Sunday, December 29, 2019 - Romans 16 - Freedom Community Church - Pastor Rob Lloyd

Sunday, December 29, 2019 - Romans 16 - Freedom Community Church - Pastor Rob Lloyd, Battle Ground, Washington, USShow more

Sunday Service Time: 10 AM
Sunday Service Location: 1919 SW 25th Ave, Battle Ground, WA 98604
Phone: (360) 975-9356
Email: info@freedomcommunity.church
Prayer Request: wepray@freedomcommunity.church
Mailing Address: 1400 NE 136th Ave. Ste 201, Vancouver, WA 98684

Sermon Notes:

Romans 16

As we close out this letter today, Paul will name more than 2 dozen people, and with some of them we hear of their laboring with Paul in serving the Lord, while for others it’s simply a greeting of brotherly love, possibly because they were called to serve in areas not so closely intertwined with those the Lord gave Paul to do.
• And as we read through this list of people in the first 16 verses, we have to ask ourselves; who were these people and where did they come from in regard to their walks and positions in life before coming to Jesus.
• The point being these are just ordinary people who experienced the same salvation, and learned the same things we have been discovering, and then chose to act upon them in a way that transformed their lives.

1I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea [a seaport in Corinth], 2 that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also.

The word servant here is the same word we get “deacon” from, meaning Paul is describing her as a deaconess.
• Many serve in their church families, but a deacon or deaconess is someone who has certain qualifications set forth by the Lord (1 Tim. 3:1-13) and the heart for getting the job done even when it’s not convenient or a position or task they would naturally pursue.
o Their true desire is to do whatever it takes to get the will of the Lord done through serving.
• Here we are told this is exactly what Phoebe did, as Paul says of her “she has been a helper of many and of myself also.”
• And she was the one who was delivering this letter to the church in Rome, because she, like other women, held a prominent position within the church.
Historically we know nothing else about Phoebe, but we do know is her ministry to the followers of Jesus was a vital part of the work of the church. And she helped expand the efforts of Paul, which is often what deacons and deaconesses do. Who do you know like this?

3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. 5 Likewise greet the church that is in their house.

We are introduced to this husband and wife team in Acts 18, as tent makers who had to flee from Rome to Corinth because of the persecution of the Jews. As they connect with Paul, it’s not long before the church is meeting in their home
• And when Paul leaves Corinth, they follow until he leaves them in Ephesus to minister to an aspiring young preacher named Apollos, and there also start another home fellowship. (1 Cor. 16:19)
• Finally, we see them in Ephesus as Paul is in prison in Rome and left the church to Timothy, now standing by and encouraging him. (2 Tim. 4:19)
• And what we find here, is they even had placed their lives on the line to labor alongside Paul in the work of the Lord, in the places he was called to.
Now, this was just an ordinary working couple who, when encountered with an opportunity to serve Jesus side by side in their marriage, took hold of that opportunity and went for it. So, we should ask ourselves, what makes them different from any other married couple here today? Does or can this look like your marriage?

5bGreet my beloved Epaenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia to Christ (speaking of him being the first to receive Jesus there).6 Greet Mary, who labored much for us. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.

The way Mary is described here is better translated that she worked to the point of exhaustion as she served the church. Meaning she understood the idea that Jesus was to be first, then others, and then self. (Ch. 15)
• Some say the believer shouldn’t work to exhaustion, but it was what Jesus did when He ministered on the earth, as well as Paul (1 Cor. 15:10). Yet we also find they did make time for getting away to be with God. (Mark 14:13, Luke 6:12)
• The point isn’t that in order to serve the Lord well you must do it to exhaustion, but rather that is the way God has wired some. And to do less is not who He made them to be.
• But now we come back to the question, who was she before she became a believer? Actually, we don’t know, meaning there was nothing so prominent about her previous position to warrant mentioning it.

And Andronicus and Junia must have come to salvation on or near the day of the Pentecost revival, for they certainly were saved before Paul and well known by the Apostles. And here we find at some point they were incarcerated with Paul.
• But who were they before the Gospel of grace changed their lives? We also do not know, but what we do know is when they placed their faith in Jesus, they never turned back, even after going to prison for their faith.

8 Greet Amplias, my beloved in the Lord (a common slave name of that time, so no prominent past here). 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys, my beloved. 10Greet Apelles, approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. 11 Greet Herodion, my countryman. Greet those who are of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.

Here we find two different households where Paul asks to have the believing members of those households be greeted, leaving out the head of both of them, speaking of the men; Aristobulus and Narcissus. Commentators believe this is because these men had chosen not to follow Jesus at this time.
• And consequently, in Greek mythology the name Narcissus is where we get the term narcissist from; originally meaning to be so fixated with one’s own self, their physical appearance or public perception.
• And this a reason many will not follow Jesus, even if not clinically a narcissist. Is a correlation intended here? We cannot say for certain, but names in the bible tend to play a significant role.
• The bigger picture however, would be their missing out on being a part of their families walk with Jesus, but even more tragic, they would not be with their family in heaven for eternity.
o So, if this is the case, what caused these families to live boldly enough for Jesus even as the heads of the household refused Him? And would you be able to, or choose to do the same?

12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa (meaning “delicate” and “dainty”), who have labored in the Lord. Greet the beloved Persis, who labored much in the Lord.

Some have speculated there is a difference between these two who labored and Persis who labored much, but the Greek shows the labor of Persis being in the past tense, meaning she was likely elderly and not able to labor as she had before:
• And I for one wonder if she was able to slow down because these two ladies of the next generation stepped into service. And there are some who work so fervently it takes two or more to fill their place.
• What a shame it is when a succeeding generation come to church for a personal experience or to be hearers only (James 1:22) and do not fill the places of the generation before them in serving Jesus
• And on the contrary, what a glorious thing when they do!
o I wonder if these ladies had to wait to be invited to help serve the Lord, or if they just jumped in.

13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.

We know the account of Jesus collapsing after His scourging, and the Roman soldiers then making Him carry the crossbeam He would be crucified on. Well, as Mark 15:21 tells us of that event, saying; “then they (the Roman soldiers) compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross (speaking of Jesus).”
• And since no other Rufus is mentioned in the Bible, most believe this is the son of Simon, and he either would have seen or heard about this event of his father carrying the cross beam for Jesus.
• It appears Simon and possibly the boys, were Jewish believers there for the Passover and were not followers of Jesus at the time.
• And I for one wonder what went through Simon’s mind as he had the blood of Jesus all over him after this event. He would then be restricted from the Passover, but in reflection he was likely one of the only ones there who really got the significance, for his son and wife are now listed as chosen in the Lord.
o And she apparently cared for Paul during his time of ministry, with great affection and care.

14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.
16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.

So, what do these people have in common? They are ordinary people living extraordinary lives because they received the grace of God, and chose to serve Jesus out of love and gratitude for all He had done.
• And Paul never viewed them as resources for the work he was given to do for the Lord. He simply went about his service with passion, and then saw those around him who also wanted to be invested, and provided them with an opportunity to serve the Lord together with him. (or they just jumped in first)
• And those to whom he noted no specific work of the Lord they were involved in, no doubt they were also serving Jesus, simply in a work other than his own.
• These were people of all walks of life that trusted Jesus and now comprised the church.
o And folks, this is the same opportunity presented to each of us today. We can let the truths of God transform us and then live them out simply and boldly!

And I think we should also see that Paul could have never accomplished what he did for the Lord if it were not for these friends who became family. That’s because God designed it to be that way.
• Would we have even gotten this letter if Phoebe hadn’t delivered it, or if Priscilla and Aquila were not there to aid the work of Paul and who risked their necks for him, or if the mother of Rufus hadn’t cared for Paul, or if Tertius hadn’t written it for Paul while he dictated to him. (vrs. 22)
• All I can say is “thank you Jesus for the church, for the friendships and the ability to serve side by side as we desire to worship and serve you out of gratitude and love”. What a gift!

Now he addresses a different kind of people:
17 Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses (traps or tricks), contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.

There have always been individuals in the church that are not truly servants of Jesus, and the way to spot them is 1) by knowing sound doctrine, 2) being discerning of the smooth talker who doesn’t walk out their faith even in the simple ways (because they are too loftily to do so), and ultimately 3) by the divisions they will cause.
• Some are very obvious, but others are like those movies where a computer virus was planted and over years has been able to sit undetected, until the damage has already been done.
• And I have learned that often these people don’t see themselves as they really are, but rather as slightly superior in their understanding, with a feeling they need to correct everyone else’s naive understanding.
• And the instruction we are given is to avoid them. Now sometimes that’s simply trying to keep our paths from crossing, while other times it might mean telling them you don’t want any of what they are peddling, and telling them to go away.
o You might think that’s divisive, but truthfully it might be corrective, where as if they continue in their ways, real division will absolutely result, and the less mature will always be the victims.

19 For your obedience has become known to all. Therefore I am glad on your behalf; but I want you to be wise in what is good, and simple concerning evil. 20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen

Obedience is one of those words we need to reclaim as being wonderful. If your dog doesn’t obey you, you will find big troubles and so will it! But somehow when obedience is spoken of in terms of us, many take it as being immediately offensive, but obedience to a perfect and grace filled God brings everlasting peace.
• Now He’s the one that has made peace with Him possible, but I will tell you a lack of our obedience will steal our peace for sure. And it opens the door for Satan to come in and tempt us to imagine more sin, thus bringing us shame and anxiety.
• And Gods desire is for us to be separated from all the yucky stuff we were fixated on before, and to renew our minds (12:2) in purity (Titus 1:15). But folks, we can only maintain that through our obedience to His call to live as He lived (Matt. 5:48) and to set our mind on those things above. (Col. 2:3)

But there is also a very wonderful promise here and it’s that it won’t always be this way; Satan and this present evil will all be crushed one day. And when they day comes; Satan’s demise will be very quick. (shortly)
• But please notice it’s not us who crushes Satan as some suppose. It’s God who will do it, but to let us have part in His victory, we will stand with Jesus over the defeat of Satan. (Rev. 19:13)

And he now closes by letting those who are with him in Corinth send their greetings also. Folks this is the church being the church, to all the church. What a blessing it is to witness this and feel inspired to do the same.
21 Timothy, my fellow worker, and Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater, my countrymen, greet you. 22 I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord.

Because of Paul’s physical condition, he was not able to write his own letters, likely not being able to see well enough to do so. And so, Tertius takes the opportunity to slip in a personal greeting himself. That’s family style right there!

23 Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you, and Quartus, a brother. 24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

So, a greeting from one church to another, including all the brothers and sisters displaying for us an understanding of just what a special bond God has made between His people, even nations apart.

And now Paul gives the benediction:
25 Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began 26 but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith— 27 to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.

I love it when Paul identifies the gospel as “his gospel”, because it truly is our gospel if we have received Jesus. Nothing can take it away from us because if Jesus has established us, who can un-establish us. No one! (8:35-38)
• And the mystery contained in prophecy long before Jesus was born into the world was that God would make one people for Himself out of both the Jews and the Gentiles who put their faith in Jesus.
• It was His plan before the world even was created, that God would send Jesus to die in our place, to wipe away our sin, and whoever would believe in Him would not perish but have ever lasting life.
• Now if you can give even an ounce of glory to anyone other than Him, you simply don’t get it!
o But I believe each of us do. And one day when we see the triune God as described in Revelation 4 & 5, our glorying won’t be over, it will be ramped up all the more, into eternity. And as we look round about us on that day, we will see the family He created through salvation by faith alone in Christ alone!