Romans 16

Romans 16 NIV
 ¹ I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. ² I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.
 ³ Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus. ⁴ They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
 ⁵ Greet 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.
 ⁶ Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.
 ⁷ Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.
 ⁸ Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.
 ⁹ Greet Urbanus, our co-worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.
 ¹⁰ Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.
   Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.
 ¹¹ Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.
   Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.
 ¹² Greet 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.
 ¹³ Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.
 ¹⁴ Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.
 ¹⁵ Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord’s people who are with them.

I sometimes forget that the books of the New Testament in the Bible are a collection of letters written to the churches.  Here we read Paul's greetings to friends and church members.  Some for help and some for a simple "Hello".

These verses got me thinking of the people named in the Bible.  Some for examples for us to follow and some for examples NOT to follow.  It makes me wonder how I will be remembered.  I hope to be remembered as King David is and that being a Man after God's own heart.  Yeah he screwed up a lot, but he always came back to God.  I screw up, but I always come back to God.  Then there is the apostle Peter.  He was impulsive with his "Ready! Fire! Aim! personality, but once he was sold our to Christ the change in his life was incredible.

 ¹⁶ Greet one another with a holy kiss.
   All the churches of Christ send greetings. 

This is a cultural thing, but I sure did love this verse growing up in youth group and we tried to make it part of our culture.  Holy hugs and kisses all around.

 ¹⁷ I urge you, brothers and sisters, 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. ¹⁸ For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. ¹⁹ Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

There are people in this world that thrive on conflict and there are those that know enough "religion" to sound good, but they are not from God.  The best way to know who they are is to KNOW what you believe.  A bank teller does not study counterfeit bills.  They know what the real ones look like so they can spot a fake immediately.   Now they have pens that will spot at fake and we have the Word of God that we can turn to should we have doubts concerning someones teaching.

 ²⁰ The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
   The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

There will be an end to our struggle.  If Paul thought it was soon 2000 years ago, it is that much sooner now.

 ²¹ Timothy, my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.
 ²² I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.
 ²³ Gaius, 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. ^[24]

More greetings and you will also note that Paul had a scribe named Tertius who took this opportunity to say hello.  You will note there is no verse 24.  Keep in mind the verses were added to help us find certain passages and are not included in the original letters.  The NIV translators for reasons unknown to me did not include, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.", that is found in the KJV.

 ²⁵ Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past,

Once again Paul brings everything back to Christ.

 ²⁶ but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith—

He reminds us that this is not his word but God's word and he is obeying God by sharing it.

 ²⁷ to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen. 

I agree.  To God be the glory.


This concludes my study of the Book of Romans.  I hope you learned as much as I did.  Much of this was a review for me, but there are there as still sections that puzzle me and I'll revisit those another time.  Next up is Philippians.  The emphasis of that book is Joy.  Hopefully we will begin that tomorrow.

God Bless.