Snakes and Doves
March 26, 2006
Romans 16:17-20

One of the most fearsome and destructive tactics of war has always been the SIEGE. It’s one thing for one army to face another on the battlefield and to fight hand to hand until one side or the other turns and runs; it is something else entirely to surround a city and systematically starve it to death… and yet this is a tactic that has been used again and again by the strong against the weak.

It is a little known fact that the Communist revolution in China in 1949 was a war of sieges. Communist troops – who controlled the countryside through terror – would surround a city and ban civilians from leaving. If a soldier wanted to defect or a rich person wanted to buy his freedom, that was fine; but the average man on the street was forbidden to leave under any circumstances. And so they starved.

The policy was so brutal that it was difficult to get the soldiers to enforce it – hundreds of starving people would kneel in front of them holding up their starving children, begging to be allowed to leave; but instead they died – by the hundreds of thousands.

In the City of Changchun alone, more than 330,000 civilians under siege died of starvation. This was a death toll even higher than even the highest estimate of the Japanese massacre at Nanjing in 1937. And this pattern was repeated again and again all across Northern China taking the lives of millions of people that year. But China does not stand alone.

As a single event, the Nazi siege of Leningrad in Russia was even worse. It lasted nearly 900 days and took the lives of 650,000. The Siege of Leningrad is still fresh in the minds of the citizens of what is now called St. Petersburg – and the city is dotted with monuments and museums memorializing that event.

Of course, the siege was an important tool in the arsenal of war during Biblical times as well. Most cities (including Jerusalem) were designed with sieges in mind. They were built with water sources that could not be shut off from the outside; and with granaries to store food for long term use.

Masada, a fortress near the Dead Sea, in Israel survived more than two years of Roman siege before its walls were finally broken down from the outside – and even then there was plenty of food and water to last the inhabitants another year.

But perhaps the most famous siege of all time is the siege of Troy. It all began when Paris stole Helen from King Menelaus of Greece and brought her home to live with him in Troy. It might have seemed wonderful at first to possess the most beautiful woman in the world; but, as a result, the kings of Greece gathered together their armies and came en masse to fetch her home.

But Troy was a very well defended City, set-up with fields and livestock and a water source within its walls… and the siege of Troy lasted for more than Ten YEARS! And the amazing thing is that Brad Pitt didn’t age a day!

Of course, Troy eventually fell – not because its inhabitants starved; not because the walls were broken down – but because of the ingenious trickery of the Greeks who built the Trojan Horse.

A wooden sculpture, it was an ostensible offering in homage to gods of Troy for giving the Trojans victory over the Greeks; but in reality, it was a ruse, a way to get Greek warriors inside of Troy so that they could open the gates to war!

The Greek fleet had not left as had been implied; it was simply hiding in the next bay, biding its time. Of course, it worked and Troy fell, and many of its inhabitants died in the battle that day. And the Trojan horse has become symbolic of the danger of taking the unknown into our bosoms; a symbol of the reality that the greatest threats to our well being often come from within our own walls!

Now, let me tell you something. The forces of darkness have been waging exactly this kind of campaign against the Truth since the beginning of time. You could call it the Great Siege if you like; in fact, it is the greatest siege of all time. There is an organized; well-armed; carefully strategized assault on the truth being perpetrated even as we speak.

This modern, sophisticated, scientific world of ours has created its own myth. It is the myth of neutrality; the idea that the spiritual world, if it exists at all, is kept completely separate from our existence and, in fact, the only influences that really matter in our lives -- are the influences of the natural world.

The myth of neutrality says that parents should not teach their children about any particular spiritual path; that instead, the parents’ job is to present all of the various religious alternatives in a neutral manner and then, when the children reach adulthood, to allow them to make their own choice about what they would like to believe.

The myth of neutrality says that proselytizing – telling others about the Good News of the Gospel is wrong; that we should allow everyone to maintain whatever beliefs they already have no matter how nominal or harmful they might be; because after all they have a right to make their own decisions about spiritual matters without any undue influence from you or from me.

Strangely enough, this would all be fine if the myth of neutrality were true – because Christianity is an eminently reasonable faith. It has stood the test of time for many centuries; it has consistently changed the world for the better like no other faith in history; it is based upon a remarkable book that has endured for thousands of years.

Christianity doesn’t have skeletons in its closet anything like so many other religions do. We don’t have to try and explain how it can be that there is no Middle Eastern DNA in American Indians even though the Book of the Mormon clearly states that they are descendants of the ten lost tribes of Israel. We don’t have to explain away the obvious historical inaccuracies and direct contradictions of the Koran.

We don’t have to explain why Jesus didn’t come back in 1918 the way Charles Rutherford Hayes, the founder of the Jehovah’s Witnesses predicted. In fact, I believe that an honest examination of the evidence for Christ almost invariably leads a reasonable person to faith!

But the truth is that there IS no neutrality in the spiritual world. Paul had it right when he said in Eph 6:12 that “… our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” NIV

Peter spoke truth in 1 Peter 5:8 when he said, that our… “enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” NIV When Jesus promised Peter that the “gates of hell would not prevail against the Church of God,” the implication is not that the life of the Church would be a walk in the park, but that the Church would be under continuous assault in the spiritual realm – and in so many ways it is!

Now, don’t get me wrong. I don’t believe that we ought to be looking under our pillows every night to see if there is a demon hiding there. I am not of the opinion that every challenge we face in our spiritual lives can be attributed directly to the Satan and, in fact, “The Devil made me do it” is not a valid excuse for anything.

We are often “drawn away by our own lusts,” as James puts it in James 1:14; but Satan can nevertheless use those desires to draw us away from God. Sin is exactly the kind of Trojan Horse that can open the door of our hearts to every kind of falsehood and evil.

It subverts our commitment to God; it opens our minds to any kind of excuse or rationalization for our behavior; and it draws us inexorably away from the heart of God and into the arms of anything and everything else.

The truth is under assault; it is under siege by the forces of darkness; there IS a prowling lion out their seeking to devour us; there is a war between good and evil and each side is trying to capture your heart and mine for its own side. There are plans and strategies being worked out right now to take our City for the side of Evil; the enemy has agents working at this moment to bring this disaster to pass – and it is our job to be aware of the reality of the situation; to stand on the ramparts in defense of the truth; to be watchmen on the walls –though surrounded by a night of darkness!

And in fact, it is with this warning, a warning to watch out for the truth, that the Apostle Paul brings the Book of Romans to a close. Let’s open our Bibles to Rom 16:17-20. Paul has spent more than fifteen chapters laying out the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the most complete way.

The truths of the Book of Romans have sustained the Church now for nearly twenty centuries; bringing us back again and again to the core of what it means to a Christian; but here at the end of Book Paul urges us to stand fast in the faith! We must understand the reality of the Great Siege… and hold fast to the truth of the Gospel.

Listen to verses 17-20:

Now, it’s important to understand that the vanguards in the assault against truth, the front line in the Great Siege against the Gospel is composed of people – people the Bible calls False Teachers; people who twist or ignore the scriptures in order to set forth an alternative religious reality.

Their motives are many and varied – sometimes they preach in order to be popular, sometimes they preach for power; sometimes they preach error simply because of sin in their own lives which they want to justify or rationalize. False teachers come in all shapes and sizes; their errors are many and varied; and even Jesus warned us about them.

In Matt 24:10-11, in speaking of the end times Jesus said, “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.” NIV

Because the forces of darkness desire to draw us away from the truth; false teachers are a spiritual inevitability. Jesus predicted them; Paul warned against them; even John, the apostle of love wrote in 1 John 4:1, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” It is true! Many false prophets have gone out into the world, even our world.

Now, I wish that discerning falsehood was always an easy matter. It would be great if every false teacher were required to wear a scarlet “F” on the front of his shirt or her blouse so that we would know exactly who it is that we should listen to and who we should ignore. But it’s not that easy… and that is why Paul’s advice to the Romans here in Romans 16 is valuable even for us even today.

In fact, in these verses, Paul sets forth at least FIVE HALLMARKS of a FALSE TEACHER; five characteristics that we can use even today to help us “test the Spirits.” Not all False Teachers display all of these characteristics – some of them might even be considered opposite sides of the same error; but these are attitudes and ideas that we should beware of as we seek truth in our relationship with God.

Let’s look at them one by one. First, Paul says, False Teachers CAUSE DIVISION (that’s the opposite of multiplication). Verse 17 says, “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions…’

There is a certain class of False Teacher that is always spoiling for a fight. Every minor doctrine becomes an issue of ongoing contention; every discussion becomes an argument; every disagreement becomes a matter of salvation. Accusations fly; feeling are hurt; the joy of being part of the body of Christ is replaced with the kind of distress that always comes about when the body begins to attack itself.

False Teachers like to be in control; they don’t want unity, they want uniformity; for them discussion is about domination; not about discovering the grace and the beauty of God. Theology becomes more about personal power than about the truths of God!

In 2 Tim 2:14, the Apostle Paul gives Timothy wonderful instruction this area. Timothy was a young pastor in charge of his own flock when Paul said to him, “Warn (your people) before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen.” NIV

There is no person on earth who is right on every issue all the time – not even me! And if you meet someone who majors in contention; who seems to sow discord wherever they go; who tends to argue over small doctrines or to think that he or she IS always right, then in all likelihood, you have met a false teacher.

We must learn to beware of those who cause DIVISION. Of course, in this case – as in almost every other, there is a careful line that must be drawn. Obviously, if we are called to defend to truth; then we have to stand up for what is right; there are going to be times when we have to disagree with others – even people who call themselves Christians.

I’m sure that Martin Luther was labeled divisive when he stood up against the corruption of the Catholic Church and lit the firestorm that became the Reformation. In fact, nearly every great Revival in the Church from the very beginning up until now has begun when some anointed follower of Christ has been called by God to stand up and speak out for the truth!

There is no sin in humble and careful disagreement with the powers that be, if they teach falsehood; – especially if they display some of the OTHER characteristics of False Teaching as set forth by the Apostle Paul here in Romans 16.

Next, false teachers create obstacles to faith. Verse 17 again says, “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way…” False Teachers almost without fail are legalistic… and it makes sense. Something inside of all of us tells us we don’t quite measure up to the standard of perfection (it’s called the conscience). Almost everyone understands that something needs to be done about who we are; and Christianity is the ONLY grace-based faith on the face of this earth. Every other religion, every other cult and ism- even atheism – is firmly based upon what WE do for God or for our own betterment. Only Christianity is based upon Grace… and as soon as anyone tries to replace what God has done for us with what we can do for God, then they have immediately crossed over into the territory of False Teaching… they have created an obstacle to faith… it is a line that has been crossed a thousand times.

When Paul wrote this letter; he had a very specific situation in mind. There was a group of Jews who had ‘come to Christ’ in a manner of speaking. They believed that Jesus was the Messiah and in a way that salvation came through him; but only in part.

They also believed that in order to become a real Christian, it was necessary to become a Jew first. This meant that all Christians – Jew and Gentile – would be required to obey the details of the Mosaic Law.

These “Judaizers” as they are now called actually took to following Paul around from Church to Church with the express intention of convincing the Gentile believers to accept the Mosaic Law on top of their faith in Christ. It was a deep challenge to the early church.

Trying to force Gentile Christians to follow all of the Jewish dietary laws was hard enough; but convincing adult males to be circumcised in an age before anesthesia and antiseptics was a serious obstacle to faith. And the whole thing must have been extremely confusing to the Gentile Church.

They had trusted in Christ alone for their salvation. They had received the Holy Spirit and learned to worship God. Their lives had changed for the better, but now they were being told that that wasn’t good enough; that salvation required something more; rules and regulations; a special diet and surgery. It was an obstacle to faith. It was also legalism! It was adding our own works to the works of Christ.

And this same problem has been repeated again and again; the song of legalism has been sung in every century. It has been one of Satan’s most successful Trojan Horses. After all, it is good to have high standards, isn’t it? It is good to order our lives in such a way as to please God; the line between high standards and actually depending upon our behavior for the approval of God is a very fine line to draw!

Strict laws give power to the clergy; strict interpretation and piles of rules give the church hierarchy authority. And it’s a slippery slope. During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church slid into this error. The sale of indulgences – a kind of ticket to heaven – was an egregious example of False Teaching at the highest levels. The idea that anyone could ‘buy’ his or her way into heaven is a lie straight from the pit of hell, it was simply a means of extorting money from the poor, and yet these indulgences were sold on the very steps of the cathedrals of Europe.

And even today, you will often find that False Teachers to set up their own standards of Salvation. There is a group right here in San Diego that presents a good example… it’s called the San Diego Church of Christ.

It sounds like a nice generic name; but there is more here than meets the eye. A few years ago, a friend of mine got the full court press from a few very enthusiastic members of that church.

They seemed really nice and committed to God; but the deeper he got into it the more frightening it became – he came to me when they told him that he needed to be baptized again or he would go to hell. When he told them that he had already been baptized, they said that wasn’t good enough; that he needed to be baptized in their church… and with a very specific formula of words. That’s false!

And a close examination of the practices of that church revealed a number of the hallmarks of a cult –excessive control over the members by leadership was one of them. They decided who would date whom, and whom they would marry as well!

This sort of legalism has no place in the Family of God. God is not moved by special formulas. We do not purchase salvation with the water of baptism or by unquestioning obedience to powerful leadership figures. We are saved by GRACE. Anything less (or for that matter more) is nothing more than False Teaching.

False Teachers cause division. They create obstacles and next they contradict scripture. Paul says, “I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned.” NIV

One of the greatest blessings of being a Christian in this world is the existence of this book, God’s Word; and one of the greatest responsibilities of every Christian in this world is the responsibility of gaining a good grasp of the principles that are set forth in it! A solid knowledge of Scripture is our best defense against the wiles of the devil!

The New Testament was written in Koine Greek – the most widely spoken language of its day; because God intended every Christian to study His Word and to learn it and to remember it. The Bible has been translated into a thousand modern languages with the same intent, so that every Christian might be able to study it and learn it and remember it.

Your personal knowledge of God’s Word is your best defense against the dark arts (to use a phrase borrowed from Harry Potter). Laziness in this area is a perilous prospect. I encourage you to study – not just here – but on your own. Whenever the church has moved away from a corporate and individual familiarity with the word of God, it has always fallen away from the Grace of God.

A couple of weeks ago, Pastor Dave and I went to the National Pastor’s Convention, here in San Diego at the Town and Country convention center. Now, I have to tell you as I have already told Pastor Dave that I was disturbed by what I saw in that place.

In fact, I would go so far as to say that there, right in the bosom of what I thought would be the bastion of evangelicalism, I was confronted with false teaching; even worse, it was one of the most prominent main speakers at the event!

This man gave a Sermon at one of the evening sessions that was edgy – he crossed firmly over from religion into politics and took some stances that I disagreed with. I felt he was glib and even in direct contradiction to Scripture. It bothered me all night.

The next day, Dave and I were slated to go to a Seminar on preaching and so I dutifully went– but it turned out to be a kind of panel discussion with a bunch of preachers talking off the top of their head in answer to questions like, “What do you think about consumerism and the modern church” and so after about fifteen minutes I called Dave on his cell phone (he was a bit late) and I said, “I’ve listened to the beginning of this seminar and it’s not for me. I’m going to go to the Lion’s Den instead.”

I think Dave thought that the Lion’s Den was the name of one of the rooms in the Convention Center. It wasn’t until later that he figured out that I was going to a seminar being put on by the speaker from the night before, and it was everything I had feared.

There in that room – with all of his acolytes and groupies – this very charismatic speaker was even more over the top. He spoke out in favor of every liberal cause all the way from homosexual unions to rolling back welfare reform.

When someone asked him about the War in Iraq; he came out unequivocally against it. In graphic terms condemned President Bush and his whole staff (and in this country where thousands of died in order to purchase his liberty, this is his right)… but being a great storyteller, he went on to explain how he believed that it was wrong for Christians to fight in any circumstance whatsoever.

He said that during the Korean War, his mother had given him the book “In His Steps,” when he was drafted. And he went to the draft board and told the person who was interviewing him that when he asked himself, “What would Jesus do?” He had to conclude that Jesus would never kill anyone. And so he could not serve in the army himself.

Of course, when he told the story it was a lot more entertaining and he was on a roll and he went on quickly and said, “And you have to ask yourself the question, who would Jesus bomb?” And he said, “Of course, Jesus wouldn’t bomb anyone!”

And in the pregnant pause after he made his point, I spoke up. I said, “But he did.” You could have heard a pin drop in that room. Every neck turned toward me. And the speaker said, “What do you mean?” I said, “He did drop a bomb. It was called Sodom and Gomorrah!”

And he said, “Oh, come on! That wasn’t Jesus! That was God the Father. That was in the Old Testament, that was a time of judgment and we live in an Age of Grace. Now, I didn’t argue with him in front of all of those people… and so he went on with his speech; but I noticed that from then on, whenever he made an especially strong point, he would look directly at me.

And the story is not yet over. Later on in the session, he was arguing forcefully in favor of reinterpreting the Bible in favor of homosexuality and in order to make his point, he used the example of slavery in America. He said, “After all, a hundred and fifty years ago, preachers were using the Bible in order to justify slavery (completely ignoring the fact that the major impetus for the abolition of slavery came from Christians). And to conclude his point he said, “I’m glad that this is changed and that slavery is now a thing of the past…”

And in the pause after he made that point I said, “Of course, it took a war.” There was another dead silence. And he looked at me and said, “It could have been done a better way.” But the more that I thought about that interchange; the more I thought about what that man had to say that day; the more I came to believe that this man was wrong on many levels – and not just a little bit wrong but heretically wrong.

Not because he is opposed to the War in Iraq. Certainly, there is room for disagreement between well-meaning Christians on a subject as volatile as that – he was wrong, because of his willingness to set aside the clearly revealed Word of God in order to “conform to the pattern of this world,” quoting Romans 12.

The truth is that Jesus and the Father are one; that the Son is coexistent with the Father; that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb 13:8). Judgment is just as much a part of the present and the future as it was a part of the past… there is plenty of talk about weeping and gnashing of teeth even in the New Testament words of Jesus.

To twist scripture in order to make it match the latest political correctness of our day is heresy. It is falsehood. It is nothing more than a concentrated attack on the truth. And whenever you meet anyone who wants to explain to you why the Bible doesn’t say what it says, then I say BEWARE.

It has been a consistent claim of cults – like Mormonism and Islam and Jehovah’s Witness and more – that they have rediscovered the truth of the First Century Church; that they are Latter Day Saints and the rest of us are heretics; that they are correcting the mistakes of the Bible as corrupted by the Church; that THEY know things the Church has forgotten.

And I say that whenever you hear about how the Bible needs to be reinterpreted to fit our modern sensibilities or to recover some lost doctrine, beware. Jesus said, that the gates of hell would not prevail against his church and they have not. Historical Christianity has been remarkably consistent down through the ages.

False Teachers Cause Division. They create obstacles. They contradict scripture. And next… “They Coddle themselves.” In verse 18, Paul says, “… such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites…” NIV and often this is true. The goal of False Teachers is not the glory of Jesus; but the glory of self. For false teachers, religion is about power and privilege. We have seen this problem time and again.

I had a friend who got involved in a cult a number of years ago that started in a Presbyterian Church right here in San Diego. There was a lot of speaking in tongues and reputed ‘miracles.’ There was also a lot of control over the individual lives of the members of the group.

His pastor told him to sell his house and give the money to the Church and so he did. His pastor told him to marry a certain woman, and so he did. His pastor told him to move to Hawaii, so he did. His Pastor told him to donate his sports car to the Church and he did.

The first crack in the façade came when he discovered his Pastor was driving his sports car! Then he began to be suspicious of the supposed miracles and found them to be false. A little more investigation revealed serious infidelity among the leadership – and my friend dropped out in disgust. In fact, he refused to go to any church for many years after his experience and who can blame him!

But this is a pattern that has been followed again and again down through the centuries. Religion is a powerful agent for change… and for control. Unscrupulous leaders have repeatedly used religion and pseudo-religion to milk the people for everything they have and to seek personal power.

Perhaps, the most egregious example of this kind of self-dealing is the example of Mao Tse Tung. Mao starved millions of his fellow citizens to death – and ate nothing but the best himself. Mao forced his cadres to go for years without any contact between husband and wife – while he kept 300 concubines. Mao always lived in palatial estates; he drove – or rode in - the most expensive cars. The “People’s Republic of China” should have been called the “person’s Republic of China” because it had everything to do with one person – Chairman Mao.

And whenever you see anyone – no matter how charismatic and winsome they seem to be in the pulpit or in person – you ought to be aware of their motives. Excessive control is often the sign of self-dealing; large egos are often a problem within the family of God!

And one more: false teachers Cause Division, create obstacles, contradict scripture, coddle themselves and finally, excuse the deep theological language here – they Come across as Cool.

At the end of verse 18, Paul says, “By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.” False Teachers are smooth talkers. They are glib and charismatic and persuasive – and, they have to be; because they are selling falsehood! They are selling ice cubes to Eskimos. They are peddling arsenic in place of aspirin!

This was perhaps the most disturbing thing to me about the speaker at the Pastor’s Convention. He was a great speaker. He knew how to pull his listener’s heartstrings. His sermons were full of artfully twisted statistics and slightly disconnected syllogisms.

As I looked around the room in the seminar that afternoon, I felt that most of the people there were drinking up everything he said as if it came straight from the pages of Scripture. I was the only one there among at least sixty pastors who dared to point out any inconsistencies in his logic… and there were many.

Just because someone is a good speaker doesn’t make them are right. Just because someone is glib and charismatic, and smooth-talking doesn’t mean one should believe everything they say! The truth is that we need to Test the Spirits, all the Spirits!

This is really the command of Paul here in Romans 16. What should we do? I have put Paul’s plan of action into three short phrases. Beware! Compare! Stay away! Watch out for people of contentious spirit; who throw up obstacles to faith! Don’t take what anyone says at face value all the time. Make sure to Compare it with the things that you have learned from Scripture!

Next, STAY AWAY. Paul says clearly in verse 18, “Keep away from them!” Obviously, it is important for us to engage the world in a discussion of the truth. We are NOT supposed to go inside our churches and lock the doors until Jesus comes. But at the same time, it is a bad idea to place ourselves under the authority or even the consistent influence of anyone who has crossed the line from orthodoxy into heresy.

As I like to say, don’t play around with the end of the vacuum cleaner. You just might get sucked in!

Beware! Compare! Stay Away! And finally be Snakes and doves. Paul says in verse 19, “Be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.” NIV As I read that verse, I couldn’t help but be reminded of what Jesus said in Matt 10:16. He said to the disciples, “be as wise as snakes and as innocent as doves.” NIV It is the same thing. Be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil! I’m thinking there might be a whole sermon in that verse!

In the meantime, BEWARE! Keep in mind that the Truth is under assault and that you and I are charged with the responsibility of Guarding it.