Ep. 304. Romans 15,16 | Those Who Have Never Been Told

EPISODE 304

THOSE WHO HAVE NEVER BEEN TOLD: ROMANS 15-16

These final two chapters of Romans contain Paul's closing remarks and some greetings, but let us briefly examine three things.

One, we ought "Not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up." We would do well, as believers, to remember that we ought to serve one another and build one another up in Christ Jesus. Too often, we whine and complain that we aren't being built up, that the body of Christ isn't serving us, and we speak wickedly of the body. We need to remind ourselves that it is not our goal to be served but to serve. If we each took this attitude, then there would be no lack in the church.

Second, "Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope." The "Scripture" here is speaking of the Old Testament. We need to remember that we are not people of the Old Covenant but of the New, but that doesn't mean we don't find encouragement in the reading of the Old Testament. If you have gone this far with us on Simpler Bible, then you know that the OT is filled with things that point to and promise the truth of Jesus.

Third, Phoebe is called a "servant" in most translations of the Bible, but the word is actually "deacon." Okay, let me say that differently. The Greek word that we typically render "deacon" actually means "servant," so it is not wrong to say that Phoebe is a servant. The problem I have is that the editors seem to want to make a distinction between the position of "deacon" in 1 Timothy and Phoebe as a "deacon" in Romans 16. I don't think there is a distinction, and I wish we would either always translate the word as "servant" or always leave it untranslated as "deacon." But that could just be my pet peeve.

ADDITIONAL READING: Psalm 69:9; Psalm 18:49; Psalm 67:3-4; Psalm 117:1; Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 52:15; 2 Corinthians 8-9