Romans 16:8  Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord.
9  Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved.
10  Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus’ household.
11  Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that be of the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord.
12  Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, which laboured much in the Lord.
13  Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.
14  Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them.
15  Salute Philologus, and Julia, Nereus, and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with them.
16  Salute one another with an holy kiss. The churches of Christ salute you.

We continue to see here that God had some choice people surrendered to serving Him. God does not need an army to do His Work. He is in charge and He does not need us. It is a privilege to be able to be chosen by God to serve Him.
In verse 8 we read of another person who was a faithful servant of the Lord. The apostle Paul had people in different places whom God had prepared to help him. These were individuals who were truly saved. These were people who demonstrated their love for God by identifying with a man like Paul, who was despised by many others.
In verse 9 we read of Urbane who was a helper in Christ. Any true helper will be one who knows the Lord and walks humbly with Him. When a person truly knows the Lord, he or she will be an asset to the leadership that God puts in place. They will not fight against the truth. They will not have a secret agenda in mind. They will work to exalt Christ. Stachys was another one that was greatly appreciated by the apostle.
In verse 10 we read of Apelles who was approved in Christ. That is important. A man is nothing if he is not approved of by Christ. Then we read of Aristobulus’ household. Here were a group of people who also loved the Lord and wanted to serve Him.
In verse 11 we read of Herodion who was also a kinsman of Paul’s. We read of another faithful household. God is able to supply all of our needs. We need some faithful companions that can help us in the work and can also be an encouragement in the work of the Lord.
In verse 12 we read of Tryphena and Tryphosa who laboured in the Lord. Serving the Lord will take labour. There are roads to travel and people to meet and prayers to be made. We read as well of beloved Persis who also laboured much in the Lord. It is good to have a few people who don’t ask how much will I get paid, but who will simply serve the Lord faithfully. The pay that God provides is a blessing that man cannot match nor steal.
In verse 13 we read of Rufus who was chosen in the Lord. Every saint is chosen in the Lord. If a person is not chosen, he is not a saint. The chosen are the ones who heed the call of God. It has nothing to do with the Calvinist heresy. The apostle Paul preached to many people. Some were saved and some were offended. All could have been saved but just as today, many are not interested in knowing the Lord. Rufus has his mother with him as well. Paul acknowledged that this woman had been like a mother to him. It is good to have a godly mother, and also a godly mother figure. It is not likely that this was Paul’s real mother, but a woman whom he could count on to be that mother figure.
In verse 14 we read of a few more faithful followers. These were mentioned but there were others with them who were not mentioned. God has His reasons for naming names. Sometimes He mentions faithful individuals and sometimes He mentions those that we need to be warned of. These were brethren that were also a help to the apostle Paul.
In verse 15 we read of Philologus and a few others, along with a sister. Again we see that there were others in this group as well that were not named. We see as well that there is work for females to do in the work of the Lord.
In verse 16 we see that there is a sense of endearment among God’s people. God’s people do not bow to wicked governments that want to distance people. It was quite common in Bible times to greet one another with an holy kiss. It was an holy kiss and thus nothing untoward was associated with it.
In our time, we shake hands. A hand shake can be used to show agreement for something. It can also be used as a mark of friendship. Again, saints do not bow to the evil dictates of ungodly authorities who want to separate godly people from one another. The apostle Paul knew what it was like to be in prison where the holy kiss would not be. Outside of prison, where saints get together it is important for saints to treat one another with that hand of fellowship that is so important.
The final phrase of verse 16 again reminds us that there were many churches serving Christ. There is a cult known as “Church of Christ”. They claim they are legitimate because they took their name right from the Bible. Sadly, that is the only thing they took directly from the Bible. They are a false religion and they serve a false god.
True churches are in short supply in our world today. It is sad that there are less and less of them. As our population grows, we see that the Gospel of Christ is found in fewer and fewer places. There is much religious noise taking place, but not much truth being proclaimed. We need to pray for one another and seek to encourage one another where we can.
There used to be good Bible conferences where brethren from different churches would come together to join in good fellowship through preaching and prayer and also meals. Those conferences seem to have fallen by the wayside. There are still conferences, but they seem to be run by the big boys’ club and they lack the discernment needed to be a blessing to those who attend.
There was a recent invitation sent out to a particular conference. After a while, I guess they were not getting enough response, so they offered a particular Bible to one of those who would respond by a certain date. It was like a lottery where someone will win a prize even though others might have applied to attend. Christians do not function in that manner. If we have to bribe people to come to a conference there is something wrong. There needs to be an invitation to sound Bible preaching and other forms of fellowship. We do not need other gimmicks to try to draw people in that have little interest in the sole purpose for a Bible conference.
True churches are important and necessary. A community that does not have the influence of a true church is a dark community. Jesus declared:

Matthew 5:13  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.
14  Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
15  Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
16  Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Jesus is the builder of every true church. Christians must be a light in their community. Christians also need the fellowship of other saints. That fellowship is provided through a true local church. Today is the Lord’s Day. It is the day that Christians should be showing the world that there is an important place they want to be on the Lord’s Day. They want to be in the house of God. This is important to the health and spiritual well-being of true saints. As the world sees the blessing of assembling together, some of them will also want to investigate this and some of them may even get saved.
Pastor Bartlett