It has been a long time since I have had a visit from Jehovah’s Witness, but a few times they have come to my door. The debate I often have with myself is, “do I welcome them in and share my faith in Christ or do I avoid them?” Truth and relationships are at stake.
Recently I had several conversations with people who noted that we don’t seem to hold each other accountable any more. If someone is doing stuff that is questionable, we don’t want to get involved. How can we accept them if what they are doing is unacceptable? Truth and relationships are at stake.
There are many connections between our understanding of the truth and our relationship to others who do not share our understanding. Some of you challenged me after last Sunday’s message to consider some other aspects of the topic I preached then. When I returned to Romans 15, 16 on Tuesday to plan for the final messages on Romans, I discovered something very interesting. Last week we looked at Romans 15:7 which says, “Accept one another.” Romans 15:14 says, “Instruct one another;” and Romans 16:17 says, “Keep away from them.” So what does the Bible really say? How can you instruct someone if you are to accept them? How can you accept someone if you are supposed to keep away from them? Is the Bible contradicting itself? How do we maintain a good relationship between truth and love?
Last week, the theme was “accept one another.” By way of review, let me remind you that we found from Romans 14, 15 that we cannot get around the fact that there are disputable matters. We found that people who are sincerely trying to follow God come up with different understandings of what it means to be a disciple. We were instructed, in Romans 14:3 that we should not look down on those who do not seem to have freedom and, on the other hand, those who do not have freedom should not judge those who do. In other words, we should accept one another. At the same time, we also recognized that it is important to search the Scripture and seek God on these issues. Romans 14:5 says, “Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” A further lesson which came out of these chapters is that those who have freedom need to be very careful to hold that freedom in such a way that they do not cause a brother or sister to stumble. They need to act in love and in such a way as to build up their faith and not tear it down.
This is what it means to accept one another as this Scripture teaches and we need to recognize its importance and learn what it means to live by this way.
However, what if a brother or sister is doing something that seems to us to be more than just a disputable matter? What if a brother or sister is believing something that seems to us to be harmful to their faith? Is it then still OK to accept them and do nothing else? Are we not called to hold each other accountable?
We need to remember that Paul not only wrote Romans 14,15, but also Galatians 6:1 where he says, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted.”
Paul alludes to an answer to this question in Romans 15:14. What he is doing in these verses is affirming them as capable followers of Christ. Remember that he had not planted this church and he had never actually been there before, although he was hoping to visit. He had heard about the church and cared about the believers in Rome and on that basis was writing to them quite passionately and clearly. In these verses he is being humble, recognizing that God has been at work in them and that it is by their graciousness that he has been able to write to them. So in 15:14, he affirms them and in so doing makes a significant comment on the theme we are looking at today. He says to them, “I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.” It is evident from this that we should not just accept one another, but also instruct one another which includes holding one another accountable. So the question becomes, “how can we accept one another and also teach one another?” Or if you want to follow the verse in Galatians 6:1, “How can we restore someone, doing it gently, and keep watch for ourselves?
Perhaps the way to hold each other accountable is to ask some pertinent questions.
I know that my motives are not always pure and my reasoning is not always sound. Therefore, the place to begin as we think about holding others accountable might well be to ask ourselves, “Why do I want to do this?” Why do I feel a need to confront a brother or sister about the way they are living or believing? It is entirely possible that we may want to do so because we have a need to manipulate other people. How subtle this attitude can be! It is possible for us to cloak manipulation in a veil of righteousness indignation. It will take some brutal honesty in our own hearts to determine if that is the motivation which drives us to want to teach others. It may also be that we want to hold them accountable because we have a difficult time accepting differences. Sometimes when we are insecure in our own beliefs, we manifest over confidence, not because we are so certain but because we want others to think that we are. If we want to hold others accountable because we are having a hard time accepting them or because we cannot help ourselves from judging them, then we must re-examine our own hearts. If, on the other hand, our motive for holding someone else accountable is because we are deeply concerned for their soul and their life and we believe that they are in danger, then may be safe to go ahead. So the first task is to examine our own hearts before we “teach one another.”
Another question we could ask the other person is, “Is this a disputable matter or is it more serious?” The way in which we can ask this is to go back to Romans 14:5. There we were told that “each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.” Because this command is in Scripture, I think we have every right to ask one another, “are you fully convinced in your mind that you can do this or believe this “unto the Lord?” If they say “yes” we need to accept that and accept them. If they are not sure, we have the opportunity to invite them to reconsider. I believe that this allows us to “instruct one another” gently.
Accepting one another is only one part of being community and living in God’s truth. Another part is teaching one another.
Last week as we looked at how Paul was very gracious to those who were refusing to eat meat and were insistent on keeping certain days, I was a little puzzled about Paul’s gracious attitude. The reason I was puzzled was because Paul is much more vehement about these very same issues in other passages. For example, in Colossians 2:16-23 he is much harder on people who are promoting these same issues. That makes this whole discussion very puzzling. Are we to accept one another or are we to avoid those who teach things contrary to the gospel?
The third passage, Romans 16:17-20, calls us to an extreme opposite perspective and helps us understand when it is time to accept and when it is time to avoid. The primary difference seems to be between people who are genuinely trying to follow the Lord, but struggling with some issues and those who are boldly teaching things contrary to God’s truth. But let us examine the text to see the details.
One of the things Paul helps us do in this passage is to recognize that there are certain situations when we cannot accept the influence or teaching of certain people. How do we recognize when they are beyond being accepted and even beyond accountability?
First of all, Paul says that they “cause divisions and put obstacles” in the way of good teaching. We need to be very careful when a teacher or a group says, “we have the only truth” or “ours is the only true church.” Such attitudes are divisive and although this is not the only thing to watch for, when you hear that, it should raise a warning signal in your mind about the truth of this teaching.
There are different stumbling blocks which may be put in the way of faith and one of them is when teaching becomes complicated and confusing. If they are teaching, as essential truth, things that are obscure in Scripture, that should also raise a warning in our mind.
As we read on we see that we can also recognize those who are dangerous because they teach what is contrary to sound teaching. We know that there are disputable things. For example, as Mennonites, we believe that as Christians we would not take up arms in war. Yet we would never say that unless you agree with that you are not a Christian. We recognize this as a disputable matter. But there are some matters of the faith that are not disputable, they are foundational. We recognize that believing in God as the supreme creator and Lord of the universe, the coming of Christ to earth to die for our sins and the resurrection of Christ which has gained life are foundational truths. If any teachers proclaim things that are contrary to these foundational truths, we would recognize them as dangerous teachings.
A further indicator of those who present a danger to faith are those who “are not serving our Lord Christ.” The center of the Christian faith is Jesus Christ. A while ago, Ben found a piece of paper in the pews in which some young person had counted the number of times I said the word “Jesus” in a message. The count that Sunday was 55. May that never stop, but even more may we not only give Him lip service, but serve Him with our whole lives. If the church or a certain teaching is at the center, that is a sign of danger. Jesus must be at the center.
Paul goes on to say that these teachers do not have Jesus at the center, instead, they have their own selves at the center. NIV says that they serve, “their own appetites.” NKJV has a more literal translation when it says they serve “their own belly.” I don’t want to say anything about specific TV preachers, but when you look at the extravagant lifestyle some live and the fact that they refuse to divulge their financial statements, you have to wonder what their true motive is. There is reason for significant concern about them.
The great danger of these false teachers is that, “By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people.” They seem to be so nice and so sincere. Their message is so well presented and yet they are deceivers. This makes this warning so significant that we must be aware of such dangers. If any of the above issues – causing divisions, putting obstacles in the way, teaching what is contrary to sound doctrine, serving their belly instead of Jesus and being deceptive – are evident in any teacher, that is a warning sign.
So how do we respond to such warnings?
First of all, Paul says, “Keep away from them.” Keeping away from them does not mean being rude to them or slandering them. Romans 12:14 teaches us to “Bless those who curse you” and Romans 12:18 encourages us to “live peaceably with all.” Avoidance does not mean that we stop caring about them or praying for them. But we do need to make sure that the influence of their teaching does not enter into our hearts and become a part of our life. I would challenge some of you to be very careful about regularly watching the television programs of some who would fall into this category. If the warnings I mentioned go up in your mind, find out more and discuss it with other believers and then avoid whatever is dangerous to faith.
One of the best remedies for avoiding false teaching is to walk in obedience to the truth. Most often the way in which a person falls away from the faith is not that they believe differently and then begin to behave differently. Often they begin to behave differently and then accommodate their beliefs to their behavior. Therefore, the way to keep on in the faith is through obedience. Whatever we are taught in Scripture must be obeyed. As we obey Jesus because we want to obey Jesus, we will walk in the truth.
The third thing Scripture says is “be wise about what is good and innocent about evil.” The question we are answering is, “How can we live in faithfulness to the truth of Jesus?” It is not by knowing evil that we will be able to avoid evil, but by being so familiar with good that the evil will be quickly obvious. If we have such a deep understanding of what is good, if we understand God’s truth and focus on Jesus and love Him deeply, then anything that is contrary to that life will be quickly evident. I know some people who seem very naïve. They don’t have an understanding of all the cultural nuances in the world and it seems that you can easily fool them because they are very trusting. But I also know that those same people, who love Jesus deeply and serve him faithfully would never be drawn into evil. Because they are so wise about what is good and so innocent about what is evil, they naturally and intuitively walk in the truth.
At camp I have often heard the youth sing “Romans 16:19 says.” They do it with great enthusiasm because this verse not only speaks about the means to victory over evil, it also speaks about a promise about the victory God is bringing. The good news is that we won’t have to fight this battle forever.
This is the only mention of Satan in the book of Romans. The mention of Satan reminds us that we are not just in a human battle, but a demonic one in which vigilance is important. But the fact that he is only mentioned once tells us that we should not focus much on Satan, but rather on the truth of God. John Piper says, “Those who think of all struggles in terms of conflicts with the devil to be fought in face-to-face combat must wonder how Paul could write fifteen chapters about salvation and Christian living and not mention the Satan. Paul’s silence till now does not mean that Satan is insignificant, or that he can be trifled with. But it does mean that we deal with Satan mainly indirectly rather than keeping him in our mind and going toe to toe.”
The good news is that his days are numbered. God promised in Genesis 3:15 that the enemy would be utterly crushed. How is that happening? First of all, Christ has defeated Satan decisively on the cross. Colossians 2:15 says, “And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Our hope is that when Christ comes again he will be completely defeated and put out of the way for all the rest of eternity. Revelation 20:10 says, “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” So what happens in the meantime? The encouragement of this passage is that the deception and evil in the world is being overcome by God and we have a part in it.
This verse says three important things. First of all that “God will crush Satan.” But what is interesting is that we have a part in that. He is crushing Satan, “underneath your feet.” As we rely on God and as we do God’s work we share in the defeat of Satan. We also notice from this verse that he will do it speedily. As we get tired of waiting, perhaps a bit impatient, we need to recognize that the victory will come in God’s perfect timing. This struggle with evil and falsehood in the world will not last forever.
In matters of concern, we must gently and graciously teach one another and hold each other accountable. In disputable matters, we need to make sure we don’t look down on one another or judge one another, but accept one another. In matters that undermine the foundation of the faith, we need to make sure that the false teaching does not influence us or our brothers and sisters.
How do we know which response is called for in any given situation? There are two fundamental truths we must keep in mind. One is the concern for truth and righteousness and the other is a concern for the loving thing. Most often, if we keep these two truths in mind, we will know how to act. Sometimes we find it hard to know which action is the holy and loving thing to do. At such times, we need wisdom and God has also promised us that in His Word.
May God help us to live in His truth with grace.
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