Can we please turn to the last chapter of the book of Romans today? And hopefully, we're going to be able to conclude this book today. I don't want to make any promises to you, but I would like to really deal with this last chapter that I think is so important, brothers and sisters, in Romans chapter 16, and that really applies very practically to each and every one of us today. The question that you might ask yourself and I might ask myself, am I serving the Lord? Would I like to serve the Lord? Do I want to be a servant of the Lord in order that the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, will be glorified and the people of God will be blessed?

And the question is, would I like or would I love to be a servant of our blessed Lord Yeshua, the Messiah? Because to be a servant of the Lord, the Lord, sometimes, in fact many times, you're not going to be appreciated at all times, that you may not be understood many times, you may not be liked at times, because service for the Lord means self-sacrifice. We have a whole chapter here in Romans chapter 16, in a climax that we have here at the end of all the information that the Apostle Paul gave to the Romans about sin, about salvation, about sanctification, about sovereignty, and finally about service.

And in the climax of the Romans. And in the climax of this book, at the end of the book, he's giving us 33 names of individuals that you might never hear about them, but the Apostle Paul had chosen to name them here at the end of the book of Romans. In fact, some of them you have hardly heard, or you may have never heard of them, if he would not have put them here in the book of Romans. When we read the book of Ezra, if you remember, in Ezra chapter 1, we don't have still the names of those people who gathered back and went back to the city of Jerusalem to serve God, to rebuild the temple with Hubevel.

But if you read chapter 2 of the book of Ezra, you will see how God is naming them, name after name, he's mentioning them. Beginning in chapter 2, they which came with Hubevel, and Yahshua, and Echemiah, and Seraiah, and on and on, he gives us a list of names of individuals that you may have never heard about them before, had the Holy Spirit of God not have placed them in the canon of Scripture. And the question is, do you want to serve the Lord? Do I want to serve the Lord? And is service for the Lord means that my name has to be mentioned and written, or do we really serve the Lord as unto Him?

Even though, if somebody will not mention it and appreciate it, and knowing that Yeshua, Jesus the Messiah, does appreciate and know everyone who is truly a servant, or does any service for the Lord. It is interesting also here, that in Romans chapter 16, many women are mentioned. You know, the men oftentimes take the public place in a ministry, but we don't even realize the importance of our sisters, of the women, in the work of the Lord. The Lord Jesus the Messiah formed the body of Christ, the body of Messiah, and male and female, we are all coming in from on the same ground, but the sisters, even though they don't have a certain public place, they are essential in the work of the ministry.

And you will see how the Apostle Paul appreciating the sisters, the women that served him and served the Lord Jesus the Messiah, as he was here being used by the Lord. And so, in chapter 16, we have some praises and some warnings that the Apostle is giving here. In fact, if you will notice, in the first 16 verses, we have some that he greets. In verses 17 to 19, there are some that we are to avoid. And in verses 20 to 27, there are some that we are to honor. That's what the Apostle Paul, that's what Shaul does. He greets some, he warns about some, and he seeks to honor some, and he presented to the believers it wrong.

And I would like today to begin with the first a few verses, and I'm going to take them in section. Let's begin, first of all, in verses 1 and 2. And by the way, before I'm going to read verses 1 and 2, there are 33 people that are mentioned by name here in Romans chapter 16. Then, 9 of them are with Paul, 8 of them are men, 1 of them are women, or is a woman. Then there are 24 that are found at Rome, 17 of them are men, and 7 of them are women. He also mentioning some name of unnamed persons, some of them he called brethren, others he's called mother of Rufus, and another one, the sister of another person, which their name are not mentioned, but their person is mentioned here in Romans chapter 16.

So let's begin by a commendation that is found in verses 1 and 2, and notice what we read. I commit unto you, Phoebe, our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Sanchira, that ye receive her in the Lord as become a saint, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you, for she has been a helper of many, and of myself also. The first person in that long list in Romans 16 is a woman by the name of Phoebe. If you have the King James Version, you will notice her name is mentioned also at the end in verse 27, which is actually was added there by those who compiled the King James Version, and there it's mentioned that the letter that Paul had been writing to the believers at Rome was written from Corinth, and it's sent by Phoebe, a servant of the church in Sanchira.

This is actually not in the original, but it was added by those who compiled the King James Version, but the point is this, that apparently this woman by the name of Phoebe was carrying the letter of Romans from Corinth to the believers at Rome, given to her by the Apostle Paul himself, by Shaul, and he used her to give that great and important letter, and to bring it to the believers at Rome. But what does he have to say about Phoebe? He's saying he called her, The word for servant is come from the Greek word diakonos, which we often use as the word deacons, which is simply mean a servant.

She was a servant in the church in Sanchira. She was a real servant. By the way, that word for servant is found elsewhere in the Scripture, and it's really an interesting word for servant because it's found the Lord is saying, Who of you want to be a servant among the people of God? A servant is the one who minister and serve the people of God. That's what Phoebe did. She was simply a servant. Maybe not everybody appreciated her. Maybe not everyone understood what Phoebe was doing, but Phoebe was a servant, and her name is mentioned here in the Scripture by the Apostle Paul. He took a note of mentioning Phoebe in his letter to the Romans, and even greater than what Paul said, the Holy Spirit of God placed this woman in the Scripture and said that she was a servant.

Notice it says servant of the church. The church is not the building. The church are the people. She was ministering to the believers. Apparently from verse 2, she said, You should receive her in the Lord as become a saint, and that you assist her in whatsoever business she has a need of. And then notice he said, For she has been a helper of many, and also of myself. Oh, brothers and sisters, how we need these kind of sisters in our midst. We need a sister. We need brothers and sisters, But specifically here's sister that he's mentioning, like Phoebe, that will minister to the people of God.

That will minister, will encourage them, will meet needs, will know how to speak in due time. There are many discouragements around us. And Phoebe was recognized by Shaul, by Paul, as a servant. As simply a servant. Do we want to serve the Lord? Do I want to serve the Lord sometime? Brothers and sisters, we would like to be so recognized, and so placed in the front. And here's a woman that never spoke of herself, but somebody else, such as Apostle Paul, have recognized her service. There is a price in service. There is a need among the people of God. When everything is falling apart, we do not need great people.

We need simple people who serve our blessed Lord Jesus, the Messiah, and the people of God. Notice what he says about her. Number one, receive her. Number two, assist her. And why? Because she had been assisting everybody else. What a recommendation. Can you imagine to take such a recommendation by the Apostle Paul? Can you imagine? His word, whatever he says, was leaving such an impact upon others. So when he was commending or recommending somebody, they took it to heart, and they recognized, here is a sister that was serving the Apostle Paul, serving the local assembly in Sancherah, and we are to receive her, and we are to assist her.

And so, the first one, we see a recommendation. By the way, if you want to put a note in your scripture about the word diakonos, a servant, you can find it in 1 Timothy 3, verses 8 to 14, a few times, what is the business and the work of the servant? He is to serve. He is to minister to the people of God. Sometimes we think that it is only the pastors are the ones who are to talk, to share with people. Look at the kind of a person like Phoebe. She must have been encouraging the believers. Maybe some were sick, but she was visiting them. She was doing all kind of things and ministering to the needs, practical as well as spiritual needs, because she was a woman of God.

There was a commendation by the Apostle Paul for this woman by the name of Phoebe. I can just imagine when people have gone astray, she was probably visiting them. When people were discouraged, when sisters were discouraged, she probably met their need by simply listening to them. What a wonderful sister to have in the midst of the local assembly. So he is the one that's commending them. Now from verse 3 to verse 16, we have a series of salutations, a series of saying shalom to these people. In Hebrew, when it says greet someone, in Hebrew we say sha'alu le shalom. It's coming from the same Hebrew word of the song, sha'alu shalom Yerushalayim.

Greet or seek for the peace and the welfare of somebody else. And notice how many names are mentioned here from verses 3 to verse 16. The first ones to note just specifically here is verse 3, 4, and 5a. These people called Priscilla and Aquila. Husband and wife team. What a wonderful thing to have a husband and wife team. I can tell you that I could not do much without the help of my dear wife Irene. Very little if I wouldn't have the support of my dear wife. A husband and wife team is very essential in everything we do, specifically in the Lord's work. And so here he is saying greet Priscilla Aquila and Aquila my helpers in the Messiah Yeshua.

Verse 4. Who have for my life laid down their own necks, unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles, likewise greet the church that is in their house. You know what we learn here about Aquila and Priscilla? That apparently they had a local assembly using their own home, their own house, a place for the meeting room. You see, it says the church that is in their house. Apparently they invited believers and they used their home as a husband and wife to be a place where the believers meet, where the church met. But you know what they did for the Apostle Paul?

It says here in verse 3, greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers. They were also helpers of the Apostle Paul. He says, who have for my life laid down their own necks. You know, it is a Roman expression because in the history of the Romans, laying down their own neck means that they endanger their lives. You know, when the Romans were executing not only by crucifying, but also cutting the necks of people, it is laying down their own necks means they have endangered their lives for my sake. Don't you think the Apostle Paul will appreciate these kind of people? Aquila and Priscilla were this kind of a husband and wife team who assisted the Apostle Paul.

Turn with me for a moment to Acts chapter 18 for a verse or two there. In Acts 18, we read in verses 1, 2, and 3, after these things Paul departed from Athens and he came to Corinth. And it was in Corinth, it says in verse 2 of Acts 18, that he found a certain Jewish man by the name of Aquila. He was born in Pontius, lately came from Italy, and with his wife Priscilla because that Claudius had commended all the Jews to depart from Rome. And came unto them, and because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and he wrought for by their occupation, for they were tent makers.

You know, they were literally making tents, that was their job, but over and above their job of making tents, they were actually serving the Lord, using their house for their meeting, the local assembly of believers. You know, at that time, they didn't have, like we can have buildings today where people coming together to a separate, what we call church hall, meeting hall. At that time, they used to meet at homes. So when a person got saved, and he accepted Yeshua the Messiah, the local assembly was in a home of one of the brothers, one of the believers. And so they were gathering together, and they were hosting those people.

Imagine what is involved to host people in their own home. We have a sister in Israel that her house today is the place where the believers meet. Every Shabbat, all those who come who are believers, who are gathered together for the listening of the word of God, they are coming to her own house. So her own house became like a train station. You come to the home. If you have a problem, you phone to the house, and she is trying to answer us, and others trying to help. But their home was a place of the gathering of the saints. What a wonderful privilege it must have been.

But what a hard label to have your house where everybody else come for the Bible study, and to have your house where everybody else coming for the ministry meeting, and everybody else coming for the prayer meeting, and to use your house. Can you imagine what it involved? The setting up, the cleaning up, the preparation for food, for fellowship. Can you imagine? It is a hard work. And sometime, because they were under the Roman Empire, they were endangering their own lives. And the Apostle Paul recognized them in Romans chapter 16. We read of them in verses 1 to 3 of Acts chapter 18. In verse 18, as well we read, And Paul, after this, tarried there yet a good while.

And then he took his leave of the brethren, and he sailed thence unto Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shown his head in Sanchira, for he had a vow. And he came to Ephesus, and left them there. Apparently, they sailed with him, Aquila and Priscilla, and they went with him from Corinth to Sanchira, from Sanchira to Ephesus, and he left them in Ephesus, and the Lord used them in Ephesus as well. So on the one hand, their job was to make tents, and on the other hand, while they do their physical work, they are ministering to the needs of the people of God.

And that's why the Apostle Paul said, greet, I ask for the peace of Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in the Messiah, Yeshua, who have for my life laid down their own necks, and to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Whether it was at Corinth, whether it was in Sanchira, whether it was in Ephesus, the churches, the local assemblies, the believers in those Gentile areas have appreciated this Jewish man and his wife who had to flee from Rome because of what happened, the persecution in Rome against the Jewish people, and they were used by the Lord for the benefit of the Gentile church.

Whether it was at Corinth, at Rome, and elsewhere, Sanchira and Ephesus. Notice now, he's continuing and I'm just moving on because there's a great list here and probably I won't be able to mention everyone or develop everyone's situation, but look at this verse 5b. We have another individual by the name of Epantius who is of the first fruits of Achaia unto the Messiah, unto Christ. Apparently this man by the name of Epantius, he was one of the first individuals that the Apostle Paul led to the Messiah. Have you ever led a person to the Lord? What a privilege it is to lead somebody to the Lord.

I had a few times that privilege to share with people the gospel and then to pray with them the sinner's prayer. Can you imagine what an impact that person lived on the life of the Apostle Paul or on your life and mine when you were used by the Lord Jesus, by the Holy Spirit of God to lead a person to the knowledge of the Savior? Paul does not forget that. Paul remembered that it was a refreshment for his own heart and he's saying salute my well, beloved Epantius who is the first fruits of Achaia unto the Messiah. He's continuing now in the list and here's he mentioning Miriam or as we call her Mary but in Hebrew it's Miriam.

Apparently she must have been a Jewish person who became a believer. We have many Miriams in the Bible. We have Miriam the mother of Yeshua. We have Miriam Magdalene. We have Miriam the sister of Moshe and Aaron and we have another Miriam here mentioned. Actually her name Miriam it does not give us a good meaning because to be angry or merry, merry to rebellious and yet there must have been a chain in her life when she came to know the Lord Jesus the Messiah. And so he's saying I greet Miriam who bestowed much labor on us. Here's again the sister. She labored. She bestowed much labor upon the Apostle Paul and all those who went with him and followed after him.

She served the Apostle Paul. She served Yeshua the Messiah and those that are his servants. In verse 7 apparently there is other fellow Jews and notice at verse 7 it says Salute Andronosius and Junia my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners who are known among the Apostle who also were in the Messiah before me. Here he is mentioning other two Jewish believers apparently he says kinsmen they are related to him in a sense they are Jewish by birth and they also came to faith in the Messiah and they were noted among the Apostles even before the Apostle Paul was a believer in Yeshua the Messiah.

And he is taking a note he is saying to salute them they are my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners you see they also suffered because of the name of Yeshua the Messiah and he is calling them fellow prisoners they may have been in bonds because of the name of the Lord they were serving the Lord serving together with the Apostle Paul and he does appreciate them very much apparently they were his kinsmen fellow Jewish people who came to faith in Yeshua the Messiah you notice here in this chapter as we're going to read that there are some Jewish believers and some gentle believers and they are united together he is appreciating all those that belong

to Yeshua the Messiah here is another one in verse 8 Ampilas and I'm reading verse 8 greet Ampilas my beloved in the Lord another individual maybe not a Jewish believer a gentle believer in the Messiah but he is calling him he is my beloved he loved this individual in the Lord in the Messiah in verse 9 he mentioned Urban and Stachius it says in verse 9 salute Urban our helpers in the Messiah and Stachius my beloved and then he is adding more individuals with those names that you and I would have never heard their names unless Paul written them in Romans chapter 16 in verse 9 he is using this expression of a person who

is being approved Apellas you notice verse 10 salute Apellas approved in the Messiah salute them which are in Aristobulus household this person by the name of Apellas was approved in Christ in the Messiah I'm reminded of the verse in 2 Timothy chapter 2 where Paul wrote to this young man Timothy and he said to him Timothy study to show yourself approved unto God a workman that needeth not to be ashamed rightly dividing the word of truth Timothy you study the scriptures and all of it you will be approved unto God here is a man in verse 10 by the name of Apellas who was approved in the Messiah in Christ why you know when he

studied the word when he learned the scripture when he spent time with Yeshua the Messiah he was approved he didn't need even somebody else commanding him but by virtue of his life by virtue of his language and attitude he was approved unto God approved in the Messiah what a commendation to give to a man to a brother to a sister in verse 10 he also mentioning salute them which are at the house of Aristobulus his household apparently from what I understand from history some suggest that he is the grandson of Herod the Great Aristobulus had been the grandson of Herod the Great and what a wicked man Herod the Great had been and yet Aristobulus

got saved and some of his household got saved and there was a change in his life you know what Herod the Great had done if you remember the story of Herod the Great when the wise men came into Jerusalem and said where is he that was born the king of the Jews and he would not share his kingship with anyone and what did he do he called his wise men he said you go and find him and when you find him tell me and I'll come and I'll worship him and you remember what happened when they found the baby in a manger in Bethlehem and they worshipped him and they left another way what did

Herod the Great have done he have sent to Bethlehem and he have killed every baby Jewish baby from two years and under to make sure that the Messiah the king of the Jews will not remain alive but here is a grandson who turned to the Messiah and now the apostle Paul is greeting him and those that are in his household you know it is so beautiful to see the ways of God we have just talked about it recently in our meeting in Niagara on the lake some people are godly men and women that have ungodly children and some people have an ungodly life and their descendants end up to be a godly boys and girls

men and women we do not know the ways of God when Eli the priest among the people of Israel his sons did not behave in a proper way that God had to take away the priesthood from him and while he was taking the priesthood away from Eli he was raising a young man by the name of Shmuel Samuel who ended up to be a man of God and yet Samuel's sons did not behave in a godly way and had to be removed as well you don't understand the ways of God here's a man who is Aristobulus who is a grandson of a wicked man and yet he turned to the Messiah and following the Messiah

and some of his household may have turned to the Lord Yeshua the Messiah what a wonderful ways the ways of God amazing ways of God we have in the Bible look in verse 11 now he's mentioning a person by the name of Herodion my kinsman verse 11 salute Herodion my kinsman and greet them that are of his household of and he's mentioning another man by the name of Narcissus and you see again you could see that he's mentioning other individuals Herodion he's his kinsman could be somebody's connected with Herod and so but he's or in the household of Herod then Narcissus which are in the Lord and apparently here's another one they are in the

Lord he's mentioning their name because they have been so dear to the apostle Paul he continue now and I'm reading in verse 12 he's using here's two individuals that may have been twin sisters or something he says salute Triphina and Triphosa who labor in the Lord here's two sisters that have been laboring in the Lord and I want to encourage you dear sisters to continue to serve the Lord you don't know what a blessing you are to those of us here you don't even realize that but here the apostle Paul appreciate them he's saying salute them they are labored they have worked hard in the things of the Lord salute the beloved Persis which labored

much in the Lord here's another sister that he's adding they labor much in the Lord they labored and labored and their name was not mentioned all along until God had placed it in a canon of scripture and because most of the people who read the scripture don't get to the end of the story we always like the cream of the crop we don't realize the importance that this individual had in the ministry of the gospel and now notice here in the next verses in verse 13 here's another interesting man by the name of Rufus it says here salute Rufus chosen of the Lord and his mother and mine now who is that Rufus do you

know who is that Rufus turn with me to Mark chapter 15 for a moment very interesting Mark chapter 15 we learn that Rufus was apparently the son of Simon in Mark chapter 15 we learn about Rufus Mark 15 verse 1 let me find this verse and read it to you it says when Jesus the Messiah was sent before Pilate and then later on he was on a way to be crucified it says here in verse 16 the soldiers led him away into the hall called the Petroleum and they called together the whole band they closed him with purple they plaited a crown of thorn and they put it upon his head and they began to

salute him and they said hail king of the Jews and they smote him on his head with a reed and they did spit upon him and they bowed their knees and worshipped him and when they had mocked him they took off the purple from him and they put his own clothes on him and he led him to be crucified and now verse 21 and then they compel a man by the name Simon a Cyrenian who passed by coming out of the country the father of Alexander and Rufus to bear his cross apparently when the Lord Jesus the Messiah was walking with the cross after he was beaten apparently on the streets there was a man

by the name of Simon a Cyrenian he came he was one of the people in the crowd and perhaps one of those soldiers said to him hey you help him to bear the cross and can you imagine Simon had to remember that he was helping to carry the cross of the Lord Jesus the Messiah he had experienced somewhat and he saw the pain and the sorrow and the suffering and the rejection of Yeshua the Messiah he was the father of Alexander and Rufus I don't know if they were there with him but he may have told them sons I'm going to tell you something I've been in the city of Jerusalem and I was one

of those people in the crowd and the soldier took me and told me to carry the cross of one by the name of Yeshua from Nazareth and I helped him to carry the cross sons I want to tell you I believe that he was the promised Messiah he was carrying the cross and later on they hung him on that cross and he cried out my God my God why has thou forsaken me sons he must have said to Alexander and Rufus I want to tell you that he was the promised Messiah and apparently at least we learn here from Romans chapter 16 Rufus have accepted him in fact it says that Rufus was chosen of

the Lord you know we learn here the truth of election that God had chosen us in Christ in the Messiah before the foundation of the world and here is Rufus chosen in the Lord and it seemed to be brothers and sisters that Rufus mother who must have been the wife of Simon became like a mother to Shaul to Paul and she must have treated him as her own son and many times where Shaul or where Paul was with them she have treated him like his very own mother and that's why he's saying in verse 13 of Romans 16 chosen of the Lord Rufus chosen of the Lord salute him and salute his mother and his

mother is also mine that means that he took she became like a mother unto the apostle Paul in the way that she have treated him and helped him and mothered him and cared for him but what a privilege to be the son Rufus the one that is chosen from the Lord and the one that his father helped Yeshua the Messiah to carry his cross to the place of crucifixion notice now in the next verses we have in verse 14 we have five more names are mentioned and the others called brethren you notice verse 14 we do not know who those people are I tell you very difficult names to express Greek names they must have

been Gentiles believers in Yeshua the Messiah that the apostle Paul appreciated them and the other brethren who have been with them he mentioning now in verse 15 he adding another individual to the list here and he's calling verse 15 salute Philogos and Julia Nereus and his sister and Olympas and all the saints which are with them here's another list of names by the way the name here for Philogos or Philogos come from two Greek words Philio had to be for the word lover and Logos is the word you remember it's John 1 in the beginning was the Logos the word and the word was with God and the word was God this name Philogos is

a lover of the Lord as the eternal word wonderful name and he's saying salute them say shalom to them greet them salute Philogos and Julia and Neros and his sister he is a sister of Nereus whose name is not mentioned but Paul knows who she was and he's greeting her he's saying to them to greet them and Olympas and all the saints which are with them it looks like to me brothers and sisters that the assembly at Rome must have met in more than one location there must have been one assembly one local home in one place and another local home in another place and believers were meeting in those more than one locality interesting

that we have here in Romans chapter 16 so that list and the last thing that he's saying to them in verse 16 he says salute one another with a holy kiss the churches of the Messiah salute you that expression salute one another with a holy kiss is an expression of love among the believers that was expressed in the first century that holy kiss the expression of holy kiss is mentioned in various times at the end of 1 Corinthians 16 20 in 2 Corinthians 13 12 in 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 26 this expression of a holy kiss is mentioned again and again by the Apostle Paul and it was a kiss of affection a kiss of

love today of course in North America and other countries in the world this kiss is not being much done because of who knows the thoughts in the mind of believers but in first century the kiss of affection that was given to one another it was such a sign of love and care among the people of God so in the first 16 verses of our chapter we have some that he was greeting he was greeting them from the brothers that were with him and he was greeting them that were in Rome and he was giving them and recognizing them as part and parcel of the ministry of the Lord Jesus the Messiah but now notice that

and we're moving on now from the greeting to some now he's giving them some warnings and he's giving them the warnings and some that they are not to greet now but to avoid to be very careful so we have in verses 17 18 19 and 20 four things that I'm going to mention the first thing is what are we what are the believers at Rome to avoid it says in verse 17 I beseech you brethren mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned and avoid them now that is so important brothers and sisters apparently it's not a new thing that we have in our present day those that

are actually causing divisions among the people of God apparently already in first century in the time when Apostle Paul was writing and he was ministering the gospel is already in the foundation of the church the assembly there were already some who were causing divisions and they were causing divisions among the people of God they're causing stresses they're causing problems among the people of God and he says listen you avoid them that cause divisions now notice he used that word mark them now we are not to put an X on the back of a person that is causing division but we are to mark them in our mind we are to recognize if we know that

there is a brother or a sister who are causing division among the people of God we are to be mature enough to understand it we are to be mature enough to recognize ah ah wait a minute I'm not going to take part in this thing I'm not going to be adding to the problems of the people of God and you know brothers and sisters we know it's existing today in the present day in the church in which we are finding ourselves today this is something that is existing everywhere in many places that those who desire to cause divisions among the people of God what a shame is to spend our energy and our time to

cause havoc and divisions among the people of God I want you to read a verse with me please turn with me to the book of Proverbs for a moment Proverbs chapter 6 Solomon of all the king of Israel already in the words of wisdom that he had given to the people of Israel he had said this in Proverbs chapter 6 verse 16 six things does the Lord hate yes seven are an abomination unto him unto the Lord and then look at the six things plus the one number one a proud look verse 17 number two a lying tongue number three hands that shed innocent blood verse 18 number four a heart that devises wicked imagination

verse 18 feet that swift to run after mischief verse 19 a false witness that speaketh lie and notice the last thing in verse 19 and he that sow discord among brethren let me tell you God hates those that sow discord I should say it this way God hates the deed of those who sow discord among brethren God does not hate anybody he loves men but he hates the sin God loves the sinners and hates the sin and here the apostle Paul saying listen I want you to realize that you mark those which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned and notice he added to it avoid them you notice he

doesn't say fight them he doesn't say hurt them he says avoid them sometimes we need to be wise enough to say if you carry on in your way or this way I have no part in that some of the reasons why there are so many problems among the believers in the present day dispensation is because there is constantly friction among the people of God and there seem to be those who think that their business is to add to that so they're putting the wedge a bit deeper and deeper and deeper so the friction will grow and the division will grow and then what happened the sheep are scattered the Lord is not honored and even

those who cause divisions are really not happy they don't do a service to God that's why he's saying I beseech you brethren mark them mark them number one and avoid them number two don't go in their pathway because you end up to be a party to this kind of attitude now not only he's saying in verse 17 that he's saying to avoid them but I just want you to know this when it comes to the word mark I want you to see the other side of the word mark for a moment turn with me to Philippians chapter 3 again using the word mark it is again the apostle Paul who used that word in Philippians

chapter 3 and verses 18 and 19 I'll read from verse 17 where the apostle Paul said to the Philippians brethren be followers together of me in verse 17 and then he says and mark them which walk so as ye have us for an example here's again he's saying to mark them but this time to mark those who follow the Lord who are setting an example who are following the Lord Jesus and setting an example oh how we need to mark our brothers and sisters when they walk with the Lord and they are good example we are to mark them and to seek to follow after them so you see the two sides we are to

mark them that cause division but we are to mark those that walk in a way that is an example to the saints then he says back in Romans chapter 16 and verse 18 and he's saying about them he says for they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus the Messiah but they're serving their own belly that by good words and a fair speech they deceive the hearts of the simple amazing how with words as he says here with good words and fair speeches they deceive the hearts of the simple you know at the end who get hurt not so much the mature Christians the mature believers they do get hurt but the simple one

the one who is yet haven't mature enough they hear this rumor then they hear there and then they hear another rumor and then they hear another word and another word and they end up at the end to be deceived and they end up to be at the end destroyed their hearts are following after that and they end up not growing in the things of the Lord and you know isn't it amazing that good words and the fair speeches doesn't it remind us of what happened in the garden of Eden where Satan came to Eve and he said has God really said do you mean God really said to you that you should not eat from

the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil did he really say it and then he says no he says God really don't care for you because if you will have the knowledge of good and evil you will be like God and immediately Eve was looking wow I'm going to be like God knowing good and evil and he succeeded to deceive Eve and the deception of Satan is a continuous thing that is happening and he's using all kind of ways in which he deceived the people of God he cannot take a salvation from a person that belonged to the Lord but he can surely deceive the people of God in one way

or another that's why there are so many friction and so many sadness among the people of God so he deceives the simple it says in verse 19 on the other hand look at the importance of obedience he says in verse 19 for your obedience is come abroad unto all men I am glad therefore on your behalf but yet I would have you wise unto that which is good but simple concerning evil you see Paul saying he's commanding them he says look your obedience everybody hear about your obedience it left an impact upon people he says and I want you to be wise unto those things which is good but simple to the evil things in

other words don't be overly involved in that which is evil don't be occupied with this be occupied with that which is good Philippians chapter 4 whatsoever is good whatsoever of good report whatsoever is pleasant think on those things we don't need to be occupied with evil we don't need to hear all the time the bad stuff because evil defiles evil is like cancer it spread and it's adding and it's keeping us occupied with that evil but we have to be simple with that which is evil but really wise to that to the Romans and you know the truth of the matter that the source of the ones that cause division is none else but Satan

himself because he says in verse 20 of Romans chapter 16 the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly the God of Shalom gonna bruise Satan under your feet shortly see Satan's job is constantly to counterfeit he does that among the people of God you see he cannot take the place of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah so what does he do he constantly work among the people of God to seek to discourage them to divide among them to do all kind of things which will hinder the work of the Lord and that's what the apostle Paul was warning against I want to read a verse in 2nd Corinthians turn to 2nd Corinthian and

I want to read about those that are coming and transforming themselves as if they are angels of the Lord in 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 in verse 13 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 13 for such are false apostles deceitful workers transforming themselves into apostles of the Messiah and no wonder for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness whose end shall be according to their works see apparently there were those who were claiming to be in early church as they are an apostles or messengers of God but they actually were messengers of Satan himself they were not

doing the job that the Lord gave they were doing the job that Satan wanted them to do and how careful we are to be how careful the Roman believers they received greetings to some but warnings about others be careful we need to be wise in those things and brothers and sisters let's do the service of the Lord and not the service of the enemy of the Lord let's serve and minister our brothers and not allow divisions to come in the midst of the people of God let's not be participating of those that are causing divisions and all kind of offenses among the people of God let's be aware of that let's mark them in our

mind pray for them that the Lord will change their ways and if there is not a change avoid them that's what we need to do by the grace of God and so now we saw some greetings then we saw some warnings and let's quickly go to the climax here at the end of this chapter 16 of Romans and let's go to the last verses notice that he gives now in verse 20b to verse 24 some personal very personal greetings notice he mentioned Timothy first of all it says in the end of verse 20 the grace of the Lord Jesus the Messiah be with you amen and then he said Timothy now notice people that were

with Paul now he says Timothy my work fellow and Lucius and Jason and Sospitar my kinsmen salute you now he is giving greetings from himself and the people that were with him to the brothers and sisters at Rome and he is saying Timothy and Lucius and Jason and Sospitar and they were his kinsmen they salute you apparently there were Jewish believers that were serving with him they were saluting the brethren at Rome they were his kinsmen then he says in verse 22 the one who puts Paul's letter on paper he mentioning I Tertius who wrote this epistle salute you in the Lord apparently Paul was dictating what he was saying to the believers at Rome

and a man by the name of Tertius was the one who putting it on paper on ink some suggested that Paul had write it himself but he dictated guided by the Holy Spirit of God and the man by the name of Tertius he wrote this epistle he saluted them in the Lord also beautiful then you notice in verse 23 Gaios was Paul's host we read of him Gaios my host and of the whole church salute you Arrestius the chamberlain of the city salute you and Curatius a brother also salute you he is mentioning Gaios he has apparently hosted him in his home Arrestius the chamberlain of the city he got saved and he also saluted

them and a man a brother by the name Coatrus also a brother salute them those people were with Paul you see how many 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 people were with the Apostle Paul 8 or 9 people were saluting now the brethren which are in Rome Jewish believers Gentile believers united in the Messiah serving the Lord greeting one another in the love of the Lord Jesus and then he's saying now in the last verses now you see the conclusion the doxology we have in verse 24 25 26 and 27 and allow me just to belabor that a little bit he's saying in verse 24 the grace of the Lord Jesus the Messiah

be with you all he wanted the grace of the Lord it is the grace of the Lord that he wanted to be with them you know grace is a favor of God that we did not deserve a favor of God that the brothers and sisters in Rome received they did not deserve it but Paul wanted that God's favor the Lord Jesus favor will be upon them and now in verse 25 Paul desire to establish the believers according to his gospel and so he's writing in verse 25 now to him that is of power to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Yeshua the Messiah according to the revelation of the mystery which

was kept secret since the world began but now is made manifest and by the scriptures of the prophets according to the commandment of the everlasting God made known to all nations for the obedience of faith to God only wise be glory through Yeshua the Messiah forever amen this is the doxology and have you noticed one thing that is really interesting here that the apostle Paul mentioned here that we find it in the book of Ephesians the book of Colossians the word mystery he's saying in verse 25 now unto him that have the power to establish you according to my gospel the gospel that Peter and James and John was preaching but he received a special

revelation that had to do with the Gentile world as well that the Gentile world together with the Jewish believers and the Gentile believers are now part of the church of our Lord Jesus the Messiah and he calls it a mystery you see he says according to the revelation of the mystery which was kept in secret since the world began but now was made manifest by the scriptures of the prophets that's New Testament prophets according to the commandment of the everlasting God now brothers and sisters look at this you see from the beginning of the creation of this world when God had made Adam and Eve he had given the revelation that he had given to

us in the Old Testament in the scriptures but this mystery that the Jew and the Gentile will be united in the body of Christ the body of Messiah according to this verse it says it was kept secret since the world began in other words the Old Testament Hebrew prophets have been limited to the information that you and I have because of the revelation that the apostle Paul received from our risen Messiah what was the revelation what was that mystery that the apostle Paul received the revelation concerning this mystery you know what that beautiful mystery that now had been revealed even though it was hidden it was not known before the apostle Paul now received this

revelation from the glorified Lord Gentiles and Jewish people are going to be united in the body of Messiah you and I today are part of this union of all believers from among Israel and among the Gentile world who came to faith in Messiah and became what is known today as the bride of Christ the bride of the Messiah that is the mystery that is now revealed I want to show you just couple of verses go back to Romans chapter 11 and I'm reading this verse 25 but I would not brethren that you should be ignorant of this mystery lest you should be wise in your own opinion that blindness in part happened to Israel until

the fullness of the Gentile become in and so all Israel shall be saved here is the first time we have here in Romans chapter 11 verse 25 the mystery don't be misinformed brethren about this mystery that now blindness in part happened to Israel until the full number of the Gentiles become in Israel had been blinded partially that now Gentiles as well as Jewish believers gonna be part of what is known as the church the assembly the ecclesia the called out ones it was not revealed in Old Testament time it was not revealed as it says in Romans 16 it was not revealed it was kept secret since the world began now secondly turn to Ephesians

please Ephesians chapter 3 again we're mentioning that mystery that now had been revealed Ephesians chapter 3 the apostle Paul continue and he is saying there in verse 1 to 9 for this cause I Paul the prisoner of Yeshua the Messiah unto you Gentiles if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given unto me towards you how that by the revelation as I wrote before in a few words whereby when you read you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of the Messiah and now notice verse 5 which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and

the prophets by the spirit that the Gentiles here's the mystery the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body and partakers of his promises in the Messiah by the gospel do you know brothers and sisters that in the old testament period of time the church age was hid in God and was not known to mankind at all even old testament prophets of Israel did not know about this present day dispensation you remember the apostles themselves said to him when are you restoring the kingdom to Israel and he said to them it's not for you to know the time and the seasons so right now he's building the assembly the body of messiah and

in the future he will restore the nation of israel and he will restore the tabernacles of David which were broken down but but in the present day dispensation we are part of the body of messiah the bride of the messiah and that is jewish person and gentiles who believe in the lord jesus the messiah in the season of his rejection which make us part of the assembly the called out ones it says in ephesians chapter 3 it was not made known in the past but then he says the mystery which is from the beginning of the world has been hidden in god who created all things by yeshua the messiah god did not reveal it

until the messiah was rejected and was crucified and was placed in a grave and was resurrected then the apostle paul received that revelation from the lord jesus the messiah finally colossians chapter 1 in verse 24 to 27 again in connection with Colossians 1 and verse 24 it says this who now rejoice in my suffering for you and fill up that which is behind of the affections of the messiah in my flesh for his body sake which is the church wherefore I made a minister according to the dispensation of god which is given unto me for you to fulfill the word of god even here's the word the mystery which hath been hid from the ages

and from the generation but now is made manifest to his saints to whom god would make known what is the riches of of the glory of this mystery among the gentile which is the messiah in you the hope of glory that's the mystery that our pastor Paul is speaking about here in chapter 16 of the book of Romans and that mystery is you and I Jew and Gentile male and female slave and free who came to faith in the Lord Jesus the Messiah in the present day dispensation of his rejection and he called out become part of this assembly the body of Messiah the bride of the Messiah that soon and very soon the Lord

will call us and will take us to be with him in glory and we're going to be forever with him as the bride of Christ the bride of the Messiah distinct from Israel the nation the wife of Jehovah and yet connected interwoven connected with each other because of the finished work of the Lord Jesus the Messiah to the only wise God be glory through Jesus the Messiah forever amen that's how he concluded the book of Romans amazing 33 names of individuals that he appreciated some to greet some to warn against and some as he giving them here some personal testimony of individuals wanted to greet the believers at Rome may the Lord bless us and

encourage us brothers and sisters just before the meeting some of us spoke about the fact that we really want that the Lord will come already and take us to be with him in home some of us are tired some of have discouragement you know you never know maybe the Lord will come today and take us to be with him in glory wouldn't it be wonderful be wonderful if he will come and take us to be at home with him in glory well with this message we concluded the book of Romans and I trust that you have been edified by the writings by the letters that Paul wrote to the Roman believers