PROCLAMATION
“For
they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ … and by good words and fair
speech deceive … But yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple
concerning evil. And The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet
shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” Romans
16:18-20 (KJV)
EXPLANATION
These
words were written by the Apostle Paul under the influence of The Holy Spirit
of God to the believers in Rome. Paul begins this final chapter of
Romans by naming the thirty-five believers who were with him as companions, and
who also sent greetings to the believers in Rome. (Romans 16:1-15) He
encourages them to greet one another with a “holy kiss.” Then he urges
them to “watch out for those who cause division” in the church. Who with smooth talk and flattery will
deceive many naïve believers. (Romans 16:16-18) He said that they had heard of their good
works and he wanted them to be knowledgeable regarding The Word of God for
themselves and not to mix it with that which is evil. He said that soon
The Lord God would put Satan in his place, but they were to resist the devil
until that happens. (Romans 16:19-20) He
ends the letter with salutations and a benediction. (Romans 16:21-27)
APPLICATION
There
are those who belong to church congregations, but they are not there to serve
The Lord. They are there to serve
themselves. They corrupt the church by deceiving the heart and mind of
believers. (Romans 16:18) We need to be careful regarding what we hear,
just because it was said in church does not make it true. We need to
compare what we hear with The Word of God before accepting it because people
will attempt to deceive us. (Jeremiah 9:4-5 and Mark 13:5) We need to resist the devil, and those doing
his work, by submitting ourselves to The Lord God and His Holy Word. (James
4:7) We also need to study The Word of God so that we can correctly
discern that which is true in what we have heard. (2 Timothy 2:15)
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