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"Mark and Avoid"
Romans 16:17-18
There can be no doubt that Christians are commanded to "mark and avoid" certain
members of the church. It is practiced very little in the overall picture, I am
sorry
to say. Churches which choose to ignore the command will pay a price for their
neglect on down the line, even in this life. It is somewhat like the mechanic on
T.V. who holds the oil filter in his hand and says, "pay me now or pay me
later." He is saying, "$3.00 for a filter now or $1,200 for a new motor later."
It is not pleasant for Christians to "mark and avoid" at the moment; so we have
a tendency to ignore the divine instruction. We trade immediate relief for
future disaster. We are commanded to "mark" both the bad and the good. Let us
now consider the following passages.
"Mark" The Evil Ones
(Romans 16:17-18) "Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions
and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. For
they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by
good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple."
The word "mark" is from (skopeo) which means "to look at, behold, watch,
contemplate;" which is used metaphorically of "looking to." It is used (Romans
16:17) of a warning against those who cause divisions, and in (Philippians 3:17)
of observing those who walk uprightly that Christians might choose to walk after
the example of the apostle and his fellow workers. In (Luke 11:35) (skopeo) is
translated "take heed."
The word "avoid" is from (ekklino) which means, "to turn away from, to turn
aside, turning away from those who cause offences and occasions of stumbling,
turning away from division makers and errorists." It seems that we are enjoined
to keep out of their way and not fall in with them. Shun them, having nothing to
do with them. It appears to me that this would pretty much demand absolute
avoidance. The reason is obvious. If a quarrelsome person is left to himself he
will soon have nobody with which to quarrel.
The church had not been in existence very long when false teachers entered the
scene. (Acts 15:1) "And certain men which came down from Judaea taught the
brethren, {and said}, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye
cannot be saved." Paul called them "false brethren." (Galatians 2:4) "And that
because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out
our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into
bondage." In fact, the books of Galatians and II Corinthians were written in
part to counteract their poisonous doctrine. It seems these false teachers were
working for their own sensual aggrandizement, they served their own belly. In
all likelihood they would be coming to Rome with their "missionary zeal," but
not with "missionary love." Their smooth and fair speech could easily beguile
the hearts of the innocent. Paul is calling for a strong, sharp, unhesitating
stroke to take the wind out of their sails. These false teachers were sometime
zealous in their disruptive work because of their jealousy of God's accepted
leaders. Whatever their motive, they are very destructive of God's cause.
I am sure you have observed that the first passages under consideration deal
with "false teachers." But, what about those who otherwise "walk disorderly?"
"For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not
working at all, but are busybodies." (II Thessalonians 3:11) Verse (14) gives
the answer: "And if any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man,
and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed." Regardless of whether it
be a false teacher, or one among us who walks disorderly, or one who has chosen
to sever fellowship form us and is in sin, the action should be the same. We
must "note" them, "mark and avoid" them. "Marking" starts with the public
announcement of their spiritual demise. "Avoiding" is how we react toward them
in the days that
follow. Both of these take great courage.
Mark The Good Ones
In (Philippians 3:17) Paul writes, "Brethren, be followers together of me, and
mark them which walk so as ye have us for an ensample." "Mark" here means
to fix the attention on and is used in order to imitate. In (Romans 16:17) it is
used in order to "avoid." Paul says, "brethren be followers together of
me." In (I Corinthians
11:1) he adds, "as I also am of Christ." Christians are to pick out men and
women in the church who are worthy of imitation and make "note" of them. We are
to "mark" those good examples for our encouragement. It is regrettable, but some
focus on the "failures" in the church rather than the "successes." Let us
remember the advice of the Psalmist. "Mark the blameless {man}, and observe the
upright; For the future of {that} man {is} peace." (Psalms 37:37).
What keeps us from obeying the Lord's commands to "mark" good men among the
saints to be heroes? Most of the time it is because our values are misplaced.
What keeps us from obeying the Lord's command to "mark and avoid" wicked
brethren? Sometime, relatives are involved. On occasions, close friends are
involved. It may even include someone with financial power and we are afraid of
the effect on us. But, brethren, when all our excuses are given, God's
instructions are still there. We need the attitude of Peter and the rest of the
apostles who said, "We ought to obey God rather than men," (Acts 5:29).
By W.R. Jones
From Expository Files 1.2; February, 1994
