Philippians 2:12-18 "Work out your Salvation"

Recap Philippians 2:1-11

Last week we heard about God’s incredible humility as lived out by Jesus. Though He was fully God, the Son of God, He became a servant, lowering Himself and letting go of HIs own face, and looked after the interest of us humans, above His own. Our majestic God became nothing and even died for us and our sins by crucifixion, so that we may be made right with God, and be given His righteousness, guaranteed God’s life and benefits through Jesus’ sacrifice.

And in the context of the Letter to the Philippians, Jesus’ life of humility and service, is the good news and basis of the Fellowship or Friendship. When God’s Spirit is given to His people - we who believe in our hearts that Jesus has died and rose again during that Easter and confess with our lips that Jesus is now Lord and God’s Exulted King - this Spirit gives unity to the Fellowship of God’s people:

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. “ (Phil 2:1-2)

The Gospel, wins for God a whole new people, united by the Spirit of Jesus, that display and work out a unifying humility, like that of Jesus, within the community, and which is so different, so distinctive that the whole world around the church community are left speechless when they see God’s people living out their Gospel-changed lives. This is the theme of today’s passage and can be split into 3:

1. [God’s People] Working out [our] Salvation
2. [God’s People living] Pure and Blameless lives [marked by humility with grumbling or arguing], and lastly
3. [God’s People] Joy[fully] Serving [each other]

1. Work out your salvation (12-13)

“Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” (Phil 2:12-13)

Paul uses “Therefore” because he wants us to know that the reason, the example and the power behind us living Gospel-changed lives is Jesus’ humble service and sacrifice for God’s people, shown in Phil 2 above, and the unifying Spirit that lives in believers. He says, “Therefore”, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. To “work out” is to be active, to produce, to achieve, to labour, to try our best, in order to gain something and in this case, we are working out “our salvation”.

Woh, woh, wait, are you thinking that you have just heard me say that we are saved by our good works? Are your alarm bells ringing? They should be. But listen to me carefully, Andrew has, last week, and I have, earlier, said that it’s all God’s grace when He chose to come in His Son, to humbly die for humans on a cross for our sins, serving us and so wins salvation for us sinners, who are made right with God and receive the full blessings of a restored relationship with God. SO you guys need to work out, what Paul means by “work out your salvation, with fear and trembling.”

You see, Jesus initiates, sustains and guarantees salvation by HIs life, death, resurrection and return as Lord and Christ [aka God’s chosen King]. He starts by turning us, sinful enemies of God into a saved people in God’s community, His death effectively, sufficiently and absolutely guarantees - “on the day of Christ” when God returns to judge the whole world - that we will not die or be condemned for our sins. That’s simple, and it’s a huge part of the Gospel. You must not forget that even on your death bed. Salvation is finished in this way: we know that those in Jesus Christ will be saved from God’s wrath on that day! But salvation is also a journey towards that day, it is a relational process in a life, which shows that someone is saved and changed and is in relationship with the God who saves!

And remember again, who and what is the power behind our working out? It is “God, who works in [us] to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.” (Phil 2:13) God initiates, works and sustains our Christian lives to will and act so that He achieves a community that displays HIs power and likeness so that He gains Glory. In fact Jesus did that during the first Easter. He died, in obedience to God, humbled Himself for you and I, and God raised HIm to life again and gave Him a name above all names, so that everyone will acknowledge Him and give Glory to God the Father. (Phil 2:6-11)

We work out because it’s God who works! We are not lazy, compromising, or complacent because we have God Himself, changing our wills - that is our hearts and motivation - and God helping us by grace to act - that is using our bodies, hands and feet, in order to live out godly lives. We no longer live for our selves, seeking our selfish ambitions and interests, but seeking what God wills. Our purpose is to identify God’s good purpose in our lives. And let’s no forget that obedience is the ongoing attitude of God’s people. (Phil 2:12a) Jesus obeyed, we obey. He was obedient to the Cross, i.e. death, we too are obedient with our whole lives to God.

[Fear and Trembling]

2. Blameless and pure (14-16)

“Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.” (Phil 2:14-16)

Together, we are to look so different in the middle of our world. The world around us is a wee-bit troubled in Paul’s days, it’s not so different today. It’s “warped and crooked”, that’s twisted, perverse and wandering away in disobedience and way from God’s moral, ethical and social standards. How are the people of God to be different, especially in our relationships with each other? Well, as we individually and collectively work out our salvation, we will look out for the interest and humbly serve each other, just as Jesus did, and do “everything without grumbling or arguing.”

Grumbling may be against each other, or against Paul and other leaders in the church, or even against God. Israel, God’s original people and now us, are fabulous grumblers. Grumbling in Egypt, grumbling in the desert, grumbling with Manna from heaven, grumbling with meat, grumbling when thirsty, grumbling before entering the promised Land, grumbling at Moses their leader all the way, grumbling when in the promised land, grumbling when they had no king, grumbling when they had a king, grumbling when prophets told them to obey, grumbling when God punished their disobedience, grumbling when they return from Exile to a diminished Israel, grumbling when God takes HIs time in return to save them, grumbling even when Jesus shows them the way and offers salvation by Grace: grumbling is a major trait of the people in the OT. And it is also in the NT, most likely in the Philippian church, which you’ll see in chapter 4, and we too are a grumbling nation and people, even our Christian churches here.

But serving each other with humility, seeking the other’s interests without bickering or arguing is the mark of a Gospel-community. The goal of this is that we be “blameless, pure and without blemish” against an entirely crooked world.  God’s working out a perfection within this community that even in the unfinished work, the world can tell the difference. “Blameless” is living of a standard that the world can’t fault, “pure” is the state of our inward and outward life, shown in how we use our minds, hearts, eyes, hands feet and most of all tongues and “without blemish” is similar to blameless, that to the outside world the way we behave appears like a perfect community, even though we are being perfected and are not perfect yet as God’s people.

The difference is like the stars, moons and heavenly bodies, standing out in a dark sky. Our world is dark, and we are to look completely different and attractive, in the midst of all this.  What thrives in God’s people is obedience, thankfulness and generosity: lives which are godly and faultless, and most of all, filled with mutual service and giving that’s done willingly, without seeking our own benefit and face. There is no university, work, volunteer or interest group that compares to a living Gospel-community, with God working within each and everyone’s wills and bodies.

Look, I’m not saying we are sinless right now, Paul has said that we are working it out and God is working it out. Our individual lives and collective fellowship is not complete yet. We still depending on God’s forgiveness, His grace, and His Spirit daily. But I am saying that we strive for that goal, which will be complete on the Day of of Christ (2:16). Another thing is that not only do we work and trust in God’s work, we need the Gospel, the constant reminder and teaching and explanation and spiritual digestion of “the word of life”. If we for one week or a day, forget what Jesus the Lord God did for us in His life, death and resurrection, or put another way, if Easter Friday/Sunday is not our holy day every  day, then we can’t work out this Gospel-community. Christ is the power, the example, the standard, the reason for what we do. We have to have the mind of Jesus, we must continually feed on the Good News of Jesus’ humble service for mankind. That safeguards us all from falling into perverse and twisted darkness. That changes us into God’s Gospel-community.

3. Joy in serving God’s People (17-18)

“But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.” (Phil 2:17-18)

The Philippian pyramid that Andrew used had 3 layers: the context or situation of the Philippians is suffering, that’s the bottom, the reason is the Gospel and the outcome is Joy. And Joy again is the result for Paul’s labour and also the Philippians. Paul serves, having the mind of humble Jesus Christ and so do the Philippians, the result is Joy in each other and because of each other. Paul brought the gospel to the Philippians, and has been lovingly praying for them, teaching them, sending messengers like Timothy to check up on them and even in prison,  He is writing with instruction and encouragement and, of course, prayerfully giving thanks for them. (Phil 1-2)

But their Friendship is not one way. The Philippians have responded to Paul’s work with faith and obedience (Phil 2:12a), they have been generous to Paul in sending Epaphroditus and financial gifts (Phil 4). They have been a source of Joy for Paul in their ongoing faith - trust in God - and even in their suffering for their faith (Phil 1:27-30). Most of all they have been Partners in the Gospel, in supporting Paul, in prayer for Paul’s work and giving toward the work in personnel (Epaphroditus) and money. That is the mark of this Gospel-friendship. So much so, that Paul describes their work as a sacrifice and service, like that of the OT priest or Jesus’ own sacrifice and service for God’s people, and Paul’s own service is like a “drink” poured out, emptied out, again like Jesus, in addition to the Philippians’ work in the Gospel. Paul and the Philippians have been Christ-like to each other in their Gospel-friendship. And the result is mutual Joy in each other and ultimately in God’s glorious grace.

Implications

1. God uses the Gospel to work in our Lives Today
   1. Fear and Trembling. This attitude is not natural. People don’t fear (in their hearts) and despise fear, because it basically means a submission to one in authority. We would rather be feared than to fear. But this is the natural Christian response from the Gospel. God is an awesome judge and our fear of Him draws us closer to Him, not away from Him. So the fear is different to earthly fear. It means a lot for our lives, having a fear of a righteous, loving, generous Father who is behind us and working in us. It actually motivates us to work harder in our lives, because we know the one working in us and what He is like. We also need to treat all our lives as serious projects, where God is the Architect, Engineer, Resource Manager: it is ultimately His work: me, you, the guy you’re sitting next to, we are ultimately God’s work! Thinking like that instills a healthy fear as we relate and serve.
   2. Work Out. It’s clear that we need to work hard at our lives. We often put more effort working in our homes, our university work, our career, our holidays our next meal than we often do in our lives. I think the use of “I can’t change myself, only God can” is a sign of laziness. But why don’t we place the same thought, planning, effort, money, intention, worry, contemplation, reflection and evaluation in our godliness and in our church-friendships? Remember it’s God who’s working in us for His good purpose, we have God-given resources to do that: His Spirit, His people, the Word of Life, Christian Books, Others’ Experiences. All these things help us. And the end goal is Christ-likeness and Christ-like living in our church! It’s going to look really, really impressive, it’s happening and will be complete on the Day of Christ. Hear my encouragement from God Himself, let’s work hard at our Gospel-living Today!
   3. Pure and Blameless. And this of course means privately and publicly. Publicly we usually have no problems, we are not yet so individualistic and often face-saving helps mould the appearance of purity and blamelessness. But I must confess, before everyone else, that innermost purity and blamelessness in the knowledge of God is hard. Again, God’s Gospel, His Spirit of Fellowship and His present help and forgiveness is wonderful in helping me strive for purity.
2. Mutual Service, Generosity makes Church truly attractive
   1. Without grumbling but with filled with Grace. This is the distinguishing mark of our church. May I tell you that at most churches in Sydney that believe and preach the Gospel, I know it happens. When compared to working in even public health, it’s even worse in private health, often what drives relationships is material good, mutual monetary benefit and asking people, even your assistants for assistance, which they are paid to do, is filled with grumbling, retaliation, delay, there is no enthusiasm, no seeking the others’ (i.e. patients’, colleagues’) benefit or generosity. But we are not to be like that. They are often dark, perverse, without God’s love, but we are to be filled with Grace, that is people experiencing God’s grace in HIs full measure in Jesus, so we serve each other, happily, out of our freewill and with creativity and joy! We are all God’s work, together we are in this enterprise of working out our salvation. If we did this, I know, our churches will be filled with those who hear the call of God. We will be marked with love and by this the world will know that we are God’s people and give Him praise.
3. We are Friends in the Gospel
   1. More than Friends. In our churches we have great friendships. In general friendships are not hard to build. Time, fun, food, lots of outings, interesting stunts make good friendships. But Gospel-friendships are more than this. We are in partnership of Gospel-building-lives together. We are building each other’s lives and helping the sending of the gospel to other gospel-communities. That’s the relationship between Paul and the Philippians: it’s one of mutual service. That will be the relationship between your leaders and Andrew and yourselves and between you and me. We are really good at maintaining, spicing up our friendships; let’s be even more adventurous in our gospel-friendships. Pray, with thanksgiving and this frequently for each other, give and raise funds together to help gospel ministries, serve communities, especially needy non-Christian ones, together.
   2. True Joy. We will have this if we are Friends in the Gospel. There is nothing sweeter. Even secular projects or work gives off much satisfaction, as I know when I’ve worked well with my team at say a resuscitation, at a horrible case or something similar. In normal friendships, traveling is often the essential element to some common joy. But I’m talking of True Joy.  The Joy of seeing the Gospel work in lives, completely changing your own, each other and even stranger’s lives with the Gospel of God. If your friendship is based on this and you hold firm to the Gospel yourself, your friendships will be so satisfying, it’s a prelude to our satisfaction and the filling of our appetites when we meet God face to face on the Day of Christ. Make it a point, that your friendships are based on the the Gospel and work for the Gospel.

These are just some ways to work out our salvation with all of God’s heart, mind and strength.

Labourers for the Gospel: a Talk from Romans 16

Romans 16:1-27 "Labourers for the Gospel" 2006-12-17

William Ng

1. Structure

   1. Commendations (1-2)

   2. Greetings to the church in Rome(3-16)

   3. Warnings (17-20)

   4. Greetings from Corinth (21-23)

   5. Doxology (24-27)

2. Points

   1. Main point: Those who labour for the Gospel are honoured by God

   2. Sub-point 1: Gentiles, Jews and all kinds of people have been brought into God’s church

   3. Sub-point 2: God triumphs over Satan’s attempt to break the church

   4. Sub-point 3: The Gospel must be made known to everyone

3. Applications

   1. Support people who preach and tell others about Jesus

   2. Welcome all people into the church

   3. Do not welcome self-serving people who lead others away from God

   4. Praise God for His great power and wisdom shown in the Gospel

   5. Labour for the Gospel this Christmas by evangelising everyone

Talk Outline

1. Greetings to the church in Rome

   1. Honour to the labourers

   2. One Family

2. Warnings to the church

3. God’s power and wisdom

   1. Gospel Revealed in Christ

   2. Gospel made known to everyone

Talk Romans 16 (17^th 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:

1. Romans 16:1 Or deaconess

2. Romans 16:3 Greek Prisca, a variant of Priscilla

3. Romans 16:23 Some manuscripts their greetings. 24 May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen.