Good morning, everyone. Thank you again, Mark, for leading us. Beautiful morning this morning on the farm, a little sunshine, chilly weather. It's better than 14 rain, I think. Pretty nice out there this morning.

We're having our communion service as we do the last Sunday of every month. And the reason that we do that is Jesus commanded us to remember what he did for us, to remember the cross as we've been singing about this morning, the full satisfactory payment that Jesus made at the cross and his death, burial, and then God raised him from the dead with power, according to Romans 1:4, to show that he was satisfied with that payment. And through faith in him, we can have his righteousness imputed to us and our sins imputed to him. So we want to remember that. We want to proclaim his death until he comes. There's no efficacy, no sins forgiven through taking the elements or part of gaining salvation. But it's a remembrance of what Christ has done for us.

Well, we live in the strangest time. No longer is truth and justice and reason standards for our culture and society. The highest virtue in our world now is to not offend, to never judge. And we live as a culture on the basis of lies. Unfortunately, this movement, this mood, the fog that has enveloped the minds of the men of this world has also crept into the church. Truth, God's word, is no longer the center, the focus, the guide in the evangelical church today. Very few churches are committed to the word of God and the God of his word as the center, the focus, the end all.

I ran into an old friend, a brother from a church that Bobby and I went to when we were first saved. I hadn't seen him in several years. When that church adopted the means and methods of the new church growth movement and left the word of God as the standard and the center, we had left that church. But this man has stayed there all these years. And it may seem a small thing, but the first question he asked me was, how many people do you have in your church? Do you have a lot of young people in your church? 

I've never really been a numbers guy. You know, Pastor Krenz and I met for 20 years every week. We never talked about numbers. The elders and I meet regularly. We never talk about drawing in the lost or scheming to grow the church or methods or how we can make the church grow numerically, because our concern is that the church would grow in depth and maturity in the word of God.

Standing for the truth, standing on the word of God is not very popular today. Expounding absolute truth, proclaiming the word of God and saying, thus saith the Lord, brings a lot of unpopular implications that are not welcome in our world and mostly not even in the church. Doctrine is a dirty word. Doctrine divides. Doctrine offends. But my brother, my sister in Christ, doctrine is simply teaching about who Jesus is and what he has done. Doctrine is the only way that we can know who Jesus is, the only way we can keep our thinking straight in line with the will of God.

Paul tells the young pastor Timothy in Ephesus, until I come, take heed to the doctrine. Read the word. Exhort the people by the word. Warn them. Give yourself entirely to these things, he says. My friends, offending carnal men is necessary for salvation. The gospel is an offense. The truth of the condition of man, of the sinfulness of man, the holiness of God, and the exclusivity of salvation through Jesus alone, through faith alone, is an offense in this world. To religion itself, to the humanistic philosophies of our world and the ruler of this age.

But these truths are the standard. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. God's word, doctrine, is the only way that we can know what is true and what is false. And knowing and believing the truth is the only way that we can live holy and God-glorifying lives, loving God and loving men. Doctrine is everything, and the doctrines of Christ are the absolute standard.

In these last words of Paul in the book of Romans that we are studying this morning, Paul's greatest concern is that we would understand these truths. He spent the first 11 chapters of this amazing epistle laying down the doctrines—the condemnation of all men in Romans 1 to 3, the good news of justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ in chapters 3 to 5, the profound instruction concerning regeneration and sanctification in chapters 6 to 8, the trustworthiness of God and his promises to Israel and to us in Christ in Romans 9 to 11. Doctrine, doctrine, and more doctrine. 

And in chapters 12 to 16, he exhorts us, he beseeches us to apply these doctrines, to live in light of them so that we might present our bodies a living sacrifice to God, which he says is our reasonable service, our spiritual act of worship. And we see that these doctrines have many practical applications in the church, in the world, and for our witness.

Paul talked in the first half of this last chapter about real people and real ministry, a passion for people. And that was so encouraging to us. But his foremost concern, his last words, his final exhortation is a warning, a plea and a desperate desire for us to judge men according to what they teach, to warn about those who lie, who teach doctrines contrary to the doctrines of Christ. They cause division in the church, breaking down unity for one reason, because they teach things that are contrary to the truth of God's word concerning who Jesus is and what he has done and the promises that we have in him.

Paul says, please, my brothers, I beseech you, I beg you, be wise in what is good and simple concerning evil. Know the truth. Study the word. Continually renew your mind by the doctrines of Christ. And be discerning, recognizing those who would lead the brethren astray. And note them, call them out publicly, and warn the brethren about them, and avoid them. This is the final exhortation of our text of Paul's letter to the Romans. And we must heed this warning. We must obey this instruction, even when it's not popular, when they won't stand for sound doctrine, when we suffer for telling the truth.

For my brothers, my sisters in Christ, the truth is all that we have. We must not live by lies. We must not succumb to the pressures of this world, this culture, the schemes of the devil. If we are committed to the word of God, if we want more than anything to know what God says, to know God through Jesus Christ, by His word, then we shall know the truth. And Jesus says the truth will make us free.

There's a promise in John 7:17. If you will to do His will, you will know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God. Let's look at our text together, Romans 16:17. And I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore, I am glad on your behalf, but I want you to be wise in what is good and simple concerning evil. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

Timothy, my fellow worker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, greet you. I and Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and Cordus, a brother. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. 

Now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began, but now made manifest, and by the prophetic scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God for obedience to the faith, to God alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

I've given you five points on your outline this morning. First, contrary to the doctrine. Second, deception. Third, wise and simple. Fourth, a promise. And fifth, he is able.

Well, verse 17 is the main exhortation of our passage. He says, I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. The word note here means to mark out, means to scrutinize or discern. It has the idea of a public warning to all the brethren concerning false teachers. The point is that false teaching is so dangerous to the church, so dangerous to individual believers, to the furtherance of the gospel, that those who would teach any other doctrine must be dealt with, warned about, and avoided. Paul speaks strongly to this in Galatians 1 when he pronounces an anathema, a curse, upon anyone who would preach another gospel. 

I'd like for you to turn to 1 Timothy with me, 1 Timothy 1:3. We're just going to look at a couple of examples from the scripture of false teachings that are common in the church and have been over time. 1 Timothy 1:3, you remember Timothy's in Ephesus. He's got some problems in Ephesus. Paul left him there to straighten things out. 

1 Timothy 1:3, he says, as I urged you when I went into Macedonia, remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach no other doctrine, nor give heed to fables and endless genealogies which cause disputes rather than godly edification, which is in faith. Now the purpose of the commandment is love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, from sincere faith, from which some, having strayed, have turned aside to idle talk, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor the things which they affirm. But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there's any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.

Well, this is such an instructive passage for us. Paul says to Timothy, I don't want you to teach any other doctrine, and I want you to instruct everyone there that they teach no other doctrine. What doctrine? The doctrine of the gospel, of salvation by grace through faith, of sanctification by grace through faith, of an abiding life in Jesus. In contrast, Paul here notes some who were causing divisions by desiring to be teachers of the law. That is to bring the law on the believers as a means to holiness. We know this is the meaning because Paul clarifies with this statement in verse 8. He says, we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners.

These false teachers, like those in Galatia, were trying to place a yoke of bondage on the necks of the disciples. Sanctification by law keeping. We see this clearly in Galatians 2 and 3. Let's look at Galatians 2 at verse 18, please. Galatians 2:18. Paul's just talked about a disagreement that he had with Peter. You'll remember that Paul had gone there preaching the gospel. Churches had been founded in the region of Galatia, and then Peter had gone down there, and he was eating ham sandwiches with the Gentiles, and everything was fine. And then when the Judaizers, the legalistic Jews, came from Jerusalem, he withdrew himself, and Paul was concerned because he's making the gospel unclear. He's confusing the issue. In verse 18, Paul says, "For if I build again," referring to the law, "'if I build again those things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. For I, through the law, died to the law in order that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." 

Look at chapter 3, verse 1. He says, "O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified? This only I want to learn from you. Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish, having begun in the Spirit,' that's justification, 'having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect,' that's sanctification, 'are you being made perfect by the flesh?'" This is one error that often infiltrates the church. Justification by grace through faith, yes, but sanctification by the law, by looking to the law of Moses. 

But as Paul makes so clear in Galatians 3, first Timothy 1, this is not the purpose of the law. The law is to show us our sin. The law is to lead us to faith in Christ. But after faith has come we are no longer under a tutor Paul says in Galatians 3. Look with me what he says in 2nd Corinthians 3, 2nd Corinthians 3 at verse 2. Writing to the Corinthians he says, "You are our epistle written in our hearts known and read by all men clearly you are an epistle of Christ ministered by us written not with ink but by the spirit of the living God not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh that is of the heart. And we have such trust through Christ toward God not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from ourselves but our sufficiency is from God who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant not of the letter but of the spirit. For the letter kills but the spirit gives life. But if the ministry of death written and engraved on stones was glorious so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance which glory was passing away, how will the ministry of the spirit not be more glorious? For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory." 

Paul says here that the law of Moses written and engraved on stones is a ministry of death and condemnation. He writes we are not ministers of the letter, the law, but we are ministers of the new covenant and our sufficiency is not from ourselves but from God. The new covenant is so much better because in it God has saved us from the controlling dominating power of indwelling sin and has empowered us by his grace and life in us to live for him. We love him because he first loved us. It is the love of Christ that compels us, that constrains us to live for him and it is the life of Christ that empowers us to live by his grace through faith one day at a time.

So this is one error that was common to the early church and is very common in the church today: sanctification by law, the Christian life by legalism. But there’s another prevalent false doctrine that divides, that is contrary to the doctrines of Christ, that is very often typical of false teachers. We see this in 2 Peter 2 as we've been studying on Sunday mornings. Look over 2 Peter 2 with me at verse 1. 

First Peter tells us the reality of false teachers in the church. 2 Peter 2:1 says, "But there were also false prophets among the people even as there will be false teachers among you who will secretly bring in destructive heresies even denying the Lord who bought them and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words. For a long time their judgment has not been idle and their destruction does not slumber."

Listen to Peter's stunning words beginning in verse 10 as he continues to describe these false teachers in the church. He says they are those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries. Whereas angels who are greater in power and might do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand and will utterly perish in their own corruption and will receive the wages of unrighteousness as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices and are accursed children. So they're like Balaam; they love the money, they're greedy, they're in it for the influence, they're in it for the sexual immorality, they're licentious.

Verse 19 says, "While they promise liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption." These men are in the church, he says. We see that in the church in Corinth. There were false teachers in the church teaching licentiousness. And they were leading the people astray. We see in chapter 5 we had a man sleeping with his stepmother, and they weren't condemning it; they were glorying in it. He told them they should be ashamed. He says these men have eyes full of adultery, they cannot cease from sin, they're licentious, and they seek to draw away believers into their sinful, lascivious way of life. They promise them liberty, but they lead them into bondage. God wants you to be happy! You can live however you like; we're under grace! You deserve it! 

Every time I drive past Burger King it says, "Have it your way." Jesus came to give you your best life now! My brothers and sisters, this is a sick and twisted doctrine that divides and leads to destruction. God saved us. He transformed us. He regenerated us. He died for us so that we might live for Him! That we might be conformed to the likeness of Christ, that we might be growing in holiness, bringing glory to God and living as a witness to the men of this world and the transforming power of the gospel.

We in our deepest desire long to live holy lives. And Paul says it's our reasonable service to live according to who we are because of what God has done in us and because of His very life lived in and through us. 

I want you to notice that no matter whether the false teaching is legalism, which draws away many, or licentiousness, which draws away so many more, the key here is that the doctrine is not according to Christ. It's not according to the truth—to what the Bible says about who Jesus is, what He has done, the promises we have in Him, how He expects us to live, and the means by which He seeks to accomplish His will in our lives.

It does not say note those who cause division. Division is not necessarily bad. In Matthew 10:34 Jesus said, "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's enemies will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it. He who loses his life for my sake will find it."

The truth will bring division. But this is good; this divides the sheep from the goats. But the division Paul is talking about in our text is division that is the result of teaching doctrine contrary to the doctrine which you have learned, he says. That is the doctrine that Paul has written all through this great epistle. The doctrine of the gospel by which they had come to faith and the faithful teaching of godly men who were guiding them, encouraging them, strengthening them in the truth. And we know this was happening because their obedience was spoken of throughout the whole world. We see that in our text here and we also see it back in chapter 1. 

So Paul is specifically talking about a heteros, a different doctrine that causes division. For those who teach these things we are to mark them out publicly and warn the brethren, and we are to avoid such men. Well next we see in our text that this kind of teaching is a deception. It is meant to deceive and draw away. Look at verse 18. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple. And Paul uses two different variations of the word simple—one here in verse 18 and then again in 19. Here the word has the idea of unsuspecting, innocent, or undiscerning. Those who are led astray are not wise, mature, wary, watching. They're not practiced in the way of righteousness; they are vulnerable, unsuspecting.

And they are vulnerable to the smooth words and fine-sounding speech of these ministers of Satan. We will see in verse 19 that the word means to be unmixed or untainted, not mixed with evil. So how is it that we can keep from being taken captive, led astray, by the very fine-sounding words, the smooth words, the deceptive words of a false teacher? 

And turn over to Colossians 2; we'll read that passage that Mark read this morning. Colossians 2:6. He starts by saying, "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him." Well, how is it that you received Christ Jesus the Lord? You received him by faith. How are you to walk? You are to walk by faith, as Paul said in Galatians 2:20. "The life that I now live I live by faith in the Son of God." 

"As you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him." Rooted—here's how you avoid being taken captive—rooted and built up in him and established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. "And beware, look out, watch out! Lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ." 

He says the same thing here, for in him, in Jesus, dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And you are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power in him. You were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, in which you also were raised with him through faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead. 

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirement that was against us, which was contrary to us. And he has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. This is the promise of salvation, of regeneration, of redemption. You know, one of, if not the greatest hallmarks of false teaching is this: Yes, you need Jesus, but you also need something more. You need Jesus, but you also need the church. You need religious rituals and sacraments. You need Jesus, but you also need the law to keep you straight. You need Jesus, but you also must contribute your own works and sufferings to what was lacking in the cross of Christ.

False teaching is always, when it is Christian in name, Jesus plus something. Paul says don't be taken captive by hollow and deceptive philosophies according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, not according to Christ. Jesus is the fullness. He is all we need; he is sufficient. He has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness. We do not need Jesus plus anything. We need Jesus. 

So we see contrary to doctrine—that's the issue here—those who are dividing by teaching something contrary to the truth of the scriptures. We see deception; they're trying to deceive, pull believers away. And next we see wise and simple.

Verse 19 says, "For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore, I am glad on your behalf, but I want you to be wise in what is good and simple concerning evil." The church in Rome was doing well, was growing and flourishing and becoming mature, and this translated into obedience—obedience to God's calling, to the commands of the new covenant to believe Jesus and love one another. Their faith was spoken of throughout the whole world, Paul says. 

But there's some trepidation in Paul's writing, some concern that though these things were going well now, there was the threat of being drawn away, divided by false doctrine, by deceptive words and fine-sounding speech. I want you to be wise in what is good, he says. The word wise means skilled, expert, efficient, excelling concerning that which is good, the truth, God's word, holy living. They were to be excellent, skilled experts. 

But concerning that which is evil, they were to be simple—that is, their minds were not to be mixed or tainted with evil, simply consumed by that which is good. Thayer writes on the word simple: of the mind, without a mixture of evil, free from guile, innocent. We are to be continually renewing our minds to the truth of God's word. We are to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly. We are to be being filled with the Spirit. Whatever is good, whatever is pure, whatever is noble, whatever is of good report, we are to think on these things. We are to set our minds on things above, not on the things of the earth. Do not let evil enter your mind, taint your thinking, and corrupt the good by being mixed in.

You know, I was struck—we got rid of our television 20-some years ago, and lately we've been watching Blue Bloods on a little TV at night. But I, for the longest time, watched no television, went to no movies, never had that imagery coming in or that kind of stimulation. And one Sunday afternoon, we stopped at Bobby's parents for lunch after church, and there was a commercial for a horror movie on their television. Horror movies are not what they once were, by the way. But it showed these images and demonic—and I mean crazy—and I saw that, and I mean for weeks I couldn't—that would come in my mind, come in my mind.

Paul's saying here, be simple concerning evil. Don't be delving into those things. Don't be looking at those things. Don't put anything unclean before your eyes. Don't mix that evil with the good in your mind. This word is often used of wine or fine metals; it speaks of purity, it speaks of clarity. And this is what Paul wanted for the believers in Rome. It's what he wants for us.

As we patiently endure, as we abide one day at a time, as we think on that which is good, as we make our way through this world trusting the Lord, he says we can look forward to the promise. Look at verse 20. He says, "The God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly." The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. 

Here we see a contrast from the division caused by the heresy of the false teachers contrasted with the God of peace, the one who brings what was disjointed back into proper place and heals, who is the author of redemption, who is the author of unity. And this is a promise: God will crush Satan under your feet shortly. It may not seem like that in the world today, where everything is coming unraveled like a ball of yarn. David thought that in his time, too, didn't he? The wicked succeed; they have no pain in death. But God is still in control. His timeline is working out.

We need only to be faithful today. We need only to trust Him and patiently wait on the Lord. Shortly, quickly, suddenly, He will come and crush Satan. This is a reference to the promise of Genesis 3. The serpent bruised his heel, but Christ will crush his head. He will crush his head in judgment when he comes to set all things right and set up His kingdom on this earth.

Hold fast to this promise, my brothers and sisters. Rest your hope fully on the grace that is to be revealed at His coming. This hope saves us from fear and doubt and despair. God is in control. And as we see in the closing words of this great letter, He is able. He is able, verse 25, now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ. How is He going to establish you? How is He going to root you and ground you and build you up and allow you to have hope in this world, not to live in fear, but to be a witness and to boldly proclaim the truth? What does He say? "According to my gospel and by the preaching of Jesus Christ." Doctrine, truth, preaching of the Word of God.

He says to God alone, wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. He is able, my friend. He is able. I'm not able. I'm weak, feeble, failing. I'm so thankful it's not up to me to solve the problems of the world, to set things right, to punish the wicked and deliver the righteous, because I am wholly unable. But He is able. He has it all under control. He knows the end from the beginning. And not only is He able, but He is faithful, and He will do it.

The message of the Bible concerning what is yet to come in this world is this: Jesus wins. And we are in Christ. Justice will come and glory to judge the living and the dead. He will execute righteous judgment and will glorify those who are His. And He will set up His kingdom on this earth to rule and reign for a thousand years.

My friends, our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. Keep your eyes on Jesus. Avoid those who teach doctrines contrary to those you have learned. Mark them out. Warn the brethren. Expose the works of darkness with the light. Follow the truth. Live by the truth. Speak the truth. Believe the truth—the truth according to the Word of God.

Let's close in prayer. 

Father, we thank You for Your Word, Your truth. We thank You for salvation through faith in Jesus. Thank You for Your grace. Thank You that we stand in grace. Thank You for the promise of eternal life, the hope that we have in Him. And thank You for the work that we have to do here in this time as long as You tarry, to be witnesses, to be proclaimers of the truth, to encourage one another, to reach men through the preaching of Jesus Christ that they might be saved forever. Thank You that You're our Father, that You're able, that You're faithful, and that we can trust You. In Jesus' name, amen.