Smooth Talkers - 3

Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. (Romans 16:17-19)

From Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for a gospel of God, (Romans 1:1 MNT)

I am starting to see yet more in this passage each time I look at it. The men that Paul is talking about here are not only smooth talkers and slaves to their own desires, but they are also in direct competition for the affections of the ones Paul is writing to. They are trying to draw away the loyalties and usurp the leadership and authority of those God was using to lead the early Christian believers.

People who are intent on drawing away others to follow their lead typically operate in the ways that Paul describes here. “Divide and conquer” has been a slogan that has proved very effective for centuries. Unity is one of the best means of protection for any group of people and one of the easiest ways to overcome an adversary is to first work on introducing any means that will weaken and break down the unity that binds them together.

This ties directly into having a better understanding of the true meaning of this reference to being slaves. Slavery always involves the issue of bondage or bonding. There are different kinds of bonds, some good and some evil. We generally don't like to use the term “slavery” when talking about the positive kinds of bonding. But the early apostles were so intensely glued to Jesus Christ at the heart level after they encountered Him fully enough that they caught a glimpse of His passionate love for them that they often referred to themselves as bondservants or slaves of Jesus.

I believe that the reason we feel uncomfortable with this kind of talk is simply because we have not yet had that same level of intimacy with God, we have not yet been so overcome and subdued by His grace and love that anything else becomes totally worthless in comparison. And when people become involved with religion without first encountering God's heart of passion for them and surrendering to His will, it is all to easy to become caught up in the counterfeit system of manipulation and fear and control and deception that marks the kingdom of God's enemy and makes up all false religion. They demonstrate in their lives the subtle bondage to selfishness, pride and the flesh that dictates all of their feelings and actions. They are slaves to their feelings and desires instead of love-slaves to Jesus.

It may sound strange at first, but in actuality the people in both kinds of service who are in the deepest slavery are the most effective in attracting others into their kind of slavery. The most prominent leaders are the most submissive slaves to their respective masters. And the way that they work to draw others into the same slavery in which they live is to appeal to the feelings and cravings of the ones they are trying to attract.

Paul here has just finished writing the entire book of Romans to instruct and attract his audience into surrendering to the truths about God that will draw their hearts into the bondage for which we were created. At the end of this letter he confronts head-on the competition who is trying to also attract the Roman believers into slavery but of a very different nature. These false-hearted Christians within the community present themselves as caring and wise and they use flattering words to attract others to embrace their version of religion and reality. Their teachings were not blatantly anti-Christian on the surface and they likely even resorted to Scriptures to support their teachings. In fact, if they were the ones referred to elsewhere in Paul's writings they likely appeared much more religiously correct that what Paul was teaching. This is almost always true of the various forms of legalistic religion.

To attract people into embracing their assertions about how to be right with God, they were using every means possible to endear themselves to the Christian believers and to make them feel good and draw out their affections. It appeared that they may have been affirming the good intentions of those they were trying to attract while offering suggestions as to how to better tweak their religion to make it more in line with the system of rules and traditions more widely accepted by recognized religious leadership.

These people seemed so religiously correct that it was nearly impossible for the believers to distinguish any problems with their teachings. To unmask the true nature of their counterfeit system of teachings required a level of maturity and discernment by others in the body that needed to be in place to protect newer believers from such alluring deceptions. To counteract the pernicious attractions of false teachings that appear to affirm and lead people into truth while embracing underlying false principles requires true leaders who are filled with the right Spirit of God, who in fact are in total bondage – heart, soul, spirit, body and mind – in their relationship with Jesus Christ. It requires people who have a deep experience in the things of God and who better understand the truth about God as revealed in Jesus Christ to discern the subtle deceptions of the enemy designed to fool our hearts into going astray.

Paul is making plain here that in spite of what these others are saying or how good and correct their words sound, it is what Paul is teaching that is the true revelation of God's ways and it is Paul who is offering them the right kind of affirmations that will tend toward life instead of the wrong kind of bondage.

I hear Paul saying here, “I am really the one who is rejoicing over you because of your willingness to follow the truth about God as it was presented to you originally. Do not be distracted or deceived by others who are giving you flattering affirmations designed to sucker you into the wrong kind of slavery. They may claim to be followers of God and claim to have the truth, but you must look behind the facade to what their true motives are, to discern their real spirit and see their secret life of abject slavery to their own selfishness and lusts.”

It is a known fact that the more conservative and legalistic people become the higher the level of abuse becomes that is carried on behind closed doors. People who are extremely “religious” in the public eye too often tend to harbor secret indulgent sins to satisfy their out-of-control cravings that they cannot find relief for in all their religious forms and traditions. This is why there is so much sexual abuse among priests as well as ultra-conservative family groups. I myself know all to well of families that have withdrawn more and more from interactions with others while intensifying the level of all kinds of abuse on their children in the name of religion.

These kinds of people are usually viewed by the church as very upright and good people who are honored and entrusted with leadership positions. They have figured out the system of religion very effectively and appear to be virtuous and righteous to most who see them in church. But when you get to know the subjects of their abuse and hear the stories of pain and fear and intimidation and shame that goes on behind the scenes where no one is allowed to visit, the heart is sickened and the conscience recoils with horror and anger at the injustice and damage that is promoted in the name of God.

But the worst part is that much of the time these people are sincere in their deception. They are usually victims of abuse themselves who have never received healing for their own wounds and are still bound in chains of pain and bitterness. As a result, these people are slaves to their own lower passions instead of being slaves to the pure and holy passion that comes from the heart of God. These kinds of people promote a righteous-sounding form of religion that appeals to the logic and even promises salvation in the end. But there is a dark side to their life that is carefully concealed from public view that undermines the true nature of their internal slavery to sin and false religion.

The effects of these kinds of revelations is often to turn other people away from God altogether since much of this abuse is done in the name of religion and God. But in reality, this is just yet another scheme of the enemy to prevent souls from catching sight of the true nature of God's love who is the only source of satisfaction for our yearning hearts. Because we believe the lies that God is like those who profess His name while abusing others in secret, we are tempted to keep away from Him. But coming to Him is the only way to encounter the very opposite of the slavery demonstrated by these false professors of religion.

The slavery of Jesus Christ is almost an oxymoron, for in His slavery is the only real freedom. To be a slave to Jesus Christ means to be so caught up in adoration and appreciation for His infinite love and grace that we refuse to compromise anything that would interfere with our loyalty to Him. God demands complete purity and perfection as the standard of holy living. But this demand is not in the spirit of oppression as we often think but is simply the requirement of reality. He knows that we cannot purify ourselves to be safe to live in His presence, but on the other hand, we must give Him total access to all of our heart and mind and body so that He can accomplish the work of total restoration that needs to take place before we can encounter Him at close range. This is the work that Paul is talking about here when he says we need to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.

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Being Wise and Innocent

For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. (Romans 16:19)

See, I am sending you out like sheep into the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16 NRSV)

Snakes generally don't have a very good reputation with most people. Snakes are usually the object of great fear and probably receive more unsolicited attacks on themselves just by being seen than most other creatures. Their association with the use of a serpent by Satan to tempt Eve has garnered them far more scorn and hatred and fear than they likely deserve. And while there are certainly a number of snakes that can be dangerous and should be avoided, most snakes are actually much more benign and even shy than we give them credit for.

One of the attributes of snakes that seems to be commendable, according to the words of Jesus Himself, has something to do with wisdom. I cannot speak about this subject with a lot of authority, but I do know that most of the time snakes try to avoid confrontation with people far more than they invite it. Whenever people come around snakes generally try to get out of sight or move away instead of engaging head-on. Of course there are always exceptions such as the Copperhead snake that chased me through the woods years ago. But in most of my experiences with snakes they have almost always tried to avoid trouble when I came around.

In this context I believe there is a connection between the advice that Paul gives in this verse and the advice just previous to it in verse 17. Given the fact that I am sure Paul was very familiar with the words of Jesus quoted above, he may very well have had them in mind when he was writing this passage. What he seems to be saying here is that like snakes, we should have enough wisdom to avoid trouble when people who cause problems are around. Instead of engaging them or confronting them, it is the better part of wisdom to simply turn away from them and move away to a safe distance, leaving them alone while keeping a watchful eye on them.

This becomes even more important when there is the issue of deception involved. To try to engage or confront a person who is skilled in deception is to ask for serious problems. In fact, it is nearly impossible to have a meaningful dialog or relationship with a person who is always using deceptive means to manipulate others. To try to expose them by confronting them with truth usually only causes them to engage in even more subtle deceptions because that is simply how they operate and think. They are expecting to be confronted and are already prepared with many more deceptions for every eventuality. Because their heart is not honest it is impossible for a person living in honesty and truth to relate to them in any meaningful way. Paul says here that the correct way to relate to such ones is to turn away from them while keeping an eye on them from a distance.

In verse 18 Paul says that the simple and unsuspecting are the targets of those who operate deceptively trying to dismember what God is putting together. In verse 19 a similar term is used to describe what Paul desires us to be in relationship to evil – simple or innocent according to the Greek word. It is not our place to expose people who externally sound very appealing and flattering in their communications but with hidden intent to spread discontent and cause division. We need to learn to trust the Holy Spirit to do the exposing in His own way and His own timing. What I see in these passages is that I need to be wise in paying more attention to knowing what is good and spend far less effort in trying to confront those or even understand all the logic and arguments of those who are dealing in deception.

The very nature of deception means that there are endless possibilities for it. This is why it is impossible to overcome deception by explaining it and pointing out what is wrong with it. Those who spend more time trying to uncover all the conspiracies and falsehoods of the enemy are attempting to overcome darkness by trying to explore darkness. It is like the illustration I like to use of how to get darkness out of a room. You do not go into a dark room with a “dark shovel” and begin to shovel it out to expose what is in there. You cannot push it out or flush it out or blow it out or explain it out. The only real effective means to get rid of darkness is to simply introduce light and then let light do what it does best. That may require that we have to get out of the way of the light so that it can better illuminate what is around us. But better yet, we can become reflectors of light to pass it on to others when we focus the mirrors of our hearts on the only real Source of light.

When we choose to spend our time and effort on knowing the Source of all truth instead of trying to figure out what is wrong with error, we will find that our job has suddenly become much more simple. Truth does not need multiple layers of backup theories to prop it up like deceptions do. Truth does not have to fall back on alternative suggestions when the first one fails to stand up to testing and it does not resort to fear and force to prop itself up. Truth is usually very simple and basic in nature, though it is also very complex in that it is tightly interconnected with all other truth in connection with what is real. Truth is simply the explanation of how God created the universe and the principles that govern all of reality that is in perfect harmony with itself.

On the other hand, deception is constantly under revision as it fails to stand the test of exposure to the light of truth. Deception depends on darkness and ignorance or even fear to make it appear credible. Deception uses all sorts of means for communication to create a massive system of false reality that is so familiar to us who have lived in this system all of our lives that we assume that it is all there is to reality. But much truth cannot be discovered by the scientific method which requires that everything has to pass through the filters of our narrow and biased standards and our preconceived assumptions from the past.

The only way we will ever enter fully into the realm of real truth is to realize that it must be accepted and embraced on the basis of the credibility of the only One who knows what truth is because He started it all. Truth is something that comes by revelation as much or more than by deduction. God has certainly equipped our minds with tools whereby we can cooperate with Him in understanding truth more easily. But when we try to divorce the Source of truth from our investigations to discover truth we have just fatally handicapped our efforts to understand reality in its true context.

Being wise in what is good also involves choosing to be innocent or simple in relationship to understanding evil. It is not necessary that we know and understand evil in order to expose it or oppose it. The most effective means to getting rid of darkness is to introduce light. And likewise, the best way to deal with deception and evil is not by exploring it or explaining everything that is wrong about it but to dwell in the truth, saturate our minds and hearts with truth and most importantly, have a vital connection with the Author and Creator of all that is true and real.

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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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