New York UBF - NY University Bible Fellowship

Romans Lesson 28 (2008)

GREET ONE ANOTHER WITH A HOLY KISS

Romans 16:1-27
Key verse: 16:16

“Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.”

Today’s passage, Romans chapter 16, is Paul’s final greetings to the Christians in Rome. Most people would simply write, “Sincerely yours” or “All my best,” but Paul mentions quite a few names of those whom he had already known personally among the Christians in Rome and expresses his deep appreciation for each of them by offering comments on them. (3-15) I am sure that they were not perfect people, yet Paul’s comments for them were very affirmative. Before concluding his letter with words of praises to God (25-27), Paul gives them some more words of encouragement (16-24). I think he really didn’t want to end his letter. At first I wasn’t sure about what we can learn from this passage, then I realized that it teaches us the most practical lesson about how we should appreciate our friends in Christ. Let’s think about what Paul meant when he said “Greet one another with a holy kiss.”(16a)

FIRST, PAUL’S RECOMMENDATION FOR PHOEBE (1-2)

Look at verses 1 and 2. “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in the way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me.” In Paul’s time, since there was no world-wide postal service network, like UPS or FedEx, if you wanted to send a letter or a package you had to deliver for yourself or hire someone to do it. Probably rich people could send their mail through their servants. Paul’s letter to the Romans was about 10,000 words in English. If you were to type 10,000 words on the regular paper we use today, it would be about 30 pages long. If you wrote them down on a scroll, I am not sure how long the scroll would be. It would definitely be a long and heavy package to carry. I don’t think Paul kept a copy of his original letter. So it would be a serious problem if it was lost in transit. The letter to the Romans is one of the most important documents in history. With whom did Paul choose to send this letter to Rome? For this heavy task he didn’t choose a bunch of strong men, but a lady named Phoebe.

We now have a woman vice-presidential candidate. But back then in Paul’s time, women were generally considered as second class citizens, and most women were underestimated and discriminated against by men simply because they were women. Most women were not properly educated, because they were supposed to be working only in the kitchen. But Paul delegated a woman for the important task of carrying the most important document in history. Why? Well, we cannot be sure about why Paul chose her to be the carrier of his letter. Was he trying to prove that he was not a male chauvinist? Maybe. I don’t know. But we see that he believes that there is no discrimination in Christ. Whether you are man or woman, Jew or Gentile, Black or White, master or slave. In Christ, we are all equal before God. It’s not easy to practice what we believe. But that’s what Paul did.

What kind of woman was Phoebe? Paul introduces her as “a servant of the church in Cenchrea”. Here “a servant” means “a deacon.” She was a deaconess in the church of Cenchrea, the port city of Corinth. Paul said in verse 2 that she has been a great help to many people, including himself. We don’t know exactly what she did in the church because Paul didn’t explain it except for the fact that she was a great help to many people. There is no perfect congregation or perfect church in the world. All churches have issues and problems to struggle with. I don’t mean to be judgmental. Yet, some people who are very talkative and have a whining spirit instead of serving others can become trouble makers in the church. But Phoebe was a hard working, quiet and prayerful lady who always made herself available to serve others, including Paul himself. Paul had a great confidence in her faithfulness and humility in Christ. She was trustworthy.

In sending her to Rome, however, Paul wasn’t sure if she would be treated fairly enough, perhaps because she was a woman. So he personally asked them to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she might need from them. It means they shouldn’t discriminate against her simply because she was a woman. Instead, they should welcome her with respect and love and provide her with whatever she might need. One thing we learn here is that there is no discrimination in Christ. We feel bad when we are not treated fairly. But we must also think about whether we are treating others fairly. We are to respect and recognize one another and especially those who are reliable in the Lord, regardless of their race, gender or age.

SECOND, “GREET ONE ANOTHER WITH A HOLY KISS” (3-16)

In verses 3-16, Paul mentions so many names, most of whom we are not familiar with. And many of their names are not easy to pronounce. The word “Greet” is repeated over and over. “Greet Priscilla and Aquila” (3), “Greet my dear friend Ephenetus”(5), “Greet Mary”(6) “Greet Andronicus and Junias” (7), “Greet…Greet,… Greet!” It is repeated 17 times in verses 3-16. The word “Greet” in Greek (aspasmos) means “to welcome”, “to say good-bye”, or “to embrace or hug someone.” He wasn’t just saying “good-bye” or “Hello”to them. It was more than a simple greeting. In fact, he was recognizing each of them by offering some comments on them.

Look at verses 3-7. “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them. Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert in Asia. Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you. Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.” It goes on and on. Although Paul’s comments for most of them seemed to be too brief, they were all affirmative. Why did Pul greet each of them and give such positive comments on them? It’s because he knew that while our recognition should be from God, sometimes, we really need to hear something positive about ourselves from others, not just to make ourselves feel good but to confirm that what we do or who we are is welcomed and appreciated by others.

How easy it is for us to underestimate our friends and coworkers in Christ and those around us and take their presence and spiritual qualities for granted. Since we see them all the time, some people don’t bother even to say “Hello.” Or one may say to the other, “Brother, I know your weaknesses very well. So you should be thankful as long as I don’t complain about you.” Maybe some people are too shy to express their feelings toward others due to their cultural background or character. We may have different ways of expressing ourselves. Yet it’s very important not to neglect one another but show our true appreciation, if not everyday, at least from time to time. Small appreciation makes a big difference in our relationship with one another. Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming soon, which are both good opportunities to express our thanksgiving to God and our appreciation to one another.

However, it’s not easy to be positive about certain people because they seem to have many obvious problems. So in order to be truthful, we may be tempted to say something negative about them. But Paul didn’t say something negative. Why? Was he untruthful? Of course not. He taught us that love must be sincere in Romans 12:9. He also taught us that we should be able to correct and rebuke. (2 Tim 4:2) However, Paul still saw a very positive thing in each of his friends and coworkers and deeply appreciated them no matter how small a person they may be. That’s Paul’s great spiritual maturity. Spiritually mature people find something good in others in spite of their weaknesses. One thoughtless and negative remark can damage and cripple somebody, and at the same time, one truthful word of encouragement can heal their wounds and revive their spirit.

Look at verse 16. “Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.” Now, Paul is encouraging the entire church members in Rome, along with the entire churches of the world, to greet one another with a holy kiss even though they may have differences and disagreement among themselves on some issues. In fact, Apostle Paul frequently said in his letters to greet one another with a holy kiss. (1 Cor 16:20; 2 Cor 13:12; 1 Thes 5:26) Apostle Peter also said in his letter, “Greet one another with a kiss of love.” (1 Peter 5:14) They were the two top leaders in the early Christian church. You know, it’s very interesting to see the way people greet one another is different from one culture to the other. Definitely in Jewish culture and some other cultures, kissing or hugging is an expression of friendship and love. The meaning of these gestures is universal, but some people don’t feel comfortable kissing and hugging others in public. What Paul was trying to say is that it does not really matter whether we kiss, hug, shake hands or write a letter, whatever works for us, we should do so. In other words, we make sure to confirm our love, friendship and unity among ourselves even though we don’t necessarily agree upon everything. Paul strongly urges Christians throughout the world to greet one another with a holy kiss. The word “holy” means “sacred”, “separated”, “pure” or “wholesome.” It means Christians are to have wholesome relationship of love with one another in Christ. We need to confirm our love toward one another, not that we doubt our love toward one another but that we love more and more. Our primary mission as Christian is to love.

A couple weeks ago, I was riding on the 7 train from Grand Central Station to Main Street in Flushing. I was very tired and fell asleep. When I woke it was Main Street, but strangely it seemed that nobody was getting off the train. You know what I found? Nobody woke me up. No one cared enough to wake me up to get off the train. I was left out. Everybody is too busy to survive in this time of challenge and crises. People are obsessed with themselves. “You take care of yourself. I take care of myself.” As a result, we make the world like hell. Recently, many people have been wondering whether the US economy is in recession or depression. Nobody could clearly explain the difference. I heard someone saying, “When your neighbor loses a job, it’s recession. When you lose your job, it’s depression.” People want to blame somebody for the crises we face. But we face crises mainly because of our selfishness and greed. We have to care for each other. When there is love, we can make a difference.

I think some of you may know this song, called “Heal the world.” The song goes, “There’s a place in your heart and I know that it is love and this place could be much brighter than tomorrow. And if you really try, you’ll find there’s no need to cry. In this place you’ll feel there’s no hurt or sorrow. There are ways to get there if you care enough for the living. Make a little space, make a better place. Heal the world. Make it a better place for you and for me and the entire human race There are people dying. If you care enough for the living, make a better place for you and for me. If you want to know why there’s a love that cannot lie. Love is strong. It only cares for joyful giving. If we try, we shall see.” When I heard this song for the first time, it was very inspiring. I was moved to tears. I made me to think about the love of Christ. To make a better world or a better place is not just a Utopian dream. When we, as Christians, practice the love of Christ, who suffered, died and gave himself for us, we can make a difference in the world, beginning from our family, church, campus, community, nation and the entire world.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:1-2, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” He also said in 13:13, “And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” Jesus also said many times to his disciples that they should love one another. He said in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” In other words, if we don’t love one another, we are not true disciples of Jesus and are misrepresenting Jesus to the world. We are to support and care for one another all the more when it is difficult. We often think, “What difference can I make to this world where there seem to be too many problems?” But we must have faith in God that when we do small things in obedience to Jesus’ command to love one another, God will surely fulfill His promise and make this world not just a better place or a better world but a perfect paradise.

THIRD, PAUL’S FINAL INSTRUCTIONS (17-27)

In verses 17-20, Paul gives his final warnings that Christians should not be just naive but have spiritual discernment about those who cause divisions and put obstacles in their way that are contrary to the teaching they learned. This is a very important warning that we should be always aware of. If you know that you are in danger, you will surely be watching out for yourself. But if you think you are in a safe zone, you wouldn’t be watching out. What if you are not in safe zone? I think that spiritual complacency is what is most dangerous to anyone, including us Christians. Look at verse 19-20. “Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.”

In verses 21-24, Paul introduces his close friends who are with him and send their greeting to the Christians in Rome, such as Timothy,Lucius, Jason, Sosipater, Tertius, Gaius, Erastus and Quartus. He ends his letter with words of praise. Look at verses 25-27. “Now to Him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God so that all nations might believe and obey him - to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.” Paul believed in God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, who created the universe, brought redemption and will bring complete transformation.

The gospel of Jesus Christ is good news to all people because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. In short, it is the power of love. It is not the power to destroy, intimidate, oppress, or condemn people. It is the power to liberate, justify, heal, rebuild, and fully alive forever and ever. Through the book of Romans, we learned that we live by faith. It means we are justified, sanctified and glorified by faith through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is the one who began His good work in us and will complete it until the final day. He deserves praise and honor. It’s only by faith that we are chosen to belong to God’s family. And we are to love one another no matter what circumstances we may be in. As we see the days are coming near and as we face more and more challenges in life, we should not panic. God is good. Instead, we should be spiritual awake, thankful, joyful and prayerful every day. Most of all, we are to greet one another with a holy kiss in obedience to God’s will.