Romans 16:17-27
So today we finish Romans! We’ve been just four days short of three months in I and II Corinthians and Romans, Paul’s longest letters. Tomorrow we move back to Acts for a bit. It’ll be a nice change!
Scholars believe that Paul wrote Romans from Corinth. Recall that he had spent 18 months there on his second missionary journey and was now visiting them on his third, so Paul had a lot of friends in Corinth. This we can see, in part, from the number of people who along with Paul send greetings to the Roman church. Two of these, Tertius and Quartus are apparently slaves. Their names mean third and fourth, a common naming process among slaveholders in Rome.
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. (v. 17) My first thought on reading this verse had to do with discussions among believers that sometimes get quite animated – heated, even! And while generating ill will among believers is not good, Paul here is speaking of divisions and obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught. That is, he is not ruling out disagreements among believers as to Scriptural interpretations or institutional structures or whatever else is of lesser consequence. He is concerned with doctrinal matters, as we should be also.
Unfortunately we are prone to disagreements resulting from confusions over interpretations, as in what does Scripture say or what does that sentence/paragraph mean? For example, sprinkling or immersion baptism…?? Churches split over issues like this! We need to be careful! In our own recent change from two services to one a substantial number of people moved on to other churches, and we are sad to see them go. However, there are still a number of people who are still with us who may quietly disagree with how we are doing things. And I daresay that each and every one of us has a suggestion as to how to make things better! But better for whom? As I posted a few days ago, we need to be less concerned with what we like or dislike and more concerned with how to bring non-believers into the fold. And in all things let’s not …cause divisions and create obstacles…!
Slava Bohu!