“Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them” (Romans 16:17).
TEXT — Romans 16:17-27
Message
The most vulnerable point of the huge image in Nebuchad-nezzar’s dream was its feet made “part of iron and part of clay”. The stone that pulverised the colossus did not aim at its ornate features of gold, silver and brass; it went straight to where it was weak, the base where it was incompatible with the other strong sections of an otherwise formidable statue.
It is not enough to boast of partial strength. One must strive for all-round vigour. That is the message in the concluding chapter of Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans. He warns them to watch against those who cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine they had learnt and avoid them. These doctrinal deviants would constitute themselves into destabilising influences in the body of Christ. The church, he warns, must shun the growth of such tendencies, because they would be the target of satanic adversarial forces.
Only when the church presents a united position in vision, mission and direction among all its members, without exception, would it be able to defeat its end-time challenges inspired by the devil and his agents. The only way we can achieve that is to ensure that we all, from the least to the leaders, embrace the full-orbed teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ. They must not leave weak members in the assembly. We must all be on the same page.
We must cast our sights in the direction of raising an invincible army standing on doctrinal unity and stability while waiting for the imminent return of our Captain. We must not allow the young and growing believers in our midst to become the tender prey of the enemy.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
