I invite you to turn to the end of the book of Romans, chapter 16, tonight. Chapter 16, and we'll be looking at verses 21 through 27, found on page 1130 if you're looking for that 1130 in your Bibles. This is the very end of the book of Romans, verse 21. This is the word of the Lord: "Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you, so does Lucius and Jason so sapater my kinsman. I, Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greet you. Erastus, the city treasure 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."
And there ends the reading of God's word and the whole book of Romans.
Well, it's helpful to kind of reconstruct what's going on here at the very end of Romans. It's unique. It's powerful when you compare it with the rest of Scripture. I'd like to try to capture that scene for just a moment, and then finish with this glorious doxology that we have here to close out the book.
In verses 21 through 23, what you'll notice is that we have a list of names of people who are with Paul. And we know that this is taking place in Corinth, where this book was was written. This is where this epistle was sent from. Paul, in chapter 15, verse 25, said that before he did anything else and went anywhere else, he had this great desire to go to Jerusalem. Paul wanted to go to Jerusalem and fulfill his calling there. And then Paul's goal was to go on to Spain. I don't know if he got there. Nobody really knows. Some early writers think he did. But remember what he said in chapter 15: "I first want to go to Jerusalem, but before this and after, before he went to Spain, between this, he wanted to visit Rome."
We have some idea of what happened. Acts ends with him on house arrest in Rome. Now, this is a striking thing about many of these epistles, especially something like the epistle to the Philippians. He is in jail when he is writing that epistle. And here in Rome, tradition holds that Paul was beheaded there. But I want you to feel what I think is captured for us is, at least for Paul and the Roman Christians, is the uncertainty of life at this point, the uncertainty of the future at this point.
You know what the Spirit told him, what happened to him when he went into cities. Now think about this in the book of Acts: "And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. For I am ready, not only to be imprisoned, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of Jesus Christ."
So, what a future! That's your future. You're going to go. You're going to be in prison at many points. And you're going to suffer all kinds of afflictions. And Paul says, "Fine, I'm ready to go and to die."
Now, I think this is an interesting moment here as we close out this book. We all sort of fear the future. Uh, we hate change. I challenged uh people to sit in different seats last time. I I felt a little bad about that, so you can stay in your seats. Some of you listened, a few of you, two of you, I think. That's okay, that's okay. We don't like change. We don't like change much at all. We don't like what could happen economically. We're in fear about the future.
Think about what I just outlined with Paul, what he just has to go through. We don't know what the future is. We don't know what's coming. And this causes untold anxiety for many people in this life. It's the future. And when you look down and think about the future, it doesn't look very bright in many ways. We don't know how things are going to go. We don't know which way it's going to turn. We don't know what's coming next. And that can be scary in times of change. We don't like change, and we want to be stable. We want to be calm. And that's just not life. And it's certainly not the Christian life.
We forget that many of the figures that we study in the New Testament were martyred for their faith. Think about that. How many of the disciples were martyred? 11 of them. To me, this is the greatest threat to any kind of earthly security not just to be in fear of it, but the larger question is the question that I raised this morning. And you can't sort of when I say themes that come together, you can't put these together yourself. This is the Lord. We have no sort of certainty for the future, we think. Well, we do. But in light of the how life is going to go, and then we have the struggle of the question: of will we remain strong in Christ? As I raised this morning, I raised this tonight because I think this whole scene is full of tension. It's full of tension and uncertainty about the future. And And now goodbyes goodbyes are really captured here and the challenge of the body of Christ that we don't get to see everyone, and we're all spread out, and there's separations
And I want to pick up this scene before us because it's it's beautiful. As we close the book, the end of Romans is saying to us one thing: that no matter what happens in the future, the Lord this is really powerful, the Lord has the strength and desire to keep us and the ability and the power to uphold us. in everything that he's spoken to us. Now that leads me to challenge a little bit tonight, as I challenged this morning, that we typically look for power in all the wrong places. We think it's this great experience that will make us powerful Christians. We think that if we have some great drama, it'll make us a powerful something powerful that we can conjure up. And we go to all kinds of things to try to find for this power in the Christian life: a new idea, a new devotional, a new concept, a new theme, a new book. And we miss what's right in front of us. Often, this is important tonight: if I could construct the final scene of Romans, I believe what we have is the final gathering here of Corinth and Paul, where Paul is is when the epistle to the Romans was written, when when he was indeed in Corinth.
Paul is ready to draw this to a close. Paul's ready to draw this to a close. And here, Paul is going to Jerusalem. Pick up the scene. The boat is probably docked outside. are some of these men who are mentioned here who are probably going on the journey with Paul to Jerusalem to advance the gospel.
So, think of the scene: they're all together in Corinth for the last time. And you could hear the discussion. They're drafting the book of Romans. Paul says, any one of you want to greet your brethren?" Paul looks up. Timothy has arrived, and three of his relatives have come: Lucius, Jason, and Sosapater. Paul tells the brothers and sisters there that we greet them. to greet them.
Another man is sitting there named Tertius. Tertius was the scribe. And what we don't realize when these epistles were written, we can sort of think of the Apostle Paul. He must have had a pen in the late night, and it just kind of glowed as he wrote, right? That's not how it worked. There were scribes. Even the very scriptures you have were spoken, and scribes would write down what was spoken. So it was spoken under the inspiration of the Spirit. It was always the spoken word. And so you had a scribe here, Tertius, who is would hear the words and write them down, the Spirit preserving that.
Paul probably looks up: "Tertius, do you want to greet your brethren in Rome?" "I do. I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, greet you in the Lord."
All this is happening from the household of a man named Gaius in Corinth. That's interesting. If you ever want proof that these are real people, And I think that's important because the first list in chapter 16 of Romans were normal people, of real people just like us who live. That was what was so beautiful about it. With Gaius, this is interesting: he was a wealthy man who hosted the whole church in his home in Corinth. And in those days, churches met in homes. They didn't have buildings like this that they came to. So you could imagine: Gaius says, "I would love to greet them." Paul speaks. Tertius writes: "Gaius, my host and the host of the whole church here in Corinth, greet you."
Archaeologists have actually discovered an inscription in Corinth with a man named Erastus' name imprinted there. It was next to a first century public sidewalk. So Erastus is mentioned here. "In return for his edelship, laid this pavement." This is the inscription: "laid this pavement at his own expense." You can still find it. He was the treasurer at Corinth. He was a well-known treasurer in the city of Corinth, very successful man. He's a believer. It's pinned: "Erastus, the treasurer of the city, greets you. And Cortus, a brother, greets you."
And I just think this is just beautiful. You feel the affection and the love of the body of Christ as you look at this, and you feel the emotion of it. Everything is now moving forward. They are gathering here in Corinth for the last time. Everyone is about to go their way. Would they ever see Paul again?
Tertius writes the last word of this epistle. It's then handed to phoebe remember the servant who is going to bring this to rome and a major separation happens. So this little epistle is handed to this woman, Phoebe, who was mentioned in 16:1. She is going to travel a long distance to bring this epistle to Rome. And today, it's in our hands. It's amazing.
It's a real downer when something good ends and you've got to move on. You know the feeling. You know the feeling when a loved one dies and you're forced to move on. A good thing has ended. And now what? It's the pain of saying goodbye. Change. Endings. Goodbyes. None of that's easy. There is something wrong with it all. That is part of the fallen world we're in. That is part of the challenge of not living in the new heavens and new earth together yet. All of us, the whole body of Christ. That we, as the body of Christ, are not all physically present and communing with one another.
Now, Paul had never been to Rome. Paul had never seen this church. But they were united in the common faith. Paul had a love for this church. So the whole scene: uncertainty, future. Where's this all going to go? What's going to happen? All he knows is suffering and chains and affliction await for him. And now, Paul, at the end of this epistle, stops speaking under the inspiration of the Spirit. It is brought to a close.
I often think of that one song in the old maybe it's in our uh Psalter. What's the goodbye song that no one ever wants to sing because it's so painful? "Until we meet again. Until we meet again." It's quite a moment when you have to give last words, and those are what stick.
So that's my point: it's quite a moment when you have to give last words. What do you say? What sticks? What do you say to someone when you're saying goodbye? why
Well, you'll notice here that in verse 20 we thought he had said enough. We thought he had ended it: "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you." That's that would have been a great ending. But he doesn't end it.
I'm going to make the assumption that that should have ended with that benediction. It's a rare occurrence where we don't get an epistle that ends with a benediction. He doesn't end the epistle with a benediction. So my assumption is there's a lot of tears at this point. There's a lot of uncertainty at this point.
He wrote this on his third missionary journey, last time here in Corinth. And Paul, from here, is we'll go to Ephesus for a short stay. But you remember what happened when he left Ephesus? He said, "It's more blessed to give than to receive." And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. Then they all wept freely and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship. "I'll never see him again in this life." Painful.
So here's my assumption with Rome in this epistle: he gives the benediction and says, "No, I can't stop. This is like Pastor Gordon trying to land a sermon. Okay, this is the good old analogy. It's like landing the plane. Can't land the plane?" If you've ever felt that that's okay. It's hard to land a plane sometimes. It's really hard when you have a lot you want to say.
And this is the beauty of this of what Paul's doing here: "How do I stop this kind of epistle with a simple benediction, as glorious as it is?"
A benediction, boys and girls, is is a call upon the Lord to bless His people. So when the minister stands up really important um we've lost this today. This is what we see in the church. We see in the scriptures: they did that! Benedictions! they the ministers would raise hands And they would pronounce a blessing and that's why It's not a prayer. It's a time to lift up your heads and receive the blessing from the Lord. He is calling the minister is calling upon the Lord to bless you. How wonderful! You're not just dismissed. You're blessed. You're blessed.
Dr. Godfrey would say, "Now, you need to do it like this, and you need to, you know, I put them all up. I don't know if that's right. You're blessed. Well, He's favoring you. "The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace." He's blessing you. He's sending you out into the week with blessing. That's how these epistles ended.
Well, here Paul does that. He doesn't neglect that in verse 20. You'll notice that there: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." This is certainly to be the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. We heard that tonight. But to close this epistle, he breaks into a doxology.
Now, what is the right time for a doxology? What is a doxology? doxology is an expression of praise to God, often like a short song, to exalt Him in His goodness and His majesty and His strength and His ability and His power, to give Him glory. To break out in praise for who He is and what He's done. He ends the book this way.
So much uncertainty. So much hardship. So much difficulty in life. And then you've got to come to endings. And then you've got to come to goodbyes. And then you've got to come to change. And none of us are good at it.
Paul would often speak of his burdens. You know, if you just listen to this, kind of his perspective orienting from 2 Corinthians 11, where he talks about his sufferings: "Five times I received from the hand of the Jews 40 lashes minus one. He was whipped. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I was adrift at sea on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, in danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false prophets, in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and in thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And apart from other things, this was his big burden." There's the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. I'm so concerned for the churches. I am so concerned for the churches.
So what does Paul do? All this All this in the background, All the future, all the uncertainty. Where are you? What do you do at moments like this? He breaks into doxology. Paul delights himself in God saying goodbye.
For what? For what, verse 25? It's so beautiful at the end of Romans: "Now to Him who is able to strengthen you notice he didn't say to you who are able to strengthen yourselves It's in the theme today, right 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 the nations.
Wow, this is wonderful. "To Him who is able to strengthen you, you should let that set in.
So, accumulation of things: leaves for Jerusalem. Spirit says he's going to suffer. He's leaving the church in Corinth for the last time. He's ending his letter to Rome. I think it all wells up. Talk about stress. Talk about anxiety. Talk about tears. We can learn so much from the end of books.
What are you anxious about? What is your concern about the future? What is the uncertainty of it all? Here's your answer. Remember Philippians 4: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God, and the peace of God, promise that surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
The pathway to have peace in times of anxiety, he says, is prayer and praise and thank God. Thank God. What did he want to impress upon you? Just what I've been trying to emphasize today. I didn't put this together in my own wisdom. Lord's Day 52: "You don't have the power for a moment to keep yourself."
What's my frustration? There are times when stress and concern and worry of everything overtakes. What's the path forward? This is a real solution. Think about what you've learned the last two years in romans two years and one month. February 25th, 2024, we started this. Think of all that's been said to you in this book.
You have a righteousness provided for you by faith. You are justified by God as a free gift by faith alone. You have redemption through Christ, through His blood. This righteousness has been reckoned to you who believe. Having been justified by faith, you have peace with God. Think about that. He's a father to you because of Christ, His son, God the Father. "If you died with him, you'll live with him." The gift of God is eternal life gift, free gift, Eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. You're not under law anymore for condemnation. There is no condemnation for you in Christ. You have a life under grace. You now walk in the newness of the Spirit, Romans 8. You are indwelt by the Spirit. He prays for you constantly.
The whole golden chain: He predestined you. And whom He predestined, He called. And whom He called, He justified. And whom He called, He glorified, unbroken. He's going to finish the work. And He's sanctifying you. What a book!
You want to talk about what keeps you? You want to talk about what keeps us in this life? Paul leaves them with this glorious doxology: "Now to Him who is able, who is literally powerful to keep you, to strengthen you." "To uphold you Jude said the same thing. to him who is able to keep you from stumbling. Now listen to this. Listen to Jude's emphasis. And to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy." That's talking about judgment day. He is able to keep you and present you faultless on judgment day. He will make you stand. But Paul's not talking about judgment day here. Paul is saying not just. He's talking about the present. Paul breaks into praise. And in light of all this difficulty all this difficulty of the future, all this not knowing the future he says God's able to keep you now. There is an ever-present power of God available to you. Okay, there it is again: there is an ever-present power of God made available to you.
Where? Here's where the whole book ties together. He bookends it. What did this book begin with? "This: for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it, the righteousness of God is revealed, the righteousness that comes by faith."
Now, here we are, last doxology of the book: "Now, to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ."
Now, what do you deduce from that? What do you take from that? What keeps you? It's the word of the gospel preached to you. And that's why preaching Jesus matters. Not antidotes for life. Not all this other stuff. Preaching Jesus in power. Preaching the gospel in power. So it brings together this morning's message, doesn't it? A word a gospel word ministry. and a sacrament ministry. These are the means. That's just what he says here.
The gospel was committed to the apostles from Christ to be delivered to the ends of the earth. It was His gospel, the gospel of the power of God. And here it is. How does God strengthen you? How does God help you? How does God get you through the future? How how are you going to go forward in light of what is ahead, when you don't know what it is and it all looks dark? It's the preaching of Jesus. It's the preaching of the gospel. He says it. That's how He keeps you standing.
Romans 10: "Faith comes by what? Hearing. And hearing by the message preached."
Paul is glorying in God here. He knows God will continue to teach them and help them and refresh them in the gospel. And what is being impressed upon you tonight? He is able to establish you. He's able to establish you according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret from since the world begun, but is now made manifest through the prophets, the prophetic scriptures, and made known to all the nations.
There it is. What he's saying is: in the preaching of the gospel, God has done something wonderful for you. He's unveiled something. Everything the Old Testament talked about, everything the Old Testament looked forward to, has been now made clear through the coming of jesus that you are all included in the family of God as Gentiles, through the preaching of Jesus. You are His children. You are the plan.
If you understand dispensationalism, you know why that's so important to say: you are the plan. He always intended for you to come in.
And so, amidst all the hardships of life, what an encouragement tonight! God will keep you. God will uphold you and all the difficulties of life. God will strengthen you. God will help you through the preaching of Jesus, through the gospel that's made known. It is the power of God for salvation. And He's making it known today to all the nations. That's why we're still here. It's a glorious plan.
And soon we're all going to be together. Soon, there's no more of this. Soon, there's no more separation. There's no more goodbyes. There's no more pains There's no more hard futures.
So Paul says: "To God alone be glory. God alone, wise, be glory through Jesus Christ. He's bringing about the obedience of faith. People are coming in. He's saving. To the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ."
So that's how Paul ends this glorious epistle we've spent so much time in. He gives them a benediction. Unless there be any pain in ending this, he turns it into a doxology to remind them: God Himself is committed to strengthen you and to keep you through this all. He is absolutely committed to that. That's why we have this ministry.
And so, in your life, the way forward is to break out in praise, recognizing He's done wonderful things for you. This is Romans. This is the book of Romans. It has made known the gospel. And you have heard tonight. It is His desire. It is His will to preserve you and establish you until the end in His glorious gospel. That is true power for you.
Let's pray.
Gracious Lord, thank You for such news. Thank You for such help. Thank You for such encouragement. We pray, Lord, that in all of our uncertainties at times and difficulties of life, that we would stop in our anxieties and pray to You and praise You and acknowledge You and give glory to Your name. You're worthy. And that we'd be thankful it's evident, Lord, in what You've done for us. Surround our hearts and minds with peace and understanding, and give us confidence for the future. And give us great thank You for the hope that You've given to us. And thank You for again showing us tonight Your great power to keep us. You alone are all wise. You alone are worthy. Hear our prayer tonight. To our God be the glory and honor and dominion forever and ever. Amen.