Gospel Ground

Introduction

Today’s sermon will be briefer than normal because we have the happy job of baptizing today. Want to make time

10 months ago we started going verse by verse through the book of Romans. And today this is the last message in Romans. M Lloyd took 16 years

Our text today is Romans chapter 16. So please go ahead and turn there with me.

This is the last chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans and it starts off with a lot of greetings and names but we don’t want to overlook this chapter.

In Romans 16 we learn the key to church unity and two things the church must know

Read with me verses 1-16, 21-23

I. The Church is Diverse (1-16, 21-23)

Romans 16:1–16 ESV

I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, 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. Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 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. Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

Romans 16:21–23 ESV

Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.

We see a great many names and are reminded that God’s plan has been to draw a people to himself that come from all different backgrounds.

Revelation 7:9 tells us “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,”

The church of Jesus Christ is a diverse people whose commonality lies in Jesus.

If you do a study of the names listed here in Romans 16 you find that they are names common to different social classes and different cultural backgrounds.

Years ago I was leading a youth mission trip in Washington D.C. As a part of the trip we were volunteering at a homeless shelter in the middle of the city and I met a man who worked there. He was a refugee from the Congo. I don’t remember his name—if you know me that doesn’t surprise you—but what I do remember was the instant commonality we had in Jesus Christ.

We came from very different cultures, our personal histories were very different. We didn’t have nearly anything in common. BUT when I asked him about his salavation story and heard him tell me how he came to know Jesus and to be saved—we had a lot to talk about.

We both could speak the language of heaven—let me explain because in today’s church climate there may be some apostle so and so somewhere who actually claims to speak a heavenly langauge.

What I mean is that we both understood sin. We both understood God’s kindness in calling us. We both understood and rejoiced in the goodness of Jesus Christ.

We both were amazed at his sacrifice for us. We both took comfort in God’s sovereignty. We both took joy in the truth of eternity. And what was true for us that day in the cafeteria of a homeless shelter in Washington D.C. is true for every believer of Jesus Christ spanning thousands of years of church history.

Our differences were overshadowed by our commonality in the gospel.

The gospel of Jesus Christ unites people who otherwise would probably never assosciate with one another. And this is what we see here in the first 16 verses of Romans 16.

Tony Merida commenting on this passage says...

“techies can become friends with retirees…rap enthusiasts can hang out with farmers…artists can be in an edifying small group with jocks…seasoned business folks can study the Bible with Hipsters…Duke students can pray with monster truck lovers…and Alabama fans can even marry Auburn fans.”

Jesus says it is our love for one another built on the commonality in being the people of God that will signal to the world that we belong to Jesus.

John 13:35 “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.””

And friends in a world that is radically divided—and increasingly so—the unity of the church should be a refreshing breath of fresh air.

But if we are to have this unity then we must fight for it because unity doesn’t happen all by itself. And here Paul exhorts us in two matters...

II. Watch Out for False Teaching (17-20)

Romans 16:17 “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.”

Paul says to avoid those who cause divisions—those who create obstacles that are contrary to sound doctrine.

And today there is a plethora of teaching that is fueled—not by the words of God contained in the Bible—but instead by emotions, political correctness, and popular opinion.

In 2 Timothy 4:3 Paul says to Timothy “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,”

Friends, does this sound familiar to you?

I’m not saying that this only came true in the 21st century, but one thing we have that they didn’t have in Paul and Timothy’s day is social media. The quickness with which false teaching can spread is unparalleled. A message has never been able to move faster than it does today in 2022.

We are bombarded daily with messages from all sorts of places and one of the results of so much input streaming into our eyes and ears is that the people in the church have beceome desensitized to messages they should avoid.

But you can only avoid something if you know it’s dangerous. If you are aware. And false teaching doesn’t usually seem outright dangerous. In fact it often seems friendly. Look at verse 18 with me.

Romans 16:18 “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.”

How do those who teach falsely—who teach doctrines other than those found in God’s Word—how do they sound?

Paul says they speak smoothly and they flatter. They are well spoken. From articulate, smiling faces they teach from their own appetites and they decieve.

Who does this sound like church?

This reminds me of Satan in the garden—in the likeness of a snake he spoke to Eve in a pleasing manner. He articulately taught that God could not be trusted. That the very thing God had said not to eat was in fact good to eat.

If he had been scary—if he had been obviously evil—Adam and Eve would have recoiled away from the enemy, but they drew near. They listened, they believed, and they were deceived.

And let us not be mistaken…this is still happening today.

Paul casts a judgment on those who believe false teaching. When we are deceived by false teaching Paul says that we are naive.

Naivity is lacking experience, wisdom, or judgment.

When we believe a false teaching about God and what he has said it is because we are lacking in biblical experience and maturity. This is why it is so important that we are a people of God’s word.

It is those who are not practiced in what God has said that are easily swayed from what God has said.

Friends, we can afford to be naive about sports. We can afford to be naive about cars. We can afford to be naive about a great many things but we cannot afford to be naive about God’s Word.

We must watch out for false teaching which means we must be able to recognize it when it is taught. It is only by knowing God’s word that we can be obedient to it. Keep reading with me.

Romans 16:19–20 ESV

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. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

Friends, the church of Jesus made up of many different people must be on guard against false teachers. We want to be like the Romans and be “known for our obedience”.

We want to be wise to the good things of God and naive to the evil things of this world, of this flesh, of our enemy. Amen?

And we can rejoice knowing that as we commit ourselves to our God and all that He has said—we are secure because our God of peace will crush Satan our adversary under our feet. Because we are saved by the one who crushes Satan’s head with the heel of his foot.

So Paul exhorts us to watch out for false teaching but he also exhorts us to be a people comitted to the gospel.

III. Be Committed to the Gospel (25-27)

Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 7:24-27

Matthew 7:24–27 ESV

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

The gospel of Jesus Christ is the rock on which we stand. On Christ the solid rock I stand—all other ground is shifting sand, all other ground is shifting sand.

The gospel is the good news that Jesus is the Christ, he is the messiah.

The good news is that even though the wages of sin is death—and we have all earned death—Jesus has come to rescue us from that death.

The good news is that even though our righteousness is lacking—Jesus provides us with his own righteousness. His own perfect life was put up in our place.

His own body and soul received those wages of death that you and I have sown.

The good news is that Jesus died in your place so that you would not experience judgment from God. Jesus took the judgment that was ours. And it killed him.

The good news is that Jesus did not stay dead!

He rose from the grave. He defeated death. He conquered sin for all His people and this exchange of Jesus for you, of his life for yours can be had by all who come to him.

The good news is that even though it cost him everything it costs you nothing to receive it.

The good news of the gospel is that though we be dead in sin we are made alive in Christ. He saves us. We belong to Him. No one can take us out of His hand. And even if the world comes against us—even if our lives are taken from us—we will—all those who trust Jesus—open our eyes in glory and be with God for eternity.

In any given circumstance I don’t know better news than that.

This is the gospel—the truth of God’s Word that Paul taught and reminds the Romans and us to remain in it. Verse 25

Romans 16:25-26 “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 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—”

Church we must be a people who do not get distracted from the gospel. We already saw that Satan will be defeated and he can’t steal our salvation but he works hard at distracting us from it. And there are too many of God’s people who live distracted lives. Let us commit to not be one of them.

This gospel strengthens us. It is on this core message of the Bible that we must stand and not be moved from.

Our text tells us that this good news was kept secret but now it is revealed.

All the OT saints had the question: “Who is the messiah of Genesis 3:15? Who will you send God to crush Satan and rescue your people?”

Our text tells us that mystery has been revealed. And it is being revealed even this day and hour to all the nations.

According to God’s command the gospel goes forth so that all those God is calling to Himself will come and believe on Christ and be saved.

We must be commited to the gospel because it is who we are, it is the work we have been called to, and it is the most pressing message that has ever existed.

Conclusion

And as people trust Christ the church is built—the kingdom of God is built.

And those of us in the kingdom are all unified and say with one voice what Paul says finally to the Romans

Romans 16:27 “to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ!

And the church says, “Amen.”

And to celebrate this even more—that Christ builds his church—we have 4 people to baptize this morning.

Baptism is the entry point into the church. And today we will baptize Chad, Wyatt, Bert, and Rebekah on their confession of Christ and welcome them as the people of God who belong to His church. Pray with me.