In the sermon 'People to Note and Avoid' by Jason Dohm, based on 1 Corinthians 16:17-20, Paul warns the believers to note and avoid those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine they learned. These individuals serve their own desires rather than Christ, using smooth and flattering speech to deceive the naive. Dohm emphasizes the importance of being vigilant and discerning as a community to identify such individuals and isolate them to prevent harm. He explains that while Paul does not explicitly state why these warnings are placed between sections of greetings, scholars like Matthew Poole and Rob Ventura suggest it's to ensure the message is remembered and to protect Paul's beloved friends in Rome. The sermon stresses the need for believers to be wise in what is good and simple concerning evil, avoiding naivety while maintaining innocence. Ultimately, believers are reassured that God, the source of peace, will crush Satan, the disturber of peace, under their feet, drawing from the promise in Genesis 3:15. The sermon concludes with a call to create a church culture that is a hard target for divisive individuals while avoiding paranoia and suspicion among believers.

Well, it certainly is bittersweet when you turn the page to read the sermon text and you see 1 Corinthians. Sermon text for today is verses 17 through 20. We'll start in verse 17 and go through verse 20. Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learned and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple for your obedience has become known to all therefore I am glad on your behalf but I want you to be wise and what is good and simple concerning evil and the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. Let's pray. Oh God, we thank you for these words this morning. Wonderful words of life.

We ask God that you would bless the preaching and hearing of your word this morning. Bless Jason as he preaches. Aid him, God. Help us as we listen to listen with all eagerness and readiness of mind, ready to learn what you have for us to learn today, ready to see more of your glory, ready to repent where there needs to be repentance. Ultimately God said that we would lead this time more conformed into the image of Christ than we were when we started.

Bless this time and your something we pray, amen. The Title of the sermon today is People to Note and Avoid. Paul brings before us a certain kind of person, someone who ought to be paid attention to, and someone to be avoided. Can you imagine the Bible talking about such a thing? Well, the Bible does talk about such a thing, and it's in our text before us.

In last week's text, Paul sent greetings to 24 individuals and members of two households. In next week's text, there will be more greetings and a final benediction. Here in between last week's text and next week's text, We have a final section of instruction and the question has to be why? In other words, if there's greetings and more greetings, why this section of instruction sitting in between them? Why is this section of instruction here sandwiched between two sections of greetings?

Well, the reason isn't explicitly given in the text, so we have to speculate. For my part, I happen to agree with the opinions of Matthew Poole and Rob Ventura. Let me give you the opinions of Matthew Poole and Rob Ventura. Matthew Poole says this. He, Paul, shuts up the epistle, closes the epistle, with a seasonable admonition, which he reserved to the last, that it might be better remembered.

It is to beware of those that cause divisions and offenses. Here Matthew Poole is pointing to the fact that Paul is bringing that urgent warning. Matthew Poole says he saved it for the very end so that if you remember anything about Romans you'll remember the urgent warning. Here's what Rob Ventura says, having just sent warm greetings to all of his beloved friends at Rome, he did not want them to be spiritually duped Because he cared so much for them, he wanted them to be protected. Rob Ventura is saying that it's here after the greetings of 24 people in two households, because they're people that Paul knew and loved.

And it's the remembrance of these beloved friends that stimulates the warnings. In other words, he just listed all the people that he knows and loves in Rome. And that has made him think of something that could tremendously damage these people in this church. And just the thought of them in the greetings has stimulated this warning. I think those are good guesses.

So I'm sticking with those guesses. As we come to the text, let's ask God to help us. God, we do need help. We do want help. We plead with you that your spirit would be here blessing.

The preaching of your word is a strange thing that you would organize the meetings of your people in this way? Have the centerpiece of our worship be the reading of your Word and then an explanation of your Word. You would have your Word preached. Don't leave us alone with it. No one knows your Word like your Holy Spirit.

Please let your Spirit be here teaching. We pray in Jesus' name, Amen. Subdivisions. Let's start with the first two verses, Romans 16 verses 17 and 18. Please follow along as I reread it.

Romans 16 verses 17 and 18. Paul writes, Now I urge you brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. For those who are such, do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple." Here in these two verses we have an Urgent warning from Paul. If you're taking notes on the handout, filling in blanks, urgent warning fills in the two blanks. An urgent warning from Paul.

Paul is writing to these spiritual brothers and sisters. They're His brethren, not his physical brethren like your bloodline, but his spiritual brothers and sisters. And he is urging them. He has an urgent warning for them. What is the urgent warning?

To note people who cause divisions and offenses. Note them. The Greek word translated note means to look at, observe, to mark, to direct one's attention to. So the NASB translates it, keep your eye on. And the ESV and the NIV translate it, watch out for.

So note them, keep your eye on them, watch out for them. These spiritual brothers and sisters need to collectively, so this is a group game, need to collectively be on the lookout for people who cause divisions and offenses. This is a shared duty. All of you be on the lookout for people who cause divisions and offenses. This is a shared duty.

All of you be on the lookout for people who cause divisions and offenses, a shared duty. These are people who have a pattern of stirring up trouble among the Lord's people. You ever seen or known a person who had a pattern in their life of stirring up trouble among the Lord's people, saying and doing things that divide the brethren and cause the brethren to stumble. When you see the word offenses there, it's literally stumbling block. So they're putting out stumbling blocks for the brethren.

They are dividing the brethren and putting out stumbling blocks before the brethren. Those people are to be identified. They are to be noted. Are these people who have a pattern of stirring up trouble believers? Paul doesn't talk in terms of spiritual state, at least not in this verse.

I think he's sort of working his way to that. But in this verse, he's not talking in terms of spiritual state. He talks in terms of objective, observable behavior. So set aside, are they believers or not believers? Here's what you can observe in their patterns.

Our duty isn't to pronounce a verdict on the state of souls. Are you with me? That's not our business to pronounce a verdict on the state of somebody's soul. Our duty is to be on the lookout for and when appropriate to identify people who have a tremendously harmful impact on the Lord's people because of how they conduct themselves. It's a pattern of their life to cause divisions and to put stumbling blocks or offenses before the brethren.

So Paul begins this section by opening up a category. He's saying, this is a thing. I'm opening up a category. Sometimes there are people in churches who cause divisions and offenses. That's their pattern.

And Believers cannot afford to be naive about that and have a duty to be on the lookout and identify those people. This is a thing. What's a thing? People in churches who have a pattern of life and their pattern is causing divisions among the Lord's people, stirring up trouble, causing offenses, putting out stumbling blocks. Paul speaks about these divisions and offenses.

They are contrary to the doctrine which Christians have learned. So that's what Paul says about these divisions and offenses. They're contrary to the doctrine or the teachings which Christians have learned. And that is so in two ways. First, it divides brethren and causes stumbling when professing Christians say things, teach things, often whisper things, which contradict the truth of Scripture.

That divides brethren. That causes brethren to stumble. That is an offense when professing Christians say things, teach things, often whisper things that are contrary to the truth of Scripture. When you become a Christian, the truths of Scripture become your standard, period, amen. Part of becoming a Christian is trusting that Scripture is the revelation of truth from God to man.

There is no coming, becoming a Christian embracing Christ. You have to embrace the Christ of Scripture. There are a lot of Christ's out there. There are a lot of mislabeled Christ's out there where people say this is Jesus. It's not Jesus at all.

It's contrary to Scripture. A Part of embracing Christ is embracing the real Christ, the Christ of Scripture. Part of becoming a Christian is trusting that Scripture is the revelation of truth from God demand saying, This is God telling us what truth is. That is what teachers are to teach. The book, we're people of the book.

That is what teachers are to teach and Believers are to learn. What are you supposed to be learning? The contents of this book. A sound understanding of the contents of this book. That's what I'm supposed to be teaching.

That's what you're supposed to be learning and teaching, many of you. So when insiders, quote-unquote insiders, professing Christians, say things which contradict a sound understanding of scripture, it causes divisions and makes to stumble. That's not controversial, is it? Am I saying anything controversial here? Second, so that was first.

It divides brethren and causes stumbling when professing Christians say things, teach things, often whisper things which contradict the truth of Scripture. Scripture says one thing and they say teach whisper another. Second, there are things that professing Christians can say or do which divide brethren and cause stumbling. It might not have anything to do with Christian doctrine, but it's doing things that divide, or doing things that cause people to stumble, or saying things that divide, and saying things that cause people to stumble. It has nothing to do with doctrine, but it has everything to do with dividing and causing to stumble.

Like gossip. Gossip might not have anything to do with Christian doctrine, but it divides, it causes to stumble. Unkindness, harshness, unforgiveness. We can make a long list of things said or done, divide or cause to stumble, but in the end everything on the list is a pathway and if you trace it out to the end you find division among brethren. You find brethren stumbling.

All of that is also contrary to the doctrine which Christians have learned, is it not? It doesn't have anything to do with Christian doctrine, but it's contrary to Christian doctrine. In what way? Because love is central to Christian teaching. Love is...

Alright, whose car is going off? It was Jim. Love is central to Christian teaching and consistent patterns of conduct or speaking that violate love, divide brethren, and cause stumbling. Now a point of clarification, and this is a really important point I think of clarification. This has to be an established pattern of saying or doing things which divide or cause to stumble.

Otherwise, this would be all of us. Have you ever said anything that was divisive? Ever? Have you ever done anything that was divisive? Ever?

Or that said anything that caused stumbling, said anything that put a stumbling block. So Paul is not talking about that. A person in their worst moment or in a bad day or in a bad week, he's talking about people with an established pattern of dividing and stumbling believers. Otherwise, this would be all of us. I've had bad moments, bad days, and bad weeks.

He's not talking about me. I trust he's not talking about you. He's talking about people with an established pattern. Paula instructs us to note these people, to be on the lookout out for them, to notice them and identify them, and to avoid them. The Greek lexicon explaining this word that's being translated, avoid, says to keep aloof from a person's society.

Keep aloof. I don't think Christians were supposed to be aloof. Generally speaking, no. Towards these people, yes. They are actually to stand aloof from this person's society.

Keep your distance. Why? Because that person is harmful, destructive, contagious. These people are contagious. Elsewhere, Paul says, bad company corrupts good character.

That's 1 Corinthians 1533. I memorized it in the NIV, so I'm giving you the NIV. Sue me. Bad company corrupts good character. Bad company's contagious.

Contagious. You quarantine disease. You isolate the plague. People who have established patterns of dividing the brethren, established patterns of putting stumbling blocks before the brethren, are disease, they ought to be quarantined. They are the plague, they ought to be isolated.

Paul says so. You don't want more of it, you don't want it to spread, you want to deprive it of its effect, so you isolate it. You isolate that person. Choke off the influence. Paul says for because because they aren't serving Jesus, they're serving their own appetites and cravings.

So why do you isolate them? Why do you quarantine them? Because they're not serving Jesus a profession But they're not serving Jesus. They're serving their own appetites and cravings. That's what it means to serve your own belly He says literally they serve their own bellies.

Well what is that talking about? Their appetites call for something and they serve the appetite. Their cravings demand something and they serve the craving. They say Jesus is Lord but their patterns of life say my appetites and cravings are Lord. Got some groanings with that one.

That means you've seen it. People who say Jesus is Lord. Oh really? Then why are you only serving your appetites and cravings? Your life is declaring something different than your mouth.

Remember Romans 6 16. Let me bring us back to Romans 6 16. Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey? You are that one slaves whom you obey. Paul in Romans 6 16 is not interested in who you say is your master, he's interested in who you serve.

Who do you obey? That's your Lord. Paul says, these people who cause divisions and offenses deceive the hearts of the simple by smooth words and flattering speech. You have people they cause divisions and offenses. They deceive the hearts of the simple by smooth words.

Oh man, they make it sound good somehow. They make it sound plausible somehow and flattering words. They make you think that they think you're great. A couple of points on translation. The simple, these people who are deceived, the Greek word being translated simple means fearing no evil from others, distrusting no one.

You ever met a simpleton in that way? Fearing no evil from others. It's like they don't even live in a world where there's evil. You're thinking, what world do you live in? Let me join your world.

They distrust no one as if everyone is trustworthy. Let me come in among your friends, your acquaintances, your neighbors, your co-workers, the people in your city, they're all trustworthy? It is the naive, the people who ought to know better but don't know better. It's the oblivious. Can Christians be naive?

Can Christians be oblivious? Can they ever? Paul's not calling for that. Paul's calling for the opposite of that. The Greek word translated flattering speech literally means, in a bad sense, language artfully adapted to captivate the hearer.

Wow! So the translators decided not to put all that in the text. I don't blame them. The Bible would be this wide instead of this wide if you gave the expansion of every word being translated. They put in flattering speech.

It's a fine translation and pretty consistent across the good translations. But if you expand it to what the Greek word actually literally means, in a bad sense, language artfully adapted to captivate the hearer. So these people who cause divisions and cause people to stumble are smooth talkers. They're not bad at it, They're good at it. They've turned this into an art form.

Language artfully adapted. They've turned the smooth talk into an art form. They artfully adapt their words to captivate the hearer and the naive take it hook line and sinker. If you're not a fisherman here's what it means to take it hook line and sinker. What you're hoping for as a fisherman is they just bite the bait.

So all you have to do is take the hook from the lip. When they take it hook line and sinker they swallow the whole thing. There is no saving and throwing that fish back because it's all down on the inside. There's just a fishing line hanging in their mouth. The hook line and the sinker are all down, all the way down.

That's what the naive do to The smooth talk of those who have turned their deception into an art form. A skillful predator and a vulnerable prey. What could go wrong? What could go wrong? A skillful predator and a vulnerable prey.

What could go wrong? The question is, what could go right? So the people of God need to have these two things in our consciousness. Are you ready? Paul is calling for these two things to be in our consciousness as the people of God.

One, some people who name the name of Christ cause divisions and offenses. That's true. That's a thing. That's a category. They are not safe people and they can do a tremendous amount of harm in a short amount of time so we cannot afford to be naive.

And two, none of us can afford to be naive about this foolishly trusting people who have established patterns of divisiveness and who cause people to stumble. We have to have both of these things in our conscious. There are people who are not safe. They name the name of Christ, but they serve their appetites, and they've turned deceit into an art form. That's a thing.

That's a category. And two, you can't afford to be naive about them. They're a skilled predator. At least don't be a vulnerable prey. What should we do?

Note them. Be on the lookout for them. Identify them and avoid them. Keep at a distance from them, quarantine them, isolate them. Paul actually says identical or similar things a lot.

Let me give you some. Meaning, it's on Paul's mind as he thinks about his beloved and greets them and it stimulates the thought of this warning. It's on his mind a lot in other places. 1st Corinthians 5 11. 1st Corinthians 5 11, but now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother who is sexually immoral or covetous or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortion or not even to eat with such a person.

Quarantine them. I added that last phrase. That's not Paul, that's me. 1st Timothy 6, 3 through 5. Listen to 1st Timothy 6, 3 through 5.

If anyone teaches otherwise and does not consent to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the doctrine which accords with godliness, he is proud knowing nothing but is obsessed with disputes and arguments over words from which come envy, strife, reviling, evil suspicions, useless wranglings of men of corrupt minds and destitute of the truth who suppose that godliness is a means of gain from such withdraw yourself." Okay, this is exactly the people Paul is talking about and he tells them withdraw yourself from people like this. People with these established patterns of divisiveness, of putting stumbling blocks before the brethren. 2 Thessalonians 3, 6, and 14. 2 Thessalonians 3, verses 6 and 14. Paul writes, But we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.

And if anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him that he may be ashamed. So on the one hand, you have the isolation of the plague, of the disease, the quarantining of the disease, And on the other hand, you actually do have a redemptive purpose that the person who is treated that way by the brethren will be ashamed and feel like something is wrong. God wants them to feel something is wrong. He's created a mechanism for them to get the sense, wait, these patterns that I have are ungodly patterns in hopes that they'll repent. Second Timothy 3, 1 through 5.

Listen to 2 Timothy 3, 1 through 5. But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come, For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power and from such people turn away." He's saying the same thing in different words. There are people like this, that's a thing, this is a category. Turn away from people like that. You can expect it, you should expect it, turn away from them.

Last, last place I'll take you here, Titus 3, 9 and 10. Listen to Titus 3, 9 and 10. But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned. Put him on notice and then reject him.

After the first and second admonition, Like I'm putting you on notice. I see established patterns of divisiveness in your life and I'm an inch away from having nothing to do with you because of the patterns of your life. Then follow through. They give you a warrant a second time to follow through. Follow through.

Including today's text. That's six times Paul saying the same thing. It is on his mind. Back to our text and making progress. Now we'll move to verse 19.

Verse 19, Romans 16 verse 19, for your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf, but I want you to be wise in what is good and simple concerning evil. In this verse, verse 19, Paul is teaching us, believers should be wise and yet simple. That fills in the two blanks on the handout. Wise fills in the first one simple the second one.

Believers should be wise and yet at the same time simple. Simultaneously wise and simple. Verse 19 begins with the word for. Verse 18 began with the word for, but in verse 18 that links it with what went before it. Verse 18 explained and built on the verse before it.

But the four that begins verse 19 actually links it with what follows, not what comes before. Look at the structure of the verse, verse 19, just self-contained, look at 19 by itself. For, things are said, therefore, things are said. So the for contains the premise, because of this, therefore gives the conclusion. So the for in 19 is actually pointing forward to what's at the the second half of the verse For the premise your obedience has become known to all.

This is the premise. Everybody knows about your obedience. The word is out that you're doing well. You've earned a reputation for making progress in the faith. That's the premise.

Therefore, the conclusion, I'm glad on your behalf. You make me glad. You've got a reputation for making progress in the faith. You make me glad. The ESV translates it, I rejoice over you.

You make me rejoice. But you make me glad. You make me rejoice. You make me happy. But I Want you to be wise in what is good and simple concerning evil You're doing well believers in Rome and I want you to continue to make progress, but I don't want you to be vulnerable to these people who cause divisions and offenses.

I do want you to keep making progress. I'm rejoicing over all that I hear about you, But I don't want you to be vulnerable prey Because there are skillful predators I Want you to be street smart are you with me I want you to be street smart without the first-hand experience with corruption that often comes with having street smarts. Do you know people with a lot of street smarts? Where did most of them get the street smarts? They were up to no good, so they know all the tricks because they've done all the tricks.

Paul wants them to have street smarts without the firsthand experience with the corruption that often leads to street smarts. That's what he's calling for in layman's terms. I've been up to no good, so I know a lot about being up to no good. That's not what Paul is aiming for here. He wants you to get wisdom the other way by understanding the Word of God.

All learning doesn't have to be the school of hard knocks. Did you know that? Not all learning comes with scar tissue. Maybe some of the most memorable learning comes with scar tissue, but it doesn't all have to come with scar tissue. Here is how Jesus said it, Matthew 10 verse 16.

Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves." He's talking to the twelve. Like, your sheep, I'm sending you out among the wolves. Therefore, because your sheep being sent among wolves, therefore be wise as serpents, but harmless as doves. Wise, but simultaneously harmless. Man, is that a magical and rare combination?

You can find wisdom without harmlessness. You can find harmlessness without wisdom, but you don't often find them together. Jesus is saying sheep going among wolves need to be both. Wise but innocent. Wise but not calculating in the negative sense.

Innocent but not naive, as the innocent often are. Here's how Paul says it in another place. 1st Corinthians 14 verse 20. Brethren, do not be children in understanding. However, in malice be babes, but in understanding be mature.

Adult in understanding, don't be babies in understanding, be all the way through school in understanding, be graduate level in understanding, be past school and then continuing learning programs and understanding while simultaneously being babes and malice. I don't know much about malice. I'm a follower of Jesus Christ. What does a follower of Jesus Christ have to do with hatred, with malice? I don't hardly know anything about that.

That's how he wants us to be. Pure-hearted without the dangerous obliviousness to evil that can accompany pure heartedness. You tracking with Paul here? Pure hearted without the dangerous obliviousness to evil. Nothing evil around here.

Everyone's trustworthy around here. That can accompany pure heartedness and ignorance of reality. Verse 20, our final verse, and the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you amen this last verse Paul tells us how this all ends. You want to know how it ends? He's going to tell you how it all ends.

That ends, fills in the blank if you're filling in blanks to take notes. How this all ends. Wait, what does all this have to do with Satan? Who exactly do you think is so often behind divisions and stumbling blocks? You think it's the flesh and blood?

Paul says, put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. That's Ephesians 6, 11, and 12. It's not the flesh and blood. It's the influence behind the flesh and blood.

Our common enemy, the enemy to all of us, Satan, wants to divide us, of course. Wants to cause each of us to fall, of course. Is influencing flesh and blood, but is behind the flesh and blood to cause divisions and cause each of us to fall. Sometimes Satan uses wolves in sheep's clothing. Jesus said, Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

Oh, oh look a sheep! Oh on closer inspection there are, I see fangs, I see fangs. That looked like a sheep, but upon closer inspection, I've never seen a sheep with fangs. They don't come as They don't come as wolves. They come in a tire.

Sheep's a tire. Sometimes Satan even influences undiscerning and cantankerous sheep. So is that a category? Is that a thing? Undiscerning and cantankerous sheep?

Come Talk to me, I'll tell you stories. Jesus said to Peter, Get behind me, Satan. You are an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. This is in the same chapter, just after the great confession. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.

In the next verses, Jesus is saying to the same man, get behind me Satan. Was it because Peter was a wolf in sheep's clothing? No, he was an undiscerning and cantankerous sheep. You see it in the Gospels. A real believer, but undiscerning in that moment, and cantankerous often.

That's a very frightening prospect. Wolves and undiscerning cantankerous sheep. It is a frightening prospect, but we have a promise to claim and Paul claims it. God loves peace. He is the God of peace.

He is the source of peace. He is the giver of peace. And ultimately, He will crush the disturber of the peace. Satan, under our feet. Yeah, if you've got that promise, that's a good one to claim.

We should claim that promise. God is the God of peace. He's the source of peace. He's the giver of peace. He's going to crush the disturber of the peace under our feet.

Paul knows how this ends and it won't be long. Paul said 2, 000 years ago, it won't be long. Now it really won't be long. Paul is drawing on Genesis 3, verse 15, where God pronounces this on Satan in the curse. So Genesis 3 is when sin enters the world, the first sin, then the curse is pronounced by God and he pronounces this curse on Satan I will put enmity hostility between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed capital S seed divine seed he shall Seed, divine seed, He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise His heel.

It can be translated either bruise or crushed. Man, do I like crushed better. I wish they had rendered it that way. Would you rather have your head crushed or your heel crushed? That's a rhetorical question.

That answer is obvious. Jesus will do the head crushing. Satan's head will be crushed. This is speaking of Jesus Christ. And joined to Jesus Christ by faith, He is our head, we are His body, God will crush Satan under our feet.

We get to participate in the crushing of the head of the serpent because of our union with Christ. He is our head, we are His body. God is going to crush Satan under our feet. Listen to Revelation 12 verses 10 and 11. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now salvation and strength in the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ has come for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives to the death.

We will crush our common enemy's head by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimony and by willing to lay down our lives when we're called upon. This is how it ends, friends, and it won't be long now. People like to use the term the right side of history, And the people who most often use that term are on the wrong side of history. They love that phrase. You want to be on the right side of history and they're on the wrong side of it.

This is the right side of history. I just read it to you. The undeserved, unearned, full and free favor of our Lord Jesus Christ is with us all. Every single believer in Jesus enjoys the undeserved, unearned, full and free favor of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Application, I'll give you one but it's a whopper. One with seven subheadings. No, it's not quite that bad. Our one application. The charge is to be a hard target without becoming a hardened target.

Let me unpack that. What is a hard target? A hard target in the terms that we're speaking of today is creating a general culture and having leaders. Leaders play an important part in this, but not the whole where a sizable slice of the pie, but there's a whole pie that includes all of us here, creating a general culture and having leaders where the people Paul is describing take a look and decide to keep on moving. Hey, there are no vulnerable prey here.

I might be a skillful predator. This looks like a hard target to me. These seem like discerning people to me. These seem like leaders who are on the lookout for wolves in sheep clothing to me. I think I'll keep moving.

A hard target is actually phraseology used in terms of terrorism and the like. They go to libraries and places where you can't conceal carry to carry out mayhem. They don't go to police training sites. Why not? Targeting a police training site is a good way to get yourself killed in a hurry.

This is a hard target. These are not vulnerable people there. We want to be The church equivalent of that, what is a hardened target? A general culture that has an inordinate preoccupation and paranoia about this risk. Is it possible to say, wow, I see what you're saying, Paul, and to turn that into an inordinate preoccupation and to be paranoid about that risk?

You better believe it. A culture where the ultimate objective is to guard against this. So should we heed the urgent warning? Of course. Is that the ultimate objective of our existence?

God forbid this be the ultimate objective of our existence. So we think that there's a boogeyman under every bed. There's not a boogeyman under every bed. Friends, the cost of that is simply too high. Think of the cost of that.

We cannot cultivate a culture of paranoid suspicion. Why not? Because we'll be suspicious of each other. Every weak moment, every bad day, you'll turn into a person who has an established pattern of divisiveness and casting stumbling blocks and will be at each other all the time. So that is threading a needle.

Do you see that? That's threading an eagle. That ought to be a hard target without becoming a hardened target where you're so preoccupied with that that we now have a culture of suspicion of each other. We need to thread the needle. You need to thread that needle.

Let's pray. God, Thank you for opening up the category of skilled predators. Just raise our sensitivity to that and awareness of it so that we wouldn't be vulnerable pray you pray that you would help us to do that. Jesus' name, amen.