GREETING, GUARDING, AND GROUNDING

Read Romans 16.

One of the fine ladies of our church has been our postal carrier for years.  Carrie has been faithful to carry the mail!  Paul had a trusted woman, Phoebe, who would bring his letter to the church at Rome.  Thank God for those sisters who are servants to the saints!  They are vital to the Lord’s work.

After commending Phoebe to them, Paul will conclude his letter emphasizing three basic areas: greeting, guarding, and grounding.

GREETING: those he wished to embrace.  “Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.”(v.16‬). By my count, twenty two times, the Apostle uses the word, “greet,” or “greets.”  How he loved the church and the church loved him!  This is the kind of loving fellowship God desires to mark His people.

GUARDING: those he warned to exclude.  “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.” (v.17‬). Doors serve two functions—they swing to let friends in, but shut to lock foes out.  Satan has emissaries who slither like serpents among the saints to inject false doctrinal and filthy moral venom into the church.  God will crush them beneath the feet of the church as we march to victory!

GROUNDING: those he worked to establish. “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith—” (v.25-26‬). The Apostle was always concerned with grounding people in the truth.  It was his passion and mission.  It is why he wrote this letter, and why I have shared these devotional thoughts that I pray have helped you in some way.

Now, “to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.” (v.27‬)

THE ORIGINAL PROSPERITY PREACHER

So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak.  (Numbers 22:7)

Creflo Dollar—what a name!  It is so fitting for a prosperity preacher whose doctrine consists of telling you that God wants everybody healthy and wealthy—and that if you have enough faith to send the TV evangelist a lot of loot, you will be blessed accordingly.  It is certain that Dollar and his fellow celebrity preachers—too numerous to name—are enjoying a lifestyle of the rich and famous.

Balaam was the original prosperity preacher—willing to sell his services for financial gain.  He was a false prophet.  The thing that often makes false prophets effective is how right their message sounds—enough truth presented to mask the error.  Certainly, Balaam was a false prophet who was capable of speaking the truth—and he did—what a bundle of contradictions!  Yet, that was true of Judas Iscariot also—a man who walked with Christ, worked in ministry, had even his fellow disciples fooled, yet in the end was exposed for the counterfeit he was.  Their numbers are legion today—living in mansions, flying around the globe in personal jets, basking in luxury as they prey upon the widows and take advantage of the desperate by selling twisted truth—as prophets of profits.

Balaam knew about God, without knowing God.  He had the vocabulary of Scripture and yet did not have a personal relationship with the Author.  He was very religious without being righteous.  The Lord Jesus described such as being wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt.7:15).

Three New Testament passages expose the flaws in this phony.

• There is, “the way of Balaam,” (2 Pet.2:15).  The way of Balaam is the way of monetary motives driving spiritual service.  The mouth may sometimes—even often—say the right things, but the heart is not in the way of Christ, but the way of carnality.  The false prophet is exposed by his motive.
• There is, “the error of Balaam,” (Jude 11).  The error of Balaam is to package deception in the wrappings of truth.  The listener may fail to recognize that what is preached is true so far as it goes, but on one hand may not go far enough and on the other hand goes beyond it—a baited hook to catch the unsuspecting.  The false prophet is exposed by his message.
• There is, “the doctrine of Balaam,” (Rev.2:14).  The doctrine of Balaam was that the end justifies the means.  He was fine with compromising with the culture in order to advance his cause.  Balaam was all about success in ministry even if he had to sell-out to gain it.  The false prophet is exposed by his methodology.

This Old Testament example—and Balaam’s eventual evil that he caused and execution that he suffered—is a spiritual signpost set to warn us to be discerning of those who claim to speak for God.  The New Testament exposition of this false teacher’s motive, message, and method offers further alarm—do not drink the Kool-Aid!  It may taste sweet, but it will poison your soul and kill a church.

HOW TO PRAY FOR OTHER CHRISTIANS

For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you….   (Col.1:9a)

Often we pray wholesale when we should pray retail.  General prayers are generally pointless!  We pray, “Lord bless so and so…” and how would we know if He did?  Prayer needs to be specific.  Blind Bartimaeus cried, “Son of David have mercy on me.”  Jesus asked him, “What do you want me to do for you?”  When he asked for sight, Jesus opened his blind eyes (Mark 10:46-52).  It is also true that prayer must align with God’s will if we are to expect an answer.  The will of God is in the Word of God, so prayers grounded in Scripture unleash the faith that moves the hand of God.  Paul’s prayer in Colossians 1:9-11 is one that we can confidently pray for other Christians.

PRAY FOR THEIR WISDOM, “that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (v.9b).  How valuable this is!  When Solomon was given a blank check from God, and could ask for anything he wanted, the young king requested wisdom—and God was so pleased with that He threw in everything else along with it!  No wonder Solomon would later write in Proverbs that it is worth more than gold!  Every day brings a multitude of choices.  It is not always a matter of choosing between right and wrong—which is more readily apparent—but can be a choice between the good and the best—and that is more difficult.  God will enable us to see what lies ahead—“wisdom”—and to see what lies behind things—“spiritual understanding.” 

PRAY FOR THEIR WALK, “that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him” (v.10a).  Discerning the will of God should direct our walk with God.  Convictions should set our course.  Some folks just get a big head from what they know, when what is needed is a burning heart for what we should do!  Our walk is to be worthy of the precious name that we bear—the name of Christ.  Peter tells us we “should follow His steps” (1 Pet.2:21).  Our prayer is for a life that is fully pleasing to God.  We pray for our brothers and sisters to have a passion for His pleasure as did Paul when he wrote, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”  (Phil.3:14) 

PRAY FOR THEIR WORK, “being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy” (v.10b-11).   Our head—discerning God’s will—our heart—directing our walk—and our hands—doing God’s work—leads us to fruitfulness, forcefulness, and faithfulness.  Our prayer for the saints is that as they abide in Christ they will bear much fruit for the glory of God (see John 15).  This connection to Christ causes His very life to flow in force—a divine energizing—for supernatural service.  Satanic opposition is guaranteed, but God gives endurance that is greater still, so we do not give out, give in, or give up!  We can even smile in the struggle and sweat—full of joy!  This doesn’t arise from self-reliance, but spiritual dependence.

Pray this for your fellow Christians.  I know I want you to pray this for me!  By the way, it would be good to seek this for yourself also.  Just a thought.