Romans 16:17

ἀδελφοί. Cf. Romans 12:1; Romans 15:14; Romans 15:30; Philippians 3:17. σκοπεῖν. ‘Keep an eye upon’; cf. Galatians 6:1; Philippians 2:4; Philippians 3:17 (for imitation).

τοὺς τὰς δ. κ.τ.λ. These persons are described in quite general terms: the warning is based on S. Paul’s own experience in Asia Minor and Greece, rather than on any particular information from Rome, and may be due to the event described in Acts 20:3. See Introd. p. xi.

τὰς διχοστασίας. ‘The divisions’ of which he had had such bitter experience and which no Church could be ignorant of; cf. Philippians 1:15 f.; Galatians 5:20; cf. Philippians 3:18 f. The great instance was the attempt to maintain division between Jew and Gentile in the Church: subsidiary to this but probably at this time more practically operative was the attempt to set up authorities in rivalry to S. Paul. In both cases the effect would be to establish two rival Churches in every locality, and to render nugatory the union in Christ.

τὰ σκάνδαλα. Such teachings and precepts as put difficulties in the way of the practical exercise of Christian love, reinstating those barriers of convention and exclusiveness which had been done away in Christ; cf. Romans 14:13.

παρὰ τὴν διδ. with τὰς δ. καὶ τὰ σκ.; for ἐμάθετε cf. Ephesians 4:20; Philippians 4:9 (in a similar connexion). The ‘teaching’ is all the instruction which led them to become Christians and informed them in what true Christianity consists (ἐμάθετε).