Commentary - Romans 16:17-20

Bird's-eye view

As Paul brings his magnificent letter to the Romans to a close, he does not simply trail off with pleasantries. After a long list of personal greetings that establish the deep relational fabric of the apostolic church, he pivots to a sharp and necessary warning. This is not an afterthought; it is a crucial application of all the doctrine that has preceded it. The gospel that saves also creates a distinct people, and that people must be guarded. Paul urges the brethren to be vigilant against those who would introduce doctrinal and ethical deviations. These dividers are not motivated by love for Christ, but by their own appetites, and their methods are slick and deceptive. The Roman church, whose obedience is widely celebrated, is now called to a mature wisdom, one that is shrewd concerning goodness and simultaneously naive concerning evil. The warning then climaxes in a glorious promise, reaching all the way back to the first gospel promise in Genesis. The God of peace Himself will crush Satan under their feet, tying their local church faithfulness to the cosmic victory of Christ. The section concludes, as it must, with a benediction of grace.

Outline

The Text

17 Now I urge you, brothers, to keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and stumblings contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.

Paul shifts his tone here from warm greetings to urgent warning. The word is parakalo, I urge, I exhort, I beseech you. This is not a mild suggestion. And he addresses them as brothers, reminding them of the family bond that these troublemakers are seeking to sever. The duty of the saints is twofold. First, they are to keep your eye on them. The word is skopeo, from which we get our word scope. It means to watch out for, to mark, to observe carefully. This is not a call for a suspicious and paranoid spirit, but rather for shrewd, discerning vigilance. What are they to be looking for? Those who cause dissensions and stumblings. These are not people who simply have a different opinion on a tertiary matter. They are creating divisions and manufacturing scandals or offenses. And the standard for judging their error is clear: it is contrary to the teaching which you learned. The apostolic doctrine, the faith once delivered, is the plumb line. The second duty follows from the first: turn away from them. The Greek is ekklinate. Get away from them, avoid them, give them a wide berth. Doctrinal purity requires ecclesiastical separation. We are not called to endless dialogue with those who contradict the foundational teachings of the faith. We are to identify them and avoid them.

18 For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own stomach, and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.

Here Paul reveals the true master of these divisive men. They present themselves as servants of righteousness, but their loyalty is a sham. They are slaves, not of our Lord Christ. This is a severe charge. In a letter that has exhaustively detailed what it means to be a slave of righteousness and a servant of Christ, this accusation carries immense weight. If they are not serving Christ, who are they serving? Paul gets earthy and direct: they are slaves of their own stomach. Their belly is their god. This is not just about literal gluttony, though that may be part of it. It points to all fleshly appetites, the desire for gain, for comfort, for reputation, for a following. Their ministry is driven by what they can get out of it. And how do they accomplish their aims? Not through sound reason and faithful exposition, but by their smooth and flattering speech. They are masters of rhetoric that bypasses the mind and appeals directly to the emotions. They are slick. They know how to make people feel good. And who are their victims? The hearts of the unsuspecting. The word is akakos, meaning innocent, simple, or naive. They prey on those who are not yet discerning, who are guileless and assume the best of everyone who names the name of Christ. This is why the command to be watchful is so critical.

19 For the report of your obedience has reached to all. Therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.

Paul softens his tone again, but only to strengthen his exhortation. He is not warning them because they are a troubled and disobedient church. Quite the contrary. The report of your obedience has reached to all. The Roman church had a stellar reputation. Their faith and obedience were famous. This is why Paul rejoices over them. But their strength is the very thing that needs to be protected. A good reputation can lead to a lack of vigilance. And so he adds the desire of his heart for them: but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. This is a brilliant paradox. He wants them to be shrewd, sharp, and discerning (sophous) when it comes to goodness. They should be experts in the truth, masters of righteousness. But concerning evil, he wants them to be innocent (akeraious), which means simple, unmixed, pure, like an animal without blemish. He doesn't want them to be experts in the ways of wickedness, knowing every nuance of heresy and every form of depravity. He wants them to be so focused on the good that they are naive and unacquainted with evil. This is the balance of Christian maturity: to be as wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.

20 And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

This is the magnificent climax. The local, practical instruction to avoid a few troublemakers in the church is suddenly connected to the grand sweep of redemptive history. The promise is that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. This is a direct and unmistakable allusion to the protoevangelium, the first gospel promise in Genesis 3:15, where God promised that the seed of the woman would crush the serpent's head. Paul is telling the Roman Christians that their faithfulness, their obedience, their wisdom in good and innocence in evil, is how this great cosmic promise is worked out on the ground. God is the one who does the crushing, but He does it under your feet. Our obedience is the instrument of Satan's defeat. This is not a promise that all our troubles will vanish overnight, but that the victory is certain and the end is near (soon). The God who brings peace through the blood of the cross is the same God who wages war against the serpent. And then, having scaled this glorious height, Paul concludes with a simple, potent benediction: The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. This is the fuel for everything he has just commanded. It is by grace that we can stand, discern, obey, and ultimately triumph.

Key Issues

Application

The modern evangelical church is often allergic to this kind of passage. We have prized a squishy sort of unity over doctrinal truth, and we mistake niceness for love. Paul teaches us here that true love for the brethren requires a fierce defense of the truth. We are commanded to be watchmen, not milquetoast hosts who think every idea deserves a seat at the table.

We must learn to identify the enemies of the gospel not just by their explicit heresies, but by their motivations and methods. Is a man serving Christ or his own belly? Is he building his own brand or the kingdom of God? Does he use smooth, flattering speech that makes unregenerate men feel comfortable in their sin, or does he preach the sharp, two-edged sword of the Word? These are diagnostic questions we must not be afraid to ask.

And finally, we must see our mundane faithfulness as part of a great cosmic battle. When you refuse to entertain slander, when you correct a brother gently in the truth, when you teach your children the catechism, when you turn away from a popular but compromised teacher, you are putting your heel on the serpent's head. God has enlisted us in this great war, and He has promised us the victory. It is a victory He will accomplish, and He will do it, wonderfully, under our feet.