Lonang Commentary on Romans 16

[Skip Rom. 16:1-16.]

Rom. 16:17-20 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.

Divisions, Schisms and the Church of Rome

Here Paul gives a warning concerning those who cause divisions and create obstacles in the Church. He makes a similar appeal elsewhere:

I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or were you baptized in the name of Paul? 1 Cor. 1:10-13.

It’s easy to change the names to something more familiar, such as, “I follow Calvin,” or Luther, or Wesley, etc. Essentially, the big tent distinctions are the same thing. “I’m a Roman Catholic,” or Eastern Orthodox, or Protestant, or take your pick of scores of denominational affiliations. I think it’s safe to say that, on the whole, and over history, the Church has handled this problem rather poorly. Factor in the tendency of some churches to refuse to extend fellowship to members of other denominations, and what you have is an extremely divided and schismatic church.

At the same time, speaking strictly from a legal association viewpoint, anyone, and any group of people, is free to associate with whom they please according to location, beliefs, or other factors at aby time. Nothing in the Bible requires all believers in the same geographic area to worship together in the same assembly or fellowship. So on that score, no one is prevented by scripture from separating from others and starting or joining a new group – we all have that liberty in Christ.

I’m neither saying that the current state of affairs is all good, nor that it is all bad. It is probably unavoidable, precisely for the reason that I keep referring to. Namely, that Jesus put no one in charge of the Church, gave no one ruling authority in the Church, and established no internal governmental structure in the Church. There is simply Jesus as Head of the Church, and everyone else in equal relation to each other in the Church body. Which of course refers to the Church in its most universal form – heavenly and spiritual, not tied to any particular place or leadership. But this also means Jesus didn’t create any earthly church congregations or legal corporations, personally appoint leaders in eavery congregation, or dictate what form any earthly church should take.

Necessarily leaving every believer with the ability and the discretion to associate with any other believers, or not, of their own choosing. So it should be no surprise to anyone that this is exactly what people have done over the years. Yes, splinter groups certainly can wander off into cultist territory, and some have. Not that there is really any way to prevent that, except by offering people sound and solid teaching based on the scriptures. To some ministers, their greatest fear is some radical insurgent Christian coming in and leading people astray. It’s a possibility, sure – but probably a lot less likely than the minister sleeping with someone else’s wife.

Far more likely is the scenario where the organization will circle the wagons, and eliminate any dissent – or nonconforming voices perceived as a threat by weak minded leaders. And certainly, there is a lot of history to back this up. Inquests and inquisitions, heresy trials, witch hunts and excommunications pursued for the sake of purifying’ the ranks. Often conducted with the most dubious methods at arriving at guilt or truth, as if any one person (or group of people) have the right or authority to determine the validity of another person’s opinions. God has never granted such a power or authority to the Church or any church leader.

It is ironic, in light of Paul’s appeal for unity among believers here in Romans, that the Roman church today views itself as the exclusive representation of the body of Christ on earth, and that all other people calling themselves Christians are not of the true faith. It doesn’t seem to me that claiming a draconian authority to recognize true believers, make doctrinal statements on par with scripture, and claiming the exclusive apostolic authority in the world, is quite what Paul had in mind.

But that is the human condition. On the one hand, ready to skitter off at the drop of a hat and disavow everyone else, and on the other hand ready to burn any nonconformists at the stake or drown them in a well. I admit, I don’t know of any practical way to achieve the Christian unity that Paul calls for here. All I know is that all prior attempts to attain it have failed. I suspect, when Jesus gathers all of His saints together to Him in the air, a lot of people will be surprised by whether they are or aren’t included. But it’s just not any of our jobs to decide who the true Christians are. Only Christ Himself knows, and we have to leave it at that.

What we could achieve, maybe, is for every church, regardless of size, affiliation, or distinctive doctrine, to treat every other church with equal respect and dignity. Actually, now that I think about it, all the evidence suggests that is impossible. Oh, well.

[Skip Rom. 16:21-27.]