Today we come to the final section of the book and Paul's closing remarks.
Romans 16:17–27
17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
21 Timothy, my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Jews. 22 I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord. 23 Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings. Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings. 24
25 Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith—27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
First in verses 17-20 Paul strikes a very different tone than he does in chapters 14-15, where he tells them to welcome one another and bear with one another in their differences. Remember, there he is talking of disputable matters or opinions. Here he seems to be talking of matters of essential doctrine or clear ethical imperatives ("obstacles" usually refers to something leading to apostasy). When we take into account the full weight of Paul's writings, remembering that he is writing these letters to a specific group of people regarding specific issues they are facing, the nuances become more clear. In Galatians he says that if they accept circumcision Christ is of no value to them and they are severed from Christ (Gal. 5:2-4). In 1 Cor. 5 he tells the church not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother if he is guilty of sexual immorality or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler (1 Cor. 5:11). In 2 Timothy 3 he tells Timothy to avoid a long list of people. All that to say we must take into account the whole of Scripture and be aware of the circumstances that elicit each response from Paul and be wise about how we apply each teaching. His statement in v. 19 sums this up well. They are to be "wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil." This is the challenge of Christian living, requiring a renewed mind and knowledge of God's will (Rom. 12:2).
Paul's statement that God will crush Satan under their feet is a hyperlink back to Genesis 3:15, which is known as the first declaration of the gospel. Paul believes that God will accomplish this soon, likely at the return of Jesus. His belief that God will soon crush Satan may seem a little hollow roughly two thousand years later. Paul's theology is consistent throughout his letters. He certainly believed that Christ would return soon and bring his kingdom in full, but he never gives an exact day or time. He instead teaches that Christ's return is always imminent. However long he may tarry we must, as Paul did, remain vigilant in waiting for Jesus to return. In his final closing prayer he reminds us that our hope in Christ's return is not misplaced—"in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past". Just as the first coming of Jesus seemed long overdue when he finally came on the scene, God will certainly bring about his second coming.
Even here in his final prayer we see the main themes of the book on display yet again. The end of verse 26 he brings up the key aspect of the gospel that the Gentiles would now come to the obedience that comes by faith. Then he closes with the primary theme of the book and the Christian life in general—the glory of God.
Additional Content
Reflection
Think of where we in the church should draw hard lines and where we should bear with one another. These must be informed by Scripture and the truth must always be communicated in love. But there are truths that we must cling to and lines that must be drawn. What are those essential truths? Love is not synonymous with a blind acceptance of everyone's "truth" and way of life, as our culture would have us believe. yet there are clearly differences of opinion that we should tolerate, while there are also truths that we need to cling to.