PAUL'S LOVE FOR THE SAINTS
INTRODUCTION:
If you were shocked by how many verses we covered last week, you need to hold onto your seat as we cover 24 verses this week. We are going to cover the majority of chapter 16 this morning. This chapter has been overlooked by those who teach through this book because the major portion of it is a list of people who for the most part, we know nothing about except for what Paul writes here. Paul ends this letter greeting those whom he knows in the church in Rome. If chapter 15 was personal, this chapter is even more personal as Paul greets those in the church in Rome whom he has met in some other part of the Roman Empire and has ministered to that person, or been ministered to by that person, or has ministered with that person in some capacity. Remember Paul had never been to Rome and did not know most of those who belonged to the church in Rome. He does greet 24 people by name and makes reference to others that he has met during his lifetime. We are not going to spend a lot of time on those that he greets, I will make a few comments on some. What we do see in this list of names is Paul’s great love for those who have come to faith in Christ. Last week in the end of chapter 15 Paul focused on his relationship to the Lord and doing everything according to God’s will, this morning he will focus on his relationship to other Christians that he has been associated with in some way. In this passage we see Paul’s heart and his love for the church, for the community of the redeemed. Paul had exhorted the Roman believers to love one another in Romans 13 and now he demonstrates that love to them. Paul shows his love for the saints through a commendation for a sister in Christ, through his salutations to those he knows in Rome, through a final exhortation to those whom he loves, cautioning them to not be swept away by false teaching, and finally ending with salutations from those who were with him in Corinth where this letter was written. Let’s pray, then buckle our seat belts, and get into this passage.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to the last chapter of Romans. Romans 16:1-24 will be our passage for this morning. Please stand, if you are able, in honor of the reading of God’s Word and bear with me as I try to pronounce these Latin, Greek, and Hebrew names. Follow along as I read.
Romans 16:1-24,
“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea; that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well. Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; also greet the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia. Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. Greet Apelles, the approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis the beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brethren with them. Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Timothy my fellow worker greets you, and so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. I, Tertius, who write this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” (Romans 16:1–24, NASB95)[1]
COMMENDATION (Romans 16:1-2)
Paul begins this final chapter of his letter to the church in Rome with a commendation for a woman named Phoebe. Paul introduces her as a sister and a servant of the church in Cenchrea. Cenchrea was a neighboring port city of Corinth, about 9 miles from Corinth. It was from this port city that Paul and Aquila and Priscilla sailed out of at the end of Paul’s first ministry in Corinth. The church in Cenchrea was most likely a daughter church to the church in Corinth.
Paul commends her to the church in Rome for not only what she had done in her own church but also for the important ministry she was about to carry out for the Lord. Most Bible teachers agree that Paul introduces and commends Phoebe to the church because she will be the one carrying and delivering this letter in person to the church leaders in Rome, this is an important task and not just given to anyone, but to someone Paul could trust to get it to the church.
Paul commends Phoebe to the church in three different ways, he commends her as a sister in Christ, as a servant and as a helper of many, including Paul himself.
When we come to faith in Christ, we are adopted into God’s family, and we become brothers and sisters in Christ. When Paul refers to Phoebe as our sister, he meant that she was a member of the family of God, she had come to faith in Christ and was devoted to Christ and to his family. Paul makes it clear in these two verses that Phoebe was important and special to him, a dear sister in Christ.
Paul next commends Phoebe to the church in Rome as a servant of her home church in Cenchrea. The word translated “servant” is the Greek word from which we get our word “deacon” or “deaconess.” It is a neuter word in Greek so can be used of either men or women. It was used in the church in the general sense of someone that served in some capacity in the church, then became the title of those who held the office of deacon or deaconess. By the writing of this letter this office of deacon and deaconess had already been established in the church. In the same passage that Paul gives the qualifications for deacons, he also gives the qualifications for deaconesses. He writes in 1 Timothy 3:11, “Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things.” (1 Timothy 3:11, NASB95)[2] In the early church the role of a deaconess was to care for fellow believers who were ill, to care for the poor, to care for strangers passing through, to care for those in prison. They also helped to disciple and to teach the women and children in the church. If the office of deaconess was established in the church in Cenchrea then Paul was saying that Phoebe held this office, if not she carried out this role even if it was not in an official capacity. Because she had proven herself in this role of a servant of Christ and because she was a sister in Christ, Paul instructed the believers in Rome to receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints. In other words, welcome her into fellowship with you.
Paul also asked the church members to help her in whatever matter she may have need of you. This word translated “matter” was often used of business transactions and this is what is implied here. Paul is not only commending Phoebe to the church but is also giving her a letter of reference in regard to whatever business matter she may have had in Rome. That idea of this matter being some sort of business is strengthened by Paul’s use of the word “helper” to describe Phoebe. This word translated “helper” was commonly used in Greek to indicate a person who was a patron. A patron is a wealthy person who encourages and financially supports an organization or a cause. We might use it as a patron of the arts or a patron of the sciences. This suggests that Phoebe was no ordinary helper, but one who was a successful businesswoman and wealthy who loved the Lord and was devoted to Him and to His church. She used her influence and her financial means as well as her personal time and effort to help many in the church including Paul. Paul holds this woman in high esteem and admits humbly his personal indebtedness to her for helping him in his ministry by whatever means she did. Paul commends her to the church for the important task of carrying and delivering this letter to them which has proven to be part of the foundation of New Testament theology.
SALUTATIONS FROM PAUL (Romans 16:3-16)
After commending Phoebe to them Paul begins to demonstrate his love and affection for a large number of beloved friends and fellow believers. Just as he spoke kindly and lovingly of Phoebe, Paul continues to speak as a friend and a brother in Christ to those whom he personally greets in the church in Rome.
He first greets Prisca and Aquila, a husband and wife who Paul was well acquainted with, they like Paul were tentmakers. They first met in Corinth were this couple had fled when the emperor Claudius had decreed that all Jews had to leave Rome. Paul stayed in their house in Corinth and worked as a tentmaker while he began his ministry there. This couple who were dear to Paul are mentioned six times in the New Testament, three times in the book of Acts and three times by Paul, once here and once in 1 Corinthians 16:19 and 2 Timothy 4:19. Paul says here in Romans that they risked their necks for his sake. In other words, they put their lives in jeopardy to protect Paul’s life. When or by what this means they did this we are not told but by doing this the Lord used them to prevent Paul’s life and ministry from being cut short. Paul not only is grateful for this act of love on their behalf for him but says all the churches of the Gentiles are thankful as well. When the emperor Claudius died the couple returned to Rome and ministered there opening up their home to one of the groups of believers in the city of Rome. Remember the church in Rome did not have one central place where they met, but they met in groups in homes spread throughout the city. Paul also greets the congregation that meets in Aquila and Priscilla’s home.
Paul next greets Epaenetus who was the first convert to Christ in Asia mostly likely under the ministry of Paul. Paul greets nine women in this passage often referring to their service for the Lord. The nine are Prisca, Mary, Junias (the wife of Andronicus), Tryphaena and Tryphosa (sisters, possibly even twins), Persis, the mother of Rufus who Paul writes was like a mother to him, Julia (the wife of Philologus), and the sister of Nereus. Paul greeted 17 men by name. The couple Andronicus and Junias and the man by the name of Herodian Paul identifies as his kinsmen which may indicate that they are Jewish but may also indicate that they are more closely related since Paul does not make this distinction about Priscilla and Aquila. They may have been from the same tribe as Paul, they may all have been from the tribe of Benjamin or even more closely related then that even. Paul even says that the couple were fellow prisoners meaning like Paul they had spent time in prison for their faith, he also says that they came to Christ before he did. Paul greets two households, the household of Aristobulus and the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. The fact that Paul does not greet the head of the household may indicate that Aristobulus and Narcissus were not believers but that some in their households were believers.
Paul ends his salutations telling them to greet one another with a holy kiss and giving them greetings from all the churches of Christ. Most likely referring to the churches that Paul had planted throughout his missionary journeys. The holy kiss mostly likely came from the Jewish practice of kissing on the forehead or cheek when they first came together after being separated for a time and also when they departed from one another. Paul encourages them to maintain this greeting when they come together, a greeting of love and affection for one another.
EXHORTATION (Romans 16:17-20)
Genuine love for others will demonstrate itself by warning the one you love so they are not harmed. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:6 that love, “does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;” (1 Corinthians 13:6, NASB95)[3] The greatest harm that can come to a believer is the undercutting or the challenging of God’s truth in which they believe and live. Paul again shows his love for the believers in Rome by warning them with this exhortation. He writes, “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.” (Romans 16:17, NASB95)[4]
Paul is telling the mature believers in the church to keep an eye, the phrase means to scrutinize intensely, those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the apostolic teaching which they had received and learned. Paul is telling the church to be on the lookout for those who are false teachers. Paul had written a similar warning to Titus when he wrote in Titus 3:9, “But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and strife and disputes about the Law, for they are unprofitable and worthless.” (Titus 3:9, NASB95)[5] He also warned Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:23, “But refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels.” (2 Timothy 2:23, NASB95)[6] Anything that undermines or challenges what God’s Word says must be avoided, everything that is taught must be looked at through the lens of Scripture. Paul warns that we are to turn away from those who cause dissensions and hindrances to our growth. The word hindrances is translated from a word that means trap or stumbling block. Paul says avoid these people.
Paul then goes on to describe who these people are and give two reasons to turn away from them, he writes, “For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.” (Romans 16:18, NASB95)[7] Paul says that these false teachers are slaves, but not bondslaves of the Lord Jesus, but of their own appetites. In other words, even though they may act like they care and are concerned for the church, their true motivation is what they can get for themselves, fame, power over their followers, financial gain and the list could go on. Frequently it is more than just one thing, but several. Jude described false teachers in Jude 12-13 saying, “These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.” (Jude 12–13, NASB95)[8] Avoid these men or women.
These false teachers should also be avoided because the result of their teaching is always destructive. They deceive the unsuspecting with their smooth words and flattering speech. They portray themselves as preachers and teachers of righteousness, but like Jude wrote they are clouds without water and autumn trees without fruit, all their smooth talk and flattering speech is empty of truth and empty of power. Avoid these kinds of people, guard your church members from them.
Paul then commends believers in Rome for their obedience which has been reported to all. Paul rejoices in their obedience to the Lord, their godly and righteous and obedient living brought joy and encouragement to Paul. He warns them again knowing that even the most mature believer can fall into Satan’s trap, he writes, “… but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil.” (Romans 16:19b, NASB95)[9] To be wise in what is good means that we must be studying and learning what is good, we must be in God’s Word, reading it and studying it so that we know what is good. Paul had already exhorted us in Romans 12:9 to, “Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good.” (Romans 12:9b, NASB95)[10] The only way we can be innocent in what is evil is to be completely and thoroughly familiar with what is good, again we must be in God’s Word.
Paul reminds the believers in Rome that this battle with evil will not go on indefinitely, “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.” (Romans 16:20, NASB95)[11] This word translated “soon” is a word that means speedily or quickly or even unexpectedly. So not soon in the sense of it will happen in the near future, but when it happens it will be quick and unexpected. What encouragement that the Lord will crush Satan under the feet of God’s people, we will put our feet on the neck of Satan as victors as we join the Lord Jesus Christ in His triumph over Satan. Paul understanding that this has not yet taken place gives a benediction to remind them that until that time they have the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to sustain them, direct them, and strengthen them. His grace will give you the wisdom to recognize false teachers. His grace will be your comfort and strength when you are assailed by Satan and his people while he still has power on this earth. The battle will not last forever, and grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is sufficient to see you through to the end.
SALUTATIONS OF OTHERS (Romans 16:21-24)
Paul ends this passage with greetings to the church in Rome from those who are with him in Corinth. These companions of Paul would have known some of the same people that Paul knew as well as other believers from Rome.
The first to send greetings is Timothy, Paul’s son in the faith and faithful companion in his travels. Next, he mentions Lucius who may be the Lucius that is mentioned in Acts 13 who was among the prophets and teachers who first commissioned and sent out Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey under the direction of the Holy Spirit. Next Paul sends greetings from Jason and Sosipater, calling them his kinsmen, which again may have simply meant that they were Jewish. Next Paul’s secretary or scribe whose name was Tertius writes his own greeting to the church. He is writing down Paul’s words as he dictates them.
Paul then sends greeting from Gaius who is Paul’s host in Corinth, Paul is staying in his house during his time there. Paul says that Gaius is also the host to the whole church which simply means that he has opened his house for the church to meet in. Another member of the church in Corinth was Erastus, he was the city treasurer for the city of Corinth, and he sends his greetings. So, we see that there were people from all walks of life in the congregation at Corinth. Lastly, Paul sends greetings from Quartus who Paul simply identifies as the brother. Those who knew him in Rome would have understood that he was a brother in Christ.
In verse 24 we come to another benediction which is identical to the one that Paul had just given in verse 20. In the New American Standard Bible, it is in brackets to show that this benediction is not in the earliest manuscripts that we possess of Romans. It is possible that this was added especially since verses 25-27 form a longer, more detailed benediction to which the words in verse 24 add nothing to the longer one and seems a bit out of place. The words are consistent with the rest of what Paul says in this closing chapter whether they were dictated by Paul or added by someone else at a later date.
CONCLUSION:
In this closing chapter of Romans Paul is even more personal then he was in the previous chapter. He focuses in on his relationship to other Christians and he does this by demonstrating the love that he had told them each to have for one another. He demonstrates his love in four ways. First, he lovingly and warmly commends to them a dear lady that is a sister in Christ from the church in Cenchrea. He commends her to them because she is bearing the letter that Paul has just written to them. He wants them to welcome her and help her while she is there. Paul introduces her as a sister in Christ, as a deaconess of the church and as a helper of many, including Paul and he is indebted to her. Second, he sends greetings to many that he knows in the church, those to whom he has ministered, those who have ministered to him, and those he has ministered alongside. He speaks of them warmly and makes some personal notes about some showing his genuine care and concern for fellow believers he has met and become acquainted with in his many years of travel. Third, Paul demonstrates his love for his brothers and sisters by warning them of danger, exhorting them to keep watch for false teachers who will try to infiltrate the church and deceive and lead some astray. He reminds them that these evil infiltrators are instruments of Satan, and this battle for the souls of men will not go on forever. The day is coming when judgment will fall swiftly and Satan and those who are his will be defeated. The God of peace will crush Satan under the feet of His saints, and we will forever be at peace in the house of our heavenly Father and our Lord. Until that time Paul reminds us that we have the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ to sustain us. Fourth, Paul demonstrated his love by including in his letter the greetings of those that were with him in Corinth. Letting those in Rome know that even though he had not yet visited them, they were not forgotten, and they were fondly remembered and prayed for by Paul and his companions. As believers we can demonstrate our love for other believers in much the same way that Paul did. Follow his example of commending those who have proven themselves to the church, pray for those who you know in the church and show your concern for them. Watch and warn others of spiritual danger, measure all teaching through the lens of Scripture and turn away from any whose teaching undermines or challenges the truth of God’s Word. Being always on the lookout to encourage another believer by words or actions, being a servant and a helper in the church.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.