Saturday, 1 March 2014
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Romans 16:24
This verse is another internal clue that all of verses 22-24 were penned by Tertius the scribe and not by Paul. In verse 20, Paul wrote, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.” it seems unlikely that he would repeat himself so closely in wording at such a close interval. But for Tertius to make the same comment would be natural and even expected. This salutation was probably a common one among the saints from the earliest days of the church and would have been repeated often.
In fact, these words of Tertius are a mirror of John’s final words in the book of Revelation which also say, “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.”
Tertius, though a mere scribe, was granted the high honor of being a part-author in the eternal word of God. As his greeting to the Romans has become a part of this word, he is reaching across space and through time to greet you personally! Think of that as you again read his words and reflect on the wonder of the Bible.
Life application: What things do you think will survive your evaluation by Christ? As believers, we will all stand before Him and receive from Him our rewards. Some things will be burned away, some will survive (1 Corinthians 3:12-15). The process will be perfectly fair and we will be thoroughly satisfied with what He decides, but we may not be happy with our reflections on the life we lived. Endeavor now to do those things which will be pleasing to the Lord so that your rewards will be many and your cup will be large and eternally blessed with overflow.
Lord God, I’m excited about the life You’ve given me. There are so many opportunities to reach out to others in their times of need, there are many chances to share Your word or to tell those around me about Your gospel of peace, and there are even times where I can just sit and be still in Your presence and feel Your Spirit of comfort and peace. Thank You for Your constant hand upon my life. Thank You… Amen.