A Warning Note

Vs. 17-18 – Before closing the letter, Paul issues a warning to the Roman saints about people who cause division. He says: “Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles contrary to the teaching you have learned; turn away from them”. Paul gave a similar warning to the elders of Ephesus in Acts 20:29-30. This shows that we need to be watchful against those who have a tendency to gather people around themselves. These people often have a complaint about some weakness among their brothers, especially against those who lead, and they will use that as a foothold for their cause. Often it will have the appearance of godly concern, and innocent people will be taken in by it.

All this activity is, naturally, of the flesh (Gal. 5:20) and “contrary to the doctrine” (ARA) that we have learned – which says that all Christians should walk together in practical unity without “divisions” among them (1 Cor. 1:10 – ARA). A “division [schism]” is an inward division or a partition among the brothers (1 Cor. 11:18), whereas a “hairesis [sect]” is an outward division among brothers, when a part breaks away and is no longer in practical fellowship with the others (1 Cor. 11:19). Since 1 Corinthians 11:18-19 speaks of a “hairesis [sect – JND]” after mentioning a “division [schism]”, it indicates that one will lead to the other, if it is not judged.

The evil work alluded to here in Romans 16 is the one that a divider does in the fellowship of the saints. The brothers are not instructed to excommunicate him (formally put him outside the fellowship), but Paul says: “turn away” (ARA) from him. Note that Paul says: “those who cause divisions”; he does not say: “those who follow a division.” We learn from this that we should distinguish between the leaders and the led in these kinds of ruptures. We should therefore avoid the leader (or leaders), but extend a hand and try to help those who are being drawn by the divisive movement. Paul says: “For such people do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly” Thus, they do not have the Lord’s glory before them, but their own selfish interests. The means by which they gain followers are through “smooth words and flattery”, and the kind of people who are deceived by these dividers are those who are “simple” and “unwary”.

Absalom is a type of man who causes division in the assembly (2 Sam. 15-18). He drew some after himself who “in their simplicity” “knew nothing” (2 Sam. 15:11). His method was to agree with those who had some complaint and kiss them. The result was that he “stole the hearts of the men of Israel” (2 Sam. 15:1-6 – ARA). The formation of his party did not happen overnight; it took “four years” (2 Sam. 15:7 – ARA). (The KJV says “forty,” but apparently it is an error of the Hebrew copyist.) Slowly but surely, Absalom stirred up many to follow after himself. Let us, then, be cautious of men of good outward appearance who flatter us; they could be preparing a trap for our feet.

Vs. 19-20 – Paul praises the Roman saints for their “obedience” (it was a testimony to men everywhere) and he believed that they would act with the same obedience in his instructions regarding the people who caused divisions. It would be a means of preserving themselves. Paul gave this warning because, although they had begun well, he feared that they might deviate in some way. And so, he encouraged them to keep their focus on the right and sound things. He desired that they be “wise in what is good, but simple concerning evil”. This is because occupation with evil (whether with the errors of the world or with the faults of the brothers) can absorb us and turn us aside. G. Davison warned: “Those who are occupied with failure will become a failure!”

Paul reminded them that a time would soon come “shortly” when God “will crush Satan” (AIBB), who is behind all these evil movements among the Lord’s people. Until then, we must be on guard. Satan’s final death will occur when he is cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). Paul adds: “under your feet”. Thus, those born of God will triumph through Christ in the end! Until then, Paul commends the saints in Rome to “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Closing Greetings

Vs. 21-24 – In closing, Paul sends the Roman believers the greetings of those who were with him. Eight people are named – “Timothy” (Paul’s co-worker), “Lucius”, “Jason” and “Sosipater” (Paul’s relatives), “Tertius” (the actual writer of the epistle), “Gaius” (in whose house Paul stayed), “Erastus” (the treasurer of the city of Corinth) and “Quartus”.

These brothers together commended the saints in Rome to “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

The Two Themes of Paul’s Ministry – The Means by Which a Believer Is Established

Vs. 25-27 – Paul expresses a final desire that he had for the Roman saints (in fact, for the saints everywhere) – that God would “confirm” [establish – JND]” them in the truth. He mentions that this involved two things – having an understanding of his “gospel” and having an understanding of the “mystery”. These constitute the two great themes of his ministry (Eph. 3:8-9; Col. 1:23-28) and are declared by the word “according to” in verse 25.

• “According to [according to] my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ.”

• “According to the revelation of the mystery.”

Note that Paul did not consider a person established in the truth until he had not only embraced the truth of the gospel, but also embraced the truth of the Mystery. Today, Christians for the most part are grateful to know that they are saved by believing the gospel, but they seem to have little concern for the revelation of the Mystery.

Paul's gospel speaks of the glory of God in meeting our need as sinners, and that by believing his message, we are brought into the possession of many spiritual blessings in the Christ risen and exalted to heaven. The Mystery, on the other hand, speaks of the glory of God in Christ, the Head of the Church. It reveals our relationships as a body and common privileges in connection with the calling and destiny of the Church. This would include the practical arrangements concerning the present function of the Church on earth, giving expression to the truth that it is one body. Ignorance of what the Mystery reveals forms the basis of much of the confusion in the Church today. W. Kelly said: "One of the melancholy signs and proofs of where the Church is now, is that even in the most zealous children of God there is little concern to refresh the hearts of the saints. Zeal is concerned with the simple conversion of sinners. The glory of God in the Church is not considered, and the love of Christ for His body and for each member is for the most part ignored" (The Epistle to Philemon, p. 148).

The Mystery is not something enigmatic; it is a holy secret that was "hidden" in the heart of God since before the foundation of the world (Eph. 3:9). It has to do with the great purpose of God to glorify His Son in two spheres (in heaven and on earth) in the coming millennial kingdom ("the Dispensation of the fullness of Times" – Eph. 1:8-10), through a specially formed vessel of testimony – the Church, which is the body and bride of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23, 5:25-32; Rev. 21:9-22:5). Ephesians highlights the calling and destiny of the Church in its public association with Christ, while Colossians and 1 Corinthians reveal the present character and practical functioning of the Church while it is here on earth.

1. 26 – Paul says that, although this truth was hidden, now it is

manifested "by the prophetic Scriptures" (ARA). These are not the writings of the prophets in the Old Testament, because the revelation of the Church was not given to them; it was unknown to those "in other ages" (Eph. 3:5). Paul is speaking of the New Testament prophets to whom the truth of the Mystery was given to communicate to the Church. These would be the epistles in general. (Notes and Jottings of J. N. Darby, p. 328). W. Kelly said that these Scriptures would be "the inspired writings in general of the New Testament, for the Church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets" (The Bible Treasury, vol. 13, p. 352). Paul must have spoken beforehand, because many of the epistles had not yet been written at the time he wrote to the Romans.

Paul's reason for declaring his desire for the establishment of the Roman saints was that they would not only be intelligent as to the purpose of God, but would also be less prone to being influenced by those who worked to divide the flock.

Vs. 27 – Paul gives a final blessing: "To the only wise God be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen."

BACK COVER

The purpose of the apostle Paul in writing this epistle was to make known to the saints in Rome the gospel that he preached among the Gentiles. At the time he wrote it, he had not been to Rome and therefore did not know all the believers there – although he mentions in chapter 16 some names he knew. Thus, Paul had reason to believe that the saints in Rome might not have a complete knowledge of the gospel he preached – which he calls "my gospel" (chapters 2:16, 16:25). Therefore, he undertakes to systematically establish the length and breadth of the gospel, with the goal of establishing the Roman saints in the foundations of the Christian faith.

Since the gospel that Paul preached is, generally speaking, poorly understood by Christians today, there is a real need for this epistle. Many believers do not have real peace, not having an understanding of the acceptance and security they have in Christ; nor do they know the ways of God of holiness (practical sanctification) through their identification with the death of Christ. Consequently, many believers lack stability in their souls. Absorbing the truth of the gospel outlined in this epistle will give the believer the solid foundation he needs to rest in his faith. Topics in this epistle, such as: redemption, forgiveness of sins, justification, reconciliation, deliverance from sin, our coming glorification, and much more, are explained in detail.

Notes

[→1]

1. Tr. note: There are parentheses in the English King James and John Nelson Darby versions and not in the Portuguese versions.

[→2]

1. Tr. note: There are parentheses in the JND and TB versions.

[→3]

Footnote from the JND translation: "This does not refer to a prosperous journey, but to the hope that God might favor or prosper him in such a way that he could go; he had long

hoped for this and desired that it might finally be granted to him."

[→4]

1. from T: Footnote “a” in 1 Corinthians 8:1 of the JND translation: “Two Greek words are used for ‘to know’ in the New Testament – ‘ginosko’ and ‘oida.’ Ginosko means objective knowledge, that which a man has learned or acquired. The expression ‘to be familiar with’ perhaps conveys the meaning. Oida conveys the thought of that which is inward, the inward consciousness of the mind, intuitive knowledge not directly derived from what is external. The difference between the two words is illustrated in John 8:55: ‘And you do not know Him (ginosko), but I know Him (oida)’; in John 13:7: ‘What I am doing you do not know (oida) now, but you will know (ginosko) afterward’; and in Hebrews 8:11: ‘And they shall not teach ... saying: know (ginosko) the Lord; for all shall know Me (oida)’. The word oida is used in relation to Christ as knowing the Father and as knowing the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees, and in relation to Paul’s knowledge of ‘a man in Christ’ and to the Christian’s knowledge that he has eternal life. ‘For I know whom I have believed’ 2 Tim 1:12 – I have the inward conscious knowledge of who the Person is: see also 1 Corinthians. 16:15; 2 Tim. 3:14 and 15 – all of them refer to inward conscious knowledge. The difference between the meaning of the two words is often subtle and an objective knowledge can become a conscious knowledge, but not the reverse. The Greek word for conscience is derived from oida: see 1 Cor 4:4 – ARA: ‘For I am not aware of [guilt] my conscience’, that is, not conscious of any fault. In the present passage, ‘we know that an idol is nothing’ is a conscious knowledge: ‘we know that we all have knowledge [knowledge]’ and ‘knowledge [knowledge] puffs up’ is objective knowledge. ‘if anyone thinks that he knows (conscious knowledge) anything, he does not yet know (objectively) as he ought to know (objectively)’. ‘This one is known (objectively) by Him’, and so ‘knowledge’ in 1 Cor 8:10”

[→5]

1. from T.: Rhetoric is a word originating from the Greek term

rhetorike, which means the art of speaking well, of communicating in a

clear way and managing to convey ideas with conviction.

[→6]

1. from T.: There are two distinct words in Greek,“huios” and “teknon,” which are indistinctly translated in our Portuguese Bible versions as “children”. According to the website wikidiff.com “As nouns, the difference between son (huios) and child (teknon) is that son is a boy or man in relation to his parents; a male descendant, while child is a descendant, son or daughter”.

[→7]

Rom 3:4, 6, 31, 6:2, 15, 7:7, 13, 9:14, 11:1, 11.

[→8]

1. from T.: J. N. Darby translates “logizomai” as reckon and it means to consider, to account, to count as being, to think of someone as being something specific The Greek word appears in this chapter in verses 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 22, 23, 24. In most occurrences in the Portuguese versions, we find the translation of “logizomai” as impute, which means to confer or attribute something to someone.

[→9]

1. from T.: J. N. Darby translates this verse as: “Now, it was not written for his sake alone that it was reckoned to him, but for our sake also, to those who believe in Him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord”.

[→10]

1. from T.: It means the one who acts on behalf of all who are under his dominion.

[→11]

1. from T.: Animic comes from the Latin word “anima” which means that which is relative or belonging to the soul.

[→12]

1. from T.: Paul was using the word “sin” to represent the person himself. So God looks at a believer and no longer sees him as being dominated by the nature of sin; we are seen in a new position, in a new life, having the life of Christ and a new nature. God does not see the “sinful nature” as being “us”. He sees the true “us” as being the life that is in a “new” position before him that is not capable of sinning. Our new nature does not want to sin and cannot sin.

[→13]

1. from T.: H. P. Barker gave the following helpful illustration about the principle of displacement, saying: "Suppose I have in my hand a glass, apparently empty. In fact, it is full of air. How can I empty it of air? Not by shaking it frantically with the mouth down, nor by wiping it with a cloth. It is emptied by simply standing on a table while it is filled with water. I empty it of air by filling it with water." (The Holy Spirit Here Today, p. 78).

[→14]

1. from T.: A set of rigid disciplinary norms of conduct,

guided by austerity and by the renunciation of bodily pleasures and worldly desires, as a way of attaining spiritual illumination and

moral and religious perfection.

[→15]

1. from T.: Orthodox comes from the Greek word orthos which means “straight” and doxa which means “faith”. It is that which conforms to the doctrine held as true.

[→16]

1. from T.: It comes from the Greek doxologia, (doxa “glory” + logia “word” referring to oral or written expression. Therefore, “doxology” is an oral or written expression of praise and glorification.