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Living a Love-Filled Life, Part III
Romans 16

• The last several chapters of Romans are all about walking out a life of love for the church.

• We pick up in Romans 16 as Paul is talking about himself and his desire to eventually visit Rome.

• We see God’s deep heart for unity and love.  Great love for Jesus always leads to unity in the church.

• It is amazing just how much God loves unity!

o In the Old Testament God killed those who came against the work of Him and His anointed.

o The letters to the Galatians and Ephesians are all about unity.

o Paul is finishing out this great letter with a call to deep unity and love.

Romans 15:30-33
• Through the love of the Spirit, by God’s love for the brethren, Paul is striving, agonizing, for the people of God.

• Paul wants them to agonize in prayer through the love of God.

• Three things he wants the disciples to pray for:

1. Deliverance from persecution from those who oppose the gospel

• He is writing in the same time period as Acts 20, and he knows bonds and afflictions await him by going back to Jerusalem.

• He knows that trouble is ahead but he knows it is God’s will.

2. His service to be acceptable to the saints

 He wants prayer that his offering will be graciously received.  Sometimes our love is not received.

3. He will minister and come to them in joy

 Paul wanted to minister out of joy!

 He needed refreshment and longed for refreshment from these believers.

• The Bible says:

James 5:16b
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

• But the Bible also says,

2 Corinthians 4:4
…whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

• Your prayers are a battle; their minds are blinded!  You should pray with love in your heart.

Chapter 16 is very interesting in that Paul is now going to name 26 people.  This is a harbor of love for him to push into for rest and friendship.

• At least 11 of these people he has previous relationship with.

• 9 of them are women.

• 4 time he says “beloved.”

• Sometimes we might think of Paul as not really people oriented, but I get the impression that if you were on his warm side, he really loved you.  Now, you didn’t want to be on his cold side.  For example in 2 Timothy Paul refers to Alexander, the coppersmith, and eludes that God will get him (similar to David when he said, “kill them all”).

• You wanted to be on the warm side of Paul.

• All of us are not Apostle Paul’s, but Paul could not do the work he needed to do without these people.

• Ex.  At MSC, as a Mountain Springer, you are all assisting, vital to the ministry and growth of this fellowship.  You all play a dynamic part in reaching people with the love of Christ.

Vs. 1-2
• Phoebe is a servant, diakonon, a deacon.  She is probably a deaconess of the Lord.  She may even be the woman bringing this epistle.

• She is probably a single widow because she would not have been allowed to travel alone as a single woman, but as a widow she could.

• She was giving her singleness to the Lord, probably full-time.

• Ex.  Even at MSC, we have so many widowed women and single women who are giving their lives for the gospel.

• Paul asks the church to assist her in any needs she might have.

Vs. 3-5
• “…risked their own necks” literally means they put their necks “under the axe.”

• They left Rome when Caesar made a decree (Acts 18) and then were at Corinth, then in Ephesus, and then they return to Rome.

• They are church planters (2 Timothy 4) that continue to minister with Paul.

• Ex.  I look for Priscillas and Aquillas who are willing to minister together and lay down their lives for the gospel.  Your pastors at MSC have to have that mindset.  They have to be willing to risk all for the gospel.

• God takes note of the fellowship that is in their home!  If you are a leader or involved in a Life Group, God takes note of what is happening in your home.

• And the first convert in Achaia is still walking with the Lord.

Vs. 6-7
• Andronicus sounds like he is from Star Trek.

• Evidently these were fellow prisoners with Paul for the gospel in the past.  They were saved before Paul.

Vs. 8-10
• Aristobulus is the grandson of Herod the Great, according to Josephus, the great Jewish historian.

Vs. 11-13
• Paul really knows the names of these believers; I can’t even pronounce them.

• This is the Rufus of Mark 15, his father is Simon the Cyrene who carried the cross of Christ for Him on that fateful day.

• They tied the cross bar to the arms.  Jesus was so weak He could no longer carry the cross bar.  Little did Simon know that the Passover Lamb was right before him.  Simon, who came to celebrate the Passover lamb, was now carrying the cross of The Passover Lamb!!

• And now Paul knows the son and wife of Rufus.  I wonder what it would have been like to ask Simon questions about that fateful day.  At the house of Rufus, people would ask, “What was it like?”, “What did he say?” Can you imagine that?

• “Deny yourself and carry your cross.”  Simon really knew what that meant!  Paul knew Simon’s son and his wife!  I’ll bet Paul drank deeply at the house of Rufus. 

Vs. 14-16
• We do greet each other today with a handshake!  No holy kissin’ going on, please.

• This is why we take time to greet each other every service; this is our “holy kiss.”

• One historian says that by this time, the women and men were on opposite sides of the church and the holy kiss would have been men with men and women with women, and I heard one man say, “I can’t think of anything that would make my kiss more holy than having to kiss a man.”

Vs. 17
• In the tenses it means “continually” look out for those who are easily offended and cause divisions within the church; watch out for those people.

• Learn to live an “unoffendable life!”  It will set you free and give you so much joy.  Learn to “turn the other cheek” and give people the benefit of doubt.

• Ex.  I have a hard time with people who cause divisions!  And I understand that we are all at different places, and some people here have just gotten saved and they just don’t know how to live in harmony with those who they disagree with.  They’ve never done that before, and I have grace for them. 

o But the people who have a definite agenda to lure people into their camp, who have an offense and they are deliberately luring people and causing division because they have “inside information” that no one else knows, watch out for them.

o They are deliberately sowing discord through gossip and innuendo.

o Paul says, “take note” of those who cause divisions.

o Church discipline:  Restore the sinner; put out the person who causes division; and settle your personal differences as best you can.  Some people will just not settle, but you try your best.

o But, our problem is we put out the sinner; we restore the person who causes divisions and we never settle our differences!

• Note or mark those who cause divisions!  Don’t listen to them and beware of their agendas.

• And you can know their agendas.  That’s all they talk about, think about, and email about, their little agendas.

• Ex.  We all have temptations to gossip or find out “inside information” or gather people toward criticism, and let me encourage you to avoid being that person and listening to such people.  Delete those emails.

Hebrews 12:15
looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

o Defiled means “dirty.”  It makes you dirty.

o It makes your children dirty too.

o I have seen gossip defile some of the best of families.  It’s so sad.

o Don’t fall victim to a “root of bitterness.”

Vs. 18
• It is the innocent and the sweetest of people who get lured in by flattery!

• The church is supposed to be a place where you can let down your guard and trust people.

• It is supposed to be a family, and not that kind of environment where wolves can come in and take advantage of people.

• The church is filled with humans, and you will never find the perfect church.

• If you find the perfect church, don’t join it or you will ruin it!

• But, mark those who teach strange doctrines, wacko doctrines, agendas that use flattery to draw simple/innocent people to themselves!

• Avoid these people!  Avoid gossips!  Pray they would repent and don’t hang out with them.

Vs. 19
• Here is great advice:  be simple about evil.  I don’t want to know about evil; I don’t want to know what is the latest gossip or controversy.

• Hang up the phone with such people, delete their emails.
Vs. 20
• I love this.  Satan is going to be crushed!!

• Under your feet!  When you walk in unity and love, Satan gets crushed under your feet.  Cool.

• Division within a church is always Satanic!!  God loves the church, and when anyone brings division, he/she stands against God.  Now that’s scary.

• Love, fight for, unity!!

Psalms 133
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil upon the head,
Running down on the beard,
The beard of Aaron,
Running down on the edge of his garments.
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
Descending upon the mountains of Zion;
For there the LORD commanded the blessing--
Life forevermore.

Vs. 21
Philippians 2:19-24
But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged when I know your state. 20 For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state. 21 For all seek their own, not the things which are of Christ Jesus. 22 But you know his proven character, that as a son with his father he served with me in the gospel. 23 Therefore I hope to send him at once, as soon as I see how it goes with me. 24 But I trust in the Lord that I myself shall also come shortly.

• Timothy is a veteran brother who Paul really trusts.  They have been in battle together.

• Ex. I have such brothers in my life that I deeply trust.  They do not seek their own but love Jesus, love the gospel, and they love MSC, they love Liz and me.  They have proven character, like sons to me.

Vs. 22
• Tertius is the secretary, or scribe, writing the epistle for Paul.

Vs. 23-27
• “establish” is passive, meaning that you can’t be established in your own power, but the Holy Spirit must do it in you.

• And so concludes the greatest letter ever written.  Now after 32 messages, we come to the end of this great book.

• And so, Paul concludes that knowing the doctrine of the faith, following that doctrine should now guide us into great love:

o Great love for God—loving Him with all of our hearts and heads.

o Great love for God’s people—loving the way Jesus loved.

o Great love for the cause of Christ around the world.

o Great love for unity in the church—avoiding those who bring division.

o This is a God, a people, and a cause worth dying for!