Lessons From A List | Romans 16:1-16

Scripture

• Romans 16:1–16

About this sermon

Introduction: We come to the closing chapter of the book of Romans. The closing chapter can be divided into five parts. You have a list of greetings given to those currently in the city of Rome (vs.1-16). You have a warning given to this church, despite their current healthy condition (vs.17-19). You have a benediction (vs.20). You have greetings given by those who are with Paul in Corinth (vs.21-24). You have a doxology that closes the book (vs.25-27). Our focus this morning is on that opening list of greetings. I want us to focus on this list as a whole. There are some lessons to be learned by the very presence of this long list of greetings. These are lessons that stand out on the surface, but they are worth remembering. I want to give you six. Six lessons from a list. • PAUL WAS A MAN WHO LOVED PEOPLE Paul was a man with many treasured relationships in Christ. We learn a lot about Paul through his letters. The book of Romans is a testimony to the fact that Paul was a thinker. He had a brilliant mind. He had a mind for theology. He did not simply think about theological truth in its simplest forms. He plumbed the depths of those truths and demonstrated the breadth of his understanding by showing how interconnected God’s revelation is in its multiple parts. He thought about and wrote about theological truth with profound depth and breadth. HE WAS A MAN OF GREAT TRAINING PRIOR TO HIS CONVERSION, WHO THEN HAD THAT TRAINING IGNITED BY THE TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST. The saving work of Christ in his life had taken a mind full of biblical information and given access to it through regeneration. Paul was a doer. But ABOVE ALL, PAUL was a shepherd. He was a man who CARED FOR THE SPIRITUAL WELLBEING OF GOD’S PEOPLE. He kept up with people. He maintained contact with people. He cared for them. He valued relationships. This chapter makes mention of 33 names. 24 of them in Rome, 9 of them in Corinth. It testifies to his remembrance, not just of their names, but as he demonstrated in many cases, what characterized each one. The contributions of each one. THIS IS THE KIND OF LOVE THAT SHOULD CHARACTERIZE ALL OF US. Each of us has our own personality. On a spectrum that runs from extreme introvert to extreme extrovert, we would each fall somewhere along that spectrum. Some of us are more outgoing by nature, some of us more reserved by nature. Some of us have our batteries recharged by being around people. Some of us need to find a quiet place to have our batteries recharged. BUT ONE THING EVERY BELIEVER HAS IN COMMON IS THAT WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT BY GOD TO LOVE EACH OTHER. We must be a people who care about the people of God. We must be a people who care to invest in others, be a help to others, and to be mutually edified with others. • PAUL WAS A MAN WHOSE WORK WAS THE CHURCH This second observation is equally important. Paul’s life of service is the work of a shepherd. Here is this man with a brilliant mind. Here is a man writing about theological issues with tremendous depth and breadth. And yet, Paul’s letters always reflect his concern for believers AS BELIEVERS. I know that the letters we have from him are inspired. I know that they are Scripture. But these letters, though the work of the Spirit, are still his work as well. And what interest, what burden, what devotion, do they represent? Who is he writing for? Where is Paul expending his mental and physical energies? He is writing for the church. He is writing for the people represented by the names in this list. He is writing for men and women. He is writing for husbands and wives. He is writing for households, families in Christ. He is writing for churches. He is writing for choice men and spiritual mothers. He is not someone living in an ivory tower, writing material for a select segment of God’s people. He is an apostle, a missionary, a shepherd, who lives and dies; breathes and bleeds, for THE CHURCH. For the common man or woman who has been saved by the grace of God. QUESTION: Does this represent a waste of such giftedness and talent? 2,000 years of church history says no. NOTE: By the way, this is one reason why it is absolutely wrong-headed to suggest that any portion of the NT is not really for the common man or woman in the church. Every part of God’s Word is for the entire church, including the mature and immature in the faith. That is the audience for whom these letters were penned, and all the doctrine contained in these letters. So, when we think of the highest heights of the book of Romans, or the deepest depths, for whom were these things written? They were written for people represented by these names.