Bible Guys Classics: Romans 16 Part 2

Hey, everybody, we're the Bible guys, and if you're just tuning in recently, just know that we are showing a little bit of reruns for a few months, and then we'll be back bigger and better than ever on August thirty first, because behind the scenes, we're taking a hiatus to do some very important things. Yeah, we're building building out a new studio and we've got some new structure. Super excited about it. So August thirty first, brand new content. But in the meantime, enjoy some of our greatest hits. So, Jeff, Today we're receiving Paul's final instructions as he finally wraps up his letter to the Church of Rome. Yeah, he's been wrapping this thing up for a while, hasn't he. So this is a good preacher. We love to just close and close and close. And that's what he's saying, Paul, that's right. So he's Chris and I'm Jeff, and we're the Bible guys. So Jeff, Yes, today we're supposed to be doing a draft. I like I like it when we do these drafts. Too, So it's uh, I'm just gonna read it how it's written. It says today, we're going to do a draft list of your top tier favorite actors. Think that if they're in a movie, then you're going to go and see it just because of the actors. Do rock paper scissors to see who gets the first pick, and then go until you each have five actors. Oh five, okay, just for the sake of just being on the. Top of our brains, just for to make it easier, let's just pick male actors. Okay, just the top male actors. Okay, just because I can't. I can't. My brain can't work that hard. Okay. So one shoot one two three shoot Ready one two three. Shoot one two three, shoot one two three shoot. Yes, yes, okay. So my first one would be My favorite actor is Harrison Ford. Okay, that's good. My favorite actor is Tom Hanks. Oh really? Yes? Yeah, makes believe it or not. I always am curious every time I see John Krasinski in a in a movie or a TV show or something. I really like him. Yeah, okay, My second one is Tom Cruise. I thought you said Tom Cruise was your first one, Tom Hanks. You said Tom Cruise first. I did not. I'm almost positive you did. We can roll the everybody who's listening is laughing because they. You said Tom Hanks first. I read it. I read it. Yeah, yeah, I don't think you said it right. I'm gonna go back with him later. Okay, so my number three. Hey, by the way, I'm now speaking to Jeff listening later. Got you. That's not true. We didn't roll it back yet. No, I know. I'm talking to you like a week from now. Yeah, yeah, okay, well we'll see, okay, let me see. Let me see. Who's the guy who did the Born series, Mad Dame Mad Damon, Yeah. Matt Damon. Okay, Uh, he's on my list as well. I'm gonna say Denzel. Oh I love Denzel oh Man. Okay, so what are we at now? Number three? Number four? So number four? Uh, anytime I see who, I want to watch that movie? Ah, dude, I don't watch movies often enough to know. Uh, well, we're doing a lot of action movies, aren't we, So we should change Kevin Costner. Yeah, he's on the back end. But yeah, but you know all time, like like I like to draft day, hey, like some of those machines machine. He's doing a thing on Yellowstone. Now called Yellowstone. It's in Yellowstone Park. Oh he's yes, he's narrated Yellowstone I think that'd be right off your head. Thought you're talking about the TV show. Oh no, okay, okay. So my other, my fourth one would be Paul Rudd. Oh that's a good one. I love. Yeah, Paul Rudd, he's good. Let me see. And then this is the last man. So this is the last one. Out of all of the people. See, I would have done Tom Hanks. Uh, let me see. I can't think of it. I can't think of one. How about if I give you four or five, you can choose, probably Robert de Niro, Anthony Hopkins, Sean Connery, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jacky Nicholson, Will Smith. Actually Jack Black. Jack Black's the one I'm gonna pick for my fifth draft choice. Oh gosh, that's so great. After I read like the greatest actors of all time, you're like Jack Black in the moment, all right, out of that remaining because I wrote down like ten actors that I liked, I'm and I have this list, by the way, from something else. I'm gonna say that the one I'm gonna choose is very hard. But I'm actually gonna say Will Smith. Oh wow, yeah, Will Smith. So he's my fifth. I'm going to take one big step back from you. Stay out of arms reach. I don't mimic his slab pay well. I don't know. I'm just afraid. Now. Christian is great. He's a good actor. Yeah, yes, very good. Well today we're going to wrap up the Book of Romans in the letter that Paul is writing to the church he's never been to and he's giving final instructions. Okay, so well let's just pick up here because remember yesterday we talked about how he's not taking shots at other Christians, right, right, But he does say this, and then this is why we stopped, he says. And now I make one more appeal, My dear brothers and sisters, watch out for people who cause divisions and upset people's faith by teaching things contrary to what you've been taught. Stay away from them. Such people are not serving Christ, our Lord. They are serving their own personal interests. By smooth talk and glowing words, they deceive innocent people. But everyone knows that you are obedient to the Lord, and this makes me very happy. I want you to be wise and doing right and to stay innocent. Of any wrong. The God of Peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Timothy, my fellow worker, sends you his greetings, as do Lucius, Jason Suscipator, and my fellow Jews. I Tertius, the one writing this letter for Paul, send my greetings too, is one of the Lord's followers. I love that he slipped that in. I love it in between Paul sentences, Yeah. Exactly, I'm going to say I too. He's never mentioned me, he never even said my name. I'm gonna let you know I'm writing there for you. Gais says hello to you. He's my host and also serves as host to the whole church. Erastus, the city Treasurer, sends you his greetings, and so does our brother Cordus. Now all glory to God, who's able to make you strong. Just as my good News says this message about Jesus, Christ has revealed his plan for you gentiles, a plan kept secret from the beginning of time. But now, as the Prophet's foretold and as the eternal God is commanded, this message is made known to all gentiles everywhere, so that they too might believe and obey him. All glory to the only Wise God through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. Amen. I love that. So there's some some belief or some indication that Paul had a lot of trouble with his eyesight, and so he used writers because if you remember in some of the other epistles that he uh said or that he wrote at the end, he'd say, hey, now you can see I'm signing this in my own handwriting. Look how big it is? Right. He mentioned that a couple of times Galatians. Yeah, that he's signing with his own hand and his big So I love how the Book of Romans ends. It's just and I think the Holy Spirit just allowed it. It's a giggle in the Bible where what's the name Gaeish goes, I'm signing. My name too, I can't read it. That's so funny. It's just the best. Yeah. And uh and so the beginning, the beginning, and of. Course Paul's covered this topic and so many other parts of his you know, the other book that he's written. But he talks about false teachers. He talks about. Those teaching contrary to what you know, and he says, stay away from them. So there's no there's not a new thought to say stay away from false teachers. But then I love how. He expands and says, such people are not serving Christ, our Lord, and they are serving their own personal interests by smooth talking, glowing words that deceive innocent people. And you know, it's. Interesting how there are people who not just preachers, not just famous people, not just people with titles, right, you know, I mean, obviously people with titles who try to manipulate and say send your money in and all these different things that we've. Seen in the past. But even I think there's a group of Christians I think that seem to somehow. I don't know how to say this. I should have thought more before I spoke, But have you ever met a person who seems to leverage Christianity to make themselves look better? Like they come and they play church and they play godly and they make themselves look better. And it just sort of reminds me of that group of people too. They don't really love God somebody, they love how they look when. They're you're saying, somebody who's clearly pursuing celebrity Christianity, Yeah, maybe. That's a good way to say, look at me, pay attention to me. And I know that's not the warning, that's not the warning. He's warnering false doctrine. But there are Christians or people who claim to be Christians, who are really very self centered. And that's what I thought of what you said through smooth talk and selfishness and deceitfulness. I thought, you know, there really is a subculture of every once in a while, you'll run into that type of person. And I think that it's important to realize that there are broken people that walk into churches, right, And so when you run into somebody like that. It doesn't mean the church is bad, right, And it also. Doesn't mean that whenever you see a bad preacher who teaches false doctrine and tries to get monetary gain, it doesn't mean that the whole church is bad. It just means that, listen, this world is filled with broken people. Yeah, and you and I are going to make mistakes. There's bad school teachers, there's bad coaches, there's bad politicians, there's bad bakers, there's bad chefs. That's right, right, And yet that doesn't turn us off from going back to a baker. I'm going to stop and have another donut when I want one, You know what I mean, Just because there are some bad people out in the world doesn't give us the justifications just totally shut off the world. But that's a word that I think a lot of people probably need to hear. Yeah, but he is telling us here, where's it, he says, He's telling us to them to be careful about being wise. Oh yeah, yeah. Here in verse nineteen, he says, but everyone knows that you're obedient to Lord. This makes me very happy. I want you to be why in doing right and to stay innocent of any wrong right. And this should be our goal. A lot of us we want to be wise on all the bad and the evil stuff. Why do we get sucked to the bad headlines in the news? Why do we get sucked into the bad stories and the bad podcasts, you know, and all the murder and all the rape and all of the bad things that are happening in the world. And he said, man, that's just our nature. Our nature is to move towards all the bad headlines. And he said, listen, what I want you to be someone should be innocent, man, You run towards innocence. Keep your mind clean and pure, don't. Get distracted by all these bad things, and instead focus on those things that are good. And then he says, the God of peace right will soon crush, stating on his feet. So, hey, the. God of peace, he'll give you peace when you choose innocence. You choose keep an innocent mind, and God will crush. The evil one. That's what he's saying, right, And so you know, we don't have to run around constantly diving headfirst into all the bad that's going on in the world. Instead, lets us bee innocence as much as possible. We don't have to be informed on that and let God deal with it instead. Yeah, and I think that it's also really cool that Paul uses the word wise to be wise. So you know that the word wisdom in the Bible that in the Old Testament they refer to wisdom as. A her as a personality. Yeah. Yeah, it says whoever gains wisdom and finds her has has done a great thing. So wisdom is held up. As something that is to be desired above almost anything else. And to use wisdom is something that is just unbelievable. And I remember hearing a story actually hang on a sermon series. And by the way, when I went down, so I lived in Georgia and I drove forty five minutes north and I went to Andy Stanley's church, North Point Church. And it was actually originally the series was called Don't Be a Fool and had like a Jester's hat and all the people in the parking lot had jester hats, right, But then it eventually when it got released, they said that was a negative thing, and so they changed it to what is the wise thing to do? And the whole series was based on asking that question. So think about this the next time you're in a situation where you're wondering whether or not it's a. Good idea to do A or B. You're like, should I do A or should I be safe and do B? Just ask yourself, Okay, what's the wise thing to do? And wisdom will dictate the answer. A lot of times. It doesn't have to be Oh is there reverse for that? You know what I mean? What it could be is like asking that question brings about everything. It's all encompassing. It brings about godly principle, it brings about earthly consequence, it brings about just practicality. It also brings about commandments, it brings about just about everything, and just say, what is the wise thing to do? I think that wisdom is something to be desired. After all, Remember when God asked Solomon and said, I'll give you one thing, what do you want? Like a magic genie? Right? Think about that? If God whether the one like a genie that says, what would you desire us all? And says wisdom? And God says, because you have asked for this, I'm going to make you the wisest man who's ever lived. And nobody before you and nobody after you will ever ever be as wise as you. And I'll give you all the other things. I'll give you peace in your land, I'll give you wealth, I'll give you right I sparre to all those other things, because that's where all that comes from, is from wisdom. Right, So God gave it to him. Yeah, it's pretty amazing. Yeah, it's really interesting. So there isn't an issue here. I think that we should bring up. Some Christians run around pointing out the problems in everybody else, and Paul warns against that, and some Christians have exactly the flip side. Oh, everybody's wonderful. Everything's wonderful. We just accept everything right. And Paul kind of splits the difference here, and so Paul just spent a chapter and a half saying, man, you guys are great, My friends are great. All the stuff that's going on, and the Kingdom of God is great, all the churches are greeting you. This is all great. And then he pauses and says, oh, hey, by the way, be really careful because there's some bad guys out there too. So Paul isn't on the side of everybody's bad. He spends way more time in all of his letters complimenting and saying good about all the godly people than he does anything bad. But he's not on the other side where everything is good and that there's nothing to watch out for. And so he is saying, even in your Christian world, the world that you're living in, there are people who are false teachers, and you got to watch out for that false teaching. And the only way that you can really do that is to know what is true. You don't study falsehood to know what's false, because there's so many ways to make something false. You study truth, right, and because falsehood is always a deviation from the truth. As a matter of fact, it's almost like falsehood's not a thing. Truth is. And then falsehood is a reflection of a bad reflection of a truth, right right, right, And so so you study the truth, you get the best way to know what is false is to spend a substantial amount of time in the truth. And then the Bible says that God will use this Holy Spirit to teach you what is true. And then God also uses other believers around you to remind you of what is true. So the believers, your pastors, your other leaders, your other Christian friends that are also astute at knowing what is true in scripture, they can remind you of what is true. The Holy Spirit convinces you of what is true, and God's word is true. And so that's where if we spend our time there, then we don't have to worry about studying all the falsehoods. We can clearly know what is true from God's word. Yeah, you know what that you know, that reminds me of earlier when you said, Paul spent so many chapters saying these are good people. You know, everything's good, but you know the strong warning is beware of the bad but it had to be there because it's a danger. But yet that wasn't the heart of the focus. That's like verses I think five verses. So you know what it reminds me of is that think about football. So you love football? I love football. Can you imagine if two football teams playing against each other on the on the field spent all their time concentrating on the penalties you're right, as opposed to as opposed to, like, okay. Let's make sure not to do the penalties guys, right, right, But. That will free us up to having a fantastic, joyful, meaningful, wonderful experience of playing this game that we all know and love. So you focus on the heart of the game. You can't win a game if the only thing you do is practice not committing a penalty. Right. You have to have plays so to move the ball. That's how you win the game. So the Christians, the Christians who are walking around just pointing out everything bad, they're like, really bad refs that won't allow the players to play the game right. And you know it's so funny. Nobody nobody gets at the end of a game and says, oh man, I'll tell you what, man, it was so good how we didn't commit past. Interference exactly, like did you see that one play? Man? We didn't commit past interference. And it reminds me of the church that I grew up in. Honestly, it felt like it felt like everything was about. You better not, you better not, you better not, you better not. Watch out, don't do this. You kind of did that. Oh you hit it toward that. Don't do that. It's so evil and it's it's like I spent so much time in that denomination just talking about the rules and the heaviness and the evil and the you're such a loser, and it's like, yeah, you sure you ran ten yards, you know, but if you were better, you could have run twenty. You know. It was just that's the way it felt. And it's like I had to spend honestly, like ten years of my life under that kind of mindset to realize there's a better way, there's a better way to live. Like rules are just as important now for me, They're just as important. Yeah, I get to you know. I went to the Pro Bowl just this past week weekend. Two weekends ago, I went to Las Vegas where they played the Pro Bowl, and everybody thought that it was going to be terrible because it was only flag football, right, you're talking about people like, Oh, that's gonna be terrible. Wound up being fun to watch. It was fun to watch because they had so much fun without helmet. You can see the joy in their faces. And what was happening is they're all a hot dog in two just a show off game. And it didn't matter, which means it was so fun. You know, they did these plays, you know, and somebody would run and dive and then everybody just starts cracking up. They were belly rolling and they were picking each other up and laughing. And I'm thinking, man, you never see that happen because you can't even see the players faces, right, and you could see the joy of the game, And it's like, that's what we're talking about here, Paul is saying. Paul is saying, No, when the church functions and it runs on all cylinders, it's supposed to be the closest thing this side of heaven. So you were not You weren't watching the broadcast. You were in the stands, so you didn't know this. The commentators got really hung up, and because there were you know what three games, right, they played three games. Yeah, the commentators got really hung up in one of the games that the refs kept calling penalties when the when the quarterback would run outside the box and then move the ball down the field in an illegal way. Well, it turns out they couldn't do that play in the box, but they could do that play outside the box. That was the rules. But for whatever reason, the refs kept calling it the other way to play, to run that play. They kept calling that blowing the whistle. Now they were consistent with it, they called it every time, But the commentators got hung up on the rule, and it kind of got tedious listening to them because I'm watching all the players. They didn't care. They were having fun. They were moving the ball down the field. There's only what a forty yard field the field they was. So their bombing, They're running like crazy stuff. The players, the joy on their face and the fun that they were having moving the ball all and trying to score was way better than the commentators getting hung up on the fact that the refs. Were So I had an entirely different experience than you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was the middle game. It was the middle game. Yeah yeah, yeah, I'm they're live, you're at home, and you're hearing. All you're hearing is all the focus on the rules. So now the commentators weren't wrong, the commentators were right correct, But the players were just playing the game that was being called, and so they played within those rules, and deep. Down inside, whether you knew it or not, what you wanted to say is can we just stop talking. And can I just flag football game? Can I just enjoy the game? Yeah? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. So the obsession with the rules in that moment kind of took away from the joy of the goofy game. Yeah yeah, right, which I didn't. I didn't, which, by the way, I think I should announce to our listeners that we happen to stumble upon sitting right next to Ed McCaffrey, Christian McCaffrey's oh yeah, yeah, a father who played for the Denver Broncos with John Elway as wife, received with Lisa McCaffrey, and so the we sat like three seats away from us, and eventually we moved toward them, and for like sixty minutes we were sitting right next to the fun They talked to us the whole time. Yeah, Christian's great, great football player too. So anyways, that's a good place to wrap up. Don't so the rules are important, right, but don't make the rules. Don't let the rules take away the joy of what we're all about. That's right, that's right. So we will see you next time on the Bible, guys,