Introduction. Read Rom16v17to27

There seem to be three endings to the letter. Paul may have finished dictating it at verse 20 with The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. He may have left Tertius with instructions to send greetings from Timothy and others. This the scribe did in his own words closing with another benediction in verse 24: May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Amen. Paul may then have thought it would be nice to write a doxology in his own hand and so verses 25 to 27 were added by him.

There is no common theme to Paul's concluding remarks. The passage can be divided for convenience into three sections: A final warning; A few well-wishers; A Father's word.

(1) A final warning. See vs17to20.

(a) Those Paul warned against.

The apostle warned the Christians in Rome against those:

• Who caused divisions. Paul encountered divisions in the church at Corinth and he knew how disruptive they could be. See exposition on 1Cor1v10to17 and exposition on 1Cor11v17to34.

• Who made difficulties for Christians of the sort Paul never did. Eg: over circumcision, diet, the Sabbath and ceremonial cleanliness.

• Whose motivation was an appetite for power, prestige and notoriety. Some so called Christians seem to get pleasure out of causing mischief. They thrive on creating strife. I read of one son of Satan who on moving church boasted to his new pastor that he had wrecked his previous fellowship. If I had been that pastor I would have told him that his presence was not wanted.

• With the gift of the gab who win a following by smooth talk and flattery. A certain kind of person is brilliant at buttering up simple folk and leading them astray. One only has to be subject to the patter of a double glazing salesman to realise that some folk are remarkably gifted in this respect. Con artists are even adept at deceiving relatively intelligent people. The classic example of someone being led astray by smooth talk and flattery is Eve who succumbed to Satan's wiles in the Garden of Eden.

The most likely culprits in Rome were probably the legalistic Jewish Christians who wanted Gentile converts to submit to the Law of Moses. There may also have been, from the evidence of Paul's letter, Gentile Christians who thought Jews had no place in the church. The New Covenant was not for them.

Today there are divisive elements of the same sort as in the time of Paul. There are legalists who define Christians by what they do and don't do. There are traditionalists who oppose change of any sort. There are racists who do not welcome people of a different race into 'their' church. Then there are all those who have a hobby horse. Members of this group are numerous. Some cause trouble over the version of the Bible that is used. I knew a young man who caused strife over old religious pictures that hung in the Sunday School room. Sometimes I preached in a church that a few British Israelites attended. They were obsessed with the belief that people of Anglo-Saxon descent were the true descendents of the ten lost tribes of |Israel. Quite a few elderly, nominal Christians in rural areas of Suffolk have a thing about the graveyard. It is 'God's acre' and the tombs become shrines to the dead.

(b) Paul's advice.

Paul wanted the Christians in Rome to:

• Watch out for troublemakers. It is naive to think they do not exist. Some folk are always at the centre of any unrest in the church. We shouldn't be like the immature Christians in Corinth who were easily led astray. They were duped by confident, high principled, eloquent, impressive, false apostles.

• Keep away from people who caused dissent. Paul advised his readers to have nothing to do with them. If divisive believers are isolated, denied the satisfaction of a following and starved of attention they will depart to pastures new.

• Be on their guard. Paul had received good reports of the Christians in Rome. He had much joy over their obedience to Jesus. There is no surer test of a churches' good health than its member's love for and obedience to Jesus. However, Paul was not complacent. He wanted the members of the church of Rome to be discriminating. He wanted them to be wise about what is good. By this the apostle probably means: familiar with good practice such as builds a church up. This would include:
  • Listening to others.

  • Putting the interests of others before one's own.

  • Explaining why decisions need to be taken.

  • Avoid rushing into decisions.

  • Praying together.

  • Mutual support.

  • Sound, Bible based teaching.

  Paul also wanted the brothers in Rome to be innocent about what is evil. By this he means: to be unfamiliar with those evil practices that can destroy a church. These would include:
  • Rampant individualism.

  • High handed leadership.

  • Innovation for the sake of it.

  • An inward looking mentality that shows no concern for those outside the church.

  • Prayerlessness.

  • Preaching detached from reality.

  • An obsession with a few pet doctrines.

Satan is behind the unrest, discontent, dissent, disunity and feuding that ruins churches. The God of peace is the promoter of forgiveness, reconciliation, harmony and unity. Paul firmly believed that in the long run God would defeat all Satan's schemes.

(2) A few well-wishers.

Paul, or possibly Tertius, sums up those who send greetings from Corinth to Rome in a sentence.

Sometimes an epitaph on a gravestone will sum up a person in a sentence. Owen Moore of Battersea, London, has inscribed on his tombstone: Gone away, owin' more than he could pay. The poet John Dryden composed this epitaph for his wife: Here lies my wife; let her lie. Now she's at rest, and so am I. An old man, Jack Finch, who attended our church in Brockley left instructions for the following to be on his tombstone: Called by some a Jeremiah.

I have been summed up in a sentence by my pupils. One boy asked what he thought of Mr Reed replied, "Mr Reed, he was a laugh!" I suppose I should feel grateful that I brought a little laughter into his life!

So what is written about the well-wishers of Corinth?

(a) Timothy, my fellow worker. This means a lot. Timothy could only have worked harmoniously with Paul if he shared his values, his passion for souls and his commitment to the gospel. He was, with the apostle, the co-founder of the church in Corinth and eventually became the pastor of the fellowship at Ephesus.

Many Christian leaders have benefitted from a right hand man or woman. A lot of nonconformist ministers owe much of their effectiveness to their wives. My mother did all my father's visiting for him. She was like an unpaid curate. We should not neglect to pray and support pastor's wives.

(b) Tertius who wrote down this letter. Tertius took down the letter to the Romans from Paul's dictation. It was a relatively humble task. William Barclay writes in his commentary on Romans: Paul's other secretaries are anonymous so that Tertius is the representative of those humble unknown who wrote everything down for Paul. The church owes a great debt to those willing to do uncreative, humdrum and menial tasks. See story of the burnished brasses.

(c) Gaius whose hospitality I and the whole church enjoy. He must have been a very generous man to extend hospitality to the whole church who met in his home. His full name was possibly, Gaius Titus Justus. See Acts 18v7.

It would be a real tribute to be summed up as a man or woman given to hospitality. Could it be said of you: He cooked a good dinner!

(d) Erastus was in all likelihood the treasurer of Corinth. As such he would be in charge of public expenditure in a large and populous city - a position of no little consequence.

In the Old Testament men of influence played a big part in the well being of Israel; men like Joseph, Daniel, Mordecai and Nehemiah.

The church has been blessed through the centuries by its many wealthy benefactors. Well-to-do, influential Christians have financed church building, missionary work and humanitarian causes. A lot of this is done anonymously. It is actually difficult to find out much about Christian benefactors on the internet. The fact remains that none of the great Christian charities could operate without substantial giving by the faithful. I can remember reading in the excellent biography of William and Catherine Booth by Roy Hattersley that while William was evangelising the East End of London his wife was raising money from wealthy contacts in the West End.

(e) Quartus was simply referred to as a brother. Well, it is good to be thought of as a Christian brother - to be brotherly - to love the companionship of other brothers. My fellow elder and friend, Edward, often quoted, 1John3v14: We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. This text gave him assurance that he was a true believer; he undoubtedly loved the brethren.

(3) The Father's word.

The gospel was the Father's word to a world of sinners lost and ruined by the fall. Let us look at what sort of word it is. IT IS:

(a) A transforming word.

The gospel is the wonderful message that Jesus is able to establish us in the family of God. This is what Paul proclaimed - the gospel of God's grace.

The old Sankey hymn - no longer sung by many - conveys the great truth of the gospel:

Sinners Jesus will receive;
Sound the word of grace to all
Who the heavenly pathway leave,
All who linger, all who fall!

Sing it oer and oer again;
Christ receiveth sinful men;
Make the message clear and plain:
Christ receiveth sinful men.

(b) An overlooked word.

The gospel is hinted at throughout the Old Testament but remained hidden, a mystery, to most Jews. In particular, God's plan to welcome Gentiles into his family was not anticipated with any eagerness by most Jews. But God had promised Abraham: And all people on earth will be blessed through you. Gen13v3. In the messianic prophecy of Isaiah chapter 49 God says: I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth. Is49v6.

The Jews were oppressed by Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans. They had very negative feelings towards Gentiles as the little book of Jonah illustrates. It is also true that Judaism came under vicious attack from the Greeks.

By the time of Jesus rules and regulations had been introduced that kept Jew and Gentile apart. A Jew couldn't eat with a Gentile without becoming unclean! However, it must be acknowledged that in spite of this many Gentiles had been drawn to Judaism. The more liberal Jews living among the Gentiles did to some extent prepare the way for the gospel.

There have been long periods since the time of Paul during which his gospel of God's grace has been kept hidden. In Medieval Europe there was not a great emphasis on salvation by grace through faith. This was a truth rediscovered at the Reformation.

Today there are churches where the gospel is not preached and the saving purpose of Christ's death on the cross is rarely proclaimed. There is an emphasis on works in some sections of the church whereas hyper-Calvinists don't bother to invite men and women to believe in Jesus because God's sovereign choice has removed all human responsibility.

(c) A universal word.

Paul was called to make known the purpose of God that, all nations should believe and obey him.

Paul Barnett writes in his commentary on Romans: In this two step program God brought salvation to his historic people the Jews through his minister Christ and then the Gentiles through Christ's minister Paul.

God's will is that all men and women, regardless of race, culture, age, sex, intelligence, wealth or morality should believe in his Son - the one he sent from heaven to be the Saviour of the World.

Therein lies the wisdom and glory of God. Both Jew and Gentile can be saved through faith in Jesus and receive the right to be children of God.

Conclusion.

I believe Paul's purpose in writing this letter to the Romans was to declare that both Jew and Gentile needed saving, that Jew and Gentile could be saved in only one way, by faith in Jesus and that Jew and Gentile could be reconciled to God and one another IN CHRIST.

Robert Mounce concludes his commentary on Romans by writing: The gospel is universal in its purpose. It reaches out to all and promises deliverance to all who respond in faith.

In spite of the difficulties I encountered expounding this great letter - in the end its message is very simple: JESUS SAVES.