I'm at the end of the book of Romans. What a great book. In this final chapter (16), Paul greets many people. I notice that he's not the only one that's in prison. It reminds me of something I truly want to do. I want to visit some people in prison. I am not sure how fun it will be or if I will have any "impact," but I just want to obey the Gospel and visit those who are sick and in prison. It's not to earn a brownie point. I don't think there are brownie points with Christ. I believe His acceptance of us is full and complete. Doing little good deeds don't earn any special status, per se. But visiting a prisoner and giving them someone to talk to might just be a nice little gift to give (time). It's kind of weird, though, not knowing anyone behind bars. I might ask a chaplain if there's anyone that would appreciate a visit and then visit them. Maybe it's someone who's lonely, or maybe it'll be someone who wants to grow in the Lord and just talk Bible and Jesus with someone else.
I haven't quite grasped my fingers around the concept of "when you do this (for them) you are doing it for Me," like Jesus said, but it's awfully cool to look at someone and love them as you would love on the One you love the most. My wife's neat grandfather, Jack Maddox, has a really cool saying:
"You always love those who love the ones you love."
It's true. Anyone that treats your loved ones with kindness and love earns a really warm spot in your heart.
There is also some mention of people in here that get refered to as "the church that meets at their house." I think it's cool to remember that the church is people, not a building, and that the body of Christ is a beautiful person. Even if one member acts unbecomingly or fails miserably, there is a bridegroom awaiting her Who cares for her and might very well defend her (I'm thinking more in terms of a verbal/spiritual rebuke than any sort of physical punishment, of course). It helps me to remember that. Not only are the underdogs, poor, and disenfranchised precious in the eyes of the Lord, but His saints are -- His people. Remembering that helps give me perspective and not go off the deep end or judge too harshly a fellow believer. I still keep my eyes open, and the Lord definitely gave us methods (the word of two or three witnesses for an accusation, confrontation, etc) of dealing with error and problems within the church, but it should probably be tempered with this perspective that we are one.
As much as I believe in these methods of dealing with error, I am not particularly fond of confrontation. And judgment is even worse. Verse 17, however, says: "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 naive 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. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet."
It is heartbreaking to ever live that advice out (and keep away from someone -- especially a professing believer -- because of their divisiveness), and that is the best way to go about it (in my opinion): with weeping and intercessory prayer. We are cautioned to never think better of ourselves than anyone else, which is especially hard when it comes to judgment. This is where the "Judge not, lest ye be judged" and "when you do judge, judge rightly" passages are best remembered. We must be careful and remember not to show unjust favoritism and not let pride sneak in. This should be a time of grieving, sorrow, and broken prayer. When we allow ourselves to hurt for another person, then (and probably ONLY then) are we in a position to rightly judge someone. And judgment is only used temporarily for the hope of restoration.
There was a guy in Corinth who was sleeping with his step-mom. The church allowed it to go on. It was even said that some boasted, like, "Look how full of grace we are, we even allow this..." Paul told the church to judge that guy, in the hopes that he would change his ways and be restored. It is said that when he refers to a nameless guy in his third letter to the church (2 Corinthians), that he's asking for that exact guy to be restored to fellowship (after being kicked out, as instructed in the previous letter).
I love that verse at the end, where Paul urges us to be wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil. I think we would better spend our money on books about virtue and helping people, than we would those juicy books on the evils of the occult and all kinds of evil. We don't have to "educate ourselves about the enemy." We can do just fine in this world by focusing on good. Should we forbid literature that "exposes or studies evil?" Of course not. There's a balance. I think we should just check ourselves and our motives when we find ourselves caught up in investigating the occult, etc.
Another cool thing worth pointing out is how Paul is greeting so many women in the church at Rome. Phoebe was called a deaconess, and some even say that some of these women (maybe Priscilla) were apostles. Even if that were not the case, women were rising up and being counted, obeying Christ and serving the church. It's a shame that there is a stereotype of a Christian that is a woman (as in women are the only ones who go to church, tell their kids about Christ, and so on), because the men have neglected spiritual leadership. Shame on those men, but honor is due those women who do lead and serve in obedience. We benefit from all parts of the body of Christ, and no one part is better than or worse than another.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at December 14, 2005 10:56 AM