Romans 16:1-27 "Labourers for the Gospel" 2006-12-17
Structure
Commendations (1-2)
Greetings to the church in Rome(3-16)
Warnings (17-20)
Greetings from Corinth (21-23)
Doxology (24-27)
Points
Main point: Those who labour for the Gospel are honoured by God
Sub-point 1: Gentiles, Jews and all kinds of people have been brought into God’s church
Sub-point 2: God triumphs over Satan’s attempt to break the church
Sub-point 3: The Gospel must be made known to everyone
Applications
Support people who preach and tell others about Jesus
Welcome all people into the church
Do not welcome self-serving people who lead others away from God
Praise God for His great power and wisdom shown in the Gospel
Labour for the Gospel this Christmas by evangelising everyone
Talk Outline
Greetings to the church in Rome
Honour to the labourers
One Family
Warnings to the church
God’s power and wisdom
Gospel Revealed in Christ
Gospel made known to everyone
Talk Romans 16 (17th Dec 2006)
When we hear talks that explain to us the full picture of the Gospel and talks that urge us to live godly lives because of the Gospel, we might forget that Paul was not actually giving a sermon. All this time, in Corinth, Paul was dictating a letter to his friend Tertius (verse 22), that was going to be posted – Palestinian style – to the church in Rome. This letter was to be delivered by hand, and the lady mentioned in verses 1 & 2, Phoebe, was most likely the bearer of this letter. Snail mail back then was slow, long and dangerous: journeys had to be made over land, and sometimes even by ship, before a letter could be delivered. Phoebe would have needed a certificate or letter of commendation from Paul, so that she could travel safely through cities and towns. This long letter of Romans eventually got there, and was treasured by those at church there, or else I don’t think they would have made copies of it, to keep, to read, to reread and to share with other churches. In this last section of the letter, we are learning about the real person carrying the letter, about those Christians actually receiving the letter and about Paul’s relationship with these Christians. Let’s look in detail at how Paul greeted the church in Rome!
1. Greetings: church in Rome (1-16)
Honour to the labourers
The first thing you will notice is that Paul gives great honour to the labourers of the Gospel. Look at how Paul describes Phoebe in verses 1 & 2. She is a servant of the church at Cenchrea, she has been a great help to Paul. And we can imagine that apart from physically bearing this letter to Rome herself, she was likely a women of some wealth, who used her money, her influence and assets to help Paul and other Christians who worked for the Gospel. Paul asks for the church in Rome to welcome her, as a dear sister, and to supply whatever she needed, to treat her as one of the saints, which means someone from God’s own chosen family. Why? Because she is one who labours, and worked hard and gave up herself, her money and power, to help Paul and others tell the gospel.
And it’s not only Phoebe who worked hard, other labourers of the Gospel in Rome were also known to Paul, and he greeted them with great joy and fondness. Look at Priscilla and Aquilla in verses 3-4. This couple literally risked their lives for Paul while they travelled with him on one of his missionary trips around Corinth. Not only Paul but also the Gentile – the Christians of non-Jewish background – Gentile churches also owed a whole lot to this couple, and their labour (verse 4).
Andronicus (verse 7) was a fellow-prisoner, Urbanus (verse 9) was a fellow-worker. Paul showed so much appreciation and honour to those who have shared in the Gospel work. He greets them individually, by name, with high praises, and it is obvious that he is full of thanks and joy, that he prays for them regularly1, because of their hard work.
And did you also notice that the women mentioned in this list of greetings were given high praise as well? In a society where women did not often get recognition, Paul highlights their achievement and labour for the Gospel. Mary (verse 6) worked hard for the church in Rome, Junia (verse 7) also shared suffering as a prisoner with Paul, Tryphena and Tryphosa (verse 12) were both workers in the Lord, Paul called Persis (verse 12) “beloved” for her hard work, and Rufus’ mother (verse 13) was like a mother to Paul. Paul praised all these women and thanked God for their hard work, alongside himself and other Christians. Paul was hardly a chauvinist, but he gave due honour to everyone who worked hard for the Gospel.
[In our local church, we are to give thanks for those who work hard for our sakes. I have a church friend who doesn’t say much, and isn’t the most popular person at church, but he is always helping set-up, pack-up, and he leaves early after church to save seats for church lunch at Macquarie Centre. We are to remember and appreciate people like this friend of mine, who quietly labours for the gospel.]
God also esteems these workers, He views them highly and their efforts are forever commemorated in His word. How do you view those who labour for the gospel? Do we care for our missionaries that we send overseas? Are we generous in giving to their needs? Do we take an interest in their lives? Do we read their prayer letters and pray for them regularly? When we hear about gospel work in beach missions, in outreaches, are we excited?
More often, we take more interest lives of anti-christian stars. We think highly of smart people, rich and successful people, good-looking people, but we don’t look twice at those who give up things to work for the gospel, to teach Sunday school, to set-up community churches. But we have been given God’s goggles through Paul’s greetings. Let’s change our minds and eyes so that we delight in giving thanks for gospel workers and labourers, let’s give them our prayers, our time and help and money, because the work that they do is God’s priority.
One Family, Different Members
The second thing to notice in the language of Paul’s greeting is that God’s church is a close-knit family, even though there are many different members. The members have come from different social groups, different ethnic and racial groups, and are made up of different sexes. Paul calls Andronicus and Junia (Verse 7) and Herodion (Verse 11) “his relatives”, which is his way of saying they were like him: Jewish. I can assure you that there were more Jewish Christians in the church in Rome apart from the few mentioned here. To have Jewish and Gentile people worship together then is like having Lebanese Muslims and Chinese Christians together in the same place, all praising the Lord Jesus now. The Jews and Gentiles were different culturally, in customs and traditions. Yet they were in the church together.
The members also came from different ranks in society. As I’ve mentioned before there were certainly some slaves, or ex-slaves who were liberated, in the congregation of Rome. They met with bigger names like Narcissus2 (Verse 11) and Aristobulus (Verse 10), who had households of Christians. These influential and wealthy Christians met with slaves and ex-slaves. Imagine churching with President Bush? Or the Murdochs? Or the Costellos?
We finally see that through Paul’s language, God’s church in Rome is a family to Paul. Paul can’t help himself but to speak affectionately of those that he knew well in the church, he uses the words beloved or “dear friend” for Epaenetus, Ampliatus, Persis and Stachys. Priscilla, Aquilla, Andronicus, Junias, Urbanus are his “fellow workers”. He deliberately calls everyone else dear “brothers” and “sisters”. Paul tells them to greet one another just as he greets them, warmly, from their hearts and with “holy kisses” (Verse 16), which back then was customary and acceptable for close relatives and friends, much like our pats of backs/shoulders and firm handshakes now.
The Gospel was able to break down so many barriers in Rome. Has the gospel done this in our local church, or in our Sydney churches? It pains God so much to see little ghettoes, little groups, people who only associate with their “in” group and exclude the “out” group. It grieves God to see people who make much of themselves whether they are rich or poor, people who make judgements and slander others on looks, on accents, on tastes. It annoys God to see people divide over traditions, customs, or even races and colour of skin. And all these things are happening in our local churches, even in our own congregations.
The Gospel must change our expectations of the church and drive our relationships within and without. We Christians in this room are in Jesus, we are each other’s brothers and sisters, we are working together, we are to welcome each other all the time, with friendship, warmth and help. We are to relate to our christian brothers and sisters from other congregations, and take an active interest in them and pray for them. And the Gospel doesn’t just stop there. It brings together people from different races, so we are to welcome Whites, Blacks and Browns into our church home, we are to open ourselves to Arabic customs, including their Muslim, or even Orthodox Christian customs, so that they can hear the Gospel. We are to welcome the poor, the intellectually disabled, as well as the mega-rich and the powerful. Anyone who walked from the streets of Sydney, can feel welcomed here, as we let the Gospel teach us that in Jesus, everyone can become a child of God.
[Start small…]
2. Warnings to the church (17-20)
[Paul also warned the church about self-serving people who are Satan’s workers, from verses 17 to 20. These people are good talkers, because they can deceive with “smooth words and flattery” (verse 18). Their end goal is to serve their own appetites, this means their physical and sexual desires and probably their own egos as well. And with this group of people, there is no need for welcome, but the opposite, the church in Rome is to keep away from them (verse 17). Instead, they are to lead lives of godliness, which means ones of obedience (verse 19).
To encourage the church, Paul asks them to remember that God will soon bring about the complete defeat of Satan (verse 20). God will achieve peace by eventually destroying all evil. And the christians there are to trust in this God. They will also need the grace that is in Jesus Himself (verse 20), because without God’s help in Jesus, we will not survive Satan’s attacks, nor will we have power of the Spirit to lead us to obedient lives.
So be on the look out. Trust in the God who brought peace to all man kind through Jesus’ death for sins. When evil attacks us, within the church, ask for God to give us His grace. From the Bible, we know that attacks do come. But from the same word, we know that God has triumphed over Satan and evil, and the final day of victory will be “soon”!]
3. God’s power and wisdom (25-27)
In the last sentence of letter to the Romans, Paul condenses all the gospel goodness into one chunk. It looks long, but all it is is a doxology or praise to God. [Look at the red letters] Praise for what? Verse 25 tells us that it is for the gospel, the proclamation of Jesus Christ.
Gospel Revealed in Christ
The Gospel that we have was hidden, it was a mystery but now it is revealed in Jesus, through the writings of God Himself in the Old Testament. You see, God had always wanted to send His Son Jesus into the world, to save His chosen people, the Jews, from all their sins. But from the time of Adam, to Abraham, to David, God’s people have been unable to come into relationship with Him because of sin. So God’s writing always promised that one day, He would come to save His people from their sins3. He made these promises through His prophets. When Jesus came, when He bore the sins of everyone on His on back, when He gave up Himself to die on the Cross and take on the punishment for all sins on Himself, when He rose to life as Victor over sin and death for all, He revealed the Gospel story that the Old Testament Law, Psalms and Prophets pointed to.
Do you know how precious that Christmas story is? The true meaning behind Christmas, is that God loved the world so much, that He would come into the world as a humble baby boy, to grow as one of man, and to sacrifice Himself at Easter for all of man’s sins! That’s why the Herald Angel sings! That’s why Glory belongs to the newborn King at Christmas! Because that long awaited Son of God was born, to fulfil the prophecies made in the Old Testament, so that God could bring the whole world into friendship, unity and peace with Himself and each other! That’s why there is Joy to our world, because at Christmas 2000 years ago, the Lord Jesus has come, the Saviour now reigns, No more will sins and sorrows grow and Jesus rules with Truth and Grace! And for this Good News of Christmas in the Gospel, we praise the God who sent Jesus, for His power and wisdom.
Gospel made known to everyone
And so we must be a labourer of the Gospel ourselves, starting from this Christmas. In verse 26 we know that the Gospel is now made known by God’s command, so that all nations might “believe and obey”. God sent out this Gospel to the nations, all nations, that means all our friends, all our relatives, all our workmates, all our neighbours could believe and obey the Gospel. We have heard that God honours those who work hard in the Gospel, we have heard why the Gospel shows God’s power and wisdom, so our response is to be a Gospel labourer.
This December is a great season, because no Christmas is ever dull or meaningless. No Christmas is ever about shopping dully for our appetites, or meaningless partying. Christmas is always about Jesus the Christ, the King. When we meet at family dinners, pray for opportunities to explain the Gospel. Be a labourer for the Gospel when we spend time with our little cousins, with our school friends, and even with our shop-keepers. Is there a Christmas message being explained somewhere? Let’s take our friends to it! Are our friends twiddling their thumbs on Christmas eve? Throw a party for them and explain the gospel to them. God’s Gospel is made known to the whole world, and our prayer is that this Christmas, they may have eternal life, joy and peace with our God through our labour for the Gospel.
1 Ro 1:8.
2 Though they are probably dead at the time, their wealthy households had Christians who attended church.
3 Jer 31:31-34 is a classic example.
Romans 16
Personal Greetings
1I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant[a] of the church in Cenchrea. 2I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me. 3Greet Priscilla[b] and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. 4They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. 5Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia. 6Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. 7Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was. 8Greet Ampliatus, whom I love in the Lord. 9Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys. 10Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus. 11Greet Herodion, my relative. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. 12Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord. 13Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too. 14Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers with them. 15Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them. 16Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.
17I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. 19Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
20The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
21Timothy, my fellow worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relatives.
22I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.
23Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.
Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.[c]
25Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him— 27to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
Footnotes:
Romans 16:1 Or deaconess
Romans 16:3 Greek Prisca, a variant of Priscilla
Romans 16:23 Some manuscripts their greetings. 24 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.
