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One important name is absent from the list, and that is Peter. If he was leading the
church at Rome at this time it would be unthinkable for Paul to miss him out.
All the churches under Paul's leadership sent their greetings. At this point the
greetings break off and four serious verses of admonition follow. Some scholars regard
them as an interpolation, but this is not necessary. As Dr. 100: K. Barrett states, "Such
parenthetical remarks are in Paul's style. They may reflect additional information
brought to him before the letter was completed" (The Epistle to the Romans, p.284).
"I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in
your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For
such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and
flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people. 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" (16: 17-19, N.I.V.).
The Lord creates unities (Eph. 4: 1-6, 13, 16); the devil seeks to break them and
cause friction and division among the people of God. The course of church history has
made this abundantly clear. These trouble-makers should be avoided, declares the
Apostle. They were probably the same as the evil workers he denounces in Phil. 3: 18
who were tainted with incipient gnosticism and possibly preoccupation with food laws,
rather than gluttony. But Paul reiterates his confidence in the Roman Christians (16: 19)
and assures them that the Lord would give them victory over Satan and his works:
"The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet" (16: 20, N.I.V.).
This is surely an allusion to Gen. 3: 15 where God declares that the seed of the
woman will bruise the serpent's head and the fact that it could be "soon" shows that this
was linked with the imminence of the Lord's Second Coming which is stressed in all the
epistles written during the Acts period, as we have seen. The Apostle is looking forward
to that glorious coming which would mean victory for His people and defeat for Satan
and all his hosts.
Paul then gives his usual reference to the grace of God with which he finishes all his
epistles (verse 20). He now resumes the greetings that were broken off in verses 17-20
and gives the names of those believers who were with him.
"Timothy, my fellow-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and
Sosipater, my relatives" (16: 21).
The epistles make perfectly clear Paul's special relationship with his son in the faith,
Timothy. Jason: This could possibly be the Jason who gave hospitality to Paul on his
first visit to Thessalonica (Acts 17: 6, 7, 9). Sosipater is probably Sopater of Berea,
who, according to Acts 20: 4 (R.V.) was with Paul at this time. Then comes a reference
to the amanuensis who had written this letter, namely Tertius:
"I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord" (16: 22).