Calvary Road Baptist Church
“THE GRACE EQUALIZER”
Romans 16.21-24
A pastor once told me of an interesting exchange with one of the men in his Church. The subject of their discussion was the Church’s annual pancake breakfast, put on every year for the folks in the neighborhood to invite them to the Church. However, some things related to the Church’s pancake breakfast bear close examination. Begun almost 60 years earlier with a measure of success, the Church had virtually no response from their neighborhood invitations for more than ten years, yet they kept doing this annual thing.
When discussing the problem, the new pastor correctly observed that when the pancake breakfast was started, the entire neighborhood was populated by white families, almost exclusively. But now the neighborhood is nearly 100% Hispanic. “You know what we need to do?” the pastor said to the Church member. “We need to serve menudo and chorizo for breakfast.” “What’s that?” the Church member asked. When the pastor told him what it was, he said, “But we don’t eat that!” “The point is,” the pastor said, “Our neighbors, the people we are trying to get to come to this annual breakfast, do.”
That exchange between a pastor and a Church member was so striking to me because that Church member was totally blind to the realities of service to God. He had it in his mind that lost people should conform to what he wanted to offer them rather than meeting them were they are.
Was that the way the Apostle Paul served God? Absolutely not. Though he was not willing to compromise himself into committing a sin so that he might reach lost people, he was more than willing to do whatever was necessary to present to unsaved men and women the unsearchable riches of Christ. Notice how the Apostle Paul described the lengths he was ready to go to win folks to Christ in First Corinthians 9.20-22:
20 And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law;
21 To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law.
22 To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
Do you know why Paul did what he did to see folks reached for Christ? I suppose you could answer this question in two ways: The negative way would be, Paul did what he did to bring folks to Christ because he genuinely believed that Hell is a real place where people go when they die without Christ, and he didn’t want anyone to go to Hell. But stated positively, Paul was absolutely convinced that no one is beyond the reach of God’s marvelous grace. So, let’s make sure that we do not, as even some of the apostles unconsciously did during the Lord’s earthly ministry, throw up barriers to the grace of God that hinder other folks from being saved.[1]
Barriers, such as unfriendliness, selfishness, a schedule that is too full, shyness, reluctance, cultural rigidity, or whatever people do that makes it difficult for others to see Christ in us the hope of glory when we present the Gospel to them, should be recognized and addressed. In my text, which is Romans 16.21-24, we will consider the final salutations sent to Rome from Paul and his companions and coworkers. When you have found the passage, please stand for the reading of God’s Word:
21 Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.
22 I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.
23 Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother.
24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
As we stop and reflect on each of those mentioned, and whatever descriptions of them are given, I want you to join with me in marveling and delighting in what the grace of God had accomplished in those people’s lives.
First, WE READ THE SALUTATIONS FROM THE JEWISH CHRISTIANS
Verse 21:
“Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.”
The four men mentioned in this verse are divided in two ways:
First, there is Paul’s work fellow, Timotheus. Timotheus, the name typically translated Timothy, was Paul’s young friend, traveling companion, coworker, and disciple. From Acts chapter 16, we learn that Timothy was born to a Gentile and possibly pagan father and a mother who was Jewish and who we know became a Jewish Christian. Mentioned in most of Paul’s letters as a co-author or as a coworker, Paul also used Timothy as a messenger and letter carrier. Later on, in Paul’s ministry, Timothy would share in Paul’s imprisonment and then journey to Ephesus to become, it appears, the senior pastor of that Church. Of course, two of Paul’s inspired letters are addressed directly to Timothy. But outside Paul’s letters and the book of Acts, Timothy is mentioned by name only one other place in the New Testament, Hebrews 13.23. That Timothy’s salutation is listed first reflects the very prominent role he played alongside the great Apostle Paul, being to Paul almost like his son, and truly his son in the ministry.
After Timotheus are listed the salutations of the kinsmen. By that, Paul means fellow Jews. These, like Timothy, are kinsmen according to the flesh.
First, there is Lucius. There are only two references to anyone by this name in the New Testament. The other reference is found in Acts 13.1, one of the teachers and prophets in the Church at Antioch, Lucius of Cyrene. Are the two references to the same man? We simply do not know. They could be. We do know that this is a Jewish Christian who was in Cenchrea at the time Paul wrote his letter to the Romans.
Then, there is Jason. In Acts chapter 17, we read of a man named Jason, who hosted Paul in Thessalonica, being beaten by a mob hired by Jewish opponents of the Gospel. Could this be the same man? I see no reason why not. Remember, Paul is getting ready to depart for Jerusalem, carrying an offering from the Churches of the Macedonian region, which is where Thessalonica is located. It would surprise me not at all to discover that that Jason was one of the men who brought their Church’s offering to Paul at Cenchrea.
Finally, Sosipater. The fellow is mentioned in Acts 20.4 as one of Paul’s companions on the trip to Jerusalem. He was from the city of Berea, that city Paul fled to when he was chased out of Thessalonica. He, too, is likely one of the men sent by his Church, not just to take their offering to Paul, but to accompany him all the way to Jerusalem with it.
These are the greetings sent by the Jewish Christians. And, other than Timothy, these men had been saved under Paul’s ministry, probably right out of their synagogues. They were men who were culturally most like Paul. They were also men who, like Paul, had been saved from their sins out of a dead Jewish orthodoxy that relied upon the keeping of the Law of Moses without really knowing the God of Moses. But they were men who had been confronted with the Biblical claims about Jesus of Nazareth, the claim that He was the Messiah of Israel, the claim that He was the Savior of the world Who had shed His blood to wash away their sins and had risen from the dead on the third day. And these men had trusted this Jesus of Nazareth to the saving of their souls.
Second, WE HAVE A SALUTATION FROM THE AMANUENSIS
Verse 22:
“I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord.”
Three things to take note of:
First, the message. Paul wanted to salute the Romans “in the Lord.” That is, his was a greeting from one Christian to other Christians. And in his brief opportunity to express his own thoughts he wanted let to them know that as a Christian, he wanted them to be blessed as Christians.
Second, the ministry. Tertius was what is called an amanuensis. An amanuensis is a secretary, someone whose job it was to write the words being dictated to him without error. Remember, in those days, writing materials were very expensive, and mistakes were correspondingly expensive. So an amanuensis had a far more demanding job than a modern secretary, who back in the day might have taken dictation on a pad and crossed out or erased errors and then typed the dictation on a computer with a spell checker. This man named Tertius was a man of exceptional skill if he was used by Paul to record this letter to the Romans. What a ministry he had, actually penning, under the direction of Paul himself, one of the most important of the books of the New Testament.
Finally, something about the man. Look at his name. Do you know what the word “Tertius” means? It means “three.” This man’s name was “Three.” Think about this for a moment. What kind of person would be given a number instead of a name? That’s right. A slave. Most slaves were given actual names. But slaves owned by a very wealthy slave owner who had many slaves, and especially slaves who were used for the most menial and difficult labor, oftentimes had numbers instead of names. “You. From now on, you’re three.” Is it not a marvelous thing, then, that this man who was less than a man in the sight of other men, with a name that was only a number, would get a new name written down in glory? Is it not a wonderful thing that the Lord Jesus Christ died and shed His precious blood to wash the sins away of even a man named Three? What mercy God has for the poorest sinner. Amen? Isn’t the love of Jesus something wonderful? And after He saved such a man as this number Three, He used him to produce one of the most remarkable declarations of truth about our salvation that’s found anywhere in the Bible. My, how difficult it must have been for this man to hold back the tears of joy as Paul told him to write words like these:
Romans 6.17-18, 20:
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
“Pastor, I think that man should have changed his name to reflect his cultural background. He should have removed the shackles of slavery that such a name as that represented.” Nonsense. His name reminded him that he was once a slave to a man and to sin. From the time of his conversion to Jesus Christ, his name reminded him that he was now a slave of righteousness, a slave of the Son of God, the savior of his soul.
Third, WE HAVE SALUTATIONS FROM THE HOST AND HOSTED
Romans 16.23a:
“Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you.”
Consider Gaius, the host. What do we know of this fellow? We know several things: From this passage, we know that he was Paul’s gracious host and that he likely allowed his home to be used as the meeting place for the Church. But there are other things we learn of this man from other passages. From First Corinthians 1.14, we see that he was one of the few converts actually baptized by Paul personally in Corinth. From Acts chapter 20, we see that Gaius actually traveled with Paul to Jerusalem on his upcoming journey. And it is likely that he is the same Gaius that the Apostle John wrote Third John to, a man of great dedication to the Lord Jesus, known far and wide for his hospitality and helpfulness to traveling missionaries. So, here we have a man who had considerable means and who used the material prosperity that God blessed him with to tremendously bless those with far less than he had, to bless those called to positions of spiritual leadership, and to bless those he would not ordinarily have any contact with at all, the Christians in Judea that he and Paul were taking a large contribution to.
Next, the Church that was hosted. That a congregation, a Church if you will, was being hosted by Gaius is pretty clear from the text. And this is only one of a number of passages in the New Testament which shows that the Church of Jesus Christ is not a building, is not a specific location, but is a particular body of baptized believers. The implications of this truth are important for us to grasp since this is the reason why we refer to this room as an auditorium and not a sanctuary. Sanctuary is a word that refers to a specific place that is holy or ground that is holy. But there is no terrain that God has set aside during this era in which we live that is to be considered more holy than any other area. So we refer to the building as an auditorium or a room. And what about holiness? What about that which is sacred? Oh, my friends, you are to be holy. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit if you are genuinely born again. And this Church, this people, is the temple of God, according to First Corinthians chapter 3. So, you are sacred, Christian, and we, this congregation, are sacred, even if the auditorium is not sacred. Related to this, many pastors will make reference at the end of their sermons to “an old fashioned altar,” in reference to the front of the auditorium where people are challenged to come to the front and kneel for prayer. We don’t do that. Why not? In Hebrews 13.10, we are informed that we have an altar that is not in any way like the altars used when worshiping God in Old Testament times. Do we offer sacrifices? Yes, by Him, we offer the sacrifice of praise, Hebrews 13.15. Our altar is the Lord Jesus Christ, not so many steps or a rail at the front of some auditorium. Thus, both the congregation’s host and the congregation that was hosted extended a salutation to the Roman Christians.
Fourth, SALUTATIONS FROM THE UTTERMOST AND THE GUTTERMOST
Romans 16.23b:
“Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you, and Quartus a brother.”
First, the uttermost. You folks are very much aware of the paucity of rich and powerful people who, if they really do trust Christ as they sometimes say they do, really live consistent lives of service to Christ. Herodian was such a man as that in Rome, we see in 16.11, in all probability, and Erastus it is suggested here was such a man. Mentioned two other times in the New Testament, we see that although Erastus was willing to serve God by helping Paul when he needed it, Acts 19.22, from this verse and Second Timothy 4.20, we find evidence that the city of Corinth was his home base.
He was a prominent man in Corinth, which was the main city of which Cenchrea was merely a port suburb like Los Angeles is to Long Beach or San Pedro. Archaeologists have discovered engravings from this period that identifies Erastus as a city official, and Paul declares that he is the chamberlain of the city. What is a chamberlain? A chamberlain is much like the city treasurer. He’s the man in charge of the finances and building projects and things like that. So, this was one of the very few Christians of Paul’s day, or any other era, who not only professed Christ but who gives evidence of actually serving Jesus Christ. He is an example of the grace of God in the upper reaches of society. Erastus is one of the uttermost who came to Christ.
Then, there is the guttermost. There are three things about this man named Quartus that causes me to sincerely wish that God had made me a singer so I could sing “Wonderful Grace Of Jesus” as it ought to be sung. First, there is the meaning of his name. As Tertius meant “Three,” Quartus means “Four.” So, what we have here is another slave or former slave. A man of low estate, from the lowest possible strata of society in that day. This man was considered by the one who named him as just a slab of meat, a number, a digit.
But notice that Quartus is a brother. Isn’t this great? Here we have one of the most important men of the city, Erastus, a child of God, a believer in Jesus Christ. And in the very same sentence, we have his brother in Christ, “Four.” God is no respecter of persons, is He? These two guys, both being Christians, children of God, is wonderful proof of that. But it’s the third thing I see, the glorious conclusion of these two men from opposites of the spectrum being brothers in Christ, that excites me no end.
The greeting to the Romans comes from them. The big shot Christian and his brother in Christ, Four, just want to say “Hi” to you folks. If they had had pews in those days, Erastus and Four would have sat next to each other. That’s what I mean when I indicate that the grace of God saves sinners, from the uttermost to the guttermost. And not only does God’s grace bring salvation to such men as these, but God’s grace enables such men as these, who never would have had anything to do with each other but for Christ, to actually live with each other and serve God together. What a testimony this is to the goodness and graciousness of God. When the man who works by the power of his intellect and the man who works by the strength of his back can, at the end of the workday, or on the first day of the week, worship and serve the living God side by side, and each can be confident that the other realizes and relishes having the other as, truly, his brother in Christ.
Finally, THERE ARE SALUTATIONS FROM THE ENTIRE COMPANY
Verse 24:
“The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
This comes from all of those mentioned in verses 21, 22, and 23.
Their pronouncement is “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.” And what better group of people to make reference to the grace of Jesus Christ? They are both Jews and Gentiles, saved from among the most religious and noble people on earth, as well as from among the most coarse and crude people on earth, the proper and the pagans. They represent extremes of Christian ministry, from the Apostle Paul on the one hand, and his notable helper Timothy, to two men with consecutive digits for names, one a secretary and the other we do not know any more about. And they span the spectrum of society, as well, with Erastus the city politician and prominent citizen mentioned in the same sentence as a slave who no one of note would know.
Do these men understand grace? Never fully and never completely. But they know some things about the grace of God. They do know the joy of sins forgiven. They do know the thrill of a completely changed life. I have no doubt they know the exultation of seeing souls come to Christ as a result of their efforts. And they were living proof of God’s grace in altering behavior, associations, habits, companions, goals, and everything else that a relationship with Jesus Christ changes, which is everything. No, they didn’t know everything about grace. But, yes, they did know some things about grace. And whatever this blessing from God called the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ really was, they had experienced it abundantly in their lives.
So much so that they wanted the Romans blessed in the same way. Though the Romans seemed to have been regarded by Paul as spiritual and rather mature Christians, the Christian world of Paul’s day was aware that the believers in Rome were under a strain. There was a grudging accommodation in Rome that resulted as Jewish Christians returned to the city after several years of exile to find Gentile Christians leading congregations they had once led, meeting in homes of Gentiles where once they had met in synagogues now occupied by Caesar’s favorites. And the reunion was uneasy. So, when these Jewish and Gentile Christians in Cenchrea, these politicians and slaves, these wealthy and poor, these who were hospitable and these who needed hospitality, spoke to them of grace ... it was likely the Romans recognized that the greetings and salutations and prayers for grace that came from these folks came from those who had really experienced grace in their own lives. Amen? Amen.
It may seem to you that I’m being overly sentimental, or that I’m speaking for effect, but this passage is just so wonderful to me. It meets a need in my life right now. I am moved by the fact that a slave named “Three” would be saved by God’s grace and lifted up to pen one of the mightiest letters in the Bible in partnership with the great Apostle Paul. That’s grace. And I am delighted when I read of a man of means such as Gaius and a man of both means and prominence such as Erastus. It’s as great a miracle when God saves the guttermost as when He saves the uttermost, but the former miracle occurs more frequently. So, when I see these men’s names mentioned in the Bible as believers I am reminded; that’s grace. No more grace than anyone else’s salvation, but just as much grace.
However, the most marvelous thing to me are the associations that occur among Christians, associations that would never occur otherwise and which are inexplicable apart from God’s intervention into the lives of men. Consider Paul, a Pharisee of the Pharisees, winning and discipling Gentile men. And consider Erastus, a noble gentlemen of stature and accomplishment, telling the folks of Rome, along with his brother in Christ, his friend, his ministry partner perhaps, Four, that he wishes them well. My friends, that is grace.
If the saving and keeping grace of our Lord Jesus Christ has a reach as broad and as wide as we see in this passage, and if the grace of God has a reach as broad and as wide as we see in this congregation that we are a part of, how marvelous must the grace of God be. Eh?
Maybe you are here today without the grace of God. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ has never been experienced by you. And it’s easy to see in your life. You are unchanged. You have the same old sin patterns you’ve always had. You have the same old prejudices you’ve always had.
Nothing has ever happened in your life to create a love and affinity for someone else who’s experienced the grace of God, regardless of their social standing, education, race, gender, wealth, intelligence, or cultural background. Which is to say, nothing has ever happened to alter your eternal destiny. Being born a sinner, and still being a sinner, you’ll die in your sins and suffer a devil’s Hell forever if you aren’t saved.
Wouldn’t you like for your sins to be forgiven? Wouldn’t you like to become a new creature in Christ? Wouldn’t you like to receive the capacity from God to love the brethren? Wouldn’t you like to have something in common with those very different than you besides suspicion and hatred? Wouldn’t you like to have Christ in common with folks? Wouldn’t you like to have happen in your life what happened in these men’s lives?
Then come to Christ. Only when you experience the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ will your eternal destiny change, will your sins be washed away, and will you become a new person. Come to Christ now.
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[1] Mark 10.14
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Pastor@CalvaryRoadBaptist.Church