GREETING, GUARDING, AND GROUNDING

Read Romans 16.

One of the fine ladies of our church has been our postal carrier for years.  Carrie has been faithful to carry the mail!  Paul had a trusted woman, Phoebe, who would bring his letter to the church at Rome.  Thank God for those sisters who are servants to the saints!  They are vital to the Lord’s work.

After commending Phoebe to them, Paul will conclude his letter emphasizing three basic areas: greeting, guarding, and grounding.

GREETING: those he wished to embrace.  “Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you.”(v.16‬). By my count, twenty two times, the Apostle uses the word, “greet,” or “greets.”  How he loved the church and the church loved him!  This is the kind of loving fellowship God desires to mark His people.

GUARDING: those he warned to exclude.  “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them.” (v.17‬). Doors serve two functions—they swing to let friends in, but shut to lock foes out.  Satan has emissaries who slither like serpents among the saints to inject false doctrinal and filthy moral venom into the church.  God will crush them beneath the feet of the church as we march to victory!

GROUNDING: those he worked to establish. “Now to Him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began but now made manifest, and by the prophetic Scriptures made known to all nations, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, for obedience to the faith—” (v.25-26‬). The Apostle was always concerned with grounding people in the truth.  It was his passion and mission.  It is why he wrote this letter, and why I have shared these devotional thoughts that I pray have helped you in some way.

Now, “to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen.” (v.27‬)