We must never forget the importance of individuals in our lives.
As I look back over my early formative years, when I was still a child and a teenager,
outside of my home I can remember a number of people who played an important role for me.
I remember in high school a pastor who gave me some special attention.
I probably needed it, but because of that extra attention my life was impacted.
He had time in the duties of his ministry to see a high schooler and to spend some time with him.
Before that I remember being at camp as a junior and a counselor who took time to write me on a couple of occasions after camp,
and who would see me occasionally after that and would recognize me and ask me about my family, my home, about my future.
That individual attention was very important to me, as it is to all of us.
In high school also I remember an evangelist who came to town and sometime after that invited me to travel with him on an extended trip to the West Coast,
just to keep him company. His wife couldn't travel with him at that time.
We must never forget the importance of individuals.
Crowds are but a lot of individuals compressed into any given area.
As I look out here this morning I see individuals, not just a thousand people.
I wish I had the opportunity to sit down with each of you individually today and just talk for at least a moment to find out how you are and what's going on in your life.
Each of us has his own identity and background, personality, his own way of thinking, goals, troubles, and heartaches.
I'm impressed that the Apostle Paul, with all of his greatness and his preaching to multitudes and to many,
never lost sight of the importance of individuals in his life.
We see that in our text today, Romans 16, verses 1 through 16.
In this chapter there are more than 28 people who are greeted individually, and there are nine who are with Paul who send greetings.
Now as I read this text I want you to remember that behind every life, every name mentioned here is a life.
There are parents, there are perhaps children, there are concerns, there are spiritual gifts, there was a death.
These are people that someday likely will meet in heaven.
Let's read about them as the Apostle mentions them.
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Sincrea,
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.
You will notice there are three important things said about Phoebe.
She is a sister in Christ.
She is a servant of the church in Sincrea, which was near Corinth from where Paul was writing this epistle.
This word servant is actually the word deacon or deaconess,
and there are some who take it that she was therefore an official within the church as a deaconess,
although the word nor the context neither demand that.
The important thing is to notice that she was a faithful servant,
for that's what the word means, of the church in Sincrea.
And then she is called in verse 2 a helper of many.
That word helper is different than the verb which is earlier in that verse.
The noun helper of many actually is a technical word that refers to a wealthy patron in that day.
That is someone who would take a special interest in certain people and would help them financially.
Maybe some of you have experienced that, for example, in your college experience.
There was someone who took special interest in you and gave you special gifts along the way to help you through college.
There are some of you here today praying that someone would get under that burden, I'm sure.
Well, perhaps there's a Phoebe here today who would do that.
But apparently of many, and including the Apostle Paul, she was one who was a wealthy friend who helped support.
Then he says,
Greet Prisca, or Priscilla, and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, that's understandable,
but also all the churches of the Gentiles.
And greet also the church that is in their house.
Greet Epinetus, my beloved, who is the first convert to Christ from Asia.
Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you.
Greet Adronikos and Junius, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners who are outstanding among the Apostles, who also were in Christ Jesus before me.
Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord.
Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ.
And Stachas, my beloved.
Greet Appellus, the approved in Christ.
Greet those who are of the household of Aristobulus.
Greet Herodian, my kinsmen.
Greet those of the household of Narcissus, who are in the Lord.
Greet Trifina and Trifosa.
Their names mean dainty and delicate.
They may have been twin sisters.
They are workers in the Lord.
Greet Pursus, that is actually a literally Persian lady, the beloved, who has worked hard in the Lord.
Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine.
Greet Asyncretus and Phlegon, Hermes, Patrabas, Hermes, and the brethren with them.
Greet Philologus, now that's a hard one there.
I like to call him Phil for short.
And Julia, Nerius 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.
From this listing of believers who were a part of the Roman Church Fellowship,
we have some insight and understanding as to what that church was like.
And from that we can make some solid applications to what Grace Church Roseville ought to be like.
In the first place I want you to notice the richness of their fellowship.
The names that we have read suggest a diverse collection.
And yet a wonderful unity in that diversity and variety.
The fellowship of that church cut across the social and cultural barriers of that day.
Included in this list are Jews, for example in verse 3, Priscilla and Aquila.
Also undoubtedly Adronikos and Junius in verse 7, as well as others.
Jews are included here as well as Gentiles.
Most of these names seem to be of a Gentile origin.
And that would stand to reason for most of the churches in that day were predominantly Gentile in their composition.
There were as well some who were apparently related some way to the aristocracy of that day.
The name for example in verse 9, Stacus, is one that is associated with the imperial household, the imperial name.
But then there were those who were commoners.
The name Urbanus for example was a very common name of that day, of free Romans.
But not those necessarily who were in the leadership.
And then there are a number of names representing probably slaves.
Those who did not belong to themselves but who belonged to wealthy masters.
But who nonetheless were believers and were part of that church's fellowship.
And then you will notice that there are both men and women in the list.
There are at least eight women who are listed.
There are two, perhaps three couples.
In verse 7, Adronikos and Junius as written in my translation would be two men.
But if it were Junia, and that's possible from the Greek, then it would be a feminine name
and would either be a husband and wife or brother and sister.
So there are two, perhaps three couples, one couple being Priscilla and Aquila,
the other couple being in verse 15, Phil and Julia.
So do you see that this is a church that was rich in its fellowship?
There were Jews and Gentiles, there were those who were in leadership, there were commoners,
then there were slaves, there were men and there were women.
Every church, I think, ought to have this kind of richness in fellowship.
Now I recognize that there is an argument by some regarding what they call homogeneous churches.
That is, the churches naturally tend to be homogeneous, made up of people who are very similar
in their cultural background and in their lifestyle and their income and so on.
And there is some truth to that.
And yet our church, and no church for that matter, should ever be exclusive in its fellowship
so that there are some who are not welcome or who are excluded,
who are considered undesirable for one reason or another.
There should be no place in a biblical local church for discrimination on the basis of race
or color or ethnic origin.
I remember talking to a friend of mine who pastored briefly in the deep south,
and in his very early ministry, and his early ministry turned out to be his later ministry as well.
In his early ministry there, there was a black man who was led to Christ,
and when he planned for the baptism of that man, there was a real problem in that church.
There is no place for that kind of an attitude among God's people.
Neither should there be partiality to the rich over the poor, or to the noble over the commoner,
or to the powerful over the weaker.
Indeed, the early church, the middle church, the later church today,
the church has almost always been mostly composed of those who are base and despised
and counted as nothing as far as the world system is concerned.
Not many noble, not many wealthy, not many famous are called according to 1 Corinthians 1.
And I would guess that in this congregation this morning,
that most of us are made up of the same kind of people as make up most churches.
There should be no place in our midst for any kind of discrimination or partiality.
Nor should there be a place for the lack of appreciation for both men and women
in their roles of serving Jesus Christ.
In Galatians chapter 3 verse 28, the apostle reminds us that in Christ Jesus,
there is no longer slave or free, nor is there Jew and Gentile among those who are saved.
Those distinctions are not important anymore.
He says, neither female nor male.
In other words, all of us are on the same ground when it comes to receiving Jesus Christ.
And all of us male or female, Jew or Gentile, employee or corporate owner,
all of us are gifted spiritually and expected to serve the Lord Jesus Christ in the local church.
Now the New Testament does make some distinctions when it comes to the role of man and woman.
We talked about those last Sunday night.
There are some limitations that God has chosen to put upon the roles,
and we expect to obey those.
But there should not be any lack of appreciation for men and women both fulfilling the roles
that God has given to them within the local church.
Both are gifted to minister to the body strategically and vitally.
And so I expect that our church should be rich in its fellowship,
and I hope that you will see to it that it is.
How do you do that?
By making sure that that person who may be a little different than you feels welcome.
By going after that one who perhaps even stands in the corner and doesn't feel welcome,
and giving that person a genuine handshake,
which by the way is the modern translation of what it says in verse 16,
greet one another with a holy kiss.
The Oriental custom was to greet by the kiss on the cheek.
For us it's to give a warm and genuine handshake in our culture.
That's what it means.
Now I have heard people, and I'm sure you have too,
who said about the church where I've pastored,
both here and in other places, well I found them to be unfriendly.
You know, sometimes it depends upon that person.
If a person would have friends, according to Proverbs, he must show himself what?
Friendly.
I know, I remember one person in particular who had the habit of rushing into church
at the very last minute,
and leaving just as soon as the amen of the benediction was pronounced.
And that person condemned our church for being unfriendly.
And yet the person was never around to be greeted by the church.
Always a fast in and fast out.
Almost like a fast food place, you know.
A church is not intended to be a fast food restaurant.
We're to stick around for a while perhaps,
and enjoy that fellowship before and after,
and to greet one another.
Let there be a richness, folks, in our fellowship.
Don't let anyone be a stranger here in Grace Church.
Don't let anyone feel that he's being treated with partiality.
Whether rich or poor, Jew or Gentile,
black or white or red, whatever,
let all be welcome here in our church who love the Lord Jesus Christ
and want to learn of Him.
And then that early church was also close in its association.
Our text is replete with references to family and household relationships.
For example, four times you will find the word beloved.
It's used in verse 5 and verse 8 and verse 9.
And again in verse 12.
You'll notice that Paul is very courteous and careful here
in calling the men, my beloved.
But when it comes to the Persian lady in verse 12,
calling her the beloved,
not wanting to cross any lines of propriety,
but nonetheless calling these beloved.
In verse 7, verse 11, and again later in verse 21,
you will find the word kinsman used.
There's a family word. What does it mean?
Well, there are some who say these are Paul's relatives,
perhaps cousins of Paul.
Now that's a possibility, but if so,
we don't have any indication that he had such relatives.
In fact, in Philippians he seems to indicate that
because of his conversion to Jesus Christ,
he had lost everything, including his family relationships.
There are others who say, well, it means that they are Jews,
as was Paul, and that too is a possibility.
I think there may be a better term,
a better explanation rather for this term,
because there are other Jews on this list
that he doesn't call kinsmen.
And I think that that is that they were of the tribe of Benjamin,
as he was.
And so there was that special bond
even within their Jewishness with these people.
Then in verse 13 he mentions the mother of Rufus,
Rufus, by the way, may have been the son of Simeon,
the one who carried the crossbar of the Lord Jesus Christ to Golgotha.
At least there is a Rufus who is mentioned in Mark 15, 21,
and most scholars believe that when Mark wrote that gospel
he was writing from Rome.
And so it would make sense for him to mention Rufus and Alexander,
who were a part of that church in Rome,
but who were also the sons of that very well-known man
who carried the cross of our Lord.
But he mentions the mother of Rufus,
and then he inserts this word, and mine.
Why he does this, we're not sure,
but it may be that there was some point in Paul's life,
perhaps early on in his Christian life,
when this lady took Paul in,
and she became to him almost a surrogate mother.
And therefore he mentions her in this very sweet and kind
and thoughtful way, remembering those special deeds of love
on her part for him.
Do you see how this is such a family?
In verse 14 he mentions the sister of Nerus.
He and his sister may be the children of Phil and Julia.
We're not sure.
But at least there's a sister.
That's a family relationship.
And then in verses 10 and 11,
twice he mentions the household of somebody.
He mentions Aristobulus in verse 10.
There are some who think this Aristobulus
may have been the grandson of Herod the Great.
Not saying here that he is a believer,
but that within his household,
probably more likely his servants rather than his family,
there were believers.
And then there's Narcissus in verse 11.
Narcissus, if he is the one known in secular history,
was a powerful Roman, a wealthy man,
and who was a part of the intrigues of the Caesar of his day,
who I think was Claudius.
And so within his household as well there were believers.
So what do we learn from all of this?
That this church was close in its associations.
I have a pastor friend who is serving the Lord this morning,
I suppose, down in southern Louisiana,
a little country church.
He has, as I recall,
about 120 people in his congregation.
And of that number he told me that there were fewer than 10
who were not related.
Now can you imagine pastoring that church
and crossing one of the relatives?
I can.
Or can you imagine not being one of the relatives
and being in that church as a member?
Well, that's what you call real close association.
You don't gossip about anybody in that church.
That's not bad.
And even within our own church there are some family relationships.
But it's not the earthly relationships
that give us that closeness, is it?
It is rather our relationship in Jesus Christ.
Now in the book of Romans there are two pictures
of this close association that we have.
And they are mentioned here in our text,
though in an earthly way.
Family.
We are the family of God.
Look back at Romans chapter 8 and remember with me
these verses in the middle of the chapter,
verses 16 and 17.
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are, what?
Children of God.
And if children also heirs of God
and fellow heirs with Christ.
And so He reminds us that we are the family of God.
There should be a closeness about us because of that.
It means that we have the same Father.
It means that we are brothers and sisters.
It means that there should be amongst us
a loyalty and a love that pervades a family.
I surely think that's true, isn't it?
When you have small children you begin to wonder
about that loving loyalty, don't you?
As you grow older you begin to see that loving loyalty develop.
It tends to make me think that even spiritually
in God's family it's the immature.
They have a hard time with that.
That as we mature in our faith in Jesus Christ
that that loving loyalty develops more and more.
And then there should be a recognition amongst us
that we're all going to be in heaven together someday.
Now there may be somebody you don't like in this church,
I don't know.
Or maybe somebody else in God's family
you don't like somewhere.
I hope that that's not something that's festering
in your spiritual life, is going to hinder you.
But let's face it, not all personalities mesh.
They don't.
And we all have a little idiosyncrasies.
And there is still some degree of humaneness about us.
Some of us a higher degree of humaneness than others maybe.
But there are reasons why some of us may not be close
in friendship now.
But let's recognize the fact that in heaven someday
we're going to be together forever.
We are joint heirs with Jesus Christ.
So therefore it behooves us even right now
to work on those relationships
and to develop that closeness with God's people.
Let me tell you something, you don't get close
to other people in the church just by attending worship
once a week.
You don't.
If you don't feel like you're really a close part
of this fellowship, let me ask you,
are you a part of a small church
or are you attending the doctrinal class
or are you part of a growth group
where you are getting involved with a more intimate group
of people on a more personal basis?
You see, we have to work at this thing of being close.
Even though positionally we are close as a family of God,
we have to work at putting that into our lives.
Do you come back on Sunday night
when we're a little smaller crowd?
Well, if all of you come back, we won't be smaller, will we?
That's all right.
But do you come on Sunday night
and try to get into the fellowship of the church
a little more and be close?
I hope that there's not something like television
or sports or family or whatever
that keeps you away regularly from God's house.
We have to work at this thing of being close
and association, and we ought to
because we're a family, but also we're a household of servants.
He mentions a couple of households here.
And in Romans 14, you'll recall that
he challenges us who are judging others.
He says, who are you to judge the servant of another?
And that word servant means the household servant of another.
In other words, you and I are a part of God's household,
and we have one Lord, one Master.
You don't serve one Master, and I serve another.
We serve the same Master.
Now, we may do different things in God's household,
and we may be gifted for different ministries
within God's household, but someday, folks,
we are all going to stand before the same Master
and give account of ourselves.
Therefore, we ought to work together
like servants of the same household
and do our part and not expect others to carry our load.
We ought to be involved working diligently
and faithfully as a part of God's household.
We should not take each other for granted.
We should not be careless, but rather be expressive,
encouraging, and loving, and respectful,
and helpful, and pleasing to others.
Let's be close in our associations,
as these people apparently were.
And then we notice also in this early church
that they were deep in their commitment.
That commitment was based upon their common bond
in Jesus Christ.
Their commitment was not based upon the preacher.
I tell you, when a commitment to a church
is based upon a certain preacher,
that church is in trouble.
A church cannot be preacher-oriented,
personality-oriented, because what it is,
the church will fall apart when the preacher leaves.
There were some prophesiers of doom
who said that Edina would fall apart
when Pastor Bob left last fall.
They said, and I fear some of them
maybe even with a little bit of jealous glee in their hearts,
well, there goes Edina.
Well, it hasn't happened.
In fact, the church has grown since last fall,
and I think that's a commendation to Bob's ministry.
He didn't build it on himself.
He built it on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and I'll be very frank with you.
That's what I'm seeking to do here as well.
If you're coming to Grace Church because of Galen Call,
then you're coming for a less than an appropriate reason.
Or if you're coming because of a certain pastor-teacher.
Now, it's fine for those loyalties to develop,
but folks, the bond that should hold us together
and give us our commitment is the fact that God has called us
to be one in Jesus Christ.
He is the cohesion.
And if that pastor-teacher leaves,
or if I would leave this church,
I would expect that you would be right here carrying on
as long as God leaves you in this place,
because Jesus Christ is our bond that holds us together.
Now, that bond was so strong there among those believers
that, well, for example, in verse 2,
we see that Phoebe was one who gave of her wealth.
There are some of us that don't have enough commitment
really to talk very seriously about giving money to God's work.
We don't have enough commitment.
It takes commitment.
It takes trust in leadership.
It takes belief in the objectives of a church.
I would hope that we are deepening in that commitment
to each other, and to the leadership here,
and to the objectives of our church,
to the vision that we have,
to what we're seeking to do together
so that our commitment is getting into our pocketbooks.
Phoebe was one who shared of her monetary wealth.
She was a helper, a patron of many.
And that should describe us in our commitment,
so that our commitment involves our giving of our money.
Then you will notice that in verses 3 and 4,
Persil and Aquila are commended because they had risked their necks.
We don't know when this was.
Maybe it was the Ephesian riot back in Acts chapter 19.
But there was some time when they imperiled their lives
for the sake of the Apostle Paul,
and because they stood in the way, Paul's life was spared.
And Paul said, I'm thankful for that.
Amen. I can understand that.
And he said, so are all the churches of the Gentiles. Why?
Because he had been able to continue his ministry,
especially among the Gentiles.
And so there was gratefulness that these people had risked their lives.
I wonder if our commitment is that much.
If our commitment is to a church, or to a denomination, or to a preacher,
I'll guarantee you that commitment is not going to be sufficient
for us to risk our necks.
It's only when that commitment is to the living Savior, Jesus Christ,
who is the one who died and who is alive forever,
and who has the keys of death and Hades in His hand.
It's only when our commitment is to that risen Savior
that we're going to be willing to die,
because we know in dying we simply go to be with Him,
whom we love and to whom is our commitment.
In verses 6 and 12 He commends some people for working hard.
I like that.
There are others who are said to be fellow workers,
but there are some who would have said they worked hard.
That's the kind of commitment they had.
They were not interested in doing just a little bit,
or just enough to get by, or just enough to impress others
that they were doing something,
but they were willing to get in there and plug away.
And working hard, it means working to the point of agony and weariness.
Now, once again, if a person is committed to a Sunday school class
or to the church, eventually he's going to wear out
in his commitment as he works.
But if our commitment is to Jesus Christ,
we're going to be willing to be weary as He was weary
for the sake of working for Him.
And then there was at least one, apparently, or perhaps two,
rather, in verse 7, who went to prison.
In some respects, I think it would be easier to die as a martyr
than to go to prison.
Yet there were two, Adronikos and Junius,
who were prisoners, fellow prisoners,
of the Apostle Paul at some point.
Is our commitment enough that we're willing to take a stand
for Jesus Christ as our society continues to become
more and more secular and anti-God?
Are we willing to take a stand in our community
and, if necessary, be willing to go to jail
for a principle of God's Word?
Now, if our commitment is just to the church
or to the denomination or to the preacher,
it's not going to be enough that we'll be willing to do that.
It won't.
We'll give up long before we ever go to jail.
But if our commitment is to Jesus Christ,
there may come a day, folks, when you and I will face
going before the courts in this land to take a stand for God.
And we'll pay a price.
Are you committed?
Are you willing to pay that price?
Why does it cost you right now to be committed?
You see, here were some Christians who were deep
in their commitment.
And it wasn't just a commitment of words.
It was a commitment of their lives and their money
and their deeds, their freedom.
They said, we are committed to Jesus Christ,
and whatever the price, we will stick with that commitment.
Some of us can't even stick with it long enough
to get back on Sunday night to church
or to give the extra little bit
or to accept the job of teaching those children
or to sing in the choir, to be the usher.
Frankly, folks, if our commitment doesn't cost us something,
it's not worth a whole lot, is it?
It's only when there's a price that we pay
that that commitment takes on real depth.
Finally, I would have you notice that this early church
was also exemplary in its character.
The quality of their lives can be expressed
or is expressed in terms like verse 7,
well known to the apostles.
In other words, this couple, probably these two men,
these two people, by the quality of their very lives,
had gained recognition among the apostles.
Not everybody here had, and that's always the case.
But there was something exemplary in the character
of these two people so that the apostles were able
to converse about them and say, now, there is an example
of what Christian people ought to be.
That's quality.
And then there is in verse 10, I think, this striking phrase
about Apellus says, the approved in Christ.
I don't know what the test was,
but there came some kind of a test to this man,
and as a result of that it is said he was approved in Christ.
Over in 2 Timothy, the apostle Paul says
that we ought to study to show ourselves what?
Approved unto God.
Approved unto, this young man had.
He was approved by God in whatever the test was.
Are you in a test today?
Through that test, that trial you're passing through,
God is seeking to put the AUG stamp on your life.
Approved unto God.
Somebody has put it this way, with all of your getting of degrees,
get the AUG degree above all others.
Approved unto God.
And then there is a man in verse 13 who is said to be a choice man,
chosen Rufus, a choice man.
Now what was there about him that caused him to stand out?
I have no idea.
But there was something apparently about his zeal,
there was something about the sterling character that he possessed
that it is said he's a choice man.
Don't you want to be described that way
as a choice person in Jesus Christ?
A choice person.
Not average, but well above average.
You see, these people were exemplary.
You know, a church's character is the sum total of the character
of its individual members.
I've said it before and I will say it again
that no church can rise higher than its weakest member.
The character of each of us influences for good or for ill
what this total church is all about.
Grace Church Roseville is not just a reflection of its pastor
or its elders or its pastor teachers or its Sunday school teachers.
They're involved in it.
But folks, our church is a reflection of all of us together
without a single exception.
Now there are people who say,
well I'm not important.
I don't count.
That is not true.
If you are a believer in Jesus Christ and you come here,
you are a member of the body
and I want to tell you, you are important.
You affect the rest of this body and the way you act
and your attitude and how you contribute.
My little toe is only about that long,
but I want to tell you something, it's important to me.
And when I hit it against the bed at night,
I'm trying to find my way through the dark,
it becomes very, very important.
It affects my whole body.
And you say, well I've not been around here very long.
I don't do a whole lot.
Maybe you should be doing more, I don't know.
But there's no one who can say I'm unimportant.
Somebody else might dare to say,
well just one member living like the devil
won't hurt anything, will it?
Oh yes it will.
Because you see, if one of us is allowing sin
to reign in our lives, it is allowing leaven,
the permeation of leaven,
which in the Bible is a picture of sin,
to be dispersed in our church.
And that's why it says in 1 Corinthians chapter 5
that we are to keep our feast,
our fellowship, free from leaven.
Now we are all sinners.
God's forgiven us in Christ.
We need to confess our sins
and keep our accounts clean with God
and not allow sin to accumulate
or any sin to fester and to be harbored in our lives.
If we do, we affect the whole church.
Somebody says, well nobody knows my sin,
therefore it couldn't make any difference.
Wrong again.
May I remind you of Achan in the Old Testament?
He was a pain, if you'll pardon the pun.
Achan went into Jericho with all the other soldiers
of Israel when they took that city.
And God had said ahead of time,
now you're to destroy everything,
but you're to keep certain things,
they're to be dedicated to me.
As far as anybody knew, everybody obeyed.
The battle was successful.
They rejoiced in it.
And then they went up against Ai.
And they were defeated soundly.
And Joshua and the people went before the Lord.
They said, Lord, what has happened?
You said you were going to give us the land
and you were going to conquer the people before us.
And we've been beaten at Ai.
God said, get out the lots and start casting lots
and I'll show you.
So we began to cast lots,
which was God's way in that day
of finding answers to things.
And it finally came down to the casting of lots,
the tribes, the families, and the households,
down to this man Achan.
You know what had happened?
Secretly and apparently with the knowledge
of just his family, his children, his wife,
he had taken some things from Jericho.
He had taken some of the precious metal,
which was to be given to the Lord,
and he had taken some of the Babylonian garments,
which were very fancy.
He wanted them for himself.
And so he took them and he hid them in his tent
and nobody but his immediate family knew about it.
But I want you to notice that that caused the defeat
of the whole army of Israel.
So don't you think that a hidden sin
doesn't affect this church?
May I repeat that we will rise no higher
than the weakest among us.
And if any of us dares to allow sin to dominate,
it not only affects ourselves,
but it affects the whole of us.
This church in Rome was an exemplary church
in its character.
We see the humility of these believers.
I mean, there weren't really famous people here.
Priscilla and Aquila, yes, they were well known,
but only because God chooses to mention them
in His Word.
But then He mentions the rest of them, too.
They were humble people.
As Griffith Thomas said, humble helpers
rather than leaders.
That's what they were.
And yet God chose to inscribe their names
in His eternal book.
That's what we need today, our humble helpers.
You know how I look at this chapter
as we've read it in the first 16 verses?
I think this is the Hebrews 11 of the church age.
Hebrews 11 goes back to the Old Testament
and names the great saints and commends them.
But I think here in this listing we have
the Hebrews 11 of the early church.
Again, not famous people like Noah
and Abraham and Moses, Hebrews 11,
but common people, people like most of us here today.
And yet this fellowship of common people
was so commendable that they received
the admiring greetings of the churches of Christ
in Asia and in that part of Europe
where the Apostle Paul was as he wrote this letter.
He says, the churches of Christ greet you.
God chose to inscribe the names of many of them
in His book.
May I talk to you who are faithful
in serving Jesus Christ,
who have given your lives to Him
and want to do whatever He wants you to do?
Listen, you may never be famous or wealthy or powerful
or influential or respected
or even appreciated by the world,
but let me tell you something.
You will live like these believers did,
and someday at the Bema Seat of Jesus Christ,
He'll commend you.
And that commendation
will review with you your life
and will give you your due reward.
Now, if there's something to live for, that's it.
If there's something to anticipate, to expect, that's it.
If your name were to appear on such a list
as we have before us here,
how would you be described?
If the Apostle said, greet Henry the...
how would he write the rest of that sentence?
If he said, greet Martha there in Roseville who...
what would he say then?
How would you be described?
You say, well, that's just theoretical.
My name isn't in there.
And that's right, but folks, someday
our name is going to be called.
And at that Judgment Seat,
we are going to be described and revealed as we really are.
And that's why it's so worth it
to obey this Book and to trust God
and to be faithful and to give ourselves
in the deepest kind of commitment to Him right now.
That's why it's worth it.
Heavenly Father,
I pray that you will take these words today
and apply them to my life,
to the life of our staff and our elders,
our pastor teachers, our Sunday School teachers,
all who work with our children and adults,
our choir, our ushers,
every person who has a part
in Grace Church Roseville as a member.
And may we, in our fellowship, reflect
what the Roman Church was,
resulting in being able to hear your well-done
on that day that we stand before you at the Judgment Seat.
And I pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.