In this chapter, Paul has commended 37 people who shared his ministry vision and built up the church in Rome (Romans 16:1-16).  10 of them are women; there are two ministry couples (Aquilla and Priscilla, and Andronicus and Junia).  Most had Gentile backgrounds, of whom some were probably slaves, and some were Jews.  Many had travelled on business or for the gospel’s sake, and they were united in their love for Christ and one another.

Now Paul puts the church on alert to beware of people who do not have the true gospel at the centre of their motivation. They are in the church but their self-serving, even in the Name of Jesus, makes them church demolishers rather than church builders.  They wanted to get in the way of true gospel fellowship and gospel proclamation.  Their desire was to use their ‘gifting’ to draw attention to themselves rather than to Christ.

The reason is that, although they may have been attracted to Jesus, they did not serve Him as Lord or honour Him as God's anointed one.  Instead, their motivation was their own fleshly appetites, and their method was to teach against what Paul taught.  It was ‘their word’ rather than ‘God’s authorised Word’.  The way they did it was by smooth talk and flattery. They made people feel good about themselves so that they could take a position of power.  They may well be sincere to themselves, and believe in ‘their truth’, but they were really pulling the church off track and deceiving people who were unable to discern any better.  To be blunt, they wanted to be the 'lord' and they sincerely believed that God had 'anointed' them to set the agenda for the church – but independently of His authorised apostle (1 Timothy 2:7; 1 Timothy 6:3-5) .  

Unfortunately, it is rare to find a church without any people like this.  They present themselves as kind, caring, and compassionate.  They listen to people and sympathise with their hurts and complaints.  But it is sad to see that such apparently 'loving' Christians enable divisions to develop under the surface to destabilise the church’s foundation (Ephesians 2:20).  The Apostle's advice is to be alert and watch out for such people; and when they are identified, to keep away from them. It is the responsibility of church leaders not to be naïve and to disciple those who allow themselves to be instructed (Acts 20:28-31). It is the responsibility of church members not to be seduced by flattery or encouraged to join a party spirit.  The greatest enemy of the church is not from the outside, but from those who are inside but not serving the Lord - even though they think that they are.