The sermon you are about to hear was recorded at Grace Baptist Church, Cape Coral, Florida. For additional sermons and more information, visit our website at truegraceofgod.org. One of the most important responsibilities that the New Testament gives to local churches is to maintain the unity that we have together in Jesus Christ. In His high priestly prayer in John 17, the night that He was betrayed, one of the things that Jesus prayed for is that His disciples would be made one as He and the Father are one. He wants his people to be unified. As churches were planted throughout the Roman Empire, we find the apostles of Jesus giving instructions to them regularly about the priority of being unified together. For example, we see Paul writing to the church in Ephesus from prison. He says, I, therefore, prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. eager to maintain the unity that we have by God's Spirit. Paul also writes to the church at Corinth in 1 Corinthians 1, verse 10, saying, 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. In keeping with these teachings from the Bible, our own church covenant has a major section that is given to unity. That section is entitled to promote and protect the unity of the church. Unity among God's people, especially in local churches, is important to God. which means it will be important to those who know God, to those who love God. We see the blessings that come from unity time and again. In fact, David sings of the blessing of unity among brothers in Psalm number 133, where he says, behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity. Now in this church, we can say amen to that psalm because by God's kind grace, He has given us unity in this body. We experience it and we know that it's because of His kindness and His goodness to this. But brothers and sisters, we can never presume upon God's kindness in making us a unified people. We must always be willing to accept the responsibility to protect and promote the unity of this church. Sometimes that can be really hard to do. There are forces that are at work against us that want to disrupt the unity that we have as God's people. And these forces come in in various subtle and influential way. They influence people to become divisive, not always overtly, sometimes very effectively through coversion. If a church is truly committed to maintaining the unity of its members have in Christ, then it must be diligent and it must be alert. And no small part of that diligence is being aware of divisive people. That's what Paul writes to the church at Rome in his final appeal that he gives near the end of this letter that we've been studying through the last several years. We come today to Romans chapter 16, verses 17 through 20, and we find the apostle Paul making one last exhortation, and it's focused upon church unity. Specifically, he appeals to the Christians in Rome to beware of those who would come among them and try to sow seeds of discord among them. So take a copy of God's Word, please, and turn to Romans chapter 16, verses 17 through 20. If you're using one of the Bibles that's provided for you, you'll find this on pages 950 and 951. And it would be good for you just to get the words in front of your eyes this morning, because I just want to walk us through this section of the letter to see what it is that the Spirit is saying to us as a church on this occasion. So let me read it, beginning in Romans chapter 16, starting in verse 17, and we'll read down through verse 20. I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you've 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. Beware of clever, false teachers that would come in and create divisions in the church. That's what Paul is saying in this last exhortation. He has addressed the theme of unity earlier in this letter. We've seen it in chapter 12 and verse 18 when he writes, if possible, so far as it depends upon you live peaceably with all. We saw it again in chapter 14, verse 19, where he says, Let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. And in the previous chapter, chapter 15, verses 5 and 6, he prays that the believers in Rome will live in harmony with each other. Yet, as we will see as we work our way through this final appeal, that's not always easy to do. There are challenges that attend trying to maintain peaceful, unified relationships in a church. In fact, Paul says here, if you're going to do it, you're going to have to be willing to divide from divisive people. You're going to have to separate yourself from those who are divisive. In verse 17, Paul expresses his actual appeal in which he says, Beware of divisive people. And then you look at verse 19. He tells us that we are in verse 18 to be awake of the character and methods of the people. Then in verses 19 and 20, he tells us to be wise about our own standing, as well as about the promises and blessings that we have in Christ. So verse 17, beware. Verse 18, be awake. Verses 19 and 20. Be wise. So let's look first at being aware, be wearing of divisive people. Look at verse 17 again. Let me just read it. Paul writes there, I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you've been taught. Avoid them. Now, the nature of this appeal is an exhortation. Now, Paul is an apostle, so he could have issued just a command from God, but he doesn't do that. He appeals, he exhorts them. And you'll notice how he does this, the basis of it. Brothers, brothers, It's a fraternal kind of exhortation. He is speaking as one of them who have a common love for the common savior. And he wants them to hear his heart in calling them to watch out for divisive people. That's the first part of the appeal to watch. And then secondly, to avoid watch out for those who would create divisions among you. When he says this, he's not talking about being passive. This is actually something that if you're going to obey it, if you're going to do it, It's going to require some real action on your part. It's going to require some intentionality on your part. Specifically, we are to recognize those who cause divisions. They create factions in the church. They create different parties so that these people think this way and these people think this way. And they're trying to foment that kind of division. They cause people not to like each other by sowing, sometimes very subtly, just seeds of discord. Proverbs 16, 28 says a dishonest man spreads strife and a whisperer separates close friends. Divisive people aren't always easy to recognize. You remember the story in the Old Testament of King David and his son Absalom? David loved Absalom. But he had to banish him from the kingdom because Absalom murdered his brother. And then after three years, David allowed Absalom to come back to Jerusalem. But he wouldn't let him see his face, wouldn't let him into the chambers where he lived in his own home. And so the scripture tells us that what Absalom did is he would get up early every morning and he would go be right outside the gates of Jerusalem And when people would travel from their own hometowns to Jerusalem in order to get an audience with the king so that the complaints that they had, the difficulties that they had, might be resolved by the king, Absalom would wait for them there. And listen to what 2 Samuel 15 says that he would tell these people before they got inside to go and get a hearing with the king. He would say, your claims are good and right, But the king hasn't appointed anyone to help you. If I were in charge, then everyone who had a concern could come to me and I would give him justice. Right after that, the Bible says, and thus did Absalom steal the hearts of the people away from. King David. The result was division in the kingdom. Brothers and sisters, what Paul is admonishing us here to do is to be on the lookout for people who would do that sort of thing. Maybe they won't make direct accusations. Maybe they will just voice some insinuations and cause people to start questioning their relationships with others and start drawing apart from one another. These are the people who cause division in churches. They also create obstacles, do you see that they create obstacles, that word obstacles, the same one that he used back in chapter 14, verse three, when he's warning those who are stronger not to put obstacles in the pathway of those who are weaker in the faith, don't do anything that will ensnare them, that will trip them up, something that will cause offense or resentment. These people, Paul describes, are acting contrary to apostolic teaching, the doctrine that you have received. The Christians in Rome had been taught well in sound doctrine. They had been taught the truth that is in Christ. But not only the truth, they'd also been taught the way of Christ. They'd been instructed to understand how truth is to govern life. Because truth always is the basis of life. Doctrine always does lead to devotion and right believing should lead us to right living. And when someone claims to know and trust Jesus Christ, but insists on living contrary to the way of Christ, then they are going against the doctrine. They're creating obstacles contrary to the doctrine that they've been taught. And it raises all kinds of questions about what's going on in them. If they really know the Lord. That's why Jesus says what he does in Luke chapter 6 verse 46. When he says, why do you call me Lord, Lord? And don't do the things that I say. It's easy to call Jesus Lord. But if you call him Lord. And you are content to live contrary to what the Lord says. Then you ought to hear that question from the one you call Lord ringing in your ears. What's going on? Who really is your Lord? Well, that's what divisive people do. And Paul says we must watch out for such people. But he goes on to say, secondly, we must avoid them. Do you see that at the end of that first verse there, verse 17? Avoid them. Stay away from them. have nothing to do with them, don't associate with them. Again, this is an intentional decision that he's calling upon the members of the church at Rome to take. What does this mean? Well, it means we're to be on the lookout for divisive people, people who would come in and turn friend against friend and. We're to avoid them, he doesn't say confront them, he doesn't say try to correct them, he says, avoid them, cut them off, don't let them get a foothold. In your life or between you and brothers and sisters in the church, don't allow them to sow the seeds of discord and disunity. Divisive people can wreak havoc in a church. Proverbs, chapter six, verses 16 through 19, says that God hates the person who sows discord among brethren. It's a serious, serious description of God's attitude there. That passage in Proverbs six goes on to say that such a person who would do that is an abomination to God. So what that means is if we laugh off a person who does that kind of thing or if we make excuses for that person or we tolerate that kind of activity from that person, then we're actually tolerating and making excuses for what God hates. It's a serious responsibility being laid upon us here. Paul's counsel can seem harsh. But what he's doing is he's telling us there's a time that comes with some people where the best thing you can do is simply to stay away from them. Now, if all the members of those early churches in the first century were to do this, then divisive people would not have been able to create divisions in the church. And what Paul says here to the whole church, to all the members, is very similar to what he says to Titus, when Titus is overseeing and leading churches there on the island of Crete. In Titus chapter 3, he writes to him as a pastor, as a church leader. In verses 10 and 11 of Titus 3, he says, As for the person who stirs up division after warning him once, and then twice, have nothing more to do with him. Knowing that such a person is warped and sinful, he is self condemned. Again, this is the judgment of God, this is the teaching of how we are to think about a person who gives himself over to being divisive and continues on that pathway. If he's not going to stop, avoid him. Why? Because a person who's determined to keep doing what God hates and will not be corrected is warped. He's self condemned. So as Christians, we are to watch out for those who cause divisions and avoid them. We must beware. But not only must we beware, in verse 18, we must also be awake. We need to see what is going on with these people. Look at that verse, verse 18. 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. In this verse, Paul is helping us to understand why divisive people act the way they do, why they live the way they do, why they refuse to be corrected. And he gives us a theological assessment of what is going on so that we will better understand why the only God-fearing way forward with divisive people is to avoid them. We need to be awake to these realities because of who these people are. And the first thing Paul tells us about who they are in verse 18 is that they serve the wrong master. They serve the wrong. They do not serve our Lord Christ. A Christian is someone who declares Jesus is Lord. And Paul calls Jesus here Lord Christ. to tie him in to all of the prophecies of the Old Testament that said the Christ or the Messiah, same word, will come. And Paul is saying, yes, he is the Messiah and he is Lord, Lord. This is a word that was used in the Old Testament to substitute for the name of God, Yahweh. So when faithful Jewish people would be reading the Old Testament scrolls and they would come to the name Yahweh, they would substitute the word Lord because Yahweh was too holy to take upon their lips. And so when Paul and the New Testament call Jesus Lord, what they are saying is that Jesus is God. He's God. He's equal to Yahweh. He's testifying to this truth, this revealed mystery that the one true God is father, son and spirit. Three persons, one God, the father is God, the son is God, the spirit is God. When we call Jesus Lord, we're confessing that truth. These divisive people, though they may say they're trusting Jesus, they do not serve our Lord Christ. But what do they serve? Paul tells us. They serve themselves. They serve their own appetites. Literally, it's their own bellies. The viscera, the essential part of a person. And I don't think Paul here is talking about gluttony. I think he's talking about just being self-centered. They do what they want to do. And if what they want to do at some points coalesces with what Christ says, then OK, fine. But when Christ says go this way and they want to go that way, they're going to go that way because they don't serve the Lord Christ. They serve themselves. That's opposite of how Christians should live. Paul writes about this earlier in chapter 14 of this letter in verses 7 and 8. He says, For none of us lives to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then whether we live, whether we die, we are the Lord's. That's how genuine Christians live, brothers and sisters. We come to Christ and we receive him as Lord. That means we offer ourselves to him as slaves. We're joyful, joyful slaves now serving the one who gave his life for us, no longer living for ourselves, serving ourselves. Paul says, yes, that's what Christians do. But these people, no matter what they say and how they present themselves, they do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. So we need to be awake. We need to. Have our discernment going here, they serve the wrong master, but they also use effective methods and we need to be awake to that as well. You see the second part of verse 18. By smooth talk and flattery, they deceive the hearts of the naive. See, Paul doesn't just expose their true character. He shines light on the methods that they employ. They come with deception. I mean, wouldn't it be great if divisive people just showed up in church with stamped across their forehead, divisive person? You know, I mean, you know, OK, I'm not going to sit by you. I'm not going to have much to do with you because I've been told to avoid you. But that's not the way it works. They come subtly. They come deceptively. And they come with smooth talk, smooth talk. It's a compound word. It literally means excellent words. But here it's being used to describe the way a person talks when he wants to lead someone off of the path they are on. And he joins it with flattery, smooth talk and flattery. Again, it's a word that literally means good words, but it refers to speaking well, speaking finely. Trying to ingratiate yourself to someone. Divisive people do this because they want to persuade. They want people to to join in with them to deceive the hearts of the naive. To cause somebody to accept the false ideas that they are trying to sell. And who's their target audience? It's the naive, the naive. Now, that doesn't mean the stupid. It doesn't mean the ignorant. It literally the word means with no badness, guileless. People who are always wanting to believe the best about others. And that is not a bad quality, brothers and sisters. But as you cultivate that more and more, recognize the danger that can come to you in being deceived by flattery and smooth talk of someone who would lead you into divisiveness. Paul exposes these people as having the wrong master, using effective methods in order to create division. They don't serve Christ, they serve themselves. They come across as sincere and believable because they use smooth talk and flattery, and they typically target unsuspecting people who are just wired to believe the best about others. You remember in Pilgrim's Progress, I hope you do. And if you've not read it, go ahead and read it before the week's up so that you can learn the wisdom that is in that book that helps us understand the Bible. In Pilgrim's Progress, hopeful and Christian are nearing the end of their journey. It's an allegory. And so they're on the way to the celestial city. And all the events and all of the characters that they meet are designed by Bunyan to teach us about the Christian life. And so as they near their destination, they come near the end of the journey, they are warned to beware of the flatterer. Beware of the flatterer. Well, as they continue on their journey, the flatterer shows up. But he doesn't have it on his t-shirt. He's dressed well, he speaks well, and he points them to a path that looks like the right path. And so Christian and hopeful get on that path. And you know what happens before long? They're ensnared. They're taken up in a net and they have to be rescued. It's a picture of what Paul specifically is warning the church in Rome to avoid. Beware of those who come with flattery. You know, flattery sounds good and and we want to believe it, don't we? And we want to believe it's true. Well, because of that, divisive people use it in order to ensnare us into their schemes. Have you ever heard it? Man, you're one of the deepest thinkers I've ever met. You know, so I'm interested in what you think about this stupid idea that the church is doing. You know, are you you're one of the most godly people I know, and I just trust you, you understand the word. And so when the elders did that, what would make them do something so foolish? Is this subtle, not anything that's a frontal assault, just sowing seeds of discord. You know, I mean, you've walked with Jesus a long time. Why do we have to come back to church on Sunday night? And why is that? Why do we do that? Nowhere in the New Testament is there a verse that says that Sunday is the Christian Sabbath. So what's this all about? And just by subtly trying to sow some doubt and discord and division, they can begin to lead people astray from one another, contrary to the doctrine that we have received. Proverbs 26, 28 says, a lying tongue hates its victims and a flattering mouth works ruin. Paul knows this. And so he warns us not to be taken in by those who do not serve Christ, no matter how clever or convincing their speech may be. As brothers and sisters in the Lord, we need to remember the basics of what it means to be a real Christian. A Christian is somebody who's trusting Jesus Christ, counting on Christ for our everlasting life, calling Him Lord. We're relying on the death and resurrection of Christ, the life of Christ, to make us right with God. And having been reconciled to God through Christ, we are servants of Christ. We no longer live for ourselves. We live for the Christ who saved us. That's what a Christian is. And brothers and sisters, we need to be awake. to how divisive people would come in and try to separate us from each other. We need to see them for what they really are and not let them draft us into their agendas. So we must beware. And we must be awake. Thirdly, in those last two verses, 19 and 20, we must be wise, be wise in these verses, Paul reminds the members of the church of things that are true of them to stop and remember who they are, basically. They're openly obedient people. Verse 19, your obedience is known to all so that I rejoice over you. This is that obedience that arises from true faith in Christ. Paul has written about it before. He's going to write about it right at the very end. And the verses behind are in front of the ones that we're looking at. this morning, but he started in chapter 1 verse 5, he repeated it in chapter 15 verse 18, and he'll say it in verse 26 of this chapter before he finally closes the letter. It is a reference to the kind of devotion to Jesus Christ as Lord that results in a life of obeying the commandments of Christ, not imperfection. Not perfectly obedient, but with real intentionality. He's talking about a life that is pre-committed to doing whatever God has revealed in His Word to be His will. In that sense, it's a life that is just as committed to obeying God's commandments as it is to believing God's gospel. You trust Christ, you believe the gospel and trusting him, you say, Christ, what would you have me do? And you see what he says in his word and you take that as your responsibility. The Roman Christians lived lives of obedience like that, and it was evident. He said it's known to all and their obedience induced joy. Paul says, I rejoice, I rejoice that your obedience is known to all. When those who name the name of Christ and claim to be His live life of obedience to His commandments, it causes God's people to rejoice. When you hear of brothers and sisters taking a path of obedience despite the cost and the consequences that come to them, don't you rejoice? Don't you praise God for such faithfulness? That's what Paul says is going on with him as he thinks about these Christians in Rome. Such Christians do not do simply what is expedient. What might be common for people don't know the Lord, but they do what is honoring to their master, Jesus Christ. They don't look for ways to bend God's commandments to fit in with their own or someone else's agenda. When Christians live like that, it causes other Christians to rejoice. You remember what the Apostle John writes in his third letter, third John, verse four. He says, I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in truth. And that's true for parents, isn't it? It's true for brothers and sisters, it's true for pastors. When we see God's people walking according to the truth, especially when the pathway gets difficult, it creates joy because we know that our savior is being honored by such obedience. We must not let anyone then lead us away from an obedient life, no matter how clever, how smooth talking they may be. Set your sales by the word of God. Remember who you are. More importantly, remember whose you are, that you've been purchased by Jesus and keep following Christ. But not only are Christians openly obedient to Christ, it's also true that Christians are in need from Christ. We have needs. We see this in what Paul expresses as his own desire for them to have in verse 19, the second part. He said, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. He expresses these two desires for them. Wisdom and innocence to be wise to what is good. What does he mean by that? He's not meaning just knowledge of what's good, just so that you know what is good versus what is bad. He's talking about that wisdom that is able both to discern what is good and to know how to go about doing pursuing what is good so that you promote goodness. Well, where in the world does such wisdom come from? How do you learn that wisdom? How do you grow in that wisdom? Well, Psalm number 111, verse 10, says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and those who practice it have a good understanding. You won't even get on the pathway of wisdom until you come to a settled conviction in your heart that your God is to be feared. You are to reverence him in your heart to honor him as God, as you live in the fear of the Lord, you'll be able to be wise and knowing and promoting what is good. And you'll not be so easily led astray by flattery or smooth words of those who are divisive because your heart will be said it settled upon trying to please him. And wanting to do what he says. But not only do Christians need to be wise, we also need to be innocent. You see that to be innocent as to what is evil. To be guileless. To not become complicit in wrongdoing. To live a life of simple obedience to God's word. What Paul says here is very similar to what Jesus said to his apostles as he was sending them out to preach the kingdom of God. In Matthew 10, 16, he said, Behold, I'm sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. There's an interesting picture of what our lives in this world is like. Sheep in the midst of wolves. And then he says, So be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Be shrewd. Be thoughtful. Be strategic regarding whatever is good. Whatever is good. Look for ways to advance what is right and good and true. But don't sin in the process. When it comes to evil, be simple. When it comes to evil, be innocent. Innocent as doves. Christians are to be openly obedient. They are in need of wisdom and innocence. And then finally, in verse 20, he says that Christians also have an incredible possession. We have promises and we have blessing. Paul mentions a specific promise and a specific blessing to his readers in verse 20. The promise is that God will destroy Satan. And this is the first promise that was ever made to the realm of mankind about the gospel. We see it in the Garden of Eden in Genesis chapter three, verse 15, after Adam and Eve sinned against God and they rebelled and brought condemnation upon themselves and all of their offspring brought sin and judgment and wickedness in this world. You remember what God did when he is pronouncing a curse upon the devil? Listen to what God said by way of promise. He says, I will put enmity between you and the woman between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head. You shall bruise his heel. And that's exactly why Jesus came. In first John, chapter three, verse eight, John puts it like this. The reason the son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. Jesus came to conquer the one who successfully led the human race into rebellion against our creator. And how did he do it? He did it. by laying down his life on the cross. He did it by suffering and by voluntarily submitting himself to the wrath of God that is rightly aimed at sinners. Listen to the way Paul puts it in Colossians 2. He's reminding the Gentile Christians in this part of the letter that though they were spiritually dead in their trespasses, in their sins, he says, God made you alive in Christ. And then he writes, having forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in Him. Do you see this? God promised that He was going to send a Savior from the seed of the woman. And that Savior would crush the head of the devil. The devil would attempt to take out the Savior, but would not be able to do so. And what we have throughout all of the Old Testament into the New Testament is the fulfillment of this promise where it finally appears with the coming of God the Son to be incarnate in the man Jesus Christ. And as the Son of God who's made flesh, He takes the place of people like you and me, real sinners. And He lives the life that God requires of us that we cannot live. He obeys God's commandments perfectly when we try every once in a while and we never come close. Jesus kept them all and earned righteousness. And then as the only righteous man who ever lived. Having no sin of his own to pay for. He voluntarily laid down his life on the cross to endure God's just wrath against rebels like us. And so all of the accounts, all of the debt that we owed because of our sin. The things that are just stacked up. Against God, Paul says Jesus took that to the cross, he nailed it there and it was taken away. So that in Christ, if you're trusting Christ, you can be sure that your sin has been paid for once and for all at the cross. That's what Jesus was doing in his death. But do you see what else Paul says in that Colossians passage? This is amazing. By doing this, he says he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, triumphing over them in him. The rulers and authorities, who's he talking about? He's not talking about the Roman rulers. He's talking about the unseen principalities and powers, the people that he elsewhere describes as the devil and all of his minions. What Paul says is that on the cross where we were justified, where our sins were paid for, God was also exposing the futility of the devil and all of his demons to overthrow the work of God. He defeated them, he disarmed them, he defamed the devil on the cross. Holding them up to shame openly, triumphing over them. You ought to see this picture when you're thinking about the death of Jesus on the cross. Genesis 315, you will bruise his heel. You can almost imagine the devil saying, I've got him now. him now. He's going to be nailed to the cross, it's going to be over. And so the devil inspires Pilate, he inspires Judas, he inspires all of those people that shout for his crucifixion. And when they nail him to the cross, the devil is taking his best shot. But all he can do. His bruises heal. And when Jesus says it is finished. And three days later comes back from the dead, he is crushing the head of Satan. In that one act, he is displaying the fulfillment of the promise of what God said he would do. He came into the world in the person of his son to destroy the works of the devil. And that's what the cross is all about. Paul says the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. That process has begun, brothers and sisters. Our enemy has received a mortal wound from which he will not recover and soon, soon he will expend his last effort and be cast away to hell forever. The day of the completion of that will be the day our Lord returns to this earth. The blessing is that the grace of Jesus Christ is yours. Paul pronounces it quite simply in that last phrase, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. The grace that we need to be reconciled to God, the grace that we need to live the way that he's called us to live, the grace that we need to enjoy the blessings of life, the creation of God, the relationships that he gives us. It is ours. Do you see if you have Christ, you have everything. If you have Christ, it doesn't matter what you don't have. And if you don't have Christ, it doesn't matter what you do have. Because in Christ you have grace, grace given to you. Our assurance. Is that in Christ, the devil and all of our spiritual enemies are defeated. May not look like it right now, may not feel like it all the times, but Satan is a defeated enemy. And you notice what is said here that he will be crushed under your feet. Your feet, not God's feet, our feet as the body of Christ, Jesus promised to build his church and to do it in such a way that the very gates of hell will not prevail against it. Now, we need to believe that today. We need to remember that and remind each other that we have no reason to be afraid. We have no reason to retreat in declaring this good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. We have no reason to fear defeat. Our Lord and Savior rules and reigns. His victory is secure and His victory one day will be made evident to everyone. On that day, that day of His return, every eye will see Him. Every knee will bow before him, every tongue will confess Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the father, all the skeptics, all the people who are hostile to him, all the people that would still like to destroy him on that day. Everyone will see the truth that is in Christ and he, Satan, will be finally completely crushed beneath our feet. Are you ready for that day? Are you prepared? For the day of Christ's appearing, can you say that, yes, your life is hidden in Christ before God and that Christ is your Lord and Savior and that you're counting on his righteousness to make you right with God and his death to forgive you your sins? Friend, if you can't say that, if you don't know that, well, God brought you here today to consider this part of his word so that you could hear the truth. So that you could come to think about your life as it really is, as God sees it, so that you could hear there's a savior for sinners like you and me. So that you can turn from your sin and bow before Jesus and receive him as Lord. Are you trusting Christ? Are you? If you're not trusting Christ, trust him now. Believe him now. Believe that this gospel, this good news is for you. That as you receive Jesus Christ, the Lord, that you can be sure that every last one of your sins is forgiven and that your life is secure in him. You don't have to go on living. Wishing that you could do different, you don't have to go on living, being defeated. Thinking, oh, I'm going to be better, I'm going to change, I'm going to do this, I'm going to do that, it never happens. Those enemies that hate you, that would destroy you. Jesus Christ has conquered once and for all on the cross. So believe Christ. Well, we're told to beware of clever false teachers who cause divisions in the church. Brothers and sisters, if we're not watchful, if we are not awake, if we're not wise to such people, then they can easily wreak havoc in a congregation like this. And if that happens, then the gospel message that we believe, that we preach, that we teach, that we want others to believe with us, that message will become clouded. And it will look to the world like just so much noise, so much pretending because of the disunity of those who claim to be reconciled to God and to one another. So let's beware. Let's be awake. Let's be wise. Let's stand firm against divisive people. Pray with me. Our father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for not leaving us to ourselves and trying to figure out how we should live. Oh, God, our desire is to understand what you say, to submit ourselves to your word. We want to live as humble, joyful, obedient people because of what you've given us in Christ. Lord, I pray for those here today that are strangers to you that have not yet bowed the knee to Jesus Christ, the Lord. Would you not reveal in them the way you've revealed in so many of us this incredible news that there is a savior for sinners and draw them to yourself? Help us, God, strengthen us in faith to live in accordance with what you have revealed, for we pray in Jesus name. Amen.