Paul's Final Greetings

INTRO

Romans is truly about the gospel. It’s about the apostle Paul delivering a word to the church in Rome explaining how to practically live out what they knew to be true. In Romans 16, Paul mentions all the people who played an important part in his life. This chapter is like the conclusion—the list of credits at the end of a show or movie.

TEACHING

Romans 16:1-2: Paul commended Phoebe to the Romans, entrusting her to deliver the letter to the believers there. She was truly the deliverer of the good news to the Roman church. Paul urged them to welcome her and assist her “in a way worthy of his people” (v. 2). In other words, make sure she has a place to stay, food, and fellowship with other believers. Can you imagine—Phoebe held one of the 66 books of the Bible, and she probably had no clue!

Romans 16:3-16: Paul sent greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, his coworkers who had risked their lives for him. He expressed thankfulness from both himself and the Gentile churches (v. 4). Paul urged the Romans to greet the church that met in their home (v. 5a), including Epaenetus, the first one in Asia to convert to Christ (v. 5b). Paul added greetings to Mary (v. 6), and fellow countrymen and prisoners Andronicus and Junia (v. 7). He greeted Ampliatus (v. 8), Urbanus and Stachys (v. 9), Apelles and the household of Aristobulus (v. 10), Herodion and the household of Narcissus (v. 11), Tryphaena, Tryphosa, Persis (v. 12), Rufus and his mother (v. 13), Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas (v. 14), Philologus, Julius, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas (v. 15). Paul honored these people as hard workers who had done much in the ministry of Christ. As the one who established these churches, Paul sent their greetings to the believers in Rome (v. 16).

Romans 16:17-18: Paul told them to watch for and avoid those who caused “dissension and obstacles contrary to the doctrine” they had learned (v. 17). Be careful of them, because they don’t serve Christ, but are in it for themselves (v. 18). They talk in ways that sound good; but be careful, because they aren’t legitimate.

Romans 16:19-20: Paul consistently uses the phrase, “the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you,” in his benedictions (1 Corinthians 16:23; 2 Corinthians 13:13; Galatians 6:18; Ephesians 6:24; Philippians 4:23; Colossians 4:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:28; 2 Thessalonians 3:18; 1 Timothy 6:21; 2 Timothy 4:22; Titus 3:15; Philemon 15:25).

Romans 16:21-24: These were the people Paul poured into, but at the same time he wasn’t alone. Timothy was Paul’s coworker; Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater were his fellow countrymen (v. 21). Tertius, who wrote the letter, was Paul’s secretary (v. 22). Gaius hosted Paul and the church; Erastus handled the money, and Quartus was probably one of Paul’s converts. This is the group who said hello to the remnant of believers in the church at Rome.

Romans 16:25-27: MacArthur describes “the mystery kept silent for long ages” (v. 25) as “the mystery that God would provide salvation for the Gentiles as well as the Jews.”¹ It was something hidden in former times but was now made known.

This was a group of people that the apostle Paul had gotten to know somewhere in his journey, whom he knew would be in Rome when his letter arrived. This provides the biblical basis for a ministry model that Kyle believes is from the Lord. When you look at the life of Jesus, there was a population of about 12,000 to 15,000 around the Sea of Galilee. Jesus poured into 12 people in that population (which aligns with Kyle’s story about receiving a word in Ashville, NC on how to reach a city based on the formula: the square root of one percent of the population). At the time Paul wrote to Rome, there were about one million people in the city. When you take the square root of one percent of that number, Paul needed to pour into about 100 people in the city of Rome. While Paul didn’t list 100 names in this chapter, if you add in the number of people in the home churches or in the households’ names, you have to wonder if that added up to about 100 people.

Here’s Paul’s approach, which he learned from Christ: Paul knew he had to pour into the people. An effective ministry isn’t just preaching to the masses; it’s pouring into the people who will carry on the work of the Lord. The key is discipling people. This was what Paul did. Barnabas poured into Paul and John Mark. At the same time, Paul poured into Priscilla and Aquila. Acts 18:24-28 states Priscilla and Aquila poured into Apollos. Then Apollos took the gospel to Achaia. Paul poured into Titus and

Timothy. In 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul told Timothy to share the gospel with “faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” The end goal is that the remnant sustains itself and through discipleship can continue to carry the gospel. Instead of worrying about pouring into crowds of people, we need to worry about pouring into the person right in front of us. We have to pour into the remnant right in front of us so they can do the same. Remember Barnabas had to overcome his fear of pouring into Saul, who became Paul. Paul was a man who literally changed the world, yet nobody ever says Barnabas’s name. But if Barnabas hadn’t been obedient to the Lord by putting his hands on Paul and praying for him, who knows if others would have ever heard about the Lord. The people listed in this chapter were the people Paul poured into because Barnabas first poured into Paul.

CLOSING

When we find people who are willing to share the gospel message with others, we have to continue to pour into them. Why do we do this? Because our lives have been changed by the Justifier. In the book of Romans, Jesus serves as the Savior who justifies our sins. He has justified us by dying on the cross. That’s the message the remnant embraces. When you embrace this incredible picture of salvation, you can tell everybody—one person at a time.