Sermon Tone Analysis

Note Those Who Cause Division and Offenses

As we learned last week, wolves hunt very cunningly.

You don’t know you’re being stalked until the wolf suddenly appears.

We also learned in our Galatians study that the legalists were introducing their doctrine in bits and pieces while also capturing the hearts of those in the church through relationship.

And we also learned last week that “savage” is tied to placing heavy burdensome legalist doctrine and rules on the people.

Now continuing our study of “Wolves Among Us,” Paul tells the Romans to “note those who cause divisions and offenses CONTRARY TO THE DOCTRINE WHICH YOU LEARNED, and avoid them.”

We know that most of the epistles were written to combat false doctrine.

The false doctrine gained an entrance and had to be addressed.

So where the heck were the leaders?! Anyway, the main idea of a wolf is the aspect of false doctrine whether through preaching or teaching.

Anyway, the main idea of a wolf is the aspect of false doctrine whether through preaching or teaching.

The word “note” means “to continue to regard closely—to watch, to notice carefully…paying close attention in order to be prepared to respond appropriately.”

It means “to look at critically as the judge does.”

It means to inspect.

Later it had the idea of “spying out which includes an element of suspicion and distrust.”

There are two warning signs that alert the need for watching a person: 1) he or she causes divisions and 2) cause offenses.

Both of these are in relation to a doctrine that is contrary to what they’ve been taught.

Division is “a division into opposing groups, discord…to cause two groups in place of one group…and is expressed in terms of attitudes…to cause people to be angry at one another or to cause people to not like one another or to cause people to think of one another as enemies.”

It has the idea of division, disunity, contention that is political in nature.

It’s “objective disunity” mean that there’s a GOAL, AN END GAME TO THE DIVISION in the mind of the person causing it.

There are three leavens the Lord spoke about:

Leaven of the Pharisees

Leaven of Herod

Leaven on the kingdom

Leaven is hypocritical behavior probably implying hidden attitudes and motivations, pretense.

To both the Hebrew and the Roman mind leaven was always tied to defilement.

The leaven of the Pharisees is the doctrine or teaching they taught () that were designed to keep the people in bondage and line their pockets and increase their power and influence.

The leaven of Herod was the hypocrisy of Herod but I believe it also was the political spirit that Herod operated in.

The strife and self-ambition.

Envy is zeal.

It can be good.

But when it’s bad, it’s jealousy and resentment.

Self-seeking (a.k.a.

strife) is “in a bad sense of those who seek only their own.

Contention, strife, rivalry.

It represents a motive of self-interest, mercenary interest”

Complete Word Study Dictionary, The - The Complete Word Study Dictionary – New Testament.

It is also one canvassing for public office and scheming.

The baseline definition was originally a day laborer.

It came to means someone that does something for hire.

Jealousy according to The Passion is “implies an obsession to promote one’s self at the expense of others.”

The word troubles means “instability and disorder.”

And, of course, “every kind of meanness.”

The Greek word for jealousy implies an obsession to promote one’s self at the expense of others.

THE IDEA IS THAT AT ONE TIME A CHURCH WAS FULL OF UNITY, LOVE, PREFERENCE OF ONE ANOTHER AND SOUNDNESS OF DOCTRINE.

BUT THEN SUDDENLY THERE’S DISUNITY, INSTABILITY, AND DISORDER.

IF YOU TRACE THIS TO THE SOURCE, IT’S A PERSON THAT IS CANVASSING FOR FOLLOWERS BECAUSE INWARDLY THEY ARE SEEKING THEIR OWN SELF-INTERESTS.”

Simmons, B. (Trans.).

(2017).

The Passion Translation: New Testament.

BroadStreet Publishing.

Offenses is skandalon, which is “the trigger of a trap on which the bait is placed, and which, when touched by the animal, springs and causes it to close causing entrapment.

The word and its deriv.

belong only to biblical and ecclesiastical Gr.

In the Sept. it answers to the word for pagís <G3803>, trap.

However, pagís always refers simply to a trap hidden in an ambush and not to the results; whereas skándalon involves a reference also to the conduct of the person who is thus trapped.

Skándalon always denotes an enticement to conduct which could ruin the person in question.”

Complete Word Study Dictionary, The - The Complete Word Study Dictionary – New Testament.

It is “to slip, to stumble, cause of disaster.”

It has the idea of “unexpectedness, knavery (dishonesty), and violence.”

It was a “temptation to sin” by others.

It’s the “idea of the evil which sin brings with it.”

And we can see from that the main weapon that causes divisions and offenses is FALSE TEACHING because doctrine simply means teaching.

There are three leavens the Lord spoke about:

Leaven of the Pharisees

Leaven of Herod

Leaven on the kingdom

Leaven is hypocritical behavior probably implying hidden attitudes and motivations, pretense.

To both the Hebrew and the Roman mind leaven was always tied to defilement.

The leaven of the Pharisees is the doctrine or teaching they taught () that were designed to keep the people in bondage and line their pockets and increase their power and influence.

The leaven of Herod was the hypocrisy of Herod but I believe it also was the political spirit that Herod operated in— strife and self-ambition.

Paul tells the Romans to “avoid them.”

Avoid means to “purposely avoid association with someone…to have nothing to do with.”

KEEP AWAY FROM THEM.

It’s the idea of no longer trusting.

We see that the Holy Spirit is explicitly clear—if someone starts causing divisions and offenses in the church, we are to keep away from them no matter how long we’ve known them.

And the main weapon is teaching, although, anyone who causes division and tries to entice others to sin is to be avoided.

You will notice a meanness about these people.

And they dang sure don’t mind speaking ill of others even leaders.

They are hypocrites who are only concerned with their own selfish gain.

They are defiling.

Wherever they go, there’s INSTABILITY AND DISORDER.

Belly is a word that can refer to the physical digestive system, but it is “what disrupts man’s relation to God—evil rooted in the innermost being of a man.

The cause of all sin in thought and word and act is an evil heart and ungodly nature.”

However, Paul’s use of the phrase might be pointing to the legalists and their observances of food laws.

Smooth words is only used here and refers “to friendly speeches and fine words.”

It’s the idea of wooing others over.

Politicians use this type of speech ALL OF THE TIME.

Flattering is “to speak well of” but also means “EXCESSIVE PRAISE.”

It’s “to use big words about a small person.”

It’s to say how wonderful a person is when that person really isn’t.

These individuals know how to speak to those who haven’t learned their identity in Christ, which is why it’s so crucial to embrace the lessons of learning how to live before an audience of One, being overlooked, being ignored, etc.

All of those kill that MAN PLEASING heart.

The word “simple” is KEY! Simple is “pertaining to being unsuspecting or naive with regard to possible deception.”

It describes “the one who does not do evil, who is upright…the one whom evil does not touch, who is innocent.”

I.e. the simple are those who just can’t believe there are people out there so evil that they will do all of the things I just described.

Shrewd means discerning.

So we’re to not do evil but we’re to also be discerning and understand that there are evil people out there including in the church who are wolves.

Because those who aren’t discerning and swallow what everyone says are the prey of the wolves.

This shows us that not only do they teach false doctrine but they couch their doctrine in fine words and flattery.

1 Cor 2:

The Passion says that the kingdom comes with power not simply impressive words.