Okay, this is Romans lecture number 32. It should be the final lecture in Romans. And we're discussing the first, actually the last chapter of Romans, Romans chapter 16, closing remarks. And we're looking at verses 6 to 15. and we left off at Rufus who could be Simon Cyrene's son and Mark 15 verse 21 Simon Cyrene who helped carry the cross of Christ his two sons are mentioned as if the readers of the Gospel of Mark would know Simon Cyrene's sons and that would help to identify who Simon Cyrene was. They knew the sons better than they knew Simon Cyrene. Well, based on real early tradition, it appears that Mark actually recorded the gospel of Peter as told to him and was probably writing to the Roman believers and so he was basically saying that the Romans should know who Rufus was and so Rufus, this could be the same Rufus, the same son of Simon Cyrene. There's not much known about Assyncritus, Phlegon, and Patrobas and the others that are mentioned there. Hermas and Hermas are both slave names. I know some people try to tie it in with the shepherd of Hermas, but I haven't seen any real good argument for that, but they're both slave names. Philologus and Julia, not much mentioned about those two, or Nerus and his sister, or Olympus as well. Then Paul mentions, and all the saints with him, Paul did not want to leave anyone out. And we must never forget those who labored with us. We must never forget our family in Christ, and Paul didn't want to leave anybody out. And some of these people, the only time that we see them in the scriptures and the only thing we know about them in church history is that they're mentioned here and they seem so insignificant to us but as far as the Apostle Paul was concerned they had done powerful work for the Lord and he would never ever forget those who had labored with him for the cause of Christ Paul mentions the holy kiss in verse 16 greet one another with a holy kiss all the churches of Christ greet you The holy kiss was the common greeting among Christians. By the way, the men would, just as in the Jewish synagogues, the men would sit up front, the ladies would sit in the back. So, you know, whereas in many Christian churches today you've got men hugging women, you know, with real strong, long hugs, women other than their wives, you would not find that in the early church. The holy kiss was one Christian man to another Christian man or one Christian woman to another Christian woman. they would never even think of getting too close to another man's wife and so I think the church in America today has some practices that they should think twice about that sometimes cause stumbling blocks to ourselves and to others But the Holy Kiss was the common greeting among Christians. All the churches, Paul states, greet the Roman believers. The Church of Rome was well known. Rome was the capital of the Roman Empire. And what Paul implies, the unity, of the universal body of Christ by stating that all the churches greet the Roman believers. Paul, in verses 17 to 20, again throws in a little bit of warning and a little bit of doctrine here. He says, turn away from false teachers. Verses 17 to 20. Now, in verses 17 and 18, the identity as false teachers is given. Romans 16, verses 17 and 18. Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves not of our Lord Christ, but of their own appetites, and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. And so now the identity of these false teachers, they cause dissensions, they cause divisions in the church. Now a lot of people will try to refer to this passage, keep away from those who cause divisions. And they'll act like, well therefore it's those counter-cult experts or those theologians who split theological hairs. That's not what Paul is saying. He's saying those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you have. In other words, the divisions they cause are because of the heresies that they teach. These are not guys who try to help other Christians get their theology sound. These are guys, in other words, this is not like the late Walter Martin or Hank Hanegraaff, the one who succeeded him at the Christian Research Institute. What Paul is talking about is the Benny Hens, the Kenneth Copelands, the Frederick Price, the Kenneth Hagans, the Casey Treats, those who are preaching false doctrines, they are the ones guilty of dividing the church by taking babes in Christ and leading them astray, leading them off on tangents, and we are supposed to separate ourselves from the Kenneth Copeland's and the Frederick Price's and these heretics. And so the identity of these four teachers They cause dissensions, divisions in the church, and hindrances contrary to the gospel. Hindrances are obstacles. In fact, one of the most common obstacles or stumbling blocks in the early church was legalism, the Judaizers, who thought that you need Jesus plus the law. to be saved, and that was causing an obstacle or a hindrance to the gospel. But what's being spoken about is false doctrine which contradicts the gospel. Paul says that these false teachers do not serve Christ. Instead, they serve their own appetites and they glorify the self, they glorify themselves rather than Christ. Now, John the Baptist said in John chapter 3 verse 30, when he was told that Jesus is... many of his followers were leaving him and joining Christ, and Christ was baptizing more than him, he said, He must increase, but I must decrease. Well, these guys are saying the exact opposite. They don't serve Christ, they serve their own appetites. And through smooth and flattering speech, they're very persuasive, they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. And because of this, believers should be cautious. We believers need to look over their shoulders and be aware. Remember Jesus said in Matthew chapter 7, in fact turn there right now. This is a passage that we all know but it's just too important not to turn to. Matthew 7. Verse 15, Jesus said, Beware of the false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. Wolves in sheep's clothing. Wolves don't come dressed up as wolves in the church. They dress up as sheep. They pretend to be believers. So anybody who's going to say, Oh, don't slam Brother Copeland or don't slam Brother Hagin. Well, I'm not too sure Copeland or Hagin are brothers. Sure, they look like sheep, and they act like sheep, and they talk like sheep. But the more and more you hear their doctrine, the more and more you test it with the Scriptures, the more and more they look like wolves. You know, Copeland's gone so far to question whether Jesus ever really claimed to be God, and at the same time he goes around saying he's a God with a small g. How much more of that are we going to take before we boot these guys out just like we did to the Mormons? But the fact of the matter is, Paul tells us, be aware of these, that there's going to be wolves in sheep's clothing, Jesus Christ said. In Jude, verses 3 and 4, Jude says this, Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt a necessity to write to you, appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain persons have crept in unnoticed. That's why Paul is saying be aware. Be on the watch. hold your guard up, be on guard against these, because certain false teachers have crept in unnoticed, those who were long before hand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into a sensuousness, a license to sin, and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Peter brought this up as well, 2nd Peter, chapter 2, verses 1 to 3, but false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, they'll do it in secret, they're not going to do it out in the open, they're going to secretly introduce destructive heresies into the church, even denying the master who bought them, Jesus paid the price for all men, even false teachers, so the Calvinist is wrong when he says that Christ only died for the church, he died for the whole world but he gives us the freedom to accept or reject him bringing swift destruction upon themselves and many will follow their sensuality and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned most people think that Christians that to find out what Christians are teaching just turn on channel 20, well that's not the real Christians That's TBN and Paul and Jan and the Copelands and that's not true Christianity but because of these false teachers the way of the truth will be maligned. and in their greed they will exploit you with false words their judgment from long ago is not idle and their destruction is not asleep so Jesus, Jude, Peter and Paul all warned us that false teachers would come and deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting with very persuasive smooth and flattering speech therefore believers should be cautious The response to these heretics from Paul, two key words here, one is watch and the other is separate. So you watch them, you keep your eyes on them, the heretics. The Institute of Biblical Defense that I founded and I'm the president of as well as the Christian Research Institute founded by the late Walter Martin and now headed by Hank Hanegraaff. Organizations like that are watchdog organizations. They keep their eyes on heretics. They don't drop their guard. We are not to drop our guard. We're not to turn our back to these heretics. We're to watch them closely. Keep your eyes on them. And so we are to watch them, but we are also to separate from them. Paul says we are to turn away from them. Don't support their work and break fellowship with them. Now let me tell you, if you've got a Presbyterian or Methodist friend, and you're a Baptist, and they sprinkle, and you fully immerse, that's not reason to watch and to separate. But if you've got a friend down the block who thinks he's a God with a small g, and he's part of the health, wealth and prosperity movement, and he thinks that Jesus needed to be born again in hell, and that Jesus literally became sin, didn't just take our sin upon himself and pay the price for it on the cross, but literally became sin, and that he did not pay the price for our sin on the cross, he paid for it in hell, that's a different gospel. And the time has come for us to watch them closely, watch these heretics closely, and to separate from these heretics. If you're tithing to Kenneth Copeland and you're wondering why your finances are still in a mess, let me tell you something. You are not tithing to God's work, because Kenneth Copeland is not doing God's work. Now, if you're tithing to Kenneth Copeland's ministry, and your God prospers you more and more, then my response to you is, you probably got the wrong God. Your God is probably not the God of the Bible. or either that or just that Lucifer is trying to get you more and more entrenched in the false teachings of Copeland. Don't support their ministries. Break fellowship with them, those who reject the essential teachings. They teach either a different Jesus or a different gospel or both. Turn away from them. Break fellowship with them. Don't support their work. Don't drop your guard. Keep your eyes on them. Watch the heretics and separate from them. Paul gives some advice to the Romans in verse 19 of Romans 16. So Paul heard of their obedience to Christ. and he rejoices because of it. Now, do we rejoice when other believers grow and mature in the Lord? We should. If we're going to be like Paul, we need to rejoice when we find out that more and more people are getting saved and then are growing to maturity. For Paul tells them, be wise in that which is good. We've got plenty of Christians right now that try to make me feel guilty because I get more and more wisdom by studying God's Word on a regular basis. We are supposed to be wise in what is good. God gave us minds because he wants us to learn more and more. God is truth. He wants us to learn more and more truth. James even tells in James 1.5 where to pray to God and ask for wisdom. But for some reason, many Christians think in order to be holy, we need to be stupid and ignorant. All I can say is they're doing a very good job at being stupid and ignorant, but they're not being pleasing to the Lord. If it's a sin to be wise, why did God have Paul write so much of the New Testament? Because he was one of the wisest men who ever lived. But be wise and good in both. you know good wholesome things wholesome living as well as the teachings of that which is good by the way the whole Jewish concept of wisdom to the Greeks to be wise is just head knowledge but to the Jew to be wise is you not only know it in your head but you apply it to your life but be wise in that which is good and be innocent in evil naive about that which is evil, unexperienced in that which is evil. You know, a lot of people think that the only way to be a good counselor, drug counselor, is you have to have at one time been a cocaine addict. Well, I think Jesus would make a better drug counselor than any cocaine addict. Jesus never committed sin. Yet he was the only one who had the solution to sin. So this idea that you got to be an expert. You have to be an expert in a certain sin at one time in order to counsel other people who have a problem with that sin. That's hogwash. That's not at all what the Bible teaches. But we are to be wise in that which is good and innocent. and evil. You can be an expert in the solution without ever being an expert in the problem. In fact, secular psychology likes to focus on the problem. The Bible tells us to focus on the problem solver, the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew chapter 10 verse 16, Jesus said this, Behold I send you out as sheep. This is when he sent his 12 disciples out to preach the gospel. Behold I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be shrewd as serpents or be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. God does not want a church filled with idiots. If God wanted a church filled with idiots, he would have wrote us a little tract. He would not have written us this great big book called the Bible that intelligent men are still trying to figure out. Some of the complex doctrines taught in it to this day. But we are to be wise in that which is good, and innocent in that which is evil, and unexperienced in that which is evil. Paul gives the Romans a promise in verse 20, and the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The God of peace is the only true God, and the only true God is the only one who can bring true, genuine, lasting peace. Paul says that the God of peace will soon crush Satan under their feet. Now this is a look forward. In Genesis 3.15 God promised that through the seed of the woman would come one, the Lord Jesus Christ, born of a virgin, who would crush the head of the serpent. In Revelation 20 when Jesus returns, the second coming of Christ, he binds Satan in the abyss, the bottomless pit, for a thousand years. At the end of the thousand years Satan is released and then Christ tossed tosses Satan into the lake of fire, flames of hell forever and ever. So this is a look forward to when the Lord Jesus Christ will crush Satan under his feet, but it's also that type of language, but this is also symbolic language for the Roman church, the church in Rome, for its victory over false teachers. Paul was saying the false teachers that tried to lead them astray, as long as they are wise in that which is good and innocent in that which is evil, as long as they stay away from the evil and are wise in that which is good, God will soon crush these false teachers, workers of Satan under their feet And so it's symbolic for the Roman Church's victory over false teachers. I like to state this, the Roman Church, the Church of Rome, the church that Paul wrote this letter to, had a great start as they crushed Satan's false teachers under their feet. They had a great start. But unfortunately, and I speak from experience, the first 23 years of my life I spent in Roman Catholicism, the Church of Rome, the Church of Rome had a great start with its victory over false teachers but a bad finish to where the Roman Catholic Church although they still teach the doctrine of the Trinity and the deity of Christ and Christ, Devil, and the cross for the sins of mankind they are in an apostate state I believe as they reject justification through faith alone and though we're saved by God's grace alone through Jesus alone The way Jesus gets this grace to us is filtered through mediators, priests, and the seven sacraments according to the Church of Rome. And so they have fallen victim to false teachers over the centuries. So they had a great start in their battle against heresies, but eventually the Church of Rome was beaten down by false heresies and now the Church of Rome cannot be complimented today like they were in the past by Paul. But Paul prays for God's favor, God's grace to be upon the Roman believers. Paul sends greetings from some friends that were with him. I remember earlier, he was telling them, you know, what Phoebe Paul was sending to the Romans with the letter. But most of the people were in Rome, and he was saying, greet those people for me. They're in Rome. But now Paul sends greetings from friends who were with him, probably at Corinth. In verses 21 to 24 of Romans chapter 16. Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you. And so do Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, and my kinsmen. I, Tertius, who write this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, greets you. And Portus, the brother. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. And so in these verses, Paul sends greetings from friends who were with him. Timothy, he's with Paul at Corinth, Paul was his spiritual father. Acts chapter 16, verses 1 to 3, talking about Paul, and he came also to Derbe and to Lystra, this was right right after splitting with Barnabas because he didn't want to give the young John Mark a second chance. So then behold, a third disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek. And he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted this man to go with him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. So that way Timothy who was half Jewish could minister to Jewish people whereas Titus who was fully Gentile, Paul refused to have him circumcised. But it seems that Paul felt guilty about not giving John Mark, the young John Mark a second chance so he took a different youngster with him, Timothy and then wrote, eventually wrote 1st and 2nd Timothy. to this young man. Paul trained this young man, Timothy, to boldly preach the Word of God. Look at 1 Timothy 1. 1 Timothy 1. And verses 3 and 4. As I urge you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus in order that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines. Boy, Copeland and Hagen should read this. Nor to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies which give rise to mere speculation rather than furthering the administration of God which is by faith. But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. I actually read one verse too many. But here Paul is sending this young man to instruct others not to teach heresies. 2 Timothy chapter 1. Now 2 Timothy, this is the last letter that Paul wrote. He was about to be executed. 2 Timothy chapter 1 verses 6 and 7. And for this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of timidity or fear, but of power and love and discipline. So Paul is telling them, use the gift that you have. 2 Timothy 2.15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth. So he's telling him, study the word diligently so that when you preach, you handle the word of God accurately, and do not proclaim heresies. And finally, 2 Timothy chapter 4, verses 1 to 5, Paul says this to Timothy, I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is the judge, the living and the dead, and by his appearing in his kingdom, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. But wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires. Like the Health, Wealth and Prosperity Doctrine, a religion that you're a god with a small g and God always wants you healthy, wealthy and prosperous. verse 4, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. He was very dear to Paul, that's why Paul wrote to him nearing his execution. Timothy was like a spiritual son to Paul. Paul trained this young man to boldly proclaim the word of God In fact, he was probably Paul's most trusted associate. If trouble started somewhere and Paul couldn't be there, he would send Timothy. In fact, I believe it was the Corinthians he told them that, you know, he couldn't get there right away, so he was going to send them Timothy. And Paul would also say, too, that if people were questioning whether he was from God, he would tell them he would send Timothy his letter. It was almost like Timothy was his resume. Paul was saying, if you don't believe I'm from God, just look at this godly young man, Timothy, that my ministry produced. Now after you talk with Timothy for about 20 minutes, if you then have the audacity to say I'm not from God, you have no idea what godliness is. But he was probably Paul's most trusted associate. Trouble started and Paul couldn't be there. He would send Timothy. Paul's kinsmen, I kind of agree with Charles Ryrie that probably his fellow countrymen, fellow Israelites. He mentions Lucius, who is possibly from Cyrene, a teacher at Antioch, Acts 13, I believe mentions the Lucius who he might be. Jason, possibly found in Acts 17 verses 5 to 9 from Thessalonica who was very hospitable to Paul and Silas and Sasypater in Acts 20 verse 4 a Christian of Berea who was with Paul from Greece to Asia in his missionary work Tertius is mentioned in these verses, verses 21 to 24. It says there, now don't let that shock you. In Romans 16 verse 22 where it says, I Tertius who write this letter greet you in the Lord. Well did Paul write it or did Tertius write it? Well Paul wrote it but he actually dictated this letter to Tertius who was probably Paul's secretary. Now some scholars believe that Tertius is Silas, it's doubtful though. Latourius is just Paul's secretary. He was saying, I wrote down Paul's letter to the Romans as Paul dictated it to me. Gaius is a Corinthian believer who was baptized by Paul. Remember 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 14. In fact, let's take a look at that. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. Verse 14, Paul says, I thank God that I baptized none of you except Crispus and Gaius. Because these guys, whoever baptized these Corinthians, they would say, well, I'm from Paul. And others would say, well, I'm from Apollos. Well, I'm from Christ. And another one, you know, I'm from this guy, I'm from that guy. And Paul said, well, I thank God that I didn't baptize hardly any of you guys except for Crispus and Gaius. But he was a Corinthian believer baptized by Paul. Another evidence that Paul was in Corinth at this time. And also something that the third epistle of John was addressed to him. It was addressed to Gaius. But Gaius was a common name back then. And so we don't know for sure. Paul again prays for God's favor to be with all the Roman believers. in verse 24. Now, I don't know if I skipped something here in my outline, but where is Erastus mentioned? Well, Erastus is mentioned in verse 23, and he is possibly the Corinthian city treasurer whose name was found on a pavement a pavement that he dedicated to Corinth so another possible evidence linking it to Corinth where Paul was writing from and then Cordus was probably Erastus' biological brother Paul closes this by stating, to God be the glory in verses 25 to 27 of the book of Romans, Romans 16 verses 25 to 27. Now to him who is able to establish you, according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which has been kept secret for long ages past, but now is manifested. And by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made known to all the nations, leading to obedience of faith, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be glory forever. Amen. And so closes Paul's letter. to the Romans, to God be the glory, verses 25 to 27. Paul always kept the spotlight on God. 2 Corinthians 10.17, but he who boasts, let him boast in the Lord. Paul says that God is able to establish us by His gospel. In other words, He saves us and then He keeps us and He glorifies us and establishes us by His gospel. through the preaching of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the gospel. Jesus Christ is the good news. When you preach the gospel, you preach Jesus. The revelation, the word revelation just means the making known of something. It's the making known of the gospel. The mystery, musterion in the Greek, it speaks of something that's unknown in the Old Testament but made known in the New Testament. and the progressive revelation of God becoming more clear in the person of Jesus Christ. The revelation of the mystery was manifested, made known through the scriptures of the prophets. The scriptures of God's Word of the prophets, they were the proclaimers of God's Word. God spoke His Word through them whether in written or oral form. The commandment of the Eternal God in this context seems to be the Great Commission, Matthew 28, 19 and 20. I'll read that, Matthew 28, 19 and 20, the Great Commission. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." So the command to go, make disciples, so preach the gospel to people of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey that which the Lord commanded. So the commandment of the Eternal God in this context appears to be the proclaiming of the Gospel message, the Great Commission to the command of the Eternal God to preach the Gospel to all nations and the result of that Paul says is the obedience of faith, in other words obeying the gospel by trusting in Jesus for salvation which then produced through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit empowers the believer to obey God's laws from the heart. The eternal God speaks of God as the uncaused cause of the universe. The uncaused cause of all else that exists. God has no beginning and no end. He is the eternal one, the I am who I am who spoke to Moses from the burning bush. Paul also refers to God as the only wise God because he designed a way to... by the way I can't see I can't see closing this letter to Romans if the five-point Calvinist interprets Romans 9 correctly and God just predestines some people to be saved and predestines others to be lost totally apart from what their free choices would be. and that no one freely accepts Christ, even under divine persuasion, God has to just, you know, zap them, regenerate them, and then they believe. I think Paul would have closed this letter, and to the only powerful God, but the fact that his emphasis is on God's wisdom, I mean, how much wisdom, I could take a chess board out and move pawns all over the place. And that shows my power, but it doesn't show much wisdom. But if somebody else making free choices and using their wisdom in opposition to mine is moving their pawns and their chess pieces and I still win then I think you can put the emphasis on my wisdom. And so the only wise God, I think it's speaking about the fact that God designed the way to punish sin but save the sinner And that His sovereign purposes, God's sovereign purposes will not fail, still He has not infringed on man's free will. That's where I see the mystery of God's wisdom. But the wisdom of God is made known through the ministry of Christ. His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection, and His future return. And so Paul says to the only wise God, Through Jesus Christ be the glory forever. Amen. To God be the glory. That closes Paul's letter to the Romans. In conclusion, once again, I'll give you just a little overview of Romans. You might ask why I've done this over and over and over again throughout this. And my response is because 10 years from now, you're not going to remember how Dr. Phil Fernandes interpreted Romans chapter 8 verse 7. For what you should remember 10 years from now, because I repeated it so often, is a basic outline of the book of Romans, a chapter outline. So our conclusion of Paul's letter to Romans is an overview of Romans point number 1. All are condemned. We cannot save ourselves. Romans chapters 1 to 3. Salvation comes not from the law, but only through trusting in Jesus as Savior, a portion of Romans 3, and then chapters 4 and 5. Through Jesus we have victory over sin, and we persevere in the faith, Romans 6, 7, and 8. Through disbelief, Israel has rejected the gospel, Romans 9 and 10. Still, God is not through with Israel. At Christ's return, a remnant will be saved. That's Romans chapter 11. Romans chapter 12 tells us we are to live humble and loving lives, devoted, totally consecrated to God. Romans chapters 13, 14, and 15 tell us we are to submit to the government and we are to help the weaker brother and truly love the weaker brother and in chapter 16 we are to separate from heretics and watch them closely and so that's an overview of Paul's letter to the Romans the gospel of God's grace the gospel of salvation by God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone the gospel according to Paul Paul's letter to the Church of Rome.