Romans: Theology for Everybody (12-16)Sýnishorn

As a brand-new Christian, like many other people, I started reading the Bible from cover to cover. In the Old Testament, I quickly reached the lengthy lists of names for people's families and, since I did not know those people, I just skipped those lists. When I got to the New Testament, I also found lists of names of people that were in various church families and I pretty much did the same–ignore them. Having now been a Christian studying the Bible for more than three decades, I actually find the lists with people’s names to be fascinating. Why? Because people are fascinating. Everyone’s testimony of how God saved them, changed them, and used them for ministry is fascinating. It never gets old hearing about God’s grace at work for, in, and through someone. What is interesting about the list of names at the end of Romans is that he is writing to a church he did not plant and has never visited. These dear saints, however, were known and Paul uses the end of his letter to express his gratitude to them. Some years ago, I was speaking at a conference that leaned toward the overly conservative and religious end of the Christian continuum. After sitting in the event for most of the day waiting my turn to speak, I noticed that no one on the platform thanked or honored anyone else the entire day. So, when I got up I named some of the people who were serving that day both from the platform and behind the scenes to thank them for their hard work that we were benefited by. I then preached my message and, upon walking off the stage, was pulled aside and reprimanded by the host of the  event. He said I had sinned because glory belongs to God alone. In return, I rebuked him explaining that God often chooses to do His work through people and so there is a difference between glory, which belongs to God alone, and gratitude, which is also fitting for humble, faithful servants that He chooses to do His work through. This is the heart of what Paul is doing in Romans 16:1-16. In this section, Paul is honoring people who do ministry faithfully and humbly and we should do the same. This letter was likely read in the church, and for people who likely ranged from well-known leaders up front to unknown servants behind the scenes to have their names mentioned in thankfulness by none other than the apostle Paul had to be incredibly encouraging and set in motion a culture of honor and thankfulness, which is crucial for a healthy church. Curiously, Paul mentions at least 26 people, in addition to two families and numerous churches meeting in homes and praises more women than men. Some of the people mentioned we know a bit about. Phoebe is a woman who was a generous donor to Paul’s ministry. Prisca and Aquila were a dynamic duo ministry couple who were part of multiple ministry projects with Paul including Corinth (Acts 18:1-11; 1 Cor. 16:19-20), Ephesus (Acts 18:19; 2 Tim. 4:19), and Rome (Rom. 16:3-5).

As a pastor, I find it incredible that arguably the most richly theological Christian document ever written, which ignited the entire Protestant Reformation, ends with casual loving greetings to regular Christians serving in a local church. Some commentators sadly consider this an afterthought but, as a pastor, it reveals to me that the entire point of Bible study and theology is people in the church filled with the Spirit, serving Jesus together like a family, and building healthy loving relationships not only within the church but also between “all the churches”.

Questions: 

1. Paul writes a letter to encourage and thank some people. Is there a person or group of people you could do the same thing for by writing a letter to encourage and thank them?