Sermon Outline 9.7.25

Sermon Title: A Faithful, Friendly, Firm, and Family Church
Text: Romans 16:1–23

Big Idea: Gospel-centered churches honor faithful servants, preserve genuine fellowship, and reject false doctrine with vigilance and grace.

Introduction

I. Faithful Servants—Commend & Receive Servants (vv. 1-2)

• Two verbs stand out: commend and receive.
  • Paul publicly affirms Phoebe’s proven faithfulness and commands the church to welcome her as a member of their family.
• Phoebe shows us that the measure of faithfulness is not an office you hold but a life you give.

II. Friendly Greetings—Greet the Saints with Gospel-Fueled Love (vv. 3-16)

• Over thirty names appear here. The verb “greet” (aspazomai) appears eighteen times.
• Christian love looks like: greeting by name, remembering by name, honoring by name.
• Romans begins with Jew and Gentile divided by sin, and it ends with Jew and Gentile greeting one another as family.

III. Firm Against Error—Watch & Avoid False Teachers (vv. 17-20)

• The verbs: watch (skopein)—mark them, fix your eyes. Avoid (ekklino)—turn away.
• Paul is not warning about wolves in the woods. He’s warning about wolves in the flock. 
• Paul anchors us in the fulfillment of Genesis 3:15.

IV. Family in gospel partnership—Share Greetings in Gospel Partnership (vv. 21-23)

• Partnership across backgrounds: preachers, secretaries, hosts, officials, brothers.

Conclusion: The Humility That Unites