This morning, all the kids are being dismissed. I want to give you a little bit of an update. While I'm doing that, you can turn to Romans chapter 16. As to why I wasn't here last week, Appreciate your prayers concerning my weird reaction to what is now confirmed as a tick bite and phagocytophilium. Whatever that is. Tick-borne disease. We love those ticks. We hate those ticks. We can't wait for heaven when there are no more ticks. Pardon me? Oh, yes, we do love the deer, though. Yes, that's right, Fred. You know me all too well. And so I appreciate your prayers for that. And it seems to be on the mend. I'm thankful that you reacted the way you did. That's what Randy Shearer had, along with one of the other tick-borne diseases that almost killed him earlier this year when he was in the hospital. Yeah, it can do some damage. So anyway, I'm grateful for that. I would also like to say that just in the last couple of weeks, a day trip to Ithaca and back, and then the two days we spent there last week, I'm very grateful for your understanding in this. I'm grateful for Chris's willingness that any second to step in and preach. Very capably, by the way, I was listening to that sermon as well from last week. Appreciate your heart. And it strikes me that as we go through these transitions of life that we all go through sooner or later, the different ones, that there's just no place like home. And even though I know that the next month or two or whatever is just going to be as hectic as ever, I honestly can't wait till it's all over so I can just be home. I love it here. I absolutely love it here. This is my home. Harford's not my home. West Dryden, Brookendale, all the places that we have lived as a married couple, those were OK for the time being. And they were a home. Danelle made every single one of our homes a home. But this is home. This is where I'm comfortable. This is where I want to be. I don't want to be anywhere else. Well, yeah, OK. Don't you rebuke me in front of everyone. No, I don't see it that way. Anyway, I'm just glad to be able to be here. And in the providence of God, right? It worked out perfectly that I didn't preach last week because I already had this sermon done, so being away as much as I was this week, I could still preach this week. Right? Does that make sense? Okay, good. Let's get started. The deeper we get into Romans chapter 16, the happier that I am that our motto from the very beginning of our studies in Romans was, and continues to be, we aren't going to take anything for granted. Robert Newell actually brings this out in his opening comments on chapter 16 when he says this, and I quote, this 16th chapter is neglected by many to their own loss. It is by far the most extensive, intimate, and particular of all the words of loving greeting in Paul's marvelous letters. No one can afford to miss this wonderful outpouring of the heart of our apostle toward the saints whom he so loved, which means all the real Church of God." End quote. I mentioned two weeks ago that many a commentator has pointed out that behind every name in this list of names in Romans 16, there is a story to tell. Some have even described these stories as Christian love stories of sorts. not in the vein of a romance novel, obviously, but as an expression of genuine care and concern and respect and gratitude and compassion and, yes, filial love. Most of the names that represent these kind affections of the Apostle in this chapter, we know little to nothing about. Some, and I will bring it to your attention later today, are found elsewhere in Scripture. Some are even found in the historical literature of the first century. Very few, however, give us much detail as to the relationship that existed between them and the Apostle Paul. Having said that, This does not diminish the impact these saints had on Paul's life, his on theirs, or their combined benefit to Christianity at large. The most we had to work with, we have already seen in the first five and a half verses. Let me read those to you and say a few things by way of review. I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Centrea, 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 risked 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. By way of a brief review, then, let it be said that it cannot be taken lightly that Paul does not shy away from commending women. for their ministry to himself, others, and the church. Whether it was a woman like Phoebe, likely widowed and well-to-do, but immensely invested in the work of God, or someone like Phoebe, or did I just say Phoebe? Or someone like Prisca, Also Priscilla, same person, who along with her husband built tents, hosted a church in their home, and helped provide Apollos with much needed doctrinal clarity. Christianity as a whole benefits greatly when saints, all of us, yield ourselves to serve God with the gifts he has provided right where he has sovereignly placed us. It just so happens. What do I mean by it just so happens? Sovereign shout out. Yes. It just so happens that I finished reading the book of Genesis this morning. And so I'm thinking about Joseph. Everything go the way Joseph planned his life to go? Thank God for Reuben. They wouldn't let his brothers kill him like they wanted to. Right? And you get to the end of it all, Dad's dead, brothers come to Joseph with a lie. You know, Dad said before he died, that was a lie. Right? Because Israel didn't even know what they did when he died. I don't think he ever knew what they did. selling this boy into slavery and then he becoming such leadership in Egypt. Point being for this, right? We're looking at this list of people. We're seeing all these people. We don't know all the story behind all these people. What we do know is that God used them in great ways right where they were. That's what we need to be concerned about for ourselves. Don't look at other people and compare yourself to them and wish you were more like them. Because they have a greater influence than you do. God has you where he wants you doing what you're doing. He's got me here preaching to you. Not to 10,000 somewhere. And that's fine. This is where I am and have been called to be. I wasn't kidding almost 32 years ago when I told you that this was not a stepping stone for me, that I felt that it would be a life calling, God willing, and so far He has willed that, and I am grateful that He has. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. So just be ready for it the next month or so, as I'm not here, and then I'm here, and then I'm not here, and I'm here. I am deeply moved by what God has planned for my life. Phoebe carried a letter to Rome that would change the world, literally. The Reformation was born as God used Romans in the heart of Martin Luther. Belligerent sinners were brought to Christ through its preaching, men like Augustine and Wesley and Karl Barth, not to mention someone like John Piper, who would eventually bow the knee to the absolute sovereignty of God because of a text like Romans 9. Speaking of Piper, So you got Piper, he's in seminary, he's got a professor that believes in the sovereignty of God, and Piper doesn't! He wasn't a sovereignty of God guy his whole life. I have been blessed to have that kind of teaching my entire life as a Christian. He didn't. He's having a conversation in a hallway of a seminary with a professor where he takes a pencil and does this and says to his professor, I dropped that pencil. And then he takes a sabbatical when he's in, he was still a professor, he wasn't a pastor yet, I don't think. He takes a sabbatical and he takes about a year to study Romans 9. And he writes a book, The Justification of God. I had to pick this up. And he writes The Justification of God. And he said, Romans 9, is a tiger that goes about devouring free willers like me. All because Phoebe said yes to throwing a letter in her satchel. You never know what God's going to use with your simple acts of obedience. And Priscilla was an integral part of the family business. She played a huge role serving Paul. and the church at large. And so all I want for myself and for all of you is this same kind of everyday, naturally authentic submission and obedience to God, where He then does whatever He wants through us. Therefore, like Paul put it to the church in Corinth, we are ambassadors for Christ. God making His appeal through us. That hit me a little bit different this morning when I was reviewing my notes. I even put it in pink. That's the real bold one. I use yellow all the time. If I really want to remember something and emphasize it, and I'm impressed by it, put pink. Because I can see it better. I don't want to miss it. God makes his appeal through you. Why? I have no idea. Other than that's how he has chosen to accomplish his purposes so that he can bring all glory to himself in what he's doing through us as instruments. Instruments for him. Father, I pray that we would yield ourselves to you now as instruments We remember all the way back in our studies in Romans that we are to present ourselves as instruments for righteousness, not unrighteousness. I pray that you would help us to do that, that we'll take it seriously, that we'll just take one day at a time and not get too far ahead of ourselves or not lean too forward on our skis or whatever other term we want to use, but that we'll just plug away for the glory of God trusting you and just believing you and being faithful. Because we want to be, even in the harder times. And so, use the Word now in us to help equip us and change us so that you can bring all glory to yourself in ways that magnify your grace and your mercy and your faithfulness. I pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. So we're going to go deeper into Romans 16 now. This will be, I think, in the entire book of Romans, the most verses that I deal with at one time. I'm going to read the whole text to you, and then we're going to run down through it. A couple of the names I'm going to do my best with starts in 5B. Greet my beloved Epineatus, 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 Stychus, Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. Greet my kinsmen 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. Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. Greet Asencrintus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobus, Hermes, and the brothers who are with them. Greet Phalagus, I just butchered that one, 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. Okay, so. What I see here, as I said to you before, we're seeing this through broad stroke lenses of things like James 2. Paul shows no partiality. I'm going to bring that out with these people and their names and what they mean and who they are. Excuse me. I think what we also have here. Excuse me. is an example of what Christ said in John 13. And so, I think the main thought that I want to express to you today, the partiality, not being partial is one of them, the main thought, the main thrust of this text, what we see from the Apostle Paul and this interaction with all of these people in this world is this, and these are the direct words of Christ, this is a quote from John 13, 35, by this, all people will know that you are my disciples. If what? if you have love for one another. This is an expression of Christian love. All these greetings, all these names, all these people that he remembers from his years of ministry. I am absolutely amazed that he could remember so many people by name. We had friends visiting a couple, three years ago from, well, they weren't in Florida then, they've since moved to Florida. Rikki and Chris, she played the violin when she was here. And so we're sitting around, we're chatting and all of that, and it comes to find out that I was in their wedding. I said, I wasn't in your wedding. I didn't remember being in their wedding. So then Al gets the pictures out. Guess what? I was in their wedding. I didn't even remember it. What? Yes, they did feel very lucky. Apparently, you remember those things that are important to you. Those people and those events, life-changing circumstances, they form in your brain, right? We all have them. You remember those things and those people that are important to you. And Paul is doing that here. There are lots of greetings, lots of people's names, lots of stuff going on here, lots of ways that he's describing his relationships with these people. And so I decided, in the end, in dealing with this text, to just go down through it. I read it to you, now we're going to go down through it in the order of the names that are given. I decided on this instead of an outline that could have been by relationship or instead of an outline that could have been by social status because you've got Well, to do people, and you've got slaves, you've got social status, and all that stuff going on here. You also have the descriptions that he uses to describe these people. All of that is mixed up in here, but the main point is, and this is why I settled on going through this text like we're going to now, the main point is all the different people's names. That's the main point of this, because every single one of them We're somehow involved with Paul, either directly or indirectly, in ministry, in service. And this is where I'm going to harp on it again, because I want to make sure that we don't get caught in this bad view of ministry that There's full-time ministry people, and then there's everyone else. Like the ones that are in full-time ministry are somehow better than the ones that aren't in full-time ministry. I despise that. I really do. Because we're all in full-time ministry, where God has called us to be. Some full-time ministry, as we would know it, pastors, missionaries, and all of that. Some teachers. Sorry, I looked at you first. Don't mean to call you out. Or retireds. Or whatever Kalen does, I still don't understand. All these non-technical words. But he does it well, apparently. So we're proud of him for that. God has called us where he wants to be. Where he wants us to be. And to just yield our lives to him. That's it. It's not rocket science. And see, that's a form of partiality, right? Oh, you got full-time people who are up here, and then you got everybody else down here. And the people down here feel guilty because they're not full-time. Well, why didn't God call me to full-time ministry? He did, right where you are. So lay your bricks and tell people about Jesus, or whatever it is. In this text I read to you, Paul greets at least 22 people by name, two families, besides the brothers who are with the ones and the saints who are with the others. So we don't even know how many people Paul is greeting here. That's why Newell brought out in his commentary in that quote I read to you already, that this is the most extensive of all of Paul's greetings to people that he has come to know, come to respect, come to love. that are in the ministry with Him. So, that was the first point. Lots of greetings! Now we get to lots of names and descriptive terms, to which I'm just going to run down through this. I'm not going to read the verses again. We read them already. There's cross-references. There's things to look at along the way. So we're going to get through this as quickly as we can. Eponiatus. He was remembered as a first fruit of Paul to Christ in Asia. That's one of those things, one of those people, one of those memories, right, that's going to stick in your head, especially if you're Paul. Because remember, Paul, apostle to the Gentiles, it was his desire to go to places that never heard the gospel before and preach the gospel. And so when you do that, and you preach the gospel, and someone's converted, you're going to remember that. You're gonna remember that, and Paul did. Some people can't be forgotten. How many times have you come up to someone, or you've seen someone, and you're like, have we met? Have we met? You look familiar to me. Have we met? Do I know you? Paul knew exactly who he was talking about here. Some people you just can't forget. And this is for the right reasons. There's some people you can't forget for the wrong reasons, too, isn't there? What did Paul say in remembrance about Alexander the coppersmith in 2 Timothy 4 when he said, watch out for him. He said, watch out for him. Can I paraphrase it? Big thorn in my side, my whole ministry. Alexander the coppersmith. Be careful. Don't trust him. But, was Paul's remembrance of that man a grudge that he was holding? Please say no. Okay. How do we know that? Because immediately after saying, watch out for him, Paul says, the Lord will repay him according to his deeds. Sounds like something else he wrote somewhere. Maybe it was in Romans. Isn't everything in Romans? Romans 12. Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. You don't take vengeance. You don't take revenge. You just remember. God's gonna take care of it for you. And that's not always easy. I understand that. Mary's next in the list. No reason to believe this is any of the Marys that we know in Scripture in the way that it's actually written here. It's possible that Paul doesn't even know her personally, but literally she is remembered in this text as Mary the Toiler. Working to exhaustion. Forgot, in whatever capacity or ministry she had. Don't know what it was. Let me say this. And this is a caution. Because again, we get in our Christian circles, right? And this is even in worldly circles. We start comparing and we're like, well, let me just tell you what I'm getting at first so I don't lose you along the way. It's okay to rest. We need rest. Now, my daughter's like, yeah, sure. You don't rest. What are you talking about, Dad? Point taken. We need our rest. Some of us aren't as good at it as we should be, but we need it. Do not get caught in this, what is it? It's a terrible cycle of comparing yourself to somebody else. Well, they only sleep five hours a night. You might need eight. I don't think anybody needs 16, but you might need 8. You might be a sluggard if you need 16. I don't know. Maybe you have physical... I'm not saying that blanket statement, okay? Don't get mad at me. Maybe you do, I don't know, but typically you don't. But you have this view of, well, they're just always going and going and going and that's the standard and I gotta live up to that standard or else I'm not as good a Christian as them. Knock it off! That's to the detriment of what you're doing at the advancement of it. And so even though she's remembered as, and he's going to use this word again later for somebody else, as someone who is working to the point of exhaustion, it doesn't mean that you don't need rest. and that you shouldn't rest. And then we have Andronicus and Junia. This is an interesting pair because Junia can possibly be a man's name as well, depending on the form, and it's not concrete in the Greek. It's either two men that are in the ministry, or I think it's probably a married couple like we already saw in Prisca and Aquila because of what's said here. They are Paul's kinsmen, they're his fellow prisoners, they were converted before him. What kind of picture does all of that paint of these two people that he's remembering as being fellow prisoners especially, but he remembers them as kinsmen as well. Now, we already looked at Paul's concern for kinsmen back in chapter 9 or 10 at the beginning, right? And we were talking there about Jewish people. This is talking about other Jewish people, but it can also be referring to a family member. So it's quite possible that Paul is talking about a Jewish couple that are also blood relatives of him. Which makes it even more interesting because he says about them that they were converted before he was. Which makes people like the late John MacArthur. I don't know if you heard yet that he has passed into his eternal rest. I'm going to say more about him by way of illustration here later on. Causes someone like him in his commentary to point out it's very possible that these two are actually two things, right? They were saved before Paul. What did Paul do before he was converted to people that were saved? persecuted them. They could have very well been persecuted by their blood relative, and they very well could have been some of the ones that were sharing the gospel with him. And now Paul's remembering them. The big one though, I think, is fellow prisoners. That's a bond. That's a bond, right? If you have that kind of a shared experience with someone, That's a bond. Much more than being part of the same hunting club. That's a bond, right? Or sewing circle. Let's try to be at least a little more broad with our illustrations than just hunting all the time. Or Dodge owners. You ever talk to a Dodge owner? Right? What a brotherhood that is. Don't talk bad about Dodges around them, because they're like this, man. Right? What do you think it's like to be a fellow prisoner with someone? And have that. And have Paul say, you know what? I want to greet Andronicus and Junia. They don't know which imprisonment. Paul was in prison several times, according to 2 Corinthians 11. He's got other people in Philemon, he calls Epaphras a fellow prisoner. In Colossians, he calls Aristarchus a fellow prisoner. He had bonds with people. What story is there? Oh, how I wish we knew. We don't. And we don't need to. Maybe someday we will. I don't know. But it was a very unique relationship. Very unique relationship. We have Impliatus coming next. Archaeology reveals the history of this name to be a very common slave name. There were many slaves that were part of the imperial households of the day, and they shared this same name. There's even a Christian catacomb ornately decorated with this name inscribed on it, to which I want you to turn to Galatians chapter 3. This person who was a slave was well respected in the church. Because it's a Christian catacomb, his name, slave name, maybe not this person, but someone like him, ornately decorated, out of respect, out of honor, for who he was, for what he did for the church, which just solidifies for us non-partiality in a text like Galatians 3, 28 and 29. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. Urbanus and Stychus come next. One is a Jewish name, the other is a Gentile name. And so though Paul was known to be the apostle to the Gentiles, we know he also had a heart for Jews, and we have this list of people that is beginning to develop for us non-partiality for men versus women, rich versus poor, and one ethnic group versus another ethnic group. Every church should be multi-ethnic in nature. I say every church. We live in an area where we don't have a lot of that. Talk to Pete and the Coachers sometime about their church down the city. What a melting pot. It's called a melting pot, right? New York City? I don't even know how many different ethnic groups they have there. That's what a church should look like. Because we're one in Christ. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. And so Paul is remembering these two, one as a fellow worker and the other as beloved. Here's a little side note as we're seeing all these different descriptions. We have hard worker, fellow worker, we have beloved, all these different ways that Paul is describing these people. How do I want to bring this out? What I want to say is, you don't have to say the same thing to everyone by a sincere compliment the same way in fear of offending someone else. He uses all these different descriptions. Right? And he probably doesn't necessarily mention every single person, and he even doesn't in this list, right? By name. And so if you are, case in point, let's get back there to Romans 16. I told you I was going to read the text. White lie. I'll consult it. It says at the end of verse 14, the brothers who were them, And it also says in the end of 15, after mentioning the names, and all the saints who are with them, implication being, Paul knows they're there, he knows who they are, but he doesn't call them by name. It's on them if they take offense to that. Because that's their problem, right? Just like we see a text like this, which And the thing, the reason I talk about these things is that I've seen it happen before. You have people that won't compliment other people because they don't want them to get a big head. Well, I can't pay them a compliment because they might become arrogant because of it. Well then, what's Paul doing here? Is he worried about that? Apparently not, because he's paying great compliments to a lot of people by remembering them and greeting them, It's on them whether or not they get a big head. Spurgeon once told, coming off the platform after preaching a sermon, that that was a great sermon he just preached. And typical Spurgeon response was, yeah, the devil already told me so. The great Lloyd-Jones said, he wouldn't even walk across the street to hear himself preach. I think that's true humility in these two men. True humility. I don't listen to myself preach because I hate my voice. It's just weird, I can't do it. Next is, Apelles, who was tested and proved to be faithful. They probably didn't even know each other. But Paul had a testimony born to him about Apelles where he said he was tried and tested and proved to be faithful. Is that the kind of legacy you want? That's the kind of legacy a guy like John MacArthur has. People come out of the woodwork after somebody dies to start talking about them. sometimes negatively, in this case, often positively. The greatest compliment that was paid that I've read so far to John MacArthur because of his, he was a pastor for 56 years in one church. 56. The right way. There's guys that hang around too long sometimes. The greatest compliment that was paid to him was the last three years of his life, he's been struggling physically, not struggling anymore physically, he had a personal trainer. And when they first met, this personal trainer didn't even know who he was. And yet the relationship that they would build over the next three years as this personal trainer would write in a tribute to John MacArthur was the most powerful compliment anyone could get because he says he was the same in private as he was in public. Who doesn't want that? as a legacy of faithfulness. Was he a perfect man? No. A sinner saved by grace like the rest of us. He still had his issues, he still had his sins, but God protected him from sinning so grievously in his life to destroy the work of the ministry. And that's refreshing to me. Because every Christian feed I have, just about every day, there's another pastor that is resigning because of some sexual misconduct, or another one because of embezzlement, or another one because of some sort of abuse. And it sickens me. Let me praise God for men like John MacArthur, who said before he died, after I'm dead and gone, it doesn't matter! It's the same word that goes forth! The power's in this. We're just vessels. We're just instruments, you and I, to give ourselves wholly unto God where He has us. There's the families of Aristobulus and Narcissus. Scholars that study out these names have concluded that they're possibly, good possibility, that they're members of Caesar's palace. There are great lessons here. I keep on coming back to the same one, though. God wants you to be faithful where you are. There is Christian influence everywhere. There wasn't Caesar's household. Look up Philippians 4.22 for that one. Herodian, another name, another kinsman, and because of the name itself, some relationship also to the family of Herod. Influence everywhere. Verse 12 says this, Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord." Tryphena and Tryphosa, they're likely sisters, and some even believe twins, because their names come from the same root word. One of them means dainty, and the other one means delicate. And yet Paul says about them, they work to the point of exhaustion. And what they did, some people thinking it was a play on words. You've got dainty and delicate. But they worked hard to the point of exhaustion for the cause of Christ and the glory of God. And in the past tense, Persis at the end, so she was likely older and not able to do as much as he used to, but I find it very interesting that here, it's not just greet beloved persis, but what? The beloved persis. That's an intensification! Definite article, right? Know your grammar! Definite article! The beloved! In what ways? We don't know. Rufus mentioned next, there's a Rufus mentioned in Mark 15. Could very likely be the same person. Look that up later. Here's the context for it. Second century Christianity, Christian tradition says that Mark was written for the Christians in Rome. So, why wouldn't Mark and why wouldn't Paul, talking to people in Rome, mention this guy named Rufus? And then Rufus' mother. What'd Paul say about her? Basically, she treated me like a son. There's that one house in the neighborhood. We had one down around the corner. Everybody congregated. You have that one that people are always going to, and where the mom is cooking and yelling at all of them like they're her own. It's the kind of ministry that she had, and we don't even know her name. Verse 14 lists five more people besides many more. Verse 15 lists four more people besides many more, which makes me think of these two texts in Hebrews, Hebrews 10, Again, God has us right where He wants us to be, to be fully yielded to Him, presenting ourselves as living sacrifices. That's the overall context. We're still in that overall context of Romans. It began in chapter 12, verse 1. I'm not going to end until the end of this chapter. Present yourself as living sacrifices. These people did that. And Paul is remembering them and greeting them, and as he's writing this, he's probably remembering all those stories and all those shared experiences, very fondly and affectionately for these people and the great work that they did for the Lord. And there's some that we didn't even know their names. Hebrews 10.32. But recall the former days, when after you were enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with suffering, sometimes being publicly exposed to reproach and affliction, and sometimes being partners with those so treated, for you had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one." There's some incentive for you. Do you know that? Do you realize that every day? Do you have a better possession and an abiding one than this? All your trinkets and all your toys and all of our houses and all of our air conditioning. Thank God for air conditioning. My stepfather doesn't have air conditioning in the house. Ask Danelle. I was miserable. She thought I was overreacting. I'm prone to overreaction when it comes to heat and humidity, apparently. Give it all up! You give it all up for somebody you don't even know? To not be known by anyone else in what you're doing? And then, over a page at the end of Hebrews 11, This is similar, right? Hebrews 11 is more detailed. It's talking about people's faith and how faithful they were. Lots of people by name. And then you get to the end and it says, others. Verse 36, others. suffered mocking and flogging, chains and imprisonment, stoned, sunned in two, killed with a sword, went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth. We don't know their names. Who knows their names? Isn't that all that matters? That God knows their names? And as we said about Paul concerning Alexander the coppersmith, that God would deal with him as his deeds deserve, God will deal with these as their deeds deserve. And then he ends it all with that cultural practice of greeting one another with a kiss. Do some study on that sometime. Read about that. Some people think kiss on the forehead, kiss on the cheeks. Why don't we do it anymore? Most commentators, as they trace it out and study it over history, some people came to abuse it. Big surprise there with the human heart. to the point where, so in stages, greet one another with a kiss, men with men, non-sexually, men with women, women with women, non-sexually, show of affection, show of love, concern, familialness. It got to the point where then it was only men could do it with men because of the abuse, and then eventually left behind altogether. because of the abuse. How pathetic. Right? How pathetic. The very last thing that Paul says is, and I want to quote it for you, so I'll read it from the text, and then we're done. Almost done. Is, all the churches of Christ greet you. So he ends with a very broad but important reminder that the true church is made up of all the churches that are true. You've got Little C Church, Local Church, Big C Church, Universal Church. Everyone greets you, he's saying. All the churches. Goes back to this bond that we have with one another, with people that we don't even know. but that we love and care about and will help if needed. So what do we learn from this text? At least four things. Number one, don't take anybody for granted. Do you like to be taken for granted? Don't say yes or you're lying. Do you like to be taken for granted? No! Nobody likes to be taken for granted. So don't take one another for granted. Number two, Don't discriminate. Paul didn't. He had fond feelings and gratitude for people from all walks of life. Slaves, family, those known only by their reputation, those in places of influence, and those who treated him like a son. Bob Utley brings out, and I quote, what is remarkable is that there is a mixture of common slave names and noble Roman and Jewish family names. There are men and women. There are wealthy and freedmen and itinerant preachers. There are foreigners from Persia. All barriers are down in the Church of Jesus Christ. End quote. Do not show partiality. Third, women play a vital role in the church. God created men and women with different wiring and responsibilities, but that does not mean they are second-class citizens or Christians when it comes to ministry in the church. When it comes to the wiring thing, the now older brother, Mike, His wife, Vicki, hosts every year all seven grandchildren for an overnighter at one time. I was talking to Mike shortly after that this year. He's recovering from knee surgery. And he said, that was a long 24 hours. It's because we're wired different. Right? It's just the way it is. It's complementarianism, if you want the big theological word. What it means is God has made men to be men and women to be women, and there's different roles and responsibilities. In general, just by way of the different order of creation, and specifically when it comes to the church. There is great areas of ministry for women in the church that do not violate women are not to preach. Period. They are not to preach. Don't get mad at me. Let me finish the illustration. Women are like tires on a car. Don't be offended. Yeah, the shiny ones, right? Anyway, let me just finish it. I'm going to finish. The car can't get where it needs to go without them, but they aren't the engine either. I probably could have picked a better illustration. That one just kind of stuck with me. I thought it made the point. Does it make the point though? You'll remember it. You'll remember it. Just remember other things from the sermon, not just that illustration. Fourth, moving on. Think long and hard about how you want to be remembered. How about we do our best to emulate these saints that Paul remembered. These that he referred to as beloved, the beloved, hardworking, faithful, rich, poor, slave, free, fellow prisoners, family members, and I think the most important of all of them, that if you're careful you're going to miss because it just says it in one tiny little verse, the one that was tried and tested and found faithful. That's how we need to be remembered. That way the world will have less ammunition to use against us. and see that we are Christians by how we love them and certainly by how we love one another. I can't not mention again, not by way of veneration, just by way of example, John MacArthur in closing. I think he was the quintessential example of what we're talking about. If you know anything about his life, you know God spared his life? When he was a teenager, 18 years old, And this is what drove, he could have played for the Cleveland Browns, he was so good in football apparently. He was in a car accident. Somebody was driving, he was in the front seat doing 70 on the highway. Car rolled, his door flies open. He's out on the pavement at 70 miles an hour on his back, sliding next to the car. Not getting killed. Not being maimed to the point of not being able to function. But that's one of the things God used to get his attention. And he went to seminary, he started a seminary, started a school, Grace to You Ministries, pastor of Grace Community Church for 56 years. And again, not a perfect man. And he'd be the first to admit that. But he was tested and tried, and found to be faithful in the end. That's the kind of legacy that we should be striving for. And it can only be wrought to us by the grace of God. Don't rely on your own arm of strength, because you're not going to make it. You will fail. God, help us to fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith for his glory's sake. Thank you, Father, for the opportunity to open your word and preach it to a people eager to hear it. I pray that you would bless your word to us now, that you would change us in the ways that we need to be changed. and that you would just use us as instruments, as we are your ambassadors, as you make your appeal through us. All to the praise and the honor and the glory of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, the great triune God of heaven and earth. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.