Reading: Romans
16.
An outstanding feature of this chapter is that people are
appreciated as people. The Letter itself is a masterpiece
of spiritual instruction, Paul's supreme exposition of
the infinite range of redemption. The more striking,
then, that place should be given for the names of these
simple people. Doctrines can be considered and held in a
detached way, but what value is there in abstract truths
if they are not expressed in terms of individual people?
When a person is led to trust in Christ he does not
become one more cipher for statistics, but a live being
who matters to God. The phrase "in Christ" is
repeated eight times here, for this is the significance
of the names listed, not what the people were in
themselves but what was their spiritual measure in
Christ. The apostle had no thoughts of social niceties or
merely of paying compliments; what mattered to him was
the degree in which these friends of his were counting
for Christ. This, of course, presents a personal
challenge to me. I wonder what Paul would have written
against my name if I had lived then. If he had needed to
write a salutation to me, what could he have said about
the quality of my life "in Christ"?
Why was Paul so lovingly drawn out to these people?
Perhaps because he could observe the fulfilment in them
of the revelation given to him of the power of the gospel
of Christ. It must have been refreshing to pass from his
exposition of the theory of redemption to the living
outworking of his doctrines. So it is that I ask myself
what fruit there is in my own life from the volumes of
teaching which I have been giving in my preaching. Are
God's people being helped, are they being made better
servants of Christ by reason of my labours? If not, then
in my case all that Paul wrote and all I teach goes for
nothing.
In Rome there was one of the churches that Paul had not
yet visited, but even at this juncture there were a
number of people there whom he knew personally and even
intimately. This is more than a mere item of interest. It
seems to indicate something of how in those days the
gospel spread abroad and the churches were established.
For one reason or another, for business purposes or by
political compulsion, people had to move about the world,
even as they do today. This may have been inconvenient
and at times most unjust, but behind that movement there
was the sovereignty of God, using everything for the
speeding up of the work of the gospel.
This gives us encouragement, to know that once our lives
are wholly given over to the Lord, His sovereignty will
govern and over-rule all the ordinary affairs and
circumstances of daily life and make them contribute to
His purposes and glory. Because of the cruel decree of
the Emperor Claudius, Aquila and Priscilla had to abandon
their home and business and become displaced persons in
Corinth, but the sequence of events and their commitment
to Christ resulted in the honoured place which they have
in this list which we are considering. Their case opens
up to us a world within a world, a world of spiritual
romance. No doubt as we pass from one of the names to
another in this list, we would discover that there had
been marvellous providential working of God in each case.
What is more, when we look more deeply into the chapter
we find that the people here referred to not only had
their lives overruled by God but were themselves intent
on the Lord's business and ready to take responsibility
for His interests. They were not just passengers, just
people who happened to come and go, individuals in the
crowd; they each got involved to the utmost in the
affairs of the kingdom of Christ. Paul's comments and
allusions make it clear that the gospel was furthered and
the churches established because these men and women put
the Lord's interests before everything else, in their
work and in their journeys. They had the urge of the
divine imperative. Like their Lord before them, their
lives were not at the mercy of chance but characterised
by the word "must", just as His was.
In the final book of the Bible we are told of the book of
life being opened, but we are also informed that there
are other records which relate to our personal histories:
"the books were opened" (Revelation 20:12). May
it be that these books represent God's evaluation of the
lives of His children? If so, what will be the eternal
verdict concerning my life? What will the books have to
say of my response to the divine imperatives of grace in
my life? Thank God that all my sins are blotted out by
the wonder-working power of the blood of Christ, so that
there can be no accusations against me. Of that we can
all be certain. But I have to realise that although there
is no mention of my faults, there will also be no record
of any personal features or virtues which seem to assume
so much importance to me now. No, what will be recorded
for eternity will surely be that which has been true of
me "in Christ". It is what is being enacted
daily in my life and walk with God which will be written
there, and that alone is what matters. What will history
- God's history - say about me? What will be His verdict?
In the case of these people, it was Paul's own life which
had been enriched by them, as he readily acknowledged.
Phoebe had "succoured" him; Priscilla and
Aquila had "laid down their necks" for him;
Rufus's mother had been like a mother to him and Tertius
wrote for him. None of these were apostles, yet by
helping Paul they had contributed something, however
small, to an apostolic ministry. They could not do it
all, and neither for that matter could he, but the whole
divine purpose was realised because each played their
part, labouring in Christ and for Christ.
So the reading of this heartening list of Paul's friends
challenges us as to how much our lives are counting for
God as the days go by. We are led to believe that the
apostle could not always give such cheerful comments on
those whom he knew and worked with. There were unhappy
exceptions, those who, like Demas, seem to have shrugged
aside divine imperatives and taken their own course. They
are not mentioned here. Paul writes appreciatively of
each of those who in simplicity remained devoted to the
Lord Jesus.
It is people who matter! Nobody is a nonentity in Christ.
There is a place for each one of us in the divine record.
And when the stories written in the books are disclosed,
we will exclaim, as Paul does at the end of this chapter
and this Letter to the Romans: "To the only wise
God, through Jesus Christ... be glory for ever."
Amen.
This was published in "Toward the Mark" Magazine, May-Jun 1988, Vol 17-3. However, it represents an extract from the original article entitled "Significant Salutations" from "Toward the Mark" Magazine, Mar-Apr 1976, Vol. 5-2.