How do we protect a thriving ministry from those who would destroy it? What do we do when sincere-looking believers sow discord, undermine leadership, and poison the well of trust? Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindahl doesn't just diagnose the problem, he delivers God's prescription. Drawing from Romans chapter 16, Chuck provides three essential strategies for guarding the flock. Whether you're a church leader exhausted by divisive people or a member wanting to protect what God is building, this message equips you with clarity, courage, and actionable steps forward.
Chuck titled his message, Boars in God's Vineyard. All who are called into ministry, and that would be everyone involved. in leadership of any kind of Christian organization. whether at home or abroad, must have that hide of a rhinoceros. We must model both tenderness and.
Toughness. We must be devoted and yet at the same time Determined. We are to be sensitive with the sheep. yet strong and even stern. when dealing with wolves.
You see, there have always been wolves in sheep's clothing. There have always been boars. who ravage gods Vineyard. When Paul got to the Ephesian elders, he warned them of wolves from their own midst that would enter in. And in fact did.
among the Ephesians. As we think of the church at Rome, there are three questions I want to answer. First, what was happening? Verse 17. I urge you.
Keep your eye on those who Cause dissensions. That's the first thing to write down. Dissensions. were being caused. Look next, and hindrances.
Making it hard for them to trust.
Now second, why was all this happening? Why would that kind of thing been been going on?
Next verse, 18. These things go on because Such men are slaves. of their own appetites. Let that sink in. They are self-serving individuals.
They are willing slaves of their own ego. We would say they want their own way. And don't miss the contrast, they do not want the way of the Lord Christ.
Now How is this to be handled? Here comes the hard part. Here comes the hard part. I want to give you three words and then we'll go back and amplify them. Observation, confrontation.
Separation. Observation Confrontation. Separation. Where do I get them? Verse 17.
observation. Keep your eye on those who caused these things. The Greek suggests in the verb a continued action. Keep on watching out for is the idea. Don't ever let that thought out of your mind.
Stay alert, be ready. Know that they are there. Keep it up. The second word is confrontation, and we get that from 3 John verse 10. When I come, I'm going to expose him.
This is the hard part. Admittedly. This is the hard part. I'm often amazed at how often we will tolerate people like this, and they will ravage the church. It isn't right for them to run free and wild in a church.
and take advantage of the unsuspecting. Stay on the alert. confront it when you have to. Finally, Separate Will you notice the end of verse 17, I return to it. Turn away from them.
Now A disclaimer is necessary here.
Sounds like everybody that's in trouble needs to be run off. That's not true at all. It's not what we're saying. Everybody's in trouble. We all got problems.
You know, we've all got. areas of struggle we're working through. Pastors uh Hmm. Are constantly in touch with the brokenhearted. This is not the brokenhearted.
This is not that kind of individual. This is a self-serving individual. who will do harm to the ministry. And there's a difference. Once that person is addressed and you try your best to handle Often it's the best thing to do to separate from them.
Look at Titus chapter 3. If you will turn there, please. We were in Titus some time back, and you may have forgotten verses 9, 10, and 11. In case you think I'm being a little bit hard or tough, Uh let me show you. Tough.
Yeah. Titus 3, verse 9, verse 10, verse 11. Avoid foolish controversies and genealogies. By the way, Paul's writing to a younger pastor whom he left on an island, the island of Crete. He left him there to put things in order.
Avoid foolish genealogies and strife and disputes about the law, for they are unprofitable and worthless. Watch closely. Don't stop reading. Reject a factious man after a first and second warning. Knowing that such a man is perverted.
and is sinning. being self-condemned. You heard that correctly. Reject a factious man. None of this is easy.
Back to Romans 16. When he talks about these dealing with carnality, he's not talking about what is easy, but it can be done. The reason I know it, look at his commendation in verse 19. The report of your obedience has reached to all, therefore I am rejoicing over you. In other words, they've been doing it right.
Well, then, why all the warnings? It's the same reason we warn our kids until the last day they leave the house. I mean, we've been warning them all their lives and then they're finally getting ready to join the military. We don't say, well, lots of luck, son. See you when you go to a boot camp.
We don't do that. We say, son, I want to spend a little extra time with you. We bring our boy into the den or the study or in our bedroom and we sit down and we say, son. I've talked to you all through your life about stuff.
Now you're going to be in a minority. You're going to be the only guy in the barracks that doesn't want to shack up with women. You're going to be the only guy around that decides he's not going to take a drink when everybody else is going to get drunk. You've been raised like that. You've lived a pretty good life through high school.
You've kept clean. You haven't had sex with another girl. I commend you. Good for you. Keep it up.
Keep it up. Yeah. I'm proud of your obedience. That's what this is about. The Romans weren't tolerating it and Paul didn't want them to start.
So he says, I commend you.
However, while rejoicing over them, don't miss the end of verse 19. But I want you, here he is again, like a father. I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. Every dad wants that of his son or daughter, and mom the same. We want that of one another in the family.
I want you, my friends, and the family of Stonebriar Community Church to be wise in what is good. Meaning, recognize it, embrace it. Traffic in it, love it, model it, it's good. But when it comes to evil, don't play with it. Don't be sophisticated.
Steer clear of it. Refuse. to be around it, shy away from it. It'll contaminate you. Separate from it.
In fact, he adds, The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. Aren't we grateful for that? You know, God's will is wonderful. It's just slow. Don't you find yourself saying that, Lord, I know you're sovereign, I know you're good, I know you're great, but hurry up.
Good night. We want him to crush Satan now.
Well, he hasn't yet.
So Satan will continue to have his way, but he promises Jesus does. Matthew 16, 18, I'll build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. The gates of Satan will not open. overcome it. He'll try.
If he can work through you, he'll work through you. Or through me. Oh, he'd love to work through me.
Soon, he says, I'm going to crush the enemy. He's going to be gone. Until then, may the grace of our Lord Jesus. be with you. Don't lose your heart of grace.
I love J.B. Phillips' rendering of this part of the verse. I want to see you experts in good. but not even beginners in evil. Let's say it again.
I want to see you experts in good. and not even beginners in evil. concludes with that great promise. What are the clues? That conflicts occur.
When there is dissension in the body, when there are those sowing discord, when there is the growth of suspicion and gossip and doubt and faulty information that wins a hearing and begins to gain a following that's damaging for the flock. What are the cures? We go right back to the gates I gave you. A deep commitment to the scriptures. Stay there.
A firm determination to glorify God. Whatever it takes, even doing the hard thing, glorify God. And third, an honest appraisal of your own spiritual walk. An honest appraisal of your own Walk with God, your prayer life. Your strength in standing against Wrong.
I started with boars, I want to end with dragons. There's a great book that Marshall Shelley wrote called.
Well-intentioned dragons. ministering to problem people in the church. He writes this among other things: dragons, of course, are fictional beasts. monstrous reptiles with lions' claws. a serpent's tail, but Bat wings and scaly skin, they exist only in the imagination, however.
But there are dragons of a different sort. Decidedly real in most cases though. Not always they do not intend to be sinister. In fact, They're usually quite friendly. But their charm belies their power.
to destroy. Within the church, they are often sincere, well-meaning saints, but they leave ulcers. Strained relationships. and hard feelings in their wake, they don't consider themselves difficult people. They don't sit up nights thinking of ways to be nasty.
Often they They are pillars of the community. talented, strong personalities. deservingly respected. But for some reason. I love the way he puts this.
For some reason, they undermine the ministry of a church. They are not naturally rebellious. or pathological. They are loyal church members, convinced they're serving God, but they wind up doing more harm than good. They can drive pastors crazy.
Crazy. or out of the church.
Some dragons are openly critical. They are the ones who accuse you of being pick one. Too spiritual. Not spiritual enough. Too dominant.
Too laid back. Too narrow. Too loose. Too structured. Too disorganized.
or ulterior in your motives. These criticisms are painful because they are largely unanswerable. How can you ever defend yourself and maintain a spirit of peace? How can you possibly prove the purity of your motives? Dragons make it hard to disagree.
without being disagreeable. Listen to this. Perhaps the greatest damage done by true dragons is not their direct opposition. It's more intangible. They destroy enthusiasm.
The morale so necessary for church health and growth. People no longer feel good about inviting friends to worship services. The air is tense. The church depressed. And everyone becomes aware of us and them.
The effect on pastors is equally serious. They sap the pastors' energy and, just as damaging, goad them into reacting instead of acting. Why that's true.
Now, let's end on a positive note. You very graciously sat through this and. Not too many have walked out, and I... Thank you for your patience in hearing this. Let me end on a major key.
There are very valuable things to be learned. in whatever package God delivers to us. I've learned some of my best lessons in some of the most painful hours of my life. I've gotten glimpses into the side of my own life that I'm displeased with. by dealing with others.
who are difficult to handle. It's like the psalmist wrote, It was good for me to be afflicted, so that I might learn your decrees. Psalm 119:71. Nobody put it better than A.W. Tozer.
It's doubtful God can use anyone greatly till He's hurt him. deeply. Late in life, Thomas Akempus wrote this. It's good that we at times endure opposition and that we are evilly. and untruly judged.
When our actions and intentions are good, Often such experiences promote humility. and protect us from vainglory. For then we seek God's witness. in the heart. I'm going to be very candid with you now.
We were here yesterday with a group of people and we were involved in painting some things that will ultimately go in our new sanctuary, some of the speakers. And we had a great time, great people. Just wonderful. And Cynthia and I were there together and Left finally alone and drove around, and we had been through a tour. of the new Sanctuary.
upstairs, way up high and way down, all around, looking all around. And uh as we drove around, I said to her, Honey, um I want you to know something that I think you already know, but I just have to say it. I never planned for it to be big. Big has never been one of my goals. Heck, I was kinda hoping we'd just Stay sorta small.
But As I've said before, you wouldn't have stopped coming and And uh God didn't want that, so isn't about what I want. In fact, I held it back from the size it could have been. There were those that wanted it bigger. I said, we don't need any bigger. It's big enough.
And then I said to her, You know, honey, I uh I have to tell you that I uh I love what I do, but um Mm-hmm. I just need to reassure you and myself that God's in this. It's not some big trip I'm on. She says, I know that. See, I know that.
After 52 years with me. She knows Every method. And don't take it. Tell them everything. That'd be helpful.
So I said I just want to serve him. I just want to preach his word. I just want to lead the staff. I just want to mentor. younger men going into ministry.
I want to be with you. I want to love you and I want a shepherd. This flock.
However long I should, And when it's I shouldn't anymore. You won't have to ask me. I'll get out of your way. Because you're on to something great here. And I learned from Corey Tinboom to hold it all really loosely.
And I really do. I hold it really loosely. These are some of the great years of ministry. And there's no ego in it. Isn't that great?
Had none. Yeah. George Whitfield lived long enough to wear His popularity became immense. Wherever he went, there were always people who longed to meet him and shake his hand and talk with him. He lived long enough in that famous arena to grow tired of it.
He often envied others who could go into a restaurant to eat a meal and no one would even notice George Whitfield was there. Toward the end of his days, he made the statement: I've seen enough of popularity to be sick of it. I love that. When warned about it and could make him proud, he responded, I thank you. I thank you heartily.
May God reward you for watching over my soul. And as to what my enemies say against me, I know worse things of myself than they say about me. And I could add, and my wife knows more than any of the others. She's still with me.
Okay. Mm-hmm. There's a great thing happening here. Let's not mess it up.
Okay. Let's not mess it up.
Let's just sort of sit in awe. of this great thing God's been doing.
Okay. Then when we're ready to move into this new joint, I probably shouldn't call it a joint, but I mean we move into this new sanctuary. We'll just move in. Kind of like you move into another house. And we'll just keep doing what we're doing here.
We'll just do it with a few more. But we don't want to mess it up. We're not going to get slick. We're not going to get proud. We're going to hold it all loosely.
And we're going to guard the flock. From wolves. From boars that would ravage the vineyard.
So much more I could say. That's enough. Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. That mighty power. of the Spirit of God.
You move so quietly among us. It's easy to forget that you're at work, Father. You're teaching all of us so many important things. And while the world around us gives us another agenda. How all the stuff of life would crush in on us.
and steal our joy. You stay at work in the church. And the church rolls on. It rolls on. Thank you for what you're doing, what you have done.
And the great things that are in front of us. in the years ahead. May you get all The Glory. Because it you deserve it. We are all about you.
Oh god.
Now, to him who is able to guard us from stumbling and present us faultless before the presence of his glory with exceedingly great joy. to the only wise God, our Saviour. Be glory in majesty, dominion, and power. power forever and ever and ever. ever.
And ever. In the matchless name of Jesus. We pray. And all God's people said, Amen. Amen.
Yeah. You can hear the enthusiastic response of the congregation when Chuck Swindahl presented this powerful study in Romans 16. He titled today's message Boars in God's Vineyard. We'll hear a personal word from Chuck in just a moment, so stay with us. First, we want to thank you for your feedback on our social media platforms, in the mail, and on our website.
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That's 800-772-8888. or you can give online at insight.org slash donate. I'm Bill Meyer. Chuck Swindahl invites us to explore the final page of Paul's magnum opus, Romans chapter 16. Thursday on Insight for Living.
The preceding message, Boars in God's Vineyard, was copyrighted in 2008, 2010, and 2025, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2025 by Charles R. Swindahl, Incorporated. All rights are reserved worldwide. duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.
