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A warning against false teachers:
v. 17. Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them.
v. 18. For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
v. 19. For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad, therefore, on your behalf; but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil.
v. 20. And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you! Amen.
This warning comes into the postscript in the nature of an after-thought. Very likely the congregation at Rome had not yet been troubled, but Paul feels it necessary to warn his Christians against a danger which might strike them at any time. It is not the open enemies of the Christian Church that work the greatest harm, but the false teachers that call themselves after the name of Christ and purport to believe in, and to teach, the Bible, and who, by insidious propaganda, subvert the foundations of sound teaching. St. Paul, therefore, warns the believers at Rome and the Christians of all times against such people as teach a doctrine at variance with the plain truths as he has proclaimed them. He begs them, as Christian brethren, most earnestly to mark them, literally, to keep their eye on them, to be on the constant lookout for them, that cause factions and scandals contrary to the doctrine which they had learned, which had been preached in Rome all these years, and to turn away from these false teachers. The apostle may have had in mind such opponents and disturbers of the peace as had attempted to hinder the course of the Gospel in Antioch, in Galatia, and in Achaia. Such men would undoubtedly try to enter into the congregation at Rome also and to spread their false teaching. But Paul distinctly tells the Roman Christians and the true believers of all times that they are not only to reject the false doctrine, but also to avoid the false teachers of every kind and degree. It is the express will of God that Christians and Christian organizations with sound Biblical basis must separate themselves, and remain separate, from all denominations in which false doctrine and false teachers are permitted. All unionism, which attempts to unite truth and falsehood in the same church organization, is clearly condemned in this passage. See 2Th_3:6; Tit_3:10; 1Co_5:11; 2Jn_1:10.
The reason for this unequivocal stand is given by Paul: For such men, people that belong to their class, are not engaged in the service of Christ, our Lord, but in that of their own belly, and through specious talking and pretty words they deceive the hearts of the unwary, v. 18. Although false teachers pretend to be serving the Lord Jesus Christ, this assumed zeal is intended to make an impression upon the unwary: base interests of their own are their real object. With an insinuating tone and in fine style, with glittering words and attractive phrases they try to cover up their real intention. "The description here given is applicable, in a great degree, to errorists in all ages. They are not actuated by zeal for the Lord Jesus; they are selfish, if not sensual; and they are plausible and deceitful. " (Hodge.) "The Church of God has ever been troubled with such pretended pastors- men who feed themselves, not the flock; men who are too proud to beg and too lazy to work; who have neither grace nor gifts to plant the standard of the Cross on the devil's territories, and by the power of Christ make inroads upon his kingdom, and spoil him of his subjects. On the contrary, by sowing the seeds of dissension, by means of doubtful disputations, and the propagation of scandals, by glaring and insinuating speeches, for they affect elegance and good breeding, they rend Christian congregations, form a party for themselves, and thus live on the spoils of the Church of God."
The apostle now shows why he has uttered his warning, v. 19. As distinguished from the simple, the unwary, the obedience which the believers of Rome gave the Gospel had gone out to all men, it was known in all Christian congregations. Paul had full confidence in them that they would be able to meet also such a situation with the proper wisdom, in accordance with the obedience to the Gospel which they had always shown. And yet he cannot help conveying a feeling of his anxiety. He is rejoicing over them, but just the same he wants them to be wise toward the good, but pure and innocent with reference to the evil, to all that which is bad, not to be enmeshed in the net of false doctrine. At the same time, it is a comforting thought for both Paul and the Christians at Rome that the God of peace will crush, tread under foot, Satan, in whose service the false teachers are standing, and that shortly. The day is not far distant when the Lord will crush Satan, stamp him out, render him helpless forever, and thus deliver them that are His from all attacks of the old Evil Foe. See Gen_3:15. The benediction: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you, closes this section of the postscript. It is God's powerful mercy which alone can establish and uphold the Christians in all conditions of life.