The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

Romans 16:10-27 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Greet Apelles, the approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. ¹¹ Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. ¹² Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis the beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord. ¹³ Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine. ¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers and sisters with them. ¹⁵ Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. ¹⁶ Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

¹⁷ Now I urge you, brothers and sisters, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. ¹⁸ For such people are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. ¹⁹ For the report of your obedience has reached everyone; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil. ²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

²¹ Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, and so do Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

²² I, Tertius, who have written this letter, greet you in the Lord.

²³ Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you, and Quartus, the brother.

²⁵ Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, ²⁶ but now has been disclosed, and through the Scriptures of the prophets, in accordance with the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; ²⁷ to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.

Galatians 5:19-21 says: Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: sexual immorality, impurity, indecent behavior, idolatry, witchcraft, hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Surely these deeds of the flesh are evident in our society and culture today. Sexual immorality, impurity and indecent behavior are not only tolerated, they are celebrated and encouraged, even to our children. Idolatry is putting anyone or anything before God. People today have many idols, including other people, material things and even self. Witchcraft is manipulation and intimidation for the purpose of domination. By that definition, we could say that witchcraft is prevalent throughout our society. It is used in the media, both advertising and what was formally journalism and reporting. It is used in government and by government health organizations. It is found in workplaces and sadly even in families. Hostilities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, these are not only present and prevalent in our culture, but they are again not only tolerated, but celebrated. In Isaiah 5:20 God says: Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!  Can our society and culture expect to escape the woe that its deeds deserve? The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1)    

In Matthew 24:9-14 Jesus says: “Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”  We cannot deny that lawlessness has increased, and that many people’s love has grown cold. Senseless acts violence and random killings happen every day in our cities, schools and neighborhoods; even in our “health care clinics.”

In John 14:27 Jesus says: “Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful.” How is the peace of Christ different than the peace of the world?   In today’s text it says: I urge you, brothers and sisters, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such people are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. For the report of your obedience has reached everyone; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.  The peace of Christ, for those who are obedient to Him, is a victorious and everlasting peace. He has already defeated Satan and if we are wise in what is good and innocent of what is evil, He will crush him under our feet.

The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you… Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now has been disclosed, and through the Scriptures of the prophets, in accordance with the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith; to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be the glory forever. Amen.