Smooth Talkers - 2

Now, it is my desire, brothers, that you will take note of those who are causing division and trouble among you, quite against the teaching which was given to you: and keep away from them. For such people are not servants of the Lord Christ, but of their stomachs; and by their smooth and well-said words the hearts of those who have no knowledge of evil are tricked. (Romans 16:17-18 BBE)

We are all slaves – there is no avoiding that fact of reality. But the death and resurrection of Jesus has given us the freedom to choose who will be our master. This is one of the main battles raging in the great war going on in the supernatural realm. Our perception of our identity is the target of the enemy's fiercest attacks. He constantly assaults us with deceptions, with subtle and blatant lies, with perversions of reality, with allurements and inducements to surrender our freedom and true identity in Christ in exchange for pleasure, power or satisfaction. He uses fear and intimidation to attempt to frighten us into submission to the domination of our fleshly desires which are manipulated by him. He operates very much as our governments operate, promising security in exchange for giving up personal freedoms or for false promises of freedom. But just like governments have an ulterior agenda whenever they make these kind of false declarations, so too the enemy of our soul hides the real results of the choices he tries to get us to make.

But the enemy is not alone in his efforts to keep us locked into slavery to the counterfeit reality. Nearly all of the world is assisting him in his desperate attempt to coerce everyone into his mold. The analogy of the crabs in a box is very illustrative of how we tend to keep each other in the bonds of slavery to selfishness and fear. Whenever a crab tries to climb over the edge of a box to freedom other crabs will reach out and grab him with their claws and pull him back into the box with them. This is even more true in the pit of sinful thinking that we find ourselves in. Each time a person desires to escape the confines of bigotry, selfishness and the rule of force and fear, there are many waiting all around them to immediately use all means possible to prevent them from surrendering to the control of their new Master and escape the control of this world's systems.

During the Civil War in the U.S. there was a period of time at the beginning where the North suffered defeat after defeat on the battlefield. What many do not realize is that the war originally was fought, not over slavery but over the right of individual states to govern themselves differently than that dictated by the federal government. To this end it was rather difficult to inspire Union soldiers to give their lives just to keep the union of the various states under the control of the federal government.

But after the most bloody defeat in the history of this country (more deaths in one day than ever before or since in all the history of the United States), President Lincoln moved to declare the freedom of all slaves living within the regions of the United States of America. After that point, even though nothing outwardly changed for most of the slaves, the mindset internally of the slaves who learned of this proclamation was radically altered. Even though they still suffered under the abuses of their masters, they had the option to view themselves as free men and women and to believe in their new status no matter what transpired around them. It also stimulated the soldiers of the North to have a cause worth dying for far greater than just the preservation of a political union of state governments. This declaration of freedom by the highest authority of the land became the catalyst that eventually brought victory to the Union armies and began the long slow process of civil rights to all people in the United States.

The real fact is that true freedom is a state of mind even more than outward circumstances. But when a person fails to embrace the truth internally about their real identity but continues to view themselves through the lenses of their circumstances, then they will continue to act like slaves, feel like slaves and think like slaves no matter how free they may actually be. This principle of the mind is used to achieve one of the most pernicious and diabolical tricks of the enemy to keep us locked into a slavery mentality to sin even though we have been declared free and have the option to live in complete freedom inwardly.

I have observed many times that there is a subtle attitude among the descendants of American slaves that sadly seems to be incorporated into their very culture too often. It is an attitude of wanting to keep part of the slave mentality alive in order to leverage advantages for themselves in present situations. There are many among them who indulge in a habit of accusing others of being racist with little evidence of that fact simply because they know that the presence of racism can draw sympathy and attention to themselves.

I am not saying that there is no racism in this country. But what I have observed is that very often racism emanates from the heart of the purported victims of racism even more strongly than it often does from those they accuse of being racist. There is also the effect that accusing others of being racist can even induce a certain amount of racist attitudes in response when it was not present originally. But the underlying problem is far deeper than just racism or ignorance. The real problem is that people who may still be suffering disadvantages externally from slavery that was abolished long ago are still allowing the mentality of slavery to stay alive in their own hearts.

The very same thing is just as true for every person who is trying to be a Christian. When we allow ourselves to indulge in slavery mentality to sin when Jesus has declared us to be free, then we actually reinforce the lies about ourselves by our own choices to leverage our circumstances through false charges or assumptions. We even are going so far as to discount the word of God Himself and insist that our disadvantages and circumstances are proof that we are not really free as God says we are. This in reality is evidence of a heart of unbelief. And its effects to keep us in the chains of slavery are far more powerful than we realize.

What I see in these verses is a strong warning to separate ourselves from the “crabs” that are trying to keep our minds and hearts in slavery thinking. There are those within the body of believers who may appear to be Christians and act and talk like Christians but are still caught in sin's slavery-based thinking and feeling. Even worse, these individuals have become skilled at polishing their message of false identity in very compelling ways. They reinforce our doubts about our true freedom and cause us to focus on our disadvantages and feel sorry for ourselves. They cast doubt over the pronouncements of freedom that come from God's Word and confuse our hearts with skepticism and fear.

Even worse, these same people may be using the words of freedom to keep us in a slave mentality. They may be claiming that our freedom in Christ disconnects us from responsibility for complete obedience to God's requirements. They may say that because of Christ's death that we no longer have to obey the Law of God and that such obedience is really impossible anyway. But in using the smooth language of freedom they are actually deepening the bondage to sin in the lives of those who embrace their wonderful-sounding teachings.

This all results in creating occasions for stumbling and makes us hesitate in our pursuit of knowing God more deeply. This kind of thinking portrays God in ways that make us become afraid of Him again, to doubt the permanence of His mercy, to reinforce religious lies that are so pervasive in this world. Or their words may portray a God who excuses sin in our lives and softens His requirements in order to make it easier for us to meet His standards of maturity and perfection.

This text reveals that these people are themselves still caught in the mentality of slavery to the lies about God that have kept all of us in bondage for most of our lives. They are still focused on a pseudo salvation that revolves around saving our own selves in heaven more than saving God's reputation at any cost to ourselves.

I am becoming more and more aware of the truth that much of what I have believed and what is still largely taught in Christianity is a counterfeit gospel that goes largely unchallenged. The more I learn about true reality and the truth about God that He is revealing to me through His Word, the more I sense the residue of slavery thinking that still inhibits me from fully embracing my freedom. But the closer I get to the passionate heart of God the more the false notions are exposed in the light of His truth and I am granted the opportunity to release yet more lies and enter into more complete freedom in my life.

I want to enjoy the freedom of slavery to Christ. It is a slavery like that enjoyed by lovers who are so captured by the beauty and attractions of the object of their attention that they have no time or interest in other distractions. It is a slavery of love and affection and devotion that is all-consuming for the life. It is the most wonderful dichotomy that exists.

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Smooth Talkers - 1

Now, it is my desire, brothers, that you will take note of those who are causing division and trouble among you, quite against the teaching which was given to you: and keep away from them. For such people are not servants of the Lord Christ, but of their stomachs; and by their smooth and well-said words the hearts of those who have no knowledge of evil are tricked. (Romans 16:17-18 BBE)

As usual I find these words taking on a new dimension when I look at the definitions of the various words from which they were translated. But I also sense that beyond just being very interesting that there is a great deal for me to apply to my own life in this passage. I cannot exempt myself from being a person who at times may cause dissension or create causes for stumbling within the body of Christ.

One thing that comes to my mind as I ponder this description of certain people within the body is that their influence is just the opposite as what would be seen from a person who's heart is full of the Spirit of Jesus. It is the undoing of the natural results of God's Spirit at work among His people as described about the early Christian church right after Pentecost.

Paul is saying here that the right way to relate to these kind of people is not to expose their faults or accuse them publicly but to avoid close association with them. I believe that one of the most important reasons for this is that we naturally tend to synchronize our spirit with the spirit of the people we are close to and we become more and more like each other. When we continue to have close association with people who are divisive and fault-finding in their spirit we will eventually become leavened by that spirit ourselves and will began to spread the infection of bitterness. I know about this all to well from first hand experience.

I also notice here that Paul first addresses how we are to relate to these kinds of people before he describes the make-up of their characters. The instructions given as to how we are to relate to them are decidedly different than what we might feel like doing if we were to first hear about their inner condition. After hearing the descriptions that Paul uses to describe them we might be inclined to condemn them, to expose them, to try to shame them into either being converted or leaving our company. But this is not what the Bible is telling us to do. It simply says we are to keep away from them.

But Paul goes on to describe the real condition of these people. This is because their true condition is not obvious to those around them. In fact, the image they project of themselves through their smooth talking and very convincing logic and reasoning is quite the opposite. So Paul has to lift the veil and show us what is going on at their heart level, to allow us to see things as God sees them.

This is not to say that these people are worth less than we are or are hopeless and destined to be lost because God arbitrarily determined it ahead of time. Their condition is a result of their choices in their own lives and their choices have set habits in place that have produced the character from which they operate. It is a character mostly hidden from view by the public because they have developed the fine art of image-management to help them have influence and power over others. But what is on the inside is a very different picture than what is seen on the outside.

What motivates these people who cause divisions between the hearts of others is really an attitude of inner slavery – a slavery of the flesh-controlled heart. These are sometimes people who live for emotions, who allow good feelings to take precedence over truth. They may either be people who are only living from their head, seeking to serve God from only an intellectual perspective, or they may be people who are truly living from their heart but from an unconverted heart. But they are not uneducated in the ways of religion or they would not be able to promote a seductive form of religion that would be so difficult to resist by others who do not realize the subtle, deceptive nature of their words.

They may appear to be true believers, maybe with very high “standards” or they may promote worship that appeals to the emotions that is tremendously exciting. But it will be very difficult to unmask the deceptions embedded in their religious teachings and activities simply by proving them wrong with counter arguments or logic. This is what they are best at doing themselves and no amount of arguing or accusing will undo the dissension caused by their presence. In fact, our natural reaction in attempts to stop their influence will likely result in causing further divisions among the hearts of believers which is precisely the tactic of the enemy.

They hide their divisiveness behind very attractive scenarios, philosophies, logic maybe even enhanced by slick media presentations. This is extremely attractive to hungry hearts that are hurting and looking for comfort and healing but are unaware of the danger and the deceptive nature of powerfully appealing stage productions. These deceptions may even be promoted through elaborate programs promoted in the churches and hailed as wonderful new insights and tools for building up the church. But there is a wrong spirit involved underneath the surface and Paul wants us to be aware of the hidden dangers that such a spirit will produce in our lives.

This situation may be very similar to the story of the wheat and the tares that Jesus told His disciples as described in Matthew 13. The servants in the story wanted to rush in and remove the weeds growing alongside the wheat to “purify the church”, to use our language. But the wise farmer in the story commanded the servants to leave them alone and let them grow together until the harvest when the external results of their belief systems would become more obvious. And even after all that the servants were not the ones entrusted with the job of separating the two groups but the angels were commissioned with that responsibility.

So too here, Paul is not telling us to point out the faults of these people who are so dangerous to the body of Christ while living alongside them under cover. Paul does not instruct us to engage in arguments or debate with them which would only reinforce their claims of authenticity and credibility and spread confusion into the hearts of more people. He simply gives us two simple instructions as to how we are to relate to them.

We are to keep an eye on them and we are to turn away from them.

And to know who the “them” refers to he first gives us a description of the symptoms of their activities. Their presence tends to produce dissension and their words create causes for stumbling in the lives of others. The effects of their lives and influence differs from the original truths that the early believers were taught.

The problem I often see today is knowing what are authentic, original truths of the gospel verses what are traditions and doctrines and ideas passed on originally to us from our ancestors and our church leaders and our culture. Because we are not really as familiar with the glorious truth of the original gospel that the early apostles taught as we believe we are, it is very easy to assume that the version of religion we grew up with is the one we are supposed to cling to based on this statement by Paul. But the teaching which we have learned is not necessarily the one taught by Jesus and His disciple's after Pentecost, though it may use the same words of Scripture to support it.

What I have been coming to realize over the past few years is that trusting in the religion of my upbringing can be a fatal mistake if I am not willing to reexamine every detail of that religion repeatedly with an open mind and a willingness to admit that it may have serious flaws. It is very frightening and disconcerting to be honest enough to challenge the religion of your past and a religion that is still strongly reinforced by many of those around you. But it is never safe to assume that just because our religion has a long history of adherents or widespread support that it is the same gospel that was embraced by the first Christian church. The message in the old gospel song, “Give Me That Old Time Religion” is not the standard we need to be using to identify the true gospel of God.

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From Heaven's Perspective

As I get close to finishing my study of Romans and come into the home stretch in chapter 16, I notice something encouraging about the way Paul writes and thinks about the people he is addressing. It is the labels that he chooses to use as he sends his greetings to quite a number of people he hopes to meet soon. This links into my own issues with how I view other people in the church and the choices I make about how to talk about them.

Do I allow myself to describe people based on their problems and hang-ups? Do I label people according to the flesh and the ill feelings that may be produced in me through their interactions with me? Do I sort people out based on whether they make me feel good or discourage me? Or can I, like Paul, choose to perceive the true identity of others based on the viewpoint of heaven and speak words of inspiration and hope into lives that have been beaten down with negative labels for so many years?

One thing I have noticed is that a person generally has a difficult time viewing others through the eyes of heaven if they cannot accept heaven's perspective about themselves. It is only as I embrace the truth about my real identity in Christ that I can begin to see others in the light of heaven and start to pray for them effectively and guard my words and thoughts about them to be encouraging in nature. I know that it is all too easy for me to be tempted to try to convict other people by pointing out their faults and shortcomings and label them in various ways that tends to lock them into negative ruts. But that only accomplishes the devil's objectives of keeping them discouraged and feeling helpless and does nothing to advance the work of God in their lives. I have plenty of personal examples of this kind of labeling all around me and the baleful effects that it can produce. But I want to become a source of hope and a channel of life for those who have been suppressed and confused far too long already.

Let me highlight some of the labels that Paul uses in chapter 16 for the people he is writing to or refers to in this letter.

...a servant of the church... receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints... help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well.

...my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life risked their own necks...

...my beloved...

...Mary, who has worked hard for you.

...my kinsman and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. (Note that this was written very possibly before Paul became an physical prisoner himself.)

...my beloved in the Lord.

...our fellow worker in Christ.

...my beloved.

...the approved in Christ.

...those...who are in the Lord.

...workers in the Lord.

...the beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord.

...a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine.

Paul goes on to warn the church about those who do not embrace the same spirit of fellowship that he is demonstrating in these descriptions of individuals in the body. But I am going to wait to delve into that deeper another time. For right now I want to simmer in the thoughts that these labels bring to my heart and that encourage me to look at others from God's perspective and see the work that He is doing in their lives instead of the mistakes or dysfunction that still plagues them.

I know what tremendous power of encouragement there can be whenever someone honestly relates to me and describes me from God's perspective. At times I struggle with even accepting affirmations, but part of that is when they come from people who do not even know me. But when someone who is well aware of my faults and sins can share with me the truth about my identity as God views me, it can be a source of real strength and hope and inspiration. I want to be one of those sources of hope for other people struggling under false notions about their worth and purpose and identity. I want to be used of God to apply His labels to others so that they can catch a glimmer of warmth from the love that God has for them that has been hidden from their hearts for so long.

Of course, this seems more difficult to do with those whom I know all too well. When I have personal experience with someone's faults or have been attacked and wounded deeply by them I am far more resistant to seeing their value and identity as God sees them. That is where I need much more grace, humility and a spirit of unconditional forgiveness to embrace a radically new perspective on their real identity and to become a source of hope and life to those who expect the very opposite from me. This can only happen through a miracle of God's grace. But then, that is what salvation is all about, isn't it?

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