Gospel-Centered Community

Today's Reading: Romans 16:1-16

Romans 16:16 (ESV) "Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you."

I am the worst person to leave a party with because I feel obligated to say goodbye to every person I know at the event, even if it makes me leave 10 minutes later. There have been times when I attempted to leave without telling anyone, to get out of there faster. But rarely has it worked. To me, it feels hard to go without one more hug or without telling someone how great it was to see them again.

Maybe Paul felt similarly as he began wrapping up his letter to the Roman church. As we read through the names on this list in Romans 16, it can be tempting to gloss over them. But as we take a closer look, these people show us a picture of what gospel-centered community can look like.

Let's start with Phoebe, who Paul calls a diakonos, which is the Greek word for a servant, minister or deacon. She was a key leader in the church of Cenchreae, which was near Corinth. She was entrusted by Paul to deliver his letter to Rome and probably had the responsibility of reading the letter out loud on behalf of Paul. He encouraged the Romans to welcome her and publicly honored her for all she was doing to benefit the church. (Romans 16:1-2)

Phoebe wasn't the only woman mentioned in the closing of this letter. About a third of the people Paul listed were women. We see that women had, and still have, valuable roles to play in building God's Kingdom. They were active participants in this gospel community.

Other than women, Paul also greeted men, house churches (Prisca and Aquila's house (Romans 16:4-5a) and different households/families (Aristobulus and Narcissus (Romans 16:10-11). He greeted both Jews (Andronicus, Junia and Herodion) and gentiles; slaves (Ampliatus, Urbanus, Hermes, Philologus and Julia); couples (Prisca and Aquila, Andronicus and Junia); and more. He referred to them as hardworking fellow workers and friends.

What did these different people have in common? A shared mission to tell the world about Jesus.

When our communities are centered around sharing the gospel, our differences don't have to divide us. In fact, diversity makes our communities look a lot more like the family of God. And we need gospel-centered community for the Church to grow both locally and globally.

As Paul began to close this letter, what did he encourage his community to do? Encourage and love one another. And we are called to do the same. Because of Jesus, all those in Christ are called to love one another as He loves us. (John 13:34)

We encourage one another. (Hebrews 3:13)

We welcome one another. (Romans 15:7)

We confess our sins and pray for one another. (James 5:16)

We serve one another in humility. (Philippians 2:3)

We live at peace with one another. (Romans 12:18)

And as we seek to be a gospel-centered community of believers, may we experience more of how Christ loved and gave Himself up for us.

Prayer: God, I praise You for the gift of community. Though we are all broken and messy people, You can take the most unlikely groups of people and put them together to make something beautiful. Help me to pursue gospel-centered community. To make my friendships centered around sharing Jesus. Show me how to encourage, welcome, pray for, serve and live at peace with other believers around me. And soften my heart to forgive and be hopeful even if a community has hurt me. In Jesus' name, amen.

More Moments About Romans 16:1-16

Maybe reading today's teaching has you assessing your own community. Whether you can easily identify who you would call your gospel-centered community or you are wondering how to find one, community doesn't have to be complicated.

It can be the people right in front of you. Your neighbors, the fellow moms in your child's class, the small group at your church, co-workers, people you work out with. They may not be in the same season of life or look just like you, or they may be some of the people you interact with regularly but never thought to go deeper with.

God designed community for us. In Genesis 2:18 God said it is not good for people to be alone. We don't have to settle for loneliness or shallow relationships: We can be part of building a gospel-centered community like we see in Romans 16.

Pray and ask God for wisdom. Take initiative. Start the conversations. It may feel a little awkward or uncomfortable at first, but over time, you'll begin to experience authentic relationships that point you to Christ.

Major Moment: Paul greeted his friends and co-workers in the gospel.

This was originally published in the First 5 app as part of the study of Romans: Uncovering the Power of the Gospel and How It Saves Us Every Day.