The Church Needs All Kinds

"Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you."

Romans 16:6

The book of Romans is hailed, almost unanimously, as the Apostle Paul's doctrinal masterpiece. Yet, it ends not with doctrine or theology but with personal greetings. Most of the sixteenth chapter is taken up with the names of various individuals that Paul wants to send greetings to in the church at Rome. Then there are also those who are with Paul as he writes who want to send their greetings to the believers at Rome as well.

If you aren't careful, as you read about the roughly 35 individuals that are mentioned by name in Romans 16, you'll begin to think that this is a waste of time. But as I read it, one overwhelming lesson jumps out of the text at me... it takes a lot of people with different gifts and callings to make the church work.

Romans 16 mentions scribes, public servants and wealthy believers with the gift of hospitality. It mentions ministers and mothers and hard workers and teachers. And I'm sure that more than a few of those named are just regular old everyday church members who loved Jesus. The church needs all of these! 

If all we had were Apostle Pauls and Timothys, then we wouldn't really have a church at all. We need people like Mary who is mentioned in Romans 16:6 as someone who worked very hard for the church. We don't know what she did. We don't really even know who she was. Mary was a very common name back then! And yet, she is memorialized in the pages of Scripture as someone who served the church with gusto. 

Never think that what you have to offer doesn't matter to the church. Never think that you don't matter just because you aren't on stage. God made you the way you are on purpose. And if you're believer, then He saved you and called you to serve His church and advance His kingdom. You may not serve like someone else does, but the church needs all kinds. So, serve in the ways that you can. Work hard for the church, and I have no doubt that your faithful service will be remembered too.  

Faithful Servant?

"His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’"

Matthew 25:21

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

Matthew 25:23

In the Parable of the Talents, two servants receive the same word of commendation from their Master. Words that every Christian hopes to hear from their Lord one day. "Well done, good and faithful servant!" What did they do to receive such an honor, and what must we do to receive the same?

First, it's important to note that when Jesus returns, there will be a settling of accounts. You will have to give an account of how you have used what He has entrusted to you. You will stand before Him and answer for how you served Him… and how you didn’t.

Second, hearing “Well done, good and faithful servant” isn’t just about believing. Being saved will get you into Heaven, but it won’t get you a “well done.” This commendation is reserved for the faithful... for those who work tirelessly to serve the master and grow His kingdom... for those who faithfully steward what He has entrusted to them.

Third, the two servants who received this commendation were equally faithful but not equally productive. One servant earned five talents for his master; the other earned only two. That's less than half of five. But both were equally faithful in that they doubled the amount they had been entrusted with. This proves that it isn’t about scale but faithfulness. You don’t have to compare yourself to or try to outdo other believers. You just have to be faithful with what God has entrusted to you. 

Lastly, these servants were not only commended but also rewarded with more responsibility and a higher position. The master says, “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” Those who prove themselves faithful in the master’s absence will be entrusted with more when He returns. Though every believer will be saved, we will not all hold the same position in Heaven. There will be work to do in Heaven. There will be things to manage and to care for to the glory of God. And I understand this parable to teach that God, who does all things rightly, will divvy up responsibilities in the kingdom based on how we have proven ourselves here on earth. God rewards faithfulness! 

So, be careful to faithfully use what God has entrusted to you to grow His kingdom. Live in such a way that you will hear your Master say, "Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!"

God's Commands Don't Change (W.o.W. Rewind)

 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the Lord says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.'"

Exodus 8:20

This is the same command God has been giving to Pharaoh since chapter five. Over and over again God has sent Moses to Pharaoh and had him say essentially the same thing. “Let my people go so they may worship me.” This is the fourth time now that Pharaoh has been given this command, and he will receive it several more times still.

This tells us something about God. His commands don’t change because of our disobedience. Even when you disobey, God keeps commanding obedience. It doesn’t matter how long you have been disobeying Him either. You may have been living with your girlfriend or boyfriend for years, you may have been abusing alcohol for decades, you may be fully addicted to pornography. That won't change God's command. Over and over again, each day God confronts you with the very same commands He has always given you. Keep the marriage bed pure (Hebrews 13:4). Don’t be drunk with wine (Ephesians 5:18). Don’t look lustfully at someone you aren’t married to (that's a paraphrase of Matthew 5:28). 

In the same way that God confronts Pharaoh with a familiar command in this passage, God is confronting some of you in your heart right now with a command He has given you many times before. What command of God are you ignoring? Which of His commands haunt you and meet you every morning when you get out of bed? You’ve felt convicted about it for a long time but until now you haven’t obeyed. It’s time. Don't bargain with God or negotiate. Don't try to wriggle out of it. God's commands don't change. Do what Pharaoh never did. Humble yourself under God's command and offer full and whole-hearted obedience. If you don’t, trouble will follow you.

Secret Disciple

Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.

Mark 15:43

Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away.

John 19:38

As we approach Good Friday and Easter Sunday, two objects take center stage in the Christian consciousness: the cross and the empty tomb. The cross belonged to Rome; the tomb to Joseph of Arimathea. 

Mark's gospel reveals to us that Joseph was a “prominent member of the Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God.” That means that Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin… the very body of religious leaders who had Jesus crucified! But Joseph didn’t agree to their decision. In fact, John’s gospel tells us that Joseph “was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders.”(John 19:38)

So, understand this… Joseph believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but up until this time he had been unwilling to openly associate with Jesus for fear of what it would cost him. He was a man of high rank, wealth and privilege. Joseph knew how much he stood to lose by associating with Jesus. That's why he had kept his faith a secret... until now.

Good Friday, the day Jesus died, was the day that Joseph of Arimathea stopped being a secret disciple. Mark says he “went boldly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.” Joseph wasn’t related to Jesus. He wasn’t asking to bury a family member. He was a member of the very ruling body that had accused Jesus of treason against Rome. And now Joseph approaches Rome and asks if he can give Jesus a proper burial?! This was a highly unusual request that was sure to draw attention.

More than that, Joseph likely had to publicly go up to Jesus’ cross and take His body down. Surely, word would get back to the Sanhedrin that he had done this. And then how could Joseph deny what he had done when Jesus was buried in his own tomb?! He couldn’t. Joseph’s actions “amounted to an open confession of personal loyalty to the crucified Jesus... He was a secret disciple no longer.”*

What about you? Are you a secret disciple of Jesus? You believe but you don’t tell your family or the people you work with or your friends because you are afraid of what it will cost you. If you're keeping your faith a secret, then why not follow Joseph’s example this Easter and openly follow Jesus no matter the cost. Go public with your faith. It’s time for Christians to stop being secret disciples.

* John D. Grassmick, “Mark,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 191.