December 13, 2018

Shout Outs!

Romans 16:21–27

Rob Guild
Thursday's Devo

December 13, 2018

Thursday's Devo

December 13, 2018

Central Truth

The people closest to us should encourage us and strengthen our relationship with Christ. We should select them carefully. We are a blessing and a resource to each other.

Romans 16:21–27

21 Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

22 I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

23 Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you. 1 16:23 Some manuscripts insert verse 24: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen

Doxology

25 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 26 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— 27 to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Footnotes

[1] 16:23 Some manuscripts insert verse 24: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen

Dive Deeper | Romans 16:21–27

You think all these names are unimportant, and this is a bogus last chapter? You could not be more wrong!

I often have to remind myself that names mentioned in the Bible had more meaning to the first-century reader than they initially do to me. Paul is talking about his peeps. His community. You may not know Justin at Stryker, Blake the architect, Josh the engineer, and Zac with the AHA, but those guys are my human line of defense against the devil. They keep me sharp (Proverbs 27:17), encourage me, remind me of Scripture, and keep me in check (James 5:16). Paul had similar people around him, too.

Paul is writing to the Romans from the city of Corinth. He mentions Erastus, the director of public works. Anyone who has ever dealt with bureaucracy can appreciate the wisdom of having a trusted friend who works at “city hall.” Holding this position makes Erastus unique among the many brothers and sisters Paul mentions. His position meant he was a social elite and probably on several “Who’s Who” lists around A.D. 57.

In 1929, at an archeological dig in Corinth, an engraved piece of pavement was found. The English translation reads, “Erastus in return for his aedileship (office) laid (the pavement) at his own expense.” Obviously, a guy named Erastus paid for the road. The inscription was likely put there as a reminder. Not a humble brag, but perhaps to show the fulfillment of a promise. “I said I would do this, and I did.”

Maybe Erastus was a common name. Maybe lots of social elites engraved pavement. Instead, I believe that the Erastus stone shows rock solid proof in 2018 of a man who was mentioned in the Bible as a go-to guy on the Apostle Paul’s squad.

Paul couldn’t have known I would Google his friend’s engraving and be encouraged almost 2,000 years later. However, he did know that he should choose the people around him wisely.

This month's memory verse

The Example of Christ

We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.

– Romans 15:1

Discussion Questions

1. When the rubber meets the road and you’re in deep trouble, who do you first call or text? Why?

2. Does this person love you? Does the person love you enough to give you hard answers that you may not want to hear? ("Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses." Proverbs 27:6, NIV)

3. How carefully did you choose those who are closest to you? 

4. If you are being honest with yourself, are you the friend to others that you want others to be to you? If not, how can you change?