Seeking Jesus First Jan. 10, 2024

Be excellent at what is good; be innocent of evil. And the God of Peace will use your feet to crush satan.

“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. And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” (Romans 16:19–20, NKJV)

These passages are pretty clear for those who follow Jesus Christ. Apostle Paul praises the disciples in Rome for their obedience to the gospel. They were observing all of Jesus’s commands and teachings as passed on to them by the apostles. “Your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf.”

After this praise, Paul admonished them with something that would help them continue to grow in the victory of Christ. Paul commands them to “be wise in what is good”. Wise could be defined as skillful, so wisdom is the efficient, skillful and best application of knowledge. This kind of wisdom is gained through repetition and experience in many kinds of circumstances. Good is defined as generous, good and kind regarding the teachings of Christ, which are built upon, “love one another as I have loved you”.

Next, Paul tells the disciples to “be simple concerning evil.” Simple means to be unmixed, pure, and innocent. Therefore, we are to focus our efforts on the positive aspect of our obedience to the loving word of God. Then we are to stay pure by not allowing that which is evil to enter into our focus.

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.” (2 Timothy 2:15–16, NKJV)

Paul tells his disciples in other passages to flee these things:

• Idolatry
• Sexual immorality
• The love of money
• Youthful lusts
• Profane and vain speaking

We can see that we should remain innocent, pure, unmixed and simple regarding these things.

And what is the benefit of living like this? God will use our feet to crush satan and we will dwell in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.