Final Exhortation, Greetings and Doxology

Paul has come to the very end of his epistle to the church in Rome and he addresses his final word of caution, warning and exhortation, along with his final greetings before ending it all with a beautiful doxology. To this, Romans 16:17-27, we will turn now in this last blog on Romans.

Warning from Paul comes regarding the trouble-makers, who try to cause divisions in the church in the name of Judaism or any other such legalism. Such people unnecessarily put obstacles in the path of Gentile people to come to the Lord, the Universal God, who sent His Son Jesus to die for the sins of everyone.

Jesus himself cautioned against such people of his time in his discourses. He was referring to the Pharisees and Sadducees and the teachers of the Law. He called them hypocrites, blind guides, snakes and broods of vipers! Matthew 23:13-33. He accused them for travelling land and sea to win converts and then burdening them with man-made rules, which they themselves were not ready to adhere to.

It could be the requirement of circumcision or keeping up the food-code of Moses’ law or Jews eating separately from the Gentiles and so on, which were all Paul's concern and he warns against such Judaizers in his other epistles too. Such miscreants give emphasis on differences between the two and not look for unifying factors in Christ’s message.

We see in in today’s church too. Churches are divided on small and peripheral issues, as whether women should cover their heads or not during worship; whether women can preach in the church or not; whether one gets the front seat and acclamation in front of the congregation or not and so on and so forth. People love positions in the church and the perks that accompany these than selfless service.

We need to concentrate on the core issues of repentance, forgiveness of sins, love for one another and serving the Lord self-sacrificially. All else is not important and are only marginal in importance. They would only divide us.

Paul exhorts the Roman church to stick to the teachings by the Apostles and the first church and to keep away from such trouble-makers. He accuses such people as serving their own appetites and not Christ. Such appetites could be greed for money and luxurious living or emotionally to be on the high, riding on applause and acclamation of the others and importance.

Such people could by smooth talk and by flattery win over gullible church members by deceiving their minds and hearts. We need to be careful of such people even today. There are prosperity-gospel evangelists, who are attractive in their talks and promises, that people get carried away and fall a pray to them. Such deceivers scourge on people and become rich themselves.

The believers in the Roman church, Paul exclaims, are cleverer than to fall for such gimmicks. They are obedient to the truth and so Paul is joyful over them and their conduct. He advises them to be wise about good things, so as to adopt them and innocent about what is evil, so as to ignore and avoid them. He was confident that Roman Christians could handle it.

Didn’t Jesus say something similar? Or was Paul adopting what Jesus said? As he sent his disciples two by two to preach the good news, Jesus said, “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” Matthew 10:16.

In today’s world this will apply to us believers and Christians, to live a life uncontaminated by the vices that we see in the world. We need to study the Word and be thoroughly filled with it, so that we know what is right and what is not and could avoid pitfalls.

This section on exhortation, Paul finishes by saying, let God of peace soon crush Satan under their feet. That is to say that God will crush evil people and Satan who is their mentor, under their feet, in their relentless faith and belief in what the church of Christ has taught. He further desires that the grace of the Lord Jesus to be with them.

Remember what God Almighty promised in the Garden of Eden, while punishing the serpent and his master Satan, in Genesis 3:15? The promise was ‘the Seed’ will crush Satan’s head. Christ on the cross accomplished this crushing of the enemy, Satan, and now it is for us to see him crushed under our feet, by His grace and with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Next Paul turns to send greetings to the Roman church from his friends and fellow-workers. Timothy comes first in the list. He had traveled with Paul during his second missionary journey, Acts 16:1-3. He was Paul’s right-hand man, whom he was shaping to succeed him, after his death, for with this in view Paul had written two epistles to Timothy.

Lucius seems to be from Cyrene and he was a pillar to the church at Antioch. Acts 13:1. Jason, was the one who extended hospitality to Paul at Thessaloniki. Acts 17:5-9, and suffered at the hands of the mob. Sosipater could be Sopater of Berea, who took the share of his church in the collections to Jerusalem along with Paul. Acts 20:4. 

Tertius was the one who wrote this letter and he now greets the Roman church. Paul used to dictate some of his letters, to someone who served as a secretary or a penman to him. In all such cases the last few words or blessing would be written by Paul’s own hands, to prove the authenticity of these letters. 1 Corinthians 16:21; Colossians 4:18; 2 Thessalonians 3:17.  

Gaius was whom Paul had baptized at Corinth. 1 Corinthians 1:14. He had traveled with Paul from Macedonia To Ephesus, Acts 19:29. At Corinth Paul might have been staying with Gaius and the church was meeting at his place.

Erastus was the city’s director of public works, and he sent his greetings. He could have been the local municipal officer in charge of public works and it shows that government officers and officials were already touched by the Lord and were members of the local churches. Quartus is the last name mentioned in this list.

Now comes the doxology, the praise of God, expressed in a liturgical manner. Paul praises God, who is able to establish his readers in the truth by the gospel declared by Paul and the proclamation of Jesus Christ. Here Paul reckons God as someone who is able to establish the believers in the truth, so that human frailty will not break under the attack from satanic forces or any trouble-makers. No one can pluck them away from the Lord Jesus! This was the prayer of Jesus when he made that famous prayer for his disciples. John 17:11-12.  

The proclamation of Jesus Christ was according to the revelations of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known by the command of the eternal God. Every prophet starting from Moses down the line had prophesied about the Messiah, the Savior of human beings, the Christ. Isn’t this what Jesus made clear to the disciples who walked to Emmaus after his resurrection? Luke 24:25-27.

What is this mystery that had been hidden for ages and now revealed? The mystery that salvation is to come to the Gentiles also through Jesus Christ, who was born a Jew. God had opened the way of saving the crown of His creations, the human beings, whether they were Jews or Gentiles, so that each one of them could become the child of God and inherit eternal life.

It is this secret that was entrusted to ministers like Paul. 1 Corinthians 4:1. People living in Paul’s time and now are fortunate in that what prophets for ages had longed to see, the people who lived when Jesus lived on earth were able to see. Matthew 13:17.

And we in today’s world are able to apprehend the truth of proclamation of Christ and trust Him, though we do not see Him. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” John 20:29. Are we not fortunate? Praise be to God, who made this possible!

The purpose of God revealing this mystery now is so that all nations might believe in and obey God through Jesus Christ, who is the way and the life and the truth. John 14:6.

Christianity is not only for Christians or Jews, but it is universal, for the One True God had commanded so. Every Christian needs to keep this in mind for this is the central truth in the very history of mankind. Christ’s gospel is the consummation of all history. And our purpose in life is to believe in such a gospel and proclaim it to the others as well.

To such a God, who is the only wise God, Paul says, be all glory for ever through Jesus Christ. So be it.   

Amen.