For your obedience is come abroad unto all men. I am glad therefore on your behalf, but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. Romans 16:19
A friend of ours encountered an acquaintance who began to describe her recent illness. As this person went into graphic details about her problems, our friend realized she was in for some unpleasant descriptions. She tried to cut off the person in the midst of her story, but the person continued in even more nauseating detail. Finally, our friend threw up her hands in disgust and declared, ‘I didn’t need to know that!’ Our text today reminds us that there are some things that we ought to know much about, and some things that we are better off to not know.
Of goodness we ought to know all that we can, because goodness is the attribute of our Lord. By learning of Him, by marinating our souls in His Word, we become wise unto that which is good. This should be the object of every child of God.
The little expression ‘simple concerning evil’ tells us that the Lord would have us to know as little as possible about the realm of Satan. The devil has flooded the world with his lies and deceits. To counter these, we need to know and apply the Word of God. Satan has dragged much of humanity down into the dregs of immorality and idolatry. Only by following Christ can we avoid being affected by such a dunghill. The devil is deceiving many into following the routes of religion and good works, paths that do nothing to deliver souls from their sinful state or its consequences. Only by following and promoting the truth of the Gospel can we steer clear of these evil deceits.
Paul’s prayer for the folks in Rome is that they would be wise unto that which is good. Does that not sound like a goal we should set for ourselves? Paul also yearned that the Roman saints would know little of the evil that swirled round about them. Can we also not appreciate the value of such a lack of knowledge? -Jim MacIntosh