speaker-0: This is 21st Century Reformation at 21stR dot org. Anthony Romans chapter 16. I'm almost sad to see this coming to a conclusion here. I want to just keep going, but for goodness sakes, I think I could start over again. I think I could and just begin reading afresh. Absolutely, it's wonderful. Yeah,
speaker-1: Everything.
speaker-0: beautiful, just amazing. So what we've got then in this last chapter largely is a lot of personal greetings with the various people at Rome that Paul does know apparently. Yeah.
speaker-1: It does.
speaker-0: So he's he knows these people personally. Yes. though he has not actually been to Rome and seen the
speaker-1: Didn't find the church there apparently. It would not find the church there. That's right.
speaker-0: So anyway he's going to begin by saying I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Sincrea. Mm-hmm.
speaker-1: Probably a what the Greeks call a prostatis, a patroness. Mm. Probably a financial benefactor. And she's a woman. She's called a servant here. Not necessarily a deaconess as a special quad. Doesn't matter. She's a servant. The Akonos, she's a servant of the church, probably in a financial sense, as a patroness. A benefiting
speaker-0: Factor is benefactor, yeah.
speaker-1: to the fact there were wealthy ladies in the first century. It's an honorable nonsense to say they were all chattels and uneducated people. Lydia would be another one. You know, they had businesses. This lady obviously had substance, financial substance, and blessed the church in that way, probably.
speaker-0: very ingenious women who
speaker-1: Yeah.
speaker-0: were were very clever at what they did and very good. Yes. so he wants the folks at Rome verse two to welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and help her in whatever she may have need from you. Yes. For she has been a patron of many and of myself as well. So she's been she has been a benefactor and a great help, perhaps a financial aid yes to many.
speaker-1: Very probably.
speaker-0: Yeah. Verse three, greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life. Wow. How graphic is that. They risk their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. I just really like that.
speaker-1: And he gives her the the name of Prisca is is probably a affectionate shortening verse, version, a shortened version of Priscilla. Yes, yes.
speaker-0: Yes, yes.
speaker-1: And she's the leader in act, she seems to be the spokesperson. She does the talking. Yes. And very bright. Yes. And the leader named ahead of her husband here.
speaker-0: So greet Prisca and Aquila. Okay. I think Paul had very high regard for Priscilla, don't you? She was very dear to him, I think. Aquila.
speaker-1: There are places in the Gospels also where the women don't get full mention in the Greek it says that many others followed and were supporting Jesus. Yes. And it's many other women in the Greek, it's it's females.
speaker-0: By the way, in everyone he's mentioned so far, he always brings in this this beautiful phrase of his in Christ. he's he mentions Phoebe. Yes. And she's this wonderful person in the Lord. You know, greet her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints. So it's all about this relationship with Christ. Prisca and Quillop My fellow workers in Christ Jesus. So it's he's he's what's tying it all together, isn't he?
speaker-1: Harmony with Christ, within the sphere of Christ, absolutely.
speaker-0: Verse five, greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Eponidus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. I love that. Greet in verse six, greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. We don't know exactly what Mary this might have been. There were many wonderful women who carried that name. Verse seven says greet Andronicus and Junior.
speaker-1: Tunia, who may or may not be a woman, it's not quite clear.
speaker-0: Not sure about the the gender there.
speaker-1: Seems to be an apostle, among the apostles, and it's it's uncertain. Possibly a woman who was a missionary. That's that's possible. But I think it's a bit uncertain. her name is or his name, whatever it turns out to be eventually, is Yunias.
speaker-0: but he's gonna say that those people then, on Andronicus and Junior, are my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. So yeah, apparently his people.
speaker-1: I think some fellow Jewish people probably outstanding among the apostles, their leaders. Good. Some have argued that means they're out they're viewed as outstanding by the apostles to avoid the difficulty. I don't think we need to go with that necessarily. But you know there are obs are obscurities in Scripture. Knowing the Greek doesn't
speaker-0: And we don't necessarily have to resolve every one of these issues. Not a lot hinges on some of
speaker-1: Yeah. We'll ask for the messianic banquet. We'll call there and say, What did you mean exactly by this word here?
speaker-0: That's right. They are well known to the apostles. Verse six, and they were in Christ before me. So here's this in Christ again. Be interesting to go through this chapter and just underline the relationship, connection to Christ that he is is binding all this together with. It's Verse eight, Greet Amplietus, my beloved in the Lord. Verse nine, greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ. There it is again, the in Christ. I like that. Yes. And my beloved Stochis, greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. Verse eleven, greet my kinsman Herodian. And so there's another kinsperson from some kinsfolks over in
speaker-1: Relatives, cl maybe relatives. Rather than just Benjamites or Jews. Right. They may be they're close relatives. Who knows?
speaker-0: Could be. And in Rome. That's interesting. Yeah. Greet those in the Lord. and there's that in the Lord again, I love it, who belong to the family of Narcissus. Verse 12, greet those workers in the Lord, Trifhenia and Trifosa. Greet the beloved Perseus, who has worked hard in the Lord. There we are again. Yes. With this in the Lord. Thirteen, greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord. Also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. Yes. I love her.
speaker-1: Not not literally bloodline, but spiritual mother to me, I suppose, yes.
speaker-0: Absolutely. That's that's quite beautiful, don't you think? yes. Yeah. Tis. Wow. Verse fourteen. Greet Asyncritus, Philigon, Hermes, Patrobus, Hermos, and the brothers who are with them. that's beautiful.
speaker-1: Mm-hmm.
speaker-0: Verse fifteen. Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus, and her his sister And Olympus and all the saints who are with them greeting one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. Wow. That's tremendous.
speaker-1: family affairs, no.
speaker-0: In reality it seems like Paul has such a connection and relationship with with so many of these good Christian people in in Rome. It's beautiful. Indeed.
speaker-1: He knows them personally. Yeah.
speaker-0: I really like that. And then seventeen greet one another with the Holy Kiss. I like the all the churches of Christ greet you. I I I guess Paul is speaking for all those churches that he's been connected with. He's sending greetings to all to the church. Yes,
speaker-1: Or Messiah's churches. Yeah.
speaker-0: of course. And again, all the churches of Christ with the little C, if you will, I think it's probably appropriate. All the churches of Christ greet you. very good. Then in verse 17 he says, 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. Yes. Avoid them.
speaker-1: Yeah.
speaker-0: So we do have this difference, I think, between what we've seen in the fourteenth chapter and the weak brother who who we are to receive because Christ has received him or her. But here we have a different story. we have those who are causing divisions. Yes. this is taking things a step f much too far. You have a weak brother who insists that some foods are unclean and he's going to assure that it he wants all everybody to follow him in that or go with that. This is terribly wrong and it creates a horrible, horrible problem. He says watch out for those folks. They're creating obstacles contrary to the teaching that you have been taught, teaching such as Paul has been teaching in this very book, I think, in this very writing to the Romans. Absolutely. And
speaker-1: doctrine. In fact I think your translation rendered that doctrine which you
speaker-0: Yeah, yeah.
speaker-1: so people who say I don't believe in teaching doctrine because that's divisive are missing the point in this verse. Of course they'd be teaching doctrines and avoiding the doctrines that are false.
speaker-0: Without this teaching we have nothing. There's nothing there is
speaker-1: No substance, no scaffolding to Christianity at all without the doctrines.
speaker-0: So there is a point here, the same Paul that wrote the fourteenth chapter about bearing with your weak brother. Yes. There is another issue here. The same Paul is going to tell us that those who would cause divisions among the folks and bring perhaps their weakness and want to foister that on the on the on the congregation, the people, you must esteem one day as holy above others. you you must treat some foods as unclean. Yes. That person. Yes. He says this is It's very serious. And that person we would avoid. You you're not going to welcome them in the assembly. So there is a time in which people have gone too far and we have to we have to stop that. Otherwise the entire congregation gets misled and and weak in state as they pr follow after these inaccurate.
speaker-1: What would Paul make of situation now though? I mean he's struggling reestablish
speaker-0: my.
speaker-1: unity even then. What is he going to make of thirty thousand differing denominations? Herculean
speaker-0: my god
speaker-1: task that he would face in our day.
speaker-0: Verse eighteen 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, the immature perhaps, those who are maybe of good heart, but they are naive. They're not mature in their ability to understand and realize.
speaker-1: They're unsuspecting, my version says. That suggests you better be suspicious as a Christian, right? These people are gullible and unsuspecting. That's a lesson then that we should be suspicious in the right way. Unsuspecting, checking the doctrines to see if they're true or false. I love that our Lord Christ, it's an unusual occurrence of the abbreviated form of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Christ, Luke two eleven, today is born in the city of Bethlehem, the one who is the Lord Christ. Mm. Not the Lord God.
speaker-0: Yes, of course.
speaker-1: Our Lord Christ. Our Lord is impossible for our Yahweh. It doesn't work. Nobody says our Yahweh, my Yahweh. They all do say our Lord based on the my Lord of Psalm one hundred and ten one.
speaker-0: So here we are at Psalm one ten and one again. It's everywhere you turn, it's wonderful. If we can understand that one passage, that one verse. Psalm one ten and one, we can get the whole of the New Testament going right and and we're doing one. Something I was thinking about too. I've been in church before, Anthony, where that the minister, the pastor, would teach this this business about avoiding people and being ware of those who didn't and there's a connection made sometimes by pastors say, now you people out there just don't believe anybody that says anything that is not what I told you. but then they don't invite people to scrutinize themselves. else or to scrutinize what they have been telling the people. So it's it's not fair to appropriate Paul's words here when maybe you're not teaching what Paul taught. Wouldn't it be unfair to for a person who is going to say that some foods are unclean and you shouldn't be eating those to be saying that and then saying, now, by the way, anybody that doesn't receive that, you know Paul said don't don't receive them or don't don't accept that. Actually it's a misappropriation because you're the one Paul wants people to watch out for if you're teaching that.
speaker-1: But if you think you're an apostle and you really imply that you're an apostle, you're infallible, you know, don't ever believe anything except what I, as your mentor, teaches you you're assuming apostolic authority.
speaker-0: Verse nineteen for your obedience is known to all. That's interesting because isn't that a flashback to chapter one where he talked about the obedience of
speaker-1: that's a lovely. Yes, obedience is a tough word for us, isn't it? We're we're rather not keen on obedience to anybody, even though we're very free free spirits. But there is this obey your leaders in Hebrews, but you're supposed to obey your leaders, provided always, of course, that they are genuinely constituted leaders in Christ. They may not be.
speaker-0: And he wants these the the writer of Hebrews wants these to be the people who are s have been speaking to you the word of God. Yes, not just their own stuff, as it were. Their own thing. So For your obedience is known to all. that's wonderful. Their faith is known everywhere, and their obedience of the faith, I suppose, is known everywhere. 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. my goodness.
speaker-1: We're back to Genesis.
speaker-0: To know the distinction, to know the difference. Are we as Christians mature enough? Have we studied the words of Paul well enough? Yeah. The words of Romans and Galatians and Hebrews as we've been looking into those books. have we looked into those things with enough effort to to bring out understanding that would allow us indeed to know the difference then. What really is good and what's evil. When someone comes along and says, You you are supposed to be honoring one day above all the others Do we know the scripture well enough to answer that and help them to understand? You know, it's or that's some foods are unclean. Can we help people to understand? We need to become mature enough that we're not swept away by those ideas. they're simply not right. may seem right on the surface to people, but they're simply not right. Verse 20. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
speaker-1: And that's the reference to Genesis, you know, the original promise that the Messiah to come would in fact crush and bruise Satan. We're
speaker-0: The Genesis three, yes, that's right.
speaker-1: already in Genesis because the problem was that they couldn't discern between good and evil.
speaker-0: Yes.
speaker-1: And so the Satan problem is being solved here. Of course this this is the Satan. It's not human nature. We're talking about the external fallen angel, the Satan in scripture which is absolutely not just human nature. Yes. This would turn many, many texts into nonsense, unfortunately.
speaker-0: Verse twenty one. Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you. So do Lucius and Jason and Saucypater, my kinsmen. So these are kinsmen again with Paul. We don't know if he really means his close relatives or not for sure.
speaker-1: Okay.
speaker-0: But but anyway, they're certainly precious people to Paul. Mm-hmm. Verse twenty two, I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. There's that wonderful in the Lord again. as I say it would be interesting just to underline all the in the Lords and in Christ that we find in this verse sixteen. Gaius, verse twenty nine, who is host to me, and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Cortus, greet you. And and now we're gonna have One last go at an amazing doxology is we've seen these in Paul so much. Yes. Verse twenty five Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel, which we've already learned is actually the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the gospel of God. Yes. And the but according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ not just about preaching.
speaker-1: Not just about
speaker-0: His preaching. That's why that's
speaker-1: him.
speaker-0: right. So now we're not only what Jesus preached, but also what he is preaching in Paul and others and and his yes work in spirit. According to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages. Wow. Verse twenty six, but has now been disclosed through the prophetic writings. Has been made known to all nations according to the command of the eternal God. I love that. Yes. To bring about the obedience of faith. there it is again. It's like bookends, isn't it?
speaker-1: It frames the book of Romans. What a wonderful phrase to introduce into one's preaching, right? A lot of obedience of faith.
speaker-0: I love it. So so we're talking about the eternal God and bringing about obedience of faith
speaker-1: Yeah to all nations.
speaker-0: to and then he's going to say in verse twenty seven, to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ. Amen.
speaker-1: That's an obvious unitary monotheistic statement. The only one who is the wise God, through somebody who isn't that only one God, but is somebody else, namely the Messiah, Jesus Messiah. So he ends in a a glorious affirmation of the Shema of Jesus. The Lord our God is one Lord and he wants us to understand at the beginning and at the end that this is the God we're talking about, not any old God. God. so the shocking, stultifying almost question that faces the public is are we following if we follow a triune God, a Trinitarian God, are we in fact in violation of the words of Scripture here in defining God
speaker-0: when we want to talk about the eternal God, we should make sure that we mean by that the same one and I emphasize the word one, the same one that Paul meant and the same one that Jesus meant isn't
speaker-1: This is the yet unexplored question in our time. A question that people will not touch with a barge pole, as we say. It's too awful to contemplate. Could the church have gone astray from the second century on the fundamental issue of defining God and Jesus and the gospel?
speaker-0: Properly. Yes.
speaker-1: That's the that's the question that I think. It's above all questions.
speaker-0: It's all about defining these words properly in in the Lord. Yes. And making sure that when we say these words we mean the same thing by them. Yes. That this writer meant, that Paul meant. Right. And that Jesus meant. Yes.
speaker-1: yes, there was one point there about the mystery kept secret. That reminds us of the mystery of the Kingdom of God, gospel that Jesus spoke of. And it's now been revealed through the scriptures, including the prophets. Yes. And I know it not just revealed to Paul, as though he had a special gospel, revealed as it says elsewhere, to all the apostles. Yes. Not just Paul, giving us the excuse for the frenzied notion that Paul's got a gospel that nobody else had. I mean that's just an absolute
speaker-0: It's it's it's absurd. It's impossible.
speaker-1: Everything.
speaker-0: beautiful, just amazing. So what we've got then in this last chapter largely is a lot of personal greetings with the various people at Rome that Paul does know apparently. Yeah.
speaker-1: It does.
speaker-0: So he's he knows these people personally. Yes. though he has not actually been to Rome and seen the
speaker-1: Didn't find the church there apparently. It would not find the church there. That's right.
speaker-0: So anyway he's going to begin by saying I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Sincrea. Mm-hmm.
speaker-1: Probably a what the Greeks call a prostatis, a patroness. Mm. Probably a financial benefactor. And she's a woman. She's called a servant here. Not necessarily a deaconess as a special quad. Doesn't matter. She's a servant. The Akonos, she's a servant of the church, probably in a financial sense, as a patroness. A benefiting
speaker-0: Factor is benefactor, yeah.
speaker-1: to the fact there were wealthy ladies in the first century. It's an honorable nonsense to say they were all chattels and uneducated people. Lydia would be another one. You know, they had businesses. This lady obviously had substance, financial substance, and blessed the church in that way, probably.
speaker-0: very ingenious women who
speaker-1: Yeah.
speaker-0: were were very clever at what they did and very good. Yes. so he wants the folks at Rome verse two to welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and help her in whatever she may have need from you. Yes. For she has been a patron of many and of myself as well. So she's been she has been a benefactor and a great help, perhaps a financial aid yes to many.
speaker-1: Very probably.
speaker-0: Yeah. Verse three, greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life. Wow. How graphic is that. They risk their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. I just really like that.
speaker-1: And he gives her the the name of Prisca is is probably a affectionate shortening verse, version, a shortened version of Priscilla. Yes, yes.
speaker-0: Yes, yes.
speaker-1: And she's the leader in act, she seems to be the spokesperson. She does the talking. Yes. And very bright. Yes. And the leader named ahead of her husband here.
speaker-0: So greet Prisca and Aquila. Okay. I think Paul had very high regard for Priscilla, don't you? She was very dear to him, I think. Aquila.
speaker-1: There are places in the Gospels also where the women don't get full mention in the Greek it says that many others followed and were supporting Jesus. Yes. And it's many other women in the Greek, it's it's females.
speaker-0: By the way, in everyone he's mentioned so far, he always brings in this this beautiful phrase of his in Christ. he's he mentions Phoebe. Yes. And she's this wonderful person in the Lord. You know, greet her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints. So it's all about this relationship with Christ. Prisca and Quillop My fellow workers in Christ Jesus. So it's he's he's what's tying it all together, isn't he?
speaker-1: Harmony with Christ, within the sphere of Christ, absolutely.
speaker-0: Verse five, greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Eponidus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. I love that. Greet in verse six, greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. We don't know exactly what Mary this might have been. There were many wonderful women who carried that name. Verse seven says greet Andronicus and Junior.
speaker-1: Tunia, who may or may not be a woman, it's not quite clear.
speaker-0: Not sure about the the gender there.
speaker-1: Seems to be an apostle, among the apostles, and it's it's uncertain. Possibly a woman who was a missionary. That's that's possible. But I think it's a bit uncertain. her name is or his name, whatever it turns out to be eventually, is Yunias.
speaker-0: but he's gonna say that those people then, on Andronicus and Junior, are my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. So yeah, apparently his people.
speaker-1: I think some fellow Jewish people probably outstanding among the apostles, their leaders. Good. Some have argued that means they're out they're viewed as outstanding by the apostles to avoid the difficulty. I don't think we need to go with that necessarily. But you know there are obs are obscurities in Scripture. Knowing the Greek doesn't
speaker-0: And we don't necessarily have to resolve every one of these issues. Not a lot hinges on some of
speaker-1: Yeah. We'll ask for the messianic banquet. We'll call there and say, What did you mean exactly by this word here?
speaker-0: That's right. They are well known to the apostles. Verse six, and they were in Christ before me. So here's this in Christ again. Be interesting to go through this chapter and just underline the relationship, connection to Christ that he is is binding all this together with. It's Verse eight, Greet Amplietus, my beloved in the Lord. Verse nine, greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ. There it is again, the in Christ. I like that. Yes. And my beloved Stochis, greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. Verse eleven, greet my kinsman Herodian. And so there's another kinsperson from some kinsfolks over in
speaker-1: Relatives, cl maybe relatives. Rather than just Benjamites or Jews. Right. They may be they're close relatives. Who knows?
speaker-0: Could be. And in Rome. That's interesting. Yeah. Greet those in the Lord. and there's that in the Lord again, I love it, who belong to the family of Narcissus. Verse 12, greet those workers in the Lord, Trifhenia and Trifosa. Greet the beloved Perseus, who has worked hard in the Lord. There we are again. Yes. With this in the Lord. Thirteen, greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord. Also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. Yes. I love her.
speaker-1: Not not literally bloodline, but spiritual mother to me, I suppose, yes.
speaker-0: Absolutely. That's that's quite beautiful, don't you think? yes. Yeah. Tis. Wow. Verse fourteen. Greet Asyncritus, Philigon, Hermes, Patrobus, Hermos, and the brothers who are with them. that's beautiful.
speaker-1: Mm-hmm.
speaker-0: Verse fifteen. Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus, and her his sister And Olympus and all the saints who are with them greeting one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. Wow. That's tremendous.
speaker-1: family affairs, no.
speaker-0: In reality it seems like Paul has such a connection and relationship with with so many of these good Christian people in in Rome. It's beautiful. Indeed.
speaker-1: He knows them personally. Yeah.
speaker-0: I really like that. And then seventeen greet one another with the Holy Kiss. I like the all the churches of Christ greet you. I I I guess Paul is speaking for all those churches that he's been connected with. He's sending greetings to all to the church. Yes,
speaker-1: Or Messiah's churches. Yeah.
speaker-0: of course. And again, all the churches of Christ with the little C, if you will, I think it's probably appropriate. All the churches of Christ greet you. very good. Then in verse 17 he says, 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. Yes. Avoid them.
speaker-1: Yeah.
speaker-0: So we do have this difference, I think, between what we've seen in the fourteenth chapter and the weak brother who who we are to receive because Christ has received him or her. But here we have a different story. we have those who are causing divisions. Yes. this is taking things a step f much too far. You have a weak brother who insists that some foods are unclean and he's going to assure that it he wants all everybody to follow him in that or go with that. This is terribly wrong and it creates a horrible, horrible problem. He says watch out for those folks. They're creating obstacles contrary to the teaching that you have been taught, teaching such as Paul has been teaching in this very book, I think, in this very writing to the Romans. Absolutely. And
speaker-1: doctrine. In fact I think your translation rendered that doctrine which you
speaker-0: Yeah, yeah.
speaker-1: so people who say I don't believe in teaching doctrine because that's divisive are missing the point in this verse. Of course they'd be teaching doctrines and avoiding the doctrines that are false.
speaker-0: Without this teaching we have nothing. There's nothing there is
speaker-1: No substance, no scaffolding to Christianity at all without the doctrines.
speaker-0: So there is a point here, the same Paul that wrote the fourteenth chapter about bearing with your weak brother. Yes. There is another issue here. The same Paul is going to tell us that those who would cause divisions among the folks and bring perhaps their weakness and want to foister that on the on the on the congregation, the people, you must esteem one day as holy above others. you you must treat some foods as unclean. Yes. That person. Yes. He says this is It's very serious. And that person we would avoid. You you're not going to welcome them in the assembly. So there is a time in which people have gone too far and we have to we have to stop that. Otherwise the entire congregation gets misled and and weak in state as they pr follow after these inaccurate.
speaker-1: What would Paul make of situation now though? I mean he's struggling reestablish
speaker-0: my.
speaker-1: unity even then. What is he going to make of thirty thousand differing denominations? Herculean
speaker-0: my god
speaker-1: task that he would face in our day.
speaker-0: Verse eighteen 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, the immature perhaps, those who are maybe of good heart, but they are naive. They're not mature in their ability to understand and realize.
speaker-1: They're unsuspecting, my version says. That suggests you better be suspicious as a Christian, right? These people are gullible and unsuspecting. That's a lesson then that we should be suspicious in the right way. Unsuspecting, checking the doctrines to see if they're true or false. I love that our Lord Christ, it's an unusual occurrence of the abbreviated form of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Christ, Luke two eleven, today is born in the city of Bethlehem, the one who is the Lord Christ. Mm. Not the Lord God.
speaker-0: Yes, of course.
speaker-1: Our Lord Christ. Our Lord is impossible for our Yahweh. It doesn't work. Nobody says our Yahweh, my Yahweh. They all do say our Lord based on the my Lord of Psalm one hundred and ten one.
speaker-0: So here we are at Psalm one ten and one again. It's everywhere you turn, it's wonderful. If we can understand that one passage, that one verse. Psalm one ten and one, we can get the whole of the New Testament going right and and we're doing one. Something I was thinking about too. I've been in church before, Anthony, where that the minister, the pastor, would teach this this business about avoiding people and being ware of those who didn't and there's a connection made sometimes by pastors say, now you people out there just don't believe anybody that says anything that is not what I told you. but then they don't invite people to scrutinize themselves. else or to scrutinize what they have been telling the people. So it's it's not fair to appropriate Paul's words here when maybe you're not teaching what Paul taught. Wouldn't it be unfair to for a person who is going to say that some foods are unclean and you shouldn't be eating those to be saying that and then saying, now, by the way, anybody that doesn't receive that, you know Paul said don't don't receive them or don't don't accept that. Actually it's a misappropriation because you're the one Paul wants people to watch out for if you're teaching that.
speaker-1: But if you think you're an apostle and you really imply that you're an apostle, you're infallible, you know, don't ever believe anything except what I, as your mentor, teaches you you're assuming apostolic authority.
speaker-0: Verse nineteen for your obedience is known to all. That's interesting because isn't that a flashback to chapter one where he talked about the obedience of
speaker-1: that's a lovely. Yes, obedience is a tough word for us, isn't it? We're we're rather not keen on obedience to anybody, even though we're very free free spirits. But there is this obey your leaders in Hebrews, but you're supposed to obey your leaders, provided always, of course, that they are genuinely constituted leaders in Christ. They may not be.
speaker-0: And he wants these the the writer of Hebrews wants these to be the people who are s have been speaking to you the word of God. Yes, not just their own stuff, as it were. Their own thing. So For your obedience is known to all. that's wonderful. Their faith is known everywhere, and their obedience of the faith, I suppose, is known everywhere. 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. my goodness.
speaker-1: We're back to Genesis.
speaker-0: To know the distinction, to know the difference. Are we as Christians mature enough? Have we studied the words of Paul well enough? Yeah. The words of Romans and Galatians and Hebrews as we've been looking into those books. have we looked into those things with enough effort to to bring out understanding that would allow us indeed to know the difference then. What really is good and what's evil. When someone comes along and says, You you are supposed to be honoring one day above all the others Do we know the scripture well enough to answer that and help them to understand? You know, it's or that's some foods are unclean. Can we help people to understand? We need to become mature enough that we're not swept away by those ideas. they're simply not right. may seem right on the surface to people, but they're simply not right. Verse 20. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
speaker-1: And that's the reference to Genesis, you know, the original promise that the Messiah to come would in fact crush and bruise Satan. We're
speaker-0: The Genesis three, yes, that's right.
speaker-1: already in Genesis because the problem was that they couldn't discern between good and evil.
speaker-0: Yes.
speaker-1: And so the Satan problem is being solved here. Of course this this is the Satan. It's not human nature. We're talking about the external fallen angel, the Satan in scripture which is absolutely not just human nature. Yes. This would turn many, many texts into nonsense, unfortunately.
speaker-0: Verse twenty one. Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you. So do Lucius and Jason and Saucypater, my kinsmen. So these are kinsmen again with Paul. We don't know if he really means his close relatives or not for sure.
speaker-1: Okay.
speaker-0: But but anyway, they're certainly precious people to Paul. Mm-hmm. Verse twenty two, I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. There's that wonderful in the Lord again. as I say it would be interesting just to underline all the in the Lords and in Christ that we find in this verse sixteen. Gaius, verse twenty nine, who is host to me, and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Cortus, greet you. And and now we're gonna have One last go at an amazing doxology is we've seen these in Paul so much. Yes. Verse twenty five Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel, which we've already learned is actually the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the gospel of God. Yes. And the but according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ not just about preaching.
speaker-1: Not just about
speaker-0: His preaching. That's why that's
speaker-1: him.
speaker-0: right. So now we're not only what Jesus preached, but also what he is preaching in Paul and others and and his yes work in spirit. According to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages. Wow. Verse twenty six, but has now been disclosed through the prophetic writings. Has been made known to all nations according to the command of the eternal God. I love that. Yes. To bring about the obedience of faith. there it is again. It's like bookends, isn't it?
speaker-1: It frames the book of Romans. What a wonderful phrase to introduce into one's preaching, right? A lot of obedience of faith.
speaker-0: I love it. So so we're talking about the eternal God and bringing about obedience of faith
speaker-1: Yeah to all nations.
speaker-0: to and then he's going to say in verse twenty seven, to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ. Amen.
speaker-1: That's an obvious unitary monotheistic statement. The only one who is the wise God, through somebody who isn't that only one God, but is somebody else, namely the Messiah, Jesus Messiah. So he ends in a a glorious affirmation of the Shema of Jesus. The Lord our God is one Lord and he wants us to understand at the beginning and at the end that this is the God we're talking about, not any old God. God. so the shocking, stultifying almost question that faces the public is are we following if we follow a triune God, a Trinitarian God, are we in fact in violation of the words of Scripture here in defining God
speaker-0: when we want to talk about the eternal God, we should make sure that we mean by that the same one and I emphasize the word one, the same one that Paul meant and the same one that Jesus meant isn't
speaker-1: This is the yet unexplored question in our time. A question that people will not touch with a barge pole, as we say. It's too awful to contemplate. Could the church have gone astray from the second century on the fundamental issue of defining God and Jesus and the gospel?
speaker-0: Properly. Yes.
speaker-1: That's the that's the question that I think. It's above all questions.
speaker-0: It's all about defining these words properly in in the Lord. Yes. And making sure that when we say these words we mean the same thing by them. Yes. That this writer meant, that Paul meant. Right. And that Jesus meant. Yes.
speaker-1: yes, there was one point there about the mystery kept secret. That reminds us of the mystery of the Kingdom of God, gospel that Jesus spoke of. And it's now been revealed through the scriptures, including the prophets. Yes. And I know it not just revealed to Paul, as though he had a special gospel, revealed as it says elsewhere, to all the apostles. Yes. Not just Paul, giving us the excuse for the frenzied notion that Paul's got a gospel that nobody else had. I mean that's just an absolute
speaker-0: It's it's it's absurd. It's impossible.
