Please turn with me to the book of Romans and chapter 16. The book of Romans and chapter 16 as I welcome you to our evening series of messages where we are continuing to look at the Apostle Paul's personal concluding words. I have said before, let me say it again, that these passages are important. They're important because they give us a kind of backstage view of what was happening in the early church. So when you are having your personal devotions or personal Bible study and you get to these final greetings, don't begin to change gears to start going down. Rather, keep your antennas up, put on your thinking cap, and really try and study those passages, bearing in mind that behind them are real churches. real churches relating to one another, churches in danger of being cursed by the Lord Jesus Christ and consequently wilting churches, some of whom under intense persecution. And so you begin to sense the chemistry of what was happening then and asking the question if this is true about us now. The last time we were in Romans chapter 16, we spent our time looking at the greetings, the list of 18 greetings that we find just before verse 17. And what we're doing then was to simply pick out the salient features in these passages. We were looking at what a greeting is and what we would notice from Paul's greetings in this text. Now, in most of the Pauline epistles, the moment the Apostle Paul went from greetings, he went to either a benediction or simply cloth. He did not again get into any appeals, any commands, any injunctions on the churches. But here he does, and so we notice that as he enters into verse 17, he again begins to appeal to the brethren to do something. And because of that, some individuals have felt that a passage like verse 17 down to verse 20 were later additions to the book of Romans, not written by the Apostle Paul, because it is not fitting into the characteristic way in which he writes. You will notice that when you get to verse 21, he is again back in the greetings. He says, Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, and on and on he goes. How do we explain that? Well, don't worry, we will soon see why the Apostle Paul takes this short break in order to make the appeal that we are looking at here. Let me quickly read it, verse 17. And down to verse 20, although we are really only looking at verse 17 and 18 this afternoon, under the title, Handling Divisive People in the Church. Handling Divisive People in the Church. But let's read it together. I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught. Avoid them, for such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise. as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Why on earth would the Apostle Paul, in the midst of the greetings, come and deal with this matter? Well, it's quite simple if you simply keep in mind what was happening prior to this. In verse 16, the Apostle Paul said, greet one another with a holy kiss. And all the churches of Christ greet you. And the greeting with a holy kiss was a greeting of deep affection. It was a greeting of fraternity. It was a greeting that says we belong to one another. There are warm feelings between us because we are a family. And it is as the Apostle Paul says that, that he realizes there are some people who may still be in the context of the church who must not be given this warm embrace, this fraternal greeting, this affectionate greeting with a holy kiss. And so he immediately goes to deal with that matter. And so that's really the context. And when he deals with it, he then comes back to the greetings. Once you appreciate that, then it's a lot easier for you to see that this was not a letter addition. This is flowing as the Apostle Paul is dictating this letter to be written by Tertius, who is the one who actually wrote the letter. Well, what do we learn then, brethren, from the words of the Apostle Paul in handling divisive people in the church? First of all, it is the fact that as members of the church, it is our collective responsibility to be on the lookout for divisive individuals among us. Yes, it is the responsibility of our elders, but it is our responsibility as well as individual members of the Christian church. This is the appeal that the Apostle Paul makes, not to the elders of the church, but to the saints in the church in Rome. Verse 17. just before the last injunction in verse 17. I appeal to you brothers to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught. The Apostle Paul is speaking, making this appeal. It's not a command. It is an appeal, it's sort of urging the troops to do something so that they might be urged on. And what is it appealing to the brethren to do? Basically, the phrase there is to watch out. That's the phrase, to watch out. Brothers, I appeal to you to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles and so forth. What does watch out mean? Basically, it means to be extremely particular about something. It is to get sufficiently acquainted with something. It is to search out thoroughly and therefore come to a very clear conclusion. In other words, you should be able to say, that one, that one, I am very clear, I have acquainted myself to the details, I have searched out, and I am going to be careful with that person. Putting it a little differently, It is avoiding being a person who has a casual attitude towards somebody who is in that particular category. I mean, for instance, if you were to be told that brother X or sister Y tested positive for COVID-19, And then you're about to enter a bank, and you see Brother X or Sister Y walking towards you. I mean, your entire antennas would be up. You would already be saying, that one is definitely not somebody that I need to greet warmly, give a hug, or even this, you just don't know what you might collect when your fist comes back, and so on. The person has become a marked person in the context of your fellowship. That's what we do. And it is that caution that the Apostle Paul is bringing to the brethren. He is saying, make sure you are watching out because, as we shall go on to see a little later, there is a Lord that is at stake. Now, who are these individuals that we are to watch out? They are not COVID-19 carriers, but who are they? Well, we are told it is those who cause divisions and create obstacles that are contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught. In other words, it's people who are toxic. People who turn anthills into mountains. People who turn error into heresy. In other words, whatever this thing is that they have clutched on, they make it into the thing that matters the most in the whole of Christendom. and they are willing to break down an entire church over it. These are the individuals that cause divisions. These are individuals that create obstacles. And it is, as the Apostle Paul says, contrary to that which you have been taught. Now, sometimes they could be right in terms of the specific issue that they have a concern about. But it is the way they go about it, the magnification that they give to it, so that it now begins to look as though if you don't agree with them on that particular issue, you are on certain side, you are going to hell and you are dragging other people to hell with you. And that's what raises alarm in the entire church and causes brethren to be scampering for cover in every direction. But also, it is the fact that in dealing with the matter, they end up painting the leadership of the church as dark. as evil, as having wrong motives, as being lost themselves. And therefore, you are in danger if you continue following such leaders. Inevitably, because we all want to get to heaven, because we all want to be safe, the moment we begin to look at our leaders that way, cleavage begins to happen, division begins to happen, and you end up with a church being split. And the apostle Paul is saying, that's not what you have been taught. That's not what the apostles have been teaching. In fact, they have been teaching to the contrary with tears running down their cheeks, that sadly, that's what's going to happen. The Apostle Paul himself, speaking to the Ephesians in Acts chapter 20, puts it this way. Acts chapter 20. I begin reading from verse 28. Acts 20 and verse 28, pay careful attention, again there it is, to yourselves, but this time he adds, and to all the flock, he's talking to the elders this time, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. Verse 29, I know that after my departure, Fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things. We'll come to that in a moment. But here it is, to draw away the disciples after them. And the Apostle Paul says, therefore be alert. Remembering that for three years, I did not cease night and day to admonish everyone with tears to preserve the unity of the body of Christ, with tears. preserve the unity of the church. Back to our text, the Apostle Paul is saying there, I appeal to you brothers to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught. Obstacles being that you are no longer at home, you are no longer at peace in the context of the Christian church, Christian fellowship and so on. You are disturbed. you as it were have been caused to stumble. That's what he's referring to here. You've been caused to stumble and therefore the church is no longer enjoying the atmosphere of peace that it ought to have. Very well then, if as members of the church we should be on the lookout as an individual responsibility for those who are decisive, divisive among us, what should we do? The Apostle Paul has a simple answer, and it is this. Avoid them. No rocket science there. Avoid them. Back to our text. Avoid them. He says there, again reading the whole verse, I appeal to you brothers to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught. Avoid them. Nothing can be clearer than that from the appeal of the Apostle Paul. Avoid them. And the way in which you, in case you're one of those who says, what do you mean? What do you mean? You know, Christians are very fond of, what do you mean? Well, just go to the previous verse. Remember what I said. It gives you the meaning. In other words, with respect to others, he says, greet one another with a holy kiss. With respect to this, run for your life. That's really the meaning between the two. These are a contrast. Avoid them is the exact opposite of the previous text. He's saying, have nothing to do with them. Remember the COVID-19 example that I gave. It's obvious. The moment you know that somebody has COVID-19, we say, well, he ought to be quarantined. He ought to be quarantined. He ought to be taken away from everybody else and locked up somewhere else. You don't kiss him with a holy kiss. You don't. You separate from such an individual. Well, that's really what he is talking about here. And it's because of the simple principle which any doctor would tell you, and it is this. that good health is not contagious, disease is. Good health is not contagious, disease is. You play with somebody who has some flu, influenza, And what you would notice is that by the following day, you are sort of feeling something rough, scratchy, hitting, like a knife has cut you a little bit under the throat. What has happened? Well, you've picked up whatever that flu is. You have not passed on your health to that person, you have collected flew from that person. That's just what reality is. And so the Apostle Paul here is saying, avoid them. Now often, individuals have a different approach, and therefore let me quickly answer this. Notice that the Apostle Paul does not tell the members of the church, oppose them. He doesn't say that. He doesn't say, oppose them. Instead he says, avoid them. I'm emphasizing that because that's what often happens with ordinary individual members of the church who you discover are fraternizing. with individuals who are divisive in the church. And so when you ask, look, I saw you. What's going on? Well, I was trying to correct him. I was trying to correct her. I was trying to correct them. Is it your responsibility? No. The biblical injunction is not that you should correct them. Leave that to the elders. Your job is to flee, to avoid such company, because in due season you pick up the toxic aspect of the person. So these are the two most common excuses. One of them is that of correcting. Somehow we begin to feel it's our responsibility to take on the person and so forth. But the other is the one the Apostle Paul has already addressed by contrasting it with verse 16, and it is when we say it won't look That's the way we Africans particularly speak, isn't it? It won't look nice. The person came to visit my home, no, it wouldn't look nice for me to say, you know, what have you come here for? It won't look nice. And therefore, you know, we had to still fraternize. Otherwise, it won't look nice. What the Apostle Paul is saying, mark such individuals and avoid them because you need to remain well. Again, back to COVID-19. You've been told that this person has COVID-19. You've just come from giving a nice hug to somebody this high, and then you turn, it's them. Will you say, it won't look nice? Or will you say here, it's a matter of life and death? I better keep what we are now calling social distancing. for dear life's sake. Well, that's what the Apostle Paul is saying here. That is the very gap that must not be closed. We must not allow it because we will end up inhaling poison. And once we inhale the poison, that's it. And one of the things that you discover, and we'll come to that in a moment under my third point, is that divisive persons are deliberately individuals who want to pass on the virus. And therefore, they will not be the ones to social distance. They will not self-quarantine. Forget it. They will want to close the gap. They will want to talk with you. They will want to pour the poison, the toxic issue, into your ear. And consequently, they will be very happy if you have the attitude of, it won't look nice, or if you have the attitude that, I want to correct them. And therefore, let's sit down and let's talk. They are glad to do that because that way they are passing on that divisive information. Let's quickly hurry on to answer the question from Paul's own words, why avoid them? Paul is not leaving it open. He gives the answer himself. Let's read the text. Verse 18, for such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. And by smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive. The Apostle Paul is basically giving two answers. to the why question. Number one, they don't serve Jesus Christ. And number two, they deceive the inexperienced. Those two answers. Let's quickly look at both of them. First of all, he says they don't serve Christ. Well, then who are they serving? The Apostle Paul gives the answer there, that they are serving their own appetites. The phrase there, their own appetites, can also be interpreted as their own bellies. And it's not necessarily simply talking in terms of getting money out of people in order to buy food and then fill their bellies with it. Basically, it has to do with their own passion. In other words, they are self-serving. It's not about you. It's about themselves. And so, the statement I've put in my notes here is that they are not saving Christ, but they are saving their own egos. That's really what it is. They are saving their own egos. It's about them. Now obviously, if you were to confront divisive individuals, they will never admit, because you are now in the realm of motives. So they'll never say, no, actually, I'm on this issue. It's because I just feel nice that I'm taking this one on and so on. I just feel useful that I'm doing. Nobody will say that. Everybody will say, well, look, it's the name of the Lord. His reputation is at stake and so on. So the question is, how do you determine whether a person is saving the Lord or saving themselves? It's actually quite simple. It's not rocket science. And it is this. Christ's work is salvation and sanctification. That's his work. Salvation and sanctification. Primarily through the church. Salvation and sanctification. And so in the midst of the person being extremely loud, Ask the question, is there anybody in the church who can say, the person came to speak to me about my sin and pointed me to the Savior? He's been helping me. She's been helping me to become a Christian. Is anybody speaking like that? Here's another one. Is anybody testifying that this person is helping me to grow spiritually? To grow spiritually? That when I've been to the home, or they've come to my home, they've sat down and pointed out in my life those areas where I need to be Christ-like. I'm grateful to God for their ongoing ministry to help me grow spiritually. Here's another. As I said, it happens in churches. Are these individuals involved in planting churches? Where there is darkness there, complete darkness? taken the risk and gone there and established a church there and sought to raise money that the church should be planted. Is that what's going on in their life? Because brethren, that's the work of Christ. And if you want to know whether someone who's extremely loud is saving Christ, Don't even begin guesswork, because that's the work of the kingdom. As Jesus himself said when he was teaching his disciples to pray, a father who art in heaven, your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is being done in heaven. How does your kingdom come in human hearts? It's as they get converted. And how does God's will on earth get done the way it is done in heaven? It is as sanctification is taking place and growing. And God's kingdom spreads as churches are being planted. The divisive person is not serving Christ. Loud, yes, but not serving Christ. You can look at their last one year, two years, three years, four years, five years. You will not see God's work going forward. Often, it's the other way around. They pretend to be custodians of the church, defenders of the church. Somehow they are seeing danger everywhere and they are the ones that are trying to protect God's church, which they've never brought about. They've never brought individuals in through salvation, they've never raised people up in spiritual growth, but somehow they ought to be defending it. Are there such testimonies in their lives? Number two. So they don't save Christ, they save their own egos, and then they use smooth talk and flattery to deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting believers. To deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting believers. The word smooth talk there refers to being eloquent. They have a way with words that, therefore, if you are not really listening properly, they can end up sweeping you off their feet. And then, flattery is from the Greek word from which we get the word eulogy, which is something that normally happens when a person dies. When someone dies, and people now start coming, the coffin is there, and they start talking about the person, they always say good things about the person. Even if the chap was a total drunk, absolutely careless, a womanizer, and everything else, and finally met the rightful end, you wait until the person who comes to speak about him comes forward. In fact, there's a story told, I'm sure it isn't true, but that when a man had died and the eulogy was being given, his wife was sitting in the pew and she could not believe what she was hearing. And so she said to her son who was sitting next to her, that, son, just peep in that coffin to make sure we've come to the right funeral. That's a eulogy. It's flattery. It's the same word in terms of its root word. That's praising you. And often it is praising you while pulling other people down. That's the way in which these individuals tend to get their way. It is at least you, you know, you are reasonable. At least you, you want to listen. At least you. Not them. Always other people who are being pulled down, especially the leaders of your own church. Jude, in Jude 16, refers to this, and let's quickly go there, then I'll rush on to close. Jude 16, among the many warnings he gives, this is one of them. He calls them, Jude 16, these are grumblers, malcontents. following their own sinful desires. There it is, serving themselves. They are loud-mouthed boasters. In other words, they are the ones who really know it. They are the ones and so on. And then listen to this, showing favoritism to gain advantage. That's the flattery there. showing favoritism to gain advantage. In other words, they'll try and be good to you. They'll praise you. They'll do a lot because they are trying to win you to themselves in contradistinction to your bona fide leader. And before long, you yourself begin to feel, I'm in the wrong place, and division occurs. Now, for the unwary, for the inexperienced, and normally that phrase refers to young believers, the impressionables. at the mercy of these smooth talkers who use a lot of flattery. They're at the mercy and easily get swept away. That's where elders finally come in. But the church members will do the elders a lot of help by their example. when young believers see that they are avoiding the individuals with COVID-19. Their example proves a great help to the inexperienced, to what the apostle Paul calls here, the naive. Well, let's quickly hurry on. We do well, brethren. to learn from the Apostle Paul on how to handle divisive people in the church. Sadly, this species of church members did not become extinct when the Apostles all died. They are still with us even today. You don't need to look for them. You don't. They are the ones who come to you. After all, they've got an agenda. They're the ones who come to you, deliberately coming to you in order, as I said, to share their poison and in that way destroy you in terms of your confidence, in terms of your fellowship with fellow believers in the church, et cetera, et cetera. And we need to apply this to ourselves as a church. Because, trust me, the atmosphere that we might be enjoying here should never be taken for granted. All you need to do is to entertain individuals who are divisive, and before long, you will genuinely believe, notice I've used the word genuine, sincerely believe that KBC leaders are finished, they are lost, and the best thing you can do for yourself is to run away. You really believe it? If you do not take the counsel of the Apostle Paul. And what is the counsel? Avoid them. Avoid them. Avoid them. When every time after church, and you're meeting, whether it's in the car park or at home, and they open their mouths, and it's grumbling and complaining and everything else, and it's just a toxic atmosphere. Just say to yourself, I'm out of here. This is not good for my soul. I'm not going to be giving a holy kiss here. I'm running in the opposite direction. Thankfully, With every church, it's always a passing phase. It's always a passing phase. And when you have stood the test, often the divisive individuals get frustrated, and they're the ones who leave in a huff. But that period is where you really need to make sure you mark them, you avoid them, And consequently, you protect the innocent, the naive, the unsuspecting, and the inexperienced. And when that atmosphere comes back to normal, you then are able to kiss everyone with a holy kiss. Brethren, we need to appreciate the fact that our lives every so often going to be shaken in this particular way. This is the duty that the Apostle Paul gives to us. We have one foundation. The foundation is Christ. But others will come and start trying to move us away from that foundation to many other things, chasing after little rats. And it's possible for a church to end up being divided in an ugly way. Let's remember the foundation, and let's keep to it. Amen.