I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea; that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well. Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; also greet the church that is in their house. Greet Epaenetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia. Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners, who are outstanding among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me. Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachys my beloved. Greet Apelles, the approved in Christ. Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus. Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. Greet Tryphaena and Tryphosa, workers in the Lord. Greet Persis the beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord. Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brethren with them. Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.Now, so often, when we get to these verses in a letter in the Bible, we find our eyes begin to glaze over, don’t we? But it is in these three verses that we see Paul reveal a third way that followers of Jesus practice a lifestyle that demonstrates that they are committed to community. And that third way is this: Followers of Jesus are committed to community that is committed to connecting with one another. Every name in these verses represents a relationship that has been forged in community. When Paul uses the word commend, this word literally means to bring together friends through a recommendation.
And in our culture today, we see Twitter and Facebook devote entire sections of their web sites devoted to this, don't we? Next time you are on Twitter or Facebook, just look on the top or the right hand side of the web-page. There you will see either a friend-finder link, or a section that says “people you may know”. Facebook is trying to do what the Apostle Paul was doing 2,000 years ago, which is to connect people in community with one another. As followers of Jesus, we are to be committed to connecting with one another in a way that receives and welcomes others warmly. As followers of Jesus, we are to be committed to connecting with one another in a way that comes to the aid and stands by one another.
So here is a question to consider: Are you committed to a community in a way that is committed to connecting with one another? Are you committed to community in a way that warmly receives and welcomes others? Paul then reveals a fourth way that followers of Jesus practice a lifestyle that demonstrates that they are committed to community, beginning in Romans 16:17:
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. For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.Here we see Paul appeal strongly to the members of the church at Rome to keep an eye out to a potential danger that threatens community. What the members of the church were to keep an eye out for; what the members of the church were to pay attention to so as to avoid, was those who cause dissensions and hindrances. By dissensions, Paul is referring to people who love to cause factions and promote opposition. People who cause dissensions love to create discord and division.
By hindrances, Paul is referring to people who love to bring about temptation to others. These are the people who say, “Well I know that the Bible says that we should not be involved in this; and I know that we sat through an ABF and a sermon, and through youth group and heard we should not do this, but let’s go do it anyway. I know that Dave keeps talking about how being a part of a community group and serving in a ministry helps us grow spiritually, but let’s not do that”. These are people that provide temptations that hinder a person’s spiritual growth.
Paul response to those who cause dissension and hindrances in straight forward and to the point: turn away from them; steer clear of them; avoid them. Paul then provides the reason why we are to avoid and steer clear of those who cause dissensions and hindrances in verse 18. When Paul uses the phrase slaves of their own appetites, he is revealing for us the reality that those who cause dissensions and hindrances are consumed with their selfish desires and agendas. And because they are consumed with their own selfish desires and agendas, they will attempt to deceive unsuspecting members of a church through smooth and flattering speech. Now a great definition of flattering speech is that flattering speech involves words that are well chosen but untrue.
And it is in these three verses that we see Paul reveal a fourth way that followers of Jesus practice a lifestyle that demonstrates that they are committed to community. And that fourth way is this: Followers of Jesus are committed to community that is committed to steering clear of division and temptation. Paul’s point here is that, as followers of Jesus, we are to steer clear of and avoid those who attempt to bring division and temptation into the church through gossip, slander, or flattering words that are well chosen, but at the end of the day are untrue.
And from all that Paul had heard, that was exactly what the members of the church at Rome were doing. Paul rejoiced over the fact that the church was faithfully following Jesus, but also desired to warn the church that they needed to maintain a focus that applied God’s divine wisdom in a way that resulted is wise attitudes and conduct that was beneficial. He desired that the church maintain a purity and innocence when it came to the morally and socially reprehensible consequences that division and temptation can have.
Regardless of what you are experiencing when it comes to the issue of division and temptation, we must always remain on guard to avoid those who Satan and his servants would attempt to use to cause division and hinder all that God desires to do.
Tomorrow, we will see a fifth way that followers of Jesus practice a lifestyle that demonstrates that they are committed to community...In the Meantime, are you practicing a lifestyle that is committed to connecting with one another and steering clear of division and temptation?
No comments:
Post a Comment