s Holy Spirit is working within the church (and working within your life), so the Evil One is working on the church, and working on God’s people.
Satan isn’t a cartoon character, or some comic book villain. Satan’s presence and his work can just as tangibly be identified as can the Holy Spirit’s work. In one breath Paul is celebrating the word of God’s Spirit, and in the next breath he urgently warns us to be vigilant because Satan is also (simultaneously) at work.
So who is Satan? In the Bible, Satan is a liar, a divider, a disruptor. He is a lion, prowling around looking for people to devour. The Bible says Satan has been a murderer from the beginning. He preys upon the naïve and the weak. In Romans 16:17 two primary works are Satan are mentioned. (1) He creates division and (2) he puts obstacles in people’s way. And I suppose what’s alarming about Satan is that he uses people to his work. So on the one hand our battle isn’t against flesh and blood, it’s against spiritual forces. But on the other hand, Satan uses people to do it bidding.
Satan uses people to stir division.
Sometimes I cringe when I hear Church Leaders talking about Satan. Some leaders imagine that everyone who disagrees with them is somehow under Satanic influence! But you can disagree without being disagreeable. You can disagree without being divisive. You can disagree without destroying the unity of the church, or people within the body of Christ. We can disagree and maintain our loyalty to Christ, to God Word, to one another in Christ’s church.
In the church, its healthy, and expected, that there would be disagreements. Why? Because we’re all growing together. We’re all discerning God’s will and his word together. But being divisive is altogether different than disagreeing. A divisive person wants you to be personally loyal to them, to their cause, their viewpoint, to their attitude, or their agenda. They want you to be loyal no matter the damage it inflicts on you, or Christ’s bride, or the church. Their always pitting people against one another, triangulating, gossiping, exaggerating, lying, mischaracterizing people/situations.
Satan uses people to create obstacles.
For example, the Apostle Paul is very clear that the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. This grace is for everyone. But there are some in the church who always want to add an asterisk to “everyone”, along with a bunch of fine print and legalese. “The gospel is for everyone but… The gospel is for everyone except… read the fine print…”
The divisive person operates by subtraction and division. Those who create gospel obstacles never allow addition to occur in the first place. So how does it happen? The person Satan uses imposes so many expectations, requirements, and rules and laws, and religious litmus tests on a person… it prevents a person from ever getting to grace in the first place. They never to get to mercy and forgiveness! They never get to a relationship with Jesus, they never get to taste presence/power of God’s Holy Spirit.
When I first started leading people to the Lord I was astounded at how “harsh” Christians could be to a newcomer. Honestly, we can act as if we’re more entitled to grace than the person coming off the street. There is only one deal for all of us. In 1st century lingo, gospel is for “Jew or Gentile. Male or Female. Slave or free.” Today it’s for, “Christian or Muslim. White or black. Legal or illegal. Republican or Democrat. Straight or gay.”
There are no asterisks, the offer of grace extends to everyone! The gospel is the power of God for the salvation of absolutely everyone who believes. If a person doesn’t know the Lord, Satan creates obstacles. If a person is already in the Lord, Satan creates division. If he can’t prevent God’s work from starting in the first place, he’ll do everything he can to disrupt it on the backend! Beware!
So who does Satan use? In Romans 16:18 Paul makes a keen observation: “such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.”
The person Satan uses, will almost always come across as sincere.
They come to you, they pull you aside, they appear to be representing the concerns of Christ... Their thoughtful, their passionate, their tearful. But they’re not serving Jesus Christ. Their motives are fatally flawed. So how do you know? Paul already told us in verse 17. Their typically creating division, destroying unity/peace within the Church. Or else they’re creating gospel obstacles, effectively denying people grace.
The person Satan uses has uncontrolled hungers.
It’s not like they have “uncontrollable” hungers. Just “uncontrolled” hungers. Think of it this way. When we’re led by the Holy Spirit, the fruit of the Spirit includes self-control. But not these individuals. Paul says they are “serving… their own appetites.”
Well what kind of appetites? Well sometimes people hunger for power and control. Satan took Jesus to the top of the mountain and said “all the world can be yours if you’ll worship me.” Sometimes people hunger for affirmation and importance. Satan took Jesus to the top of the temple and said, “throw yourself down, let the angels catch you, and you’ll have instant fame.” Sometimes people hunger for intimacy and delight. Satan took Jesus to the brink of starvation and said, “turn these stones into bread, gratify yourself.” Satan uses that person filled with pride, whose ambitious and driven. He uses that person seeking popularity, who wants to be loved/liked by everyone. He uses that person filled with passionate desire, who want stop until their flesh gets what their flesh wants.
So who is most vulnerable to the attack of Satan?
In verse 18, Paul describes how through “smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people.” Satan targets naïve people. Naïve isn’t a very complementary term, but it describes a person who is simple, trusting, green, gullible, immature, adolescent. The reason an adolescent is an adolescent is because their vulnerable. Like anyone, an adolescent hungers for power and control, affirmation and importance, intimacy and delight. Their susceptible to pride, popularity, and having their own passionate desires exploited. So along comes a smooth talking evil person. What do they do? They appeal to a naïve person’s inner hungers, to gain their favor, build their trust, secure their loyalty…and then WHAM.
Take a Lesson from the Spider
A while back, I was having breakfast with a now repentant person, who characterized his former life as that of a spider. We all know how spider’s spin their webs. There some unsuspecting soul is flying along. Maybe a person is chasing their hopes and dreams. Maybe their dealing with their own pain/struggles. Maybe they’re flying toward the light, hoping to escape their darkness. The spider spins his web in the most opportunistic place it can find to capture its prey. And once the spider captures its prey, it moves in, and sucks the life out of its victim.
This person’s told me how his words were as smooth as silk. He’d talk to this lady, or that lady, and listen for their problems. He’d offer a sympathetic, listening ear. Maybe he’d show them kindness with a sizable tip, or encouraging word, or some other gesture. But then once he gained their trust—wham—he’d strike, and take advantage of them.
The funny thing about spiders, is they keep devouring victims until their confronted. And once you destroy their web, what do they do? They move on, and try to find a new corner, a new tree branch, or a new eave, or a new church, or some unsuspecting group of believers to whom they’re not known.
As a pastor, I’ve been bitten by numerous spiders. It’s amazing how spiders virtually appear out of nowhere. But there they are, spinning their silky webs, with smooth talk and flattery. I’m always suspicious when a person tries to become fast friends with the pastor, or over-attaches, or is overly complimentary. I’m also suspicious when a person tries to wedge themselves too quickly into the church.
At first spiders seem like such a blessing. They come alongside you, they share your burdens, they offer to solve problem, they encourage you, sympathize with you… and so you give them greater and greater access to your life, the church, the ministry, to helping this person, or leading that group, or heading up a class or ministry. But the spider’s hungers aren’t under the control of the Holy Spirit, they aren’t serving Christ. And sure enough, in time, they start sucking the gospel life out of everyone and everything.
What do you do with a spider? You confront them. And if you cannot remove them, you avoid them. Elsewhere Paul says, warn a divisive person once, and after that, don’t associate with them. In Romans 16:19 Paul tells us to “be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.”
Like Paul in Romans 16, we should have this kind of two track mind. On the one hand, we’re encouraging and cheering for one another in all that’s good… but then on the other hand, with great vigilance, we remain innocent about what is evil. We refuse to give the devil so much as a corner, a branch, an eave, or a nook to cast his web.
Satan's Destiny...
Finally this admonition: “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” The opposite of pursuing division is pursuing peace. The opposite of putting obstacles before people, is building bridges of grace.