Romans 16 opens with fifteen verses of Paul's commendations of various Christians, although it is disputed if he wrote this passage as part of the Epistle to the Romans or as part of another epistle. There is little doubt however that he wrote it, and its mix of races without mention of those races is consistent with his New Covenant mindset. The trust in the authorship of the Roman Epistle, especially Romans Chapters 1 to 14, however is most solid. If Chapter 16 belongs in Romans, and it probably does, verses 17 to 20 may be seen to best reflect the dejudaizing nature of the whole. Since openly non-believing Jews were in Paul's time more often trying to kill Christians than just to subtly corrupt them, that those Christians should have avoided the designs of those openly non-believing Jews was quite clear. But what about those Jews who were instead professing to be Christians, but were promoting Judaized doctrine instead of purely-Christian doctrine? Should the purely-Christian Gentiles have received them as they would have the man who would not eat meat, and should they have taken this as an occasion not to boast against the other branches?
Before bidding adieu, Paul thankfully answers these questions in Romans 16 verses 17 and 18 as follows: "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 Apostle here is telling Christians forevermore to look out for those mingling in with Christianity who are not genuine Christians, perhaps in contrast to the genuine Christians he had just named in verses 1-15. He is definitely saying that the bad actors of verses 17 and 18 have a heretical pull at variance with the gospel when he gives the verdict that they "serve not the Lord Jesus Christ." The clear implication is that these are not genuine Christians, but instead what we might call "fake Christians," who pretend to be Christians. Due to their persuasive efforts "contrary to the doctrine you have learned" which "deceive the hearts of the simple," Paul after having mercy elsewhere tells the Christian to avoid them. It is a call to direct opposition and full rejection of these heretics. Since Paul's life as we saw in Acts and as we have seen in Romans was more defensive against Judaism and Judaizers than anything or anyone else in the world, we can easily apply this advice today to the many Judaizers who have infiltrated Christianity.
While Paul in verses 17 to 18 is not explicitly specifying any except those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the true doctrine — "heresy" at odds with God's mind regardless of any declarations of any church — this of course very obviously points implicitly to the Judaizing offenses which were primarily the kind that he battled in his life and works, and of course the Jews were the primary perpetrators of those offenses. The other implication is that those actors are doing so inside of the larger "Church," and these theoretically could possibly have been some Judeo-confused Gentiles as well. We have seen this en masse in our own times, but it seems to have been much less likely then. Judging by Scripture, Paul probably had most on his mind the applicable Jews in the mostly-impure Church of Jerusalem who might try to corrupt the pure Christian doctrine of the "holy" Gentiles (hagiois, Rm. 1:7) which he had established around the Roman world and had just directed in writing to Rome. After all of his mercy, Paul of these actively fake or impure Christians says that we are to "mark them" and "avoid them" so that they will not impose their fake or impure Christianity on others. How much more does this unbending advice apply to similarly insidious behavior from openly non-Christian Jews, who then and now are 99% of them? Certainly we are to adhere even less to their influence if that were possible — if it were possible to regard them any less than not at all.
Paul in Romans 16 then gives the Roman Gentiles not one, not two, but three reasons why they should disregard such anti-Christian Jews. The first is that, as we have read, that these Judaizers "by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple" for the sake of "their own belly." This could mean money or social gain, and we find those as the two primary motivations of these servants of Satan today. The modern preachers who direct Christians toward a profane allegiance to modern Christ-hating Israel at the expense of a complete and exclusive allegiance to our Trinitarian God through our Lord Jesus Christ — these men are not trying to convey the truth of Christian doctrine for the good of their listeners but to instead conform to what is popular enough among them to personally profit and to materially benefit. The second reason why Paul tells the Romans to disregard these kinds of knaves in their day is because "your obedience is come abroad unto all men." In the same verse 19, he follows this praise and acknowledgement of their leadership with the comment that "I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil," which attests to the absolute and undeviating nature of his command to utterly reject the actively heretical without qualification and without moderation.
The third reason is the grand finale of the Romans Epistle, Paul's greatest prophecy, and the prelude to Act II of the fulfillment of Christ's prophecy concerning the Jews' Second Temple. Romans verse 16:20 in its entirety is, "And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen." Paul died in 65 A.D., and a short and handy five years later, in 70 A.D., the same people the Romans physically destroyed the Temple that Jesus Christ had reviled. His death and resurrection had destroyed the spiritual significance of all Jewish Temples that could have or will ever be built, but this was God's monumental sign on earth that His power had shifted entirely away from the Jews, and entirely to the Romans who were well on their way to becoming a Christian World Empire. The confused apostles had "spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts" (Lk. 21:5) to Jesus, saying "Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!" (Mk. 13:1). He had rebuked their reverence by prophesying, "there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down!" (Mk. 13:2, Lk. 21:6, Mt. 24:2). Paul in contrast to the twelve had none of that type of reverence for the Jews or the Jewish Temple or the Jewish Law, and was much more like Christ therefore.
We Christians who believe and understand the doctrine of Jesus Christ, of which Paul was in full concordance, hope to separate the many susceptible among us from the same manner of anti-Christian poison that has pervaded our own times. The cultlike heresy of Zionism has revived the cause of Judaizing in its battle with Christ's New Covenant Christianity, and it has defeated the hearts of even many men and women who genuinely want to follow true Christianity. These often lack the will power to do what is unpopular, and they end up following the crowd instead of following what the Holy Scripture teaches. However we can rest assured that the true and pure Christianity of Jesus Christ and Paul will endure to the final day and beyond, whether it is popular or only held in the minds of a few. Paul's greatest prophecy in Romans 16:20 will be fulfilled again through us today if we stay above the Judaizing deceivers and live forcefully out of the true gospel, with an eye to the Second Commandment, but with both eyes and our whole being focused on fulfilling the First, both on a personal and national level as did Paul's saintly Romans. Romans 16 verses 25-27: "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, But now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith: To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen."
