Leaving Beyond – Grounded In Scripture

Written by: April J. Buchanan

God’s Sovereignty Over What Is Contrary

Can God use what is otherwise contrary—against—Him, a counterfeit that takes a form or appearance as good and draws men away from God in His name? Yes, God can sovereignly use even what is evil, false, or counterfeit to accomplish His purposes. But that never validates, endorses, or gives credibility to the teaching, teachers, or movements that oppose Him.

The Danger of Mixture

Can that which unites what is pure with that which is impure—holy with the unholy, true with the counterfeit—work together to bring about final results that are pure, holy, and true? No. Mixture always corrupts. If there is a mission or movement where the true and counterfeit work together, where they find overlapping common ground, it will not produce pure results. It cannot remain uncorrupted.

When the holy name of Christ is placed alongside that which is counterfeit in an effort to work on “common good” in His name, this is nothing less than a form of ecumenism.

John Owen warned:

“The mixture of anything human with divine institutions, though it seems to add beauty to the eye of man, is abominable to God.”

The Temptation to Lower God’s Standard

Scripture gives clear commands. Yet we often set those commands aside because they get in the way of our own desires—desires we convince ourselves are good. We create separate categories so that we may apply God’s commands when convenient, and ignore them when inconvenient.

Like the Pharisees, we adopt our own standards to appear—or convince ourselves what we are doing is—pleasing to God while lowering His commands to something we can achieve. But God has not called us to obey man-made standards; He has called us to submit to His Word.

Mark and Avoid False Teachers

What does Romans 16:17 say? What does it mean?

It does not say, “Mark and share platforms with false teachers as long as you are allowed to say whatever you want to say.”

It says:

“Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause dissensions and stumblings contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.” (Romans 16:17, LSB)

Rabbit trail: I listened to a sermon recently by John MacArthur on Matthew 5:20. That verse used to trouble me. I didn’t understand how my righteousness could ever exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees. It seemed to call me to work harder and try harder. But I couldn’t reconcile that with the truth that I am saved by the finished work of Christ and not by my works. My theology was shallow, and my understanding of God was shaped more by experiences than by Scripture. Yet Scripture always had a way of confronting me.

MacArthur explained that the Pharisees added commands not revealed in Scripture, lowering God’s standard to something achievable.

It is easy for us to point at the Pharisees without realizing that we may be guilty of the same error. It is also easy to call out others who are doing something similar in the present moment while failing to examine our own hearts. (We’ll revisit this rabbit trail later).

The Example of a Lowered Standard

Currently, a Christian apologist—Alisa Childers—has stated that she will be open to invites where she may be platformed alongside false teachers, as long as she can say whatever she wants.

Her justification is that she will only accept these invites if she can say whatever she wants. But that is not a standard set by Scripture. It is a man-made standard that she can fulfill, but one that stands contrary to God’s commands.

We must ask: are we setting standards that we can live up to, or are we submitting to God’s clear Word? By what standard are we obeying? (To be clear, I am not calling Alisa a Pharisee. I am simply pointing out the danger for all of us when we substitute our own standards in place of God’s.)

The Importance of Biblical Convictions

Matthew Henry wrote concerning Romans 16:17:

“How earnest, how endearing are these exhortations! Whatever differs from the sound doctrine of the Scriptures, opens a door to divisions and offences. If truth be forsaken, unity and peace will not last long. Many call Christ, Master and Lord, who are far from serving him. But they serve their carnal, sensual, worldly interests. They corrupt the head by deceiving the heart; perverting the judgments by winding themselves into the affections. We have great need to keep our hearts with all diligence. It has been the common policy of seducers to set upon those who are softened by convictions. A pliable temper is good when under good guidance, otherwise it may be easily led astray. Be so wise as not to be deceived, yet so simple as not to be deceivers.”

Passion for Unity and the Call for Division

John Piper comments on the same passage:

“The second command in verse 17 is to avoid these people. The last phrase in the verse: ‘Avoid them.’ Stay away from them. Now the reason I said these two commands sound contradictory is that the first one is driven by a passion for unity: Watch out for those who cause divisions. And the second one is, in fact, a call for division. When you spot such a division-causing person, divide from him. Avoid him.”

A Continual Command

The word “avoid” is an imperative—a command—in the present tense. That means it calls for continual obedience. This is not an overreaction; it is God’s will to maintain the purity of the Gospel and to protect Christ’s bride.

When we compare Scripture with Scripture, looking at passages that command us to ‘be separate’ and to not even greet false teachers—lest we take part in their wicked works—it becomes increasingly clear how vital it is to maintain the purity of the Gospel, unity in the truth, and the glory of God.

Christ loves His bride.

J.C. Ryle once wrote:

“Compromise is the most unsatisfactory policy in dealing with false doctrine. Truth, mixed with error, is no better than outright error itself.”

The Marks of False Teachers

In this passage, Paul identifies false teachers with strong language:

They cause division. They create obstacles. They act and teach contrary to the doctrine taught.

Such people are enemies of the Gospel. They love to sit alongside those who proclaim the truth in order to appear trustworthy. Purity is not maintained through compromise.

Presuming to Know Better Than God

By disobeying this verse—even partly—by marking them but failing to avoid them—we effectively sit alongside wolves and take part in their wicked works (2 John 10–11). In doing so, we presume that we know better than God.

But God has clearly commanded: mark them and avoid them. Why would we think that marking them without avoiding them will please Him, no matter how noble our intentions may seem?

We do not know better than God.

Christ Our Perfect Righteousness

Returning to our rabbit trail:

If we are to exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, as Jesus said we must (Matt. 5:20), we will either land in pride or despair. Either we foolishly point to our works and lower God’s standard, or we despair, realizing we cannot meet it.

This is why theology matters, even for those truly regenerate. If we do not understand the imputed righteousness of Christ or have a clear understanding of the difference in justification, sanctification and glorification, we may begin to rely once again upon our works. Whereas, Matthew 5:20 points us to Christ. It demands the perfect righteousness we cannot achieve and to the perfect righteousness of Christ imputed to all who are justified in Him.

Dear saint, this verse is a terrifying reminder of how sinful we are, but also a beautiful reminder of God’s grace. Our sins were imputed to Christ when He bore God’s wrath in our place, and His perfect righteousness is imputed to us, whereby we are justified in Christ. We are sanctified and we are being sanctified.

Roman Catholicism corrupts this. Mormonism corrupts this.

Why Purity of the Gospel Matters

This is why we must not join with those who proclaim a different Jesus and another gospel, no matter how noble we believe our intentions to be. They pervert the beauty of the gospel revealed in Christ Jesus.

We must maintain the purity of the Gospel and remain separate.

Unity and Division That Glorify God

Romans 16:17 does not exist to make us suspicious of everyone we meet. Rather, it is a verse meant to protect true unity in the truth and to guard the purity of the Gospel.

It is not “negative for the sake of being negative.” It protects. It purifies. It glorifies God.

In this single verse (Romans 16:17), we see:

The importance of true unity. The necessity of sound doctrine. The call to identify enemies of the truth. The place of healthy division for the sake of the Gospel’s purity.

True unity is unity in the truth. False unity—unity at the expense of truth—is no unity at all.

Grace and peace, y’all

Soli Deo Gloria