10.20.25 – Romans 16

SPEAKER 01 : 0:08

Welcome to Add Bible, an audio daily devotion from the Ezra Project. Allen J. Huth shares a Bible passage with comments from over 35 years of his personal Bible reading journals and applies the Word of God to our daily lives.

SPEAKER 03 : 0:23

Today we finish our wonderful journey through the book of Romans. We finally arrived at the last chapter, chapter 16. So we’ll listen in to Faith Comes by Hearing’s reading of the 27 verses of the last chapter of Romans, chapter 16.

SPEAKER 02 : 0:39

Romans 16 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Sencrae, 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 risk 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 Epinatus, 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 Herodian. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. Greet those workers in the Lord Tryphena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. Rufus, chosen in the Lord, also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. Greet Asyncretus, Phlegon, Hermes, Petrobus, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympus, and all the saints who are with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you. 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, 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. 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. Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you. So do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

SPEAKER 04 : 3:17

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.

SPEAKER 02 : 3:30

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. To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ. Amen.

SPEAKER 03 : 4:06

Back in 1994, we were now home from Maui, Hawaii. So I’m back in my home reading Romans 16 when I wrote, Paul greets a lot of people in Rome, a place he had never been. People must have traveled around more than we think. Or, Paul was simply well aware of the church all over, including a faraway place like Rome. Praise God for the network of his church communicating with and helping each other, now all over the world. I continued to write, My long walk through Romans comes to an end. Praise God for the depth of understanding Scripture affords to those who contemplate its meaning. Thanks to those who have studied and written about its contents and to the Holy Spirit who reveals truth. In 2001, my last journal entry on the book of Romans was Romans 16 where I wrote, Paul names many to greet. What would my list be of people, Christians, saints to greet? How many are willing to risk their lives for the building of the kingdom of God or the spreading of the gospel? And those were my concluding remarks in 2001. Let’s look at 2013. My last entry into the book of Romans on chapter 16 was this. People matter. Paul greets many, commends them, and recognizes their contribution to him, the church, or to each other. And then I just quoted all the descriptions that he made in this chapter toward these people. Our sister, my fellow workers, the first convert to Christ, my kinsman, my beloved, approved in Christ, chosen in the Lord. And then I wrote, how would someone describe me? How would I refer to some of my friends? I continued writing, we are to watch out for those who cause divisions, who create obstacles contrary to biblical Christian doctrine, according to verse 17, and be wise as to what is good and innocent and as what is evil. I finished my journal entry in 2013 with this. Jesus is able to strengthen me through the gospel, preaching of Jesus Christ and the Word of God. He deserves the glory. Chapter 16 is about people. Who are the key people in your life? What adjectives would you use to describe the Christians around you? And, maybe more importantly, what adjectives would they use to describe you as a Christian in their eyes? Paul was well connected with the church of his day. Are you? Are you well connected with the body of believers, with the church? If so, praise the Lord. If not, may I encourage you to get yourself into a body of believers. Find a good Bible-believing, Bible-teaching church and fellowship with fellow believers like Paul does here in Romans 16. Paul then makes an appeal to them and to us. He says in verse 17, And by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. Then and now, there are many who are out to deceive us with smooth talk and flattery. One means of protection from the deception of smooth talk and flattery is to stay in the Word of God. And then Paul closes with a wonderful doxology, the final verses of Romans 16. And I will close with them as well. Let’s read. Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and 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 commandment of the eternal God to bring about the obedience of faith, To the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ. Amen. Thank you for listening to AdBible. Though the Bible can be read at the speed I’m speaking in about 78 hours, surveys show we don’t read it. How many of you have ever read the Bible cover to cover? How many have tried and failed? I want to encourage you to try it again. I want to share with you what I call the Triple I Doctrine and some powerful reasons to stay in your Bible daily. I begin with a verse from 2 Peter 1.21. But holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. That’s how we got the Bible. The Holy Spirit moved holy men of God to write it, all of it. Because He did, we can now look at the Triple I Doctrine, the inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God. But what do these terms mean? Inspired means God-breathed. 2 Timothy 3.16 says, What does infallible mean? It means no potential or ability to err. Totally reliable. It cannot contradict itself. And Hebrews 6.18 says, And the last one is inerrant. What does that mean? It means it’s technically correct. It’s free from falsehood and deceit. Wholly true. It’s doctrine. It’s history. It’s science. It’s geography. And Matthew 5.18 says, For assuredly I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. And Revelation 22, 18 and 19 say, For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book, if anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book. And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the book of life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. So the Triple I Doctrine is reason enough to be in God’s Word each day. But in case you need more encouragement, here are three more thoughts. First, improve your spiritual maturity. According to Barna Research, of the seven dimensions in which Americans were asked to rate their faith maturity, Bible knowledge ranked dead last. So if you want to improve your spiritual maturity, stay in God’s Word daily. Number two is develop a dynamic relationship with God. Dr. Woodrow Kroll, former president of Back to the Bible, wrote a book called Taking Back the Good Book. He said, When people tire of reading the Bible, it’s because they read it for the wrong reasons or in the wrong way. They read the Bible to gain knowledge, store facts, or pick up a few principles to live by. When you see the Bible as a means to a dynamic relationship with God, you can’t get enough of it because you can’t get enough of Him. And the third thought is to be transformed. Don’t read the Bible to be informed. Read it to be transformed. And I’m going to share a fun little story with you about being transformed by the Word of God. It’s about an old man who lived on a farm in the mountains of Kentucky with his young grandson. Each morning, Grandpa was up early, sitting at the kitchen table reading from his old, worn-out Bible. His grandson, who wanted to be just like him, tried to imitate him in any way he could. One day the grandson asked, Papa, I try to read the Bible, just like you, but I don’t understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bible do? The grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and said, Take this coal basket down to the river and bring back a basket of water. The boy did as he was told, even though all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, You’ll have to move a little faster next time and send him back to the river with the basket to try again. This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, I don’t want a bucket of water. I want a basket of water. You can do this. You’re just not trying hard enough. And he went out the door to watch the boy try again. At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got far at all. The boy scooped the water and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather, the basket was again empty. Out of breath, he says, See, Papa, it’s useless. So you think it’s useless, the old man said. Look at the basket. The boy looked at the basket, and for the first time, he realized that the basket looked different. Instead of a dirty old coal basket, it was clean. Son, that’s what happens when you read the Bible. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, it will change you from the inside out. So read the Bible so you can improve your spiritual maturity, develop a dynamic relationship with God, and be transformed, not informed. I know you’re going to enjoy it.

SPEAKER 04 : 14:19

And want to share it with others.