“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.”
My Notes
What Does Romans 16:19 Mean?
"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." Paul commends the Roman church's obedience — which has become known everywhere — and then adds a nuanced pastoral instruction: be wise about good and innocent about evil. The wisdom (sophos — skilled, discerning, experienced) should be directed toward the good. The simplicity (akeraios — unmixed, pure, guileless, literally 'without a horn' like an unhorned animal) should characterize their relationship with evil.
The instruction inverts the common pattern: most people are sophisticated about evil and naive about good. Paul wants the opposite: sophisticated about good, naive about evil. Expert at righteousness. Amateur at sin.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Where are you more sophisticated about evil than about good — and how do you reverse it?
- 2.What would it look like to become an 'expert' at goodness rather than just avoiding badness?
- 3.How does being 'simple concerning evil' differ from being naive about the world?
- 4.What specific area of goodness needs your wisdom-development right now?
Devotional
Wise about good. Simple about evil. Paul wants you to be a PhD in righteousness and a kindergartener in sin. The expertise should be in one direction. The innocence should be in the other.
Wise unto that which is good. Sophos — skilled, experienced, discerning. The kind of wisdom that comes from practice, study, and years of engagement. Paul wants the Roman believers to be experts in goodness: knowing what's good, how to do it, when to apply it, the nuances and complexities of living rightly in a complicated world. Wisdom about good is a skill you develop through practice — and the practice makes you better at it.
Simple concerning evil. Akeraios — unmixed, pure, without alloy. The word describes something uncontaminated: wine without water, metal without impurity. Applied to evil: be uncontaminated by it. Be a novice. Be ignorant. Be the person who doesn't know how the scam works because you've never run one. Be the person who's confused by manipulation because you've never practiced it.
The world's default is inverted: most people are sophisticated about evil (they know every angle, every trick, every manipulation technique) and naive about good (they can barely define it, let alone practice it skillfully). Paul says: flip it. Become an expert at goodness. Become a beginner at evil. Your sophistication should serve righteousness. Your simplicity should starve wickedness.
The combination is powerful: the person who is wise about good AND simple about evil is both effective and uncorrupted. Wisdom about good without simplicity about evil produces the person who knows how to do right but also knows too much about wrong. Simplicity about evil without wisdom about good produces the person who avoids wrong but can't navigate the complexities of doing right. Both together: the person who is skilled at righteousness and innocent of corruption.
Your obedience is known everywhere (Paul's commendation). Now refine it: become more sophisticated about the good and less contaminated by the evil. The direction of your expertise determines the direction of your life.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
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Cross References
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