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“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.” (Romans 16:17-20, ESV)

Pastor Abel’s sermon on this passage is titled, “Faithful, Not Famous”.

There are many dangers and pitfalls inherent in the Christian life. While much of Romans chapter sixteen is devoted to greeting the faithful Christians of Rome by name, Paul, in the above section, specifically calls out one such danger: false teachers.

Paul is so serious about false teachers, that he directly says in this passage to avoid them, to stay away, and not risk getting deceived by them. Notice that in the context, Paul ties false teachers with Satan by saying, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” The implication is that Satan, and all those who serve him, namely false teachers, are enemies of the church that God will ultimately have to deal with.

What are the characteristics of false teachers? Paul gives us five characteristics in this passage alone:

  1. They cause divisions. They not only participate in divisions, but they are the source.
  2. They create obstacles. Specifically, they make believing and living out the gospel of grace, the very same gospel Paul has taught all throughout Romans, difficult.
  3. They serve their own appetites, not Jesus. They are concerned with worldly things.
  4. They use smooth talk and flattery like weapons. To compliment someone, or encourage someone, or to express gratitude for someone’s service, is not a problem. But if someone uses words to puff up your own sinful pride, or to compliment you excessively so as to flatter, you should pay attention to that. It is one of the signs of a false teacher.
  5. Their goal is to deceive, not to teach truth. They are not merely sinners seeking out the truth. They are actively working against the gospel and against the church.

It is important to recognize the genuine danger here, but it is also important to use the principle of Charitable Judgment when trying to discern if someone is a true false teacher. Paul says that “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:7, ESV). As sinners who have been saved, we must give each other grace and not be too quick to write someone off as a false teacher.

 

Further Study

  • Read Jude 4, 2 Peter 2:1-3, and 2 Timothy 3:6.
  • What are some of the key characteristics of false teachers according to these passages?
  • Read the article “The Five Tests of False Doctrine” by Tim Challies. It is short but offers some great practical ways to test teaching to see if it is in line with God and his word.