“Romans 16”

Thursday, February 16, 2017

A strong local church is made up of Christians who have close, loving, godly relationships with one another.

The first 15 verses of Romans 16 list one Christian after another for whom Paul held special affection.

Priscilla and Aquila (verses 3-5) are mentioned elsewhere in Scripture (see Acts 18; 1 Corinthians 16; 2 Timothy 4:19). But the rest of the people in verses 1-15 are unknown outside of this chapter.

Notice the kinds of things that Paul says about each of those first century saints. What was it that made them so special? They…

                *were firstfruits of Achaia to Christ

                *labored much

                *were in Christ before (Paul)

                *were beloved in the Lord                                

 …among other things. All of these descriptions speak of the spiritual work that these faithful disciples performed for the Lord. Paul noticed when people work for God and so does the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58).

In verses 17-20, Paul issues a warning about false teachers who would deceive weak brethren. They were to be noted and avoided. In spite of what some thought, these were not serving Christ, but their own desires. And ultimately, Paul wanted them to know that God would crush Satan and the great deceiver would be destroyed eternally in hell.

Chapter 16 ends with a reminder that what pleases God is “obedience to the faith.”

--Roger Hillis

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