Finishing
Up The Book of Romans
Today
I will complete the study of the book of Romans that I started some
weeks ago. I will conclude this series by selecting some passages
from the end of chapter 15 through all of chapter 16. The following
quotes from Scripture are a summary of Paul's closing thoughts as he
finishes up his letter to the early Roman church. I will begin by
taking up where I left off last week in chapter 15, beginning at
verse 14.
“I
myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of
goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one
another. I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to
remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to be a
minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of
proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an
offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” (Romans
15: verses 14-16 NIV)
“I
myself am convinced … that you yourselves are full of goodness...”.
As it was with the apostle Paul when he wrote this letter to the
early Christian church at Rome, so it is with this Bible study that I
send over the Internet today. All of you who are reading this must be
doing so because you are seeking Spiritual knowledge and growth,
realizing that the empty pursuit of material possessions and
meaningless wealth has no bearing on where you stand with God, let
alone one's own happiness. So let me take this opportunity to
encourage you to continue in your faithful studies of God's Word, and
to never let up in your quest for more learning of the deeper
mysteries of God through Jesus Christ our Lord. By getting to know
Jesus Christ personally as Savior, teacher and best friend, He then
causes us to gravitate toward him as we are drawn ever closer to our
dear Lord Jesus.
“...the
grace God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles
with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God...”
As I wrote about in an earlier study of Romans, Paul was a Jewish man
and a Roman citizen. The audience Paul spoke to and the class of
people Paul wrote to were neither Jews nor were they Roman citizens.
Although this may seem insignificant to the modern Bible student, it
was a really big deal in Paul's day because, being raised and
educated as a traditional Jew, he would normally have had nothing to
do with non-Jews. The religious Jews of Paul's day regarded
themselves as being superior to non-Jews because of their faith,
traditions and their formal training. If this sounds familiar to you,
it is because this same attitude of spiritual snobbery and religious
“superiority” has infected the modern church just as it did back
in the day when the book of Romans was written by Paul. That is what
Paul meant when he mentions his “priestly duty” in his letter to
the early church at Rome. He was referring to the Levitical
priesthood described in detail in the first five books of the Old
Testament known to the Jews at that time as the Law of Moses. Paul
then continues with this train of thought starting in verse 17.
“Therefore
I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to
speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in
leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done – by
the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Holy
Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have
fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. It has always been my ambition
to preach the gospel where Christ was not known so that I would not
be building on someone else's foundation. Rather, as it is written,
'Those who were not told about Him will see, and those who have not
heard will understand'. This is why I have often been hindered from
coming to you.” (Romans 15: verses 17-22 NIV)
“I
will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has
accomplished through me...”.
I strive to do what Paul did when he wrote these words nearly two
thousand years ago. You have noticed as you have read these weekly
Bible studies that I never mention anything from my past, nor do I
cite any of my own experiences in life as illustrations. Instead, I
have always stuck with God's Word and I have taught solely from that
frame of reference. I do this in order that what I am teaching and
writing about conforms to the Word of God and to the teachings of
Christ Jesus. In point of fact, as a teacher and minister I am held
to a higher standard in God's eyes, and He expects me to live up to
it. Since this is my Christian responsibility, I “study the word to
show myself approved” and I make myself “transformed by the
renewing of my mind”. There are those who teach the Word of God but
who do so from their own frame of reference, based on their
experiences in the secular world outside the Church. Paul warned the
early Christians about this in chapter 16 as he was finishing his
letter to the early Roman church.
“I
urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and
put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have
learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our
Lord Jesus Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and
flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard
about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to
be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.”
(Romans 16: verses 17-19 NIV)
When
Paul implored the early church at Rome to “watch out for those who
cause divisions”, he was actually prophesying about the advent of
church denominations that was beginning at the time these words were
being written. In the first century AD, various churches were already
proclaiming themselves to be followers of Paul, Peter, James and
other apostles who were the original twelve followers of Jesus during
His ministry on earth. As you read the New Testament you will notice
numerous occasions where Paul and the other apostles preached against
this very thing. The above example is only one of many throughout the
Bible. In the early 21st
century here in America, there are over 400 denominations not
counting the rest of the world. That's just here in the US! You have
no doubt heard or read about examples of this sort of thing either in
church or in print. One denomination preaches against another as they
try to convince other people that their pastor's point of view is the
only correct one. In the worst cases, different churches from the
same denomination preach and teach against each other, no doubt to
the complete chagrin of Almighty God. What will God do with these
churches? I will tell you: When the rapture of the Church – that
is, the Bride of Christ, not just certain denominations – occurs in
the next few years or so, these churches will find themselves left
behind to endure the Great Tribulation prophesied in the Book of
Revelation, Matthew's gospel chapters 24 and 25, and in a fair number
of other places in the Bible as well. Let's not go there, people!
Instead of following one denomination or another, let us instead be
followers of Jesus Christ and Him alone.
Watch out for and steer clear of churches such as this.
It is for this very reason that this web site is not connected with
or affiliated with any one particular denomination. If you go to a
church and you hear hate or intolerance being preached against any
other church or group of people, get out of there immediately. Pray
and ask God to lead you to a good church, one where the preaching and
teaching comes straight out of the Bible, and one where the baptism
by water and by the Holy Spirit is being taught. This is how you know
you are on the right track. Above all, keep searching until you find
a church that you are comfortable with and where the full gospel of
Jesus Christ is being taught. And always stay in the Word, reading
and studying your Bible diligently, because you reinforce your own
Spirituality whenever you do so. And next week we will begin our
study of the first of Paul's two letters to the church at Corinth,
known as the Corinthian epistles. Until then, keep Jesus in your
hearts and minds.
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