Reading Romans Backwards

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Romans 16

1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, 2 that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

3 Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. 5 Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. 6 Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. 7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. 8 Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. 9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. 10 Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. 11 Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. 12 Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. 13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. 14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. 15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. 16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

17 I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. 18 For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. 19 For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. 20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

22 I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.

25 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my Gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26 but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

 
 

We’ve made it! For the last three months we have been reading and studying and hearing and meditating on Paul’s great letter.

Now that we are at the end, I can share with you that some people think that the key to understanding Romans is to read it backwards. This is because the lists of names that Paul includes at the end of the letter are made up of three groups of names:

  • Jewish names

  • Greek names

  • Latin names

So here you have this strange gathering of people from different backgrounds and ethnic groups who have been brought together by the faithfulness of Jesus and their faith in Him.

When you start at the end, you see that Paul really wants for the Romans is unity. Unity wasn’t any easier 2,000 years ago than it is today.

Which doesn’t make it any less important. Please be in constant prayer for unity in our church. 

 

Today At Your Thanksgiving Table

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Romans 15:22-33

22 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. 23 But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, 24 I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. 27 For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. 28 When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. 29 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.

30 I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, 31 that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33 May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

 
 

Paul is writing before he heads to Jerusalem. We know from the Book of Acts that once Paul arrives in Jerusalem, a riotous mob tries to kill him and he is taken into Roman custody. Eventually, he will be sent to Rome to be judged before Caesar.

The reason he is going to Jerusalem is to take a contribution he has collected from the Gentile churches back to the struggling Jerusalem (Jewish) church.

Paul’s reason for wanting to visit Rome is that he hopes the churches there will be his home base so he can take the Gospel to Spain, which would be the “end of the earth.”

Generosity and unity are signs of the work of the Holy Spirit. At your Thanksgiving table how can you show generosity and pursue unity?

 

Our 2022 Bible Reading Plan Begins Today!

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Today we begin our reading plan through Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians; we’ll finish on Friday, January 28. The readings are assigned on weekdays only, and each day’s reading is brief and manageable. You can do this.

Each weekday morning I’ll post here a brief reflection on that day’s reading to help you get the most out of what you’ve read. (Posts go live on my blog at 3:30 AM and are emailed to the people on my Bible email list at 4:00 AM. Check your spam folder if you are missing a post.) My goal is not to offer exhaustive commentary on the reading, but rather to give you one thing that helps tie the reading to your everyday life.

My sermon series on Ephesians starts this coming weekend, and our first Ephesians churchwide Bible study will be Wednesday, January 12, 6-7 PM, with dinner to follow.

Here we go.

 
 

Today’s Reading: Ephesians 1:1-10

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:

2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

 
 

The main idea of this letter, as well as the main idea of the long, run-on sentence in today’s reading—verses 3-14 are actually one long sentence in Greek!—is found in verse 10:

The purpose of all that God has done is “to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ”.

We’ll talk much more about the concept of unity, but it’s not hard to see the need for it these days.

We’re a divided people:

  • skin color;

  • language;

  • citizenship;

  • party;

  • ideology;

  • language;

  • location;

  • etc.

Divisions breed more divisions, which breed hatred and misery.

But we’re actually all part of the same human family, and God did something in Jesus to bring us all back together.

This is what Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is about, and this is why we’re going to read, study, and savor it to kick off this new year.

 
 

Today’s Question for Reflection

How can you be a unifier in the name of Christ today?

We Cannot Let This Election Divide Us! - Psalm 133

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Psalm 133 is about the beauty of unity among God’s people.

133 Behold, how good and pleasant it is
    when brothers dwell in unity!
2 It is like the precious oil on the head,
    running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
    running down on the collar of his robes!
3 It is like the dew of Hermon,
    which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the Lord has commanded the blessing,
    life forevermore.

Unity among God’s people, says the psalmist, is like luxuriant oil on the head (in the ancient world, it was a good thing and a sign of prosperity to be anointed with oil). It’s like the life-giving dew that gathers on Mount Hermon, north of the sea of Galilee, and gives water to Israel.

Brothers and sisters, let us not let this coming presidential election divide us!

 
 

Some Simple Ways to Maintain Unity and Fight Off Hate

  • Pray for friends who support the other party.

  • Pray for the candidates by name.

  • Avoid social media as much as possible—it will just get you riled up.

  • Remember:

13 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

In other words, loving the people who are wrong is more important than being right!