Well it is a joy to be back together as we conclude the book of Romans today. Two years and over 60 lessons could have very well been four to five times that I'm sure. But it's been a good study for myself. Certainly the Lord has taught me a lot in this study of this important book and I pray and I hope that he has shown you more of himself through this study as well that by the help of the Holy Spirit illuminating the word before you, that you have also grown in your own sanctification through this book. Well, if you remember last week, we considered Romans 16 verses 17 through 20. And we looked at the importance of identifying a false teacher. We looked at the characteristics and how they operate. We also looked at the believer's obedience, noting that God will soon crush Satan. under our feet as believers. And we concluded with the third and the final benediction that we saw in verse 20, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. And we looked at the differences between common grace and saving grace, and that's where we left off. So that brings us up to our final section of verses in Romans 16. Today, we're going to consider verses 21 to 27. Verses 21 to 24, we're going to consider more people that Paul was associated with and is grateful for. And then in verses 25 to 27, we will look at the doxology. So if you have your Bibles, turn to Romans 16. We're going to begin with verse 21. 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 Cortus greet you. 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. Well, before we look at this doxology, let's consider first the eight men that are mentioned in verses 21 to 24. Remember, we saw in the first 15 verses of Romans 16, Paul encouraging the Christians in Rome to welcome the over 20 people. that are mentioned in that passage that meant so much to him and his ministry and so much to the overall ministry of the church. So now we see Paul turning his attention back to people and the importance of specifically these eight men. First of all, Paul mentions Timothy who he says is a fellow worker. Timothy was Paul's protege. We could say that he was Paul's first intern. Learning from Paul and assisting him in a variety of different ways. Paul met Timothy and Lystra on his second missionary journey. He had a Greek father but a Jewish mother, which meant that he was a Jew. But he had an instrumental role in building up the Gentile churches. Paul speaks highly of Timothy. In writing his letter to Philippi, he writes, for I have no one like him who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare, for they all seek their own interests not those of Jesus Christ, but you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel." Those are high accommodations for this young man. That's found in Philippians 2, 20 to 22. Next, we see Lucius mentioned. Lucius was likely a Gentile since he's not mentioned as a kinsman. He was likely a native of Cyrene and one of the prophets and teachers in Antioch who first commissioned Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13. Then there's Jason and Sosipater, whom Paul does identify as his kinsmen. Therefore, these men were likely Jewish. They may or may not have been relatives of Paul, but we see that one of the first converts to Christianity in the region of Thessalonica was a man named Jason. and Jason hosted Paul in his home for a period of time. Sosipater was likely also Sopater, who was among Paul's companions who met him in Troas as he left Ephesus. He was from Berea. Get that, y'all. Now, we're familiar with Berea here in Greenville, but where was Berea in the ancient world? Well, it was in the ancient Macedonia, which is now in the northern part of Greece. But it was this man who accompanied Paul to present the offering from the Gentile churches. Next, we come to Tertius, who we read in verse 22, I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. So, is this a contradiction to Romans 1, where Paul says he identifies himself as the writer. No, it's not a contradiction for Tertius was a secretary for Paul. In other words, he was the one who penned the words that Paul actually spoke through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Now, what's interesting to note here is that Tertius was likely a slave. to a prominent man named Gaius, who is also in our text today in verse 23. James Boyce writes, very importantly, in a prominent Roman household as this was, the household of Gaius, the servants would have the names Primus, meaning one, Secundus, meaning two, Tertius, three, Cortus, four, Quintus, five, and so on. And so, in Romans 16, we have a case of the number three slave and the number four slave actually adding their names to those of the missionaries, plus a prominent Gaius and Erastus. And so, Cortus, the next slave, is mentioned in verse 22, who is identified as a brother. Now, he's likely not the brother of Erastus, who was previously mentioned that we see in verse 22, but rather a brother in the Lord. The reason for this, of course, is because as Boyce mentioned, it's likely that both Quartus and Tertius were slaves. And so, as such, Quartus would not have been the biological brother of a city treasurer. Nonetheless, he was a brother in Christ. So, now let's talk about Gaius and we'll also talk about Erastus. These two men were very prominent and they had a great deal of wealth and influence. Gaius was likely among the believers that came to saving faith through the ministry of Paul and was only one of two men in the church in Corinth that was baptized by Paul personally. That's 1 Corinthians 1.14. Furthermore, after his conversion, Gaius was a great help to the church, even hosting the church, which is mentioned in our text today, Romans 16.23. In that time, the church did not have formal buildings but met in people's homes. Gaius, being a wealthy man, would have likely had a large home and literally hosted, held church service, worship services in his home for the Corinthian church. That's who Gaius was. Erastus was also an influential character and identified as a city treasurer, which was a well-respected position. As I read more about this man, over the past few days, it was likely he was also the director of other city departments in that region. Robert Haldane writes, the office of Erastus, although in itself may appear trifling, is in reality of great importance. It shows that Christians may hold offices even under heathen governments, and that to serve Christ, we are not to be abstracted from worldly business. So there are some Christians who serve the Lord in public office, and they're not swayed by public opinion and by shifting culture. They are held captive by their devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ. And we praise the Lord for people such as Erastus and others here in our day and time. But what I want you to do is we kind of back up just a moment and we think about those eight men that we've just discussed. We're reminded that God calls people from all walks of life into his covenant people. We see with these eight men, poor slaves who, yes, faithfully serve the Lord Jesus. And we also see wealthy men, Gaius and Erastus, who also gave themselves to serve the Lord. It's a reminder that God does not just call a certain group of people to himself. This is why churches should never target a particular age group or demographic or socioeconomic class. I remember many years ago when I lived in North Carolina, there was a very large church, several thousand members. They had people from every age group. They were younger, they were middle-aged, and they were older. But they made a change in their mission that was contrary to Scripture. And what they said was, we're going to focus on the younger age group, those that are in their 20s and 30s. I remember talking to someone in their 40s who had left the church because of this sudden shift, making him feel that he was no longer welcome. This is not what the church should be doing. Now, certainly, there will be ministries within the local church that are targeted for specific age groups. We think about the high school youth group, the college class, the career class. We think about a singles ministry, perhaps a young couples, young families ministry. All that is good and well, but the church should not be about targeting one particular group of people. Now I want you to go with me on this for just a moment. I just want you to close your eyes for just a moment. as I give you a glimpse of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Close your eyes, it's described in Revelation 7, 9 through 10. 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 and crying out with a loud voice, salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb. I want you to open your eyes because I want you to see that that's a glimpse of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a picture of the covenant family of God. All tribes, all peoples, all languages. And the word our, it's a small word in that passage but it's important. We've talked about the word our before, it denotes possessiveness. So, all of us that are called by the Lord as His elect people from all cultures, and we can collectively call Him our God, our Father, our King. Many of you, I know, are going to be traveling in coming weeks to faraway places, distant lands, outside of this country. Some Peru, some Italy, some England, Scotland, all kinds of different places. You'll meet people there that are literally, you've never met before, but they're your brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ. And because of that, you can say, he collectively is our father because of what the Lord through his son has done for his elect people. All tribes, all tongues, all nations, all languages. Well, let's move to the doxology. We find that in the closing verses of Romans 16. Notice that Paul first recognizes that he, that is God, is able to strengthen you. Other translations use the word establish. By this, Paul means that we, as Christians, are to be strong, immovable, not being swayed to and fro with everything that we hear from culture. Rather, it is God who not only justifies us, but He also keeps us, dear people. He keeps us, He preserves us, He establishes us, and yes, He strengthens us, so that we, when we go through and we wade through the deep waters of this life, or we cross through the fires that so easily can consume, we remain untouched. We remain steadfast. Remember, Satan wants to throw you off. We saw that last week and he uses false teachers to get Christians off the straight and narrow way. But God has established you. He's preserving you. He's keeping you. He is sanctifying you all along the way. Paul even would write to the church in Ephesus that they too would be strengthened. Ephesians 3, 16 through 19, according to the riches of his glory, He may grant you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. We are indeed strengthened when we take stock of what God has done for us. through the person and work of Christ, understanding more and more the love that he has for each one of us. Furthermore, note that Paul calls it his gospel in Romans 16.25. Does this mean that Romans is now the gospel according to Paul? It doesn't mean that. Paul's gospel was also the gospel of John, the gospel of Mark, the gospel of Peter. It's the gospel preached and taught by all apostles. Paul wrote in Galatians 1, 11 through 12, for I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it. How did he receive it? Through the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And gospel literally means good news. It's not good news about what mankind has done. Rather, it's good news about what God has done for mankind. Moreover, Paul recognizes that he has been called to be a proclaimer of this good news. Now, let me stop for a minute before I go further and say that while Paul was called into full-time service of the Lord as a preacher, We are, no matter what our vocations are, to still be proclaimers of this good news. Do we speak of this good news with our coworkers, with our neighbors, with our children? Grandparents, do you speak of it to your grandchildren? With unsafe family members, my dear friends, we are to proclaim the good news wherever we go. And in this way, we are fulfilling the great commission to tell others not only the good news, but the best news that has ever happened in the history of the world. Paul writes, Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning his son. who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the son of God in power according to the spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead. That's Romans 1, 1 through 3. Who is this passage about? It's about God and his son, Jesus Christ. Now, back in our text today, Romans 16, 25, what is preaching to be about in verse 25 in our text? About Jesus Christ. About Jesus Christ and him alone. Now, if you go into our sanctuary and you go up on the pulpit there, there's an inscription on the pulpit that says, Sir, we would see Jesus, John 12, 21. And it's a reminder for every man that steps into that pulpit of this church that the most important thing he can do is, yes, preach the gospel, so that people, through the preached word of God, would see Jesus proclaimed. This was Paul's message. It was all of Jesus. And so we, as Christians, need to be diligent students, yes, of the word of God, not just listening but doing, but also making sure that what is taught and what is preached lines up with the scriptures. There have been many attempts over the years, as you know, to diminish the importance of the Word of God. We've seen the Ten Commandments being taken out of courthouses around the land. But we also see churches downplaying the Bible. When we hear pastors saying literally, quote, we need to unhitch from the Old Testament, they are no longer proclaiming the Gospel. Because guess what? The Gospel is also in the Old Testament, not just the New Testament. When pastors choose to preach or teach feel-good sermonettes, but not the whole counsel of God, they are no longer proclaiming and preaching the gospel. Because guess what? The gospel not only has love and forgiveness in it, but it also starts with the wrath of God who cannot look upon sin. And so Jesus was sent in our place. Paul then goes further to discuss the mystery The revelation of this mystery that was kept secret for long ages but has not been disclosed through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, Romans 16, 25 to 26. Now, this word mystery does not mean the same as the mystery to us now in English. When we think of mystery, we may think of a mystery novel or a movie where we're challenging ourselves to put clues together to come up with the correct ending. The word Paul uses here for mystery refers to part of God's truth that has not been revealed or only partially revealed in the Old Testament. It doesn't mean that we didn't understand the gospel in the Old Testament or it wasn't even there, but rather we have greater understanding of it in the New Testament. James Boyce writes, what he is saying is that the gospel is something no human being could have guessed. We could have never fathomed this, y'all. In the past, it was entirely hidden in the mind of God. In fact, when God began to reveal it during the Old Testament period, the details were puzzling even to the prophets to whom the revelation was given for they were unable fully to understand what God's spirit had caused them to write. Furthermore, the reason we understand the gospel now is that the Holy Spirit has given in the New Testament the apostles' understanding of who he is and what he's accomplished in agreement with the prior revelation. So instead, or indeed, this is how Paul handled the Old Testament material in writing Romans, and we've seen that. First, he would explain the gospel, and then at each major step in the argument, he would support that explanation with direct citations from the Old Testament. Jesus has fulfilled the prophecies and the Holy Spirit has given the apostles understanding of what they mean. And so dear friends, we today are without excuse. We have the entire, the whole counsel of God. We're living on this side of the New Testament, meaning that we've seen and heard and read about what Jesus actually did for us. And we have as Christians been given the Holy Spirit who helps guide us, sanctifying us, illuminating the word of God before us that we might more readily understand it. Notice the final verse, Romans 16 verse 27. To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ, amen. First of all, Paul says that God is wise. Not only wise, but the only wise God. In him are all the storehouses of wisdom. We see this throughout both the Old and New Testaments. Proverbs 2, 6 and 7, for the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright. He is a shield to those who walk in integrity. 1 Corinthians 1.30, and because of him, you are in Christ Jesus. who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. For those of you like me that are continually praying for wisdom, James tells us to do that. James 1.5, if any of you lacked wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach and it will be given him. Paul not only says that God is altogether wise, but also that he, that is Paul, is doing this for the glory of God. And this is where we're going to end today and actually conclude our study with Romans today is on this very theme. He's doing it for the glory of God. Donald Gray Barnhouse summarizes Romans this way. In the opening chapter, we find the gospel of God. This is followed by a discussion of the wrath of God. Then the righteousness of God is set forth. Then we find how the righteousness of God can be communicated to sinful men. From then on, we see ourselves as a people of God, at peace with God, blessed by God, to such an extent that we cry, if God be for us, who can be against us? Romans 8.31. Then after a section on the ancient people of God and the unchangeableness of God, we come to our answering obligations to God. all leading up to our text, to God be the glory. My dear friends, as conservative Presbyterians and those who are well acquainted with the Westminster Confession of Faith and the catechisms, the first question of the catechism asks this, what is the chief end of man? And the answer is what Paul is highlighting at the very end of Romans. to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Now, it's good for us to pause here because we, we know this. We know the question, we know the answer, we teach our kids this. But it's good for us as we conclude Romans to just park here for just a moment and just think about it. Remember, your highest calling in this life as a Christian is to glorify God and enjoy Him. Your absolute highest calling. And so let me ask you some questions. Are you like Paul? Can you say that I'm glorifying God? Do you glorify Him in your work? Men, do you glorify God in your home? by how you treat your wife and how you shepherd your children. Women, do you glorify God in your home by respecting and submitting to your husband out of submission to the Lord? Do you glorify God when you come into his house? Are you consumed with pleasing him or are you more concerned with pleasing the world? Are you all in or do you still want to have one foot in the world? Do you glorify Him with your time or do you continually steal time from Him on needless endeavors and pursuits, perhaps through scrolling through the latest social media feeds? My dear friends, I'm not here to harp on you. As I ask you these questions, I'm asking myself these same questions. Let us take stock in what the Bible says is, in fact, our highest calling. At the end of the day, what is going to be said of you? What will others say of you when you have departed this earthly life? Will they say, now that was someone who gave himself, who gave herself to glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ? Or will they say that was someone who glorified himself or herself, fulfilled the desires of the flesh by living for himself and ultimately glorifying the very one who is opposed to God. Brothers and sisters, your highest calling, your greatest calling is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. So let's do that. Let's get after that. Life is short, eternity is long. Yes, we will certainly glorify God in heaven, beholding then what we can only imagine now, but let us not wait until then to glorify our King Jesus. It starts now. So let us join our hearts in praising him, in thanking him, in living for him, in daily consecrating our lives to him, that when people see you, When they see me, they see the Lord Jesus. That is how we know if we're glorifying the Lord. Do others see Jesus reigning in and through our lives? May it be said of you and of me that we are. Let's pray. God in heaven, we are grateful. We're so grateful for your word and for this a book of Romans, which we've taken time to dissect and go through. We thank you, Lord, for the Holy Spirit who has helped it and guided our discussions and illumined the scripture before us so that we, with finite minds, might understand it better. Lord, as we leave here today, help us to have a renewed sense of our purpose as Christians, that to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. And we know, Father, that we cannot do that in our mundane, daily time, in our mundane, daily, worldly activities. But Father, you, through your Spirit, can help us. And so help us, Lord. Sanctify us. Help us to live a life that is worthy of the calling of Christians, for we bear his namesake. And help us, Lord, by your Spirit's help to glorify you and enjoy you. forever. In Jesus name.