Priests In Plain Clothes

What if the most powerful ministry in your city is happening around kitchen tables and shop benches rather than stages? We walk through Romans 16 and watch a roll call of ordinary people—business owners, freedwomen, civil servants, travelers—carry the gospel across Rome. The theme threading it all together is simple and weighty: every believer is a priest, approved in Christ, and called to represent Him where they stand.

We start with Phoebe, a trusted leader who hand-delivers Paul’s letter and builds her business in Rome while serving the church. From there we reconnect with Priscilla and Aquila—the tentmaking couple who risked their lives and opened their home for a congregation—showing how vocation can fund mission and hospitality can become a sanctuary. Names become stories: Andronicus and Junia, noted among the apostles; Ampliatus and Stachys tied to Caesar’s household; Urbanus the slave; Persis who labored much; Rufus, likely the son of Simon who carried Jesus’ cross; Hermas with a redeemed name and a writer’s pen. Each person widens the map of grace, proving that the gospel levels status and multiplies influence through faithful presence.

Along the way we press into practical takeaways. Real unity looks like culture-shaped affection and concrete support—housing travelers, resourcing callings, and honoring quiet labor. Real discernment means marking teaching that adds requirements to grace or rebuilds walls the cross tore down. And real mission happens in public roles too, as believers act as salt and light within civic life, work, and neighborhood networks. If you’ve ever doubted your place because your stage seems small, Romans 16 invites you to see your ordinary obedience as part of God’s extraordinary plan.

Listen to be encouraged, challenged, and re-centered on the gospel that approves and sends you. If this conversation helped you see your calling with fresh eyes, follow the show, share it with a friend who serves behind the scenes, and leave a review with the name of an unsung saint you want to honor.

Come On Up is the radio ministry of The Mountain Cross in Waynesville North Carolina. To learn more about us please visit: TheMountainCross.com.

Chapters

• 26:00 Marker 01

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:05

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us his ways, and we shall walk in his paths.

SPEAKER_00: 0:13

Welcome to Come On Up, the Radio Ministry of the Mountain Cross in Waynesville, North Carolina.

SPEAKER_02: 0:20

Not only did you have people that were part of the Roman government, but you had people that could be considered slaves, just servants, just everyday people. When we come to the cross of Christ, when we're changed by Jesus Christ, we're all brothers and sisters in the Lord. We're all priests, representatives of the Lord together, honored not because of our position, but because of our Lord and the position that he puts us in.

SPEAKER_00: 0:47

When you think of the word priest, what comes to mind? You might envision a person in a special outfit standing in a beautiful and ornate cathedral, officiating a liturgical form of worship. And while that certainly does describe a priest, we just heard Pastor Carl call out the fact that every follower of Jesus is a priest of God. There is a holy priesthood of all believers. So think about yourself the next time you think about a priest. And now here's Pastor Carl.

SPEAKER_02: 1:22

Romans chapter 16, verse 1. I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is a servant of the church in Conentia, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her in whatever business she has need of you. For indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also. Now we we get to the end of the letter here, and first we recognize that back in that time there was no texting, there were no emails. You couldn't even put a stamp on a letter and bring it to the United States Post Office because there wasn't any, right? In that time, if you were writing a letter, you would send that letter with somebody to the people that you're wanting to send that letter to. And he starts out by talking about Phoebe. Phoebe is the woman who is delivering this letter. Now, normally you wouldn't send a woman to go out and deliver something because, well, she might get beat up or something, but this is a strong woman, apparently. She's a faithful servant of the Lord. She's been a servant in her church, which is about six miles outside of Corinth. And uh she's been involved in the ministry of what Paul was doing as well. And apparently she uh has a business and she's opening up some some work in Rome, and and Paul knew that she was going to Rome, and he said, Why don't you go ahead and take this letter with you? And she's and in the letter, he's telling them to accept her and and help her in her business ventures. Uh being part of the body of Christ is not just about coming to church, but it's getting involved in the people and the calls of each of their lives. What is God calling you to do? Let's come alongside you and encourage you in that ministry as well, and bring you into the ministry that God is doing with me. So Paul is taking Phoebe, saying, Phoebe, take this letter to them. And then they read the letter and they say, consider this Phoebe, take care of her, um, you know, house her and help her with all her business dealings in town, help her to be a success in what she's doing, because what she is doing, she's glorifying the Lord. And we want that to continue. So in verse uh three, we start seeing a bunch of other people that uh Paul had done some ministry work with. He's saying, please greet these people. We're thinking about you guys. He Paul has built all these relationships through the years. These are people that are now in Rome, um, and he has dealt with them in different places around. Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risk their own necks for my life, to whom only I give thanks, but also to the churches of the Gentiles. Priscilla and Aquila, you may have heard of them in the book of Acts. Uh they were faithful folks who um who uh had a business, a tent-making business in Rome, and because some things were going on in Rome, they had to leave. And they, I think they ended up in Ephesus where uh they met Paul, and Paul shared the gospel with them. They came to faith in the Lord. Paul actually went into business with them to fund his ministry by making tent making. So that's where we get that term. That's my tent-making ministry. I do this so that I can afford to do the work of the ministry, because the work of the ministry I do cannot I cannot be supported by it. So I do a tent-making ministry. And they just were faithful, a faithful couple that came alongside, risked their own lives so that Paul could be protected, so that the gospel could go forth. Likewise, greet the church that is in their house. They went back to Rome and they re-established, and now they even open a church in their own home. They were serious about the gospel. The gospel changed them, and it changed their whole approach to life. Greet my beloved Epertinus, who is the first fruits of Echenah to Christ. Uh, this is one of the first folks that came to faith in Jesus in the ministry of Paul in that area, and uh and he's still you know working hard for the Lord, and now he's in Rome, and Paul's saying, Greet him, greet Mary, who labored much for us. There are many Marys in the Bible. This particular Mary was a hard worker, more like a Martha for the gospel. And uh he wanted to just say, Mary, I just appreciate you what you're doing, and I want you to know that uh we've seen your labor and we want to encourage you in it. Greet Anardicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners who are of note among the apostles who were in Christ before me. These were traveling evangelists early in the church, um, and either they were in jail with Paul or just like Paul, they suffered jail. If anybody goes to jail because of the gospel, you're a brother of mine and you've suffered with me. So he wanted to say thank you for their support and thank you and just encourage them to keep on going. I mean, as you grow in ministry, you come into relationship with lots of different people along the line. Some stay in your circle, some move off to do other things, but when you reconnect, you go, Boy, didn't God do great things? And and he's doing great things in my life today, in your life today. Let's just continue to encourage each other in the Lord. Uh, it's interesting here, who are of note among the apostles. These guys were around since the beginning of the church. And depending on how you read the Greek, it's either the apostles in the early church, the ones who walked with Jesus, um, they recognized the faith of these people and how God was using them, and they were of note of them. It could also be that they were part of the greater apostles, not the twelve apostles, but the greater amounts of the ambassadors for Christ in that early church, they might have been part of that number as well, and influential. Either way, they were influential in their faith in the Lord, ministering not only to a bunch of people, but to Paul specifically. Verse 8. Greet Amplius, my beloved in the Lord. Now, Amplius was a common name connected with the imperial household. So he may have been part of Caesar's family. We are in Rome, and we we established that the Church of Rome uh was not only Jews that became believers, but also Greeks that became believers in Jesus Christ. And in that group, you have lots of different people, including people that were part of the governing body in Rome. And you'll see that more and more there are a few more people in this list that fit that sort of thing. Greet Urbanus, the fellow worker of Christ. Urbanus was a common slave name. Not only did you have people that were part of the Roman government, but you had people that could be considered slaves, just servants, just everyday people. When we come to the cross of Christ, when we're changed by Jesus Christ, we're all brothers and sisters in the Lord. We're all priests, representatives of the Lord together, honored, not because of our position, but because of our Lord and the position that he puts us in. And greet Stachis, my beloved, Stachis may have also been part of the imperial household as well. Greet Apellus, approved in Christ. Apellus is called. That's what Apellus means. Um and he's approved by Christ. And I don't know if he had a background of, you know, I just I'm not worthy. Um, you know, do and I many of us might feel that way. Are you worthy to represent the Lord? Are you worthy even to be saved? And the answer is none of us are worthy. We're all sinners. But he loved us and he made us worthy because of his blood on the cross, and he called us to be his own. And Apellus was called and approved. If you are called by the Lord, you are approved by God, and you are approved in Christ. Greet those who are in the household of Aristobulus. Aristobulus is probably a grandson of Herod the Great. But he wasn't greeting Aristobulus exactly. You see, he's greeting those of the household of Aristobulus. This guy may not have come to faith, but his family did. How interesting. How interesting. Um greet Herodian, my countrymen. Now, Herodian, that sounds like somebody that would be related to uh the royal family, but uh he wasn't. He was actually part of the the 70 disciples described in in Luke chapter 10. Um, and he was also a bishop in an area later on. The 70, well find a few more that were part of that original 70, just like that other couple we looked at that were called uh part of the the apostles. This is the 70. We didn't just have 12 apostles, we didn't have just 12 disciples, but there was a big group of people that came and followed after the Lord, and he sent them out two by two. There were seventy of them, and there are a few of them that are mentioned here that are still following the Lord and still excited about what God has done in their lives. Greet those who are of the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Narcissus may have been the secretary to the Emperor Claudius. How interesting. A lot of influence. Part of being a Christian is not only looking for the return of the Lord and how he's going to set up his kingdom here on earth, but the fact is that we are in the kingdom now. If the Lord lives within your heart, the king is in you and the kingdom is in you, and he's calling us to be salt and light and influence in this world. You know, if we look at the world today, it seems like our influence isn't as strong as it used to be, or isn't as strong as it should be, but nonetheless, we are called to infiltrate society, not to make a Christian nation per se, but to be influential in the dealings of society, which was the arguments about being part of uh the political system as well. You God might call you to become mayor. And as mayor, you can represent the people and represent God and bring godly laws and enforcements in your community so it's a better place for everybody to live. That's part of that idea there. Greet Trifina. Trifina is an interesting name, isn't it? Trifina and Triphosa. Um if you're looking for some names for some twins that might be Trifina and Triphosa. Actually, they may have been two sisters and also part of the imperial household in some of the things that I read for them. Interesting. Um they labored in the Lord. It doesn't matter what their background was, they came to faith in Jesus. And Jesus was everything to them, and they started, you know, laboring, working hard for the Lord. Greet the beloved Persis, who labored much in the Lord. Again, another laboring person. We don't labor to get into the kingdom of heaven. We labor because the Lord has brought us into the kingdom of heaven by his gospel of grace. And in that we want to give our whole lives to him. He's bought our lives, and so we surrender and we allow him to work in and through us. Persis is a freed woman that was serving the Lord. Uh she used to be a servant, a slave, and now she's been set free. But even if she wasn't set free physically, she was set free spiritually. And that's the most important thing. Whatever situation you're in, remain in that situation until the Lord changes you. That's something that Paul says later in some of his letters. It's about who you are inside. It doesn't matter what comes your way. Our time here on earth is very short. Let's not focus completely on building our kingdom in the here and now, but but living our lives in a way that glorifies God for forever, for eternity, and that others would come along with us and be with us forever. Greet Rufus. I love that name. Rufus. That's a really cool name. Um this was actually the son of Simon of Cyrene. Do you remember who he was? He was the one that was called up when Jesus was taking his cross and and he was laboring to try to walk along, and one of the Roman soldiers called on Simon and said, Simon, pick up his cross and walk with him for a mile. There's something that was a Roman law that you did. You know what Jesus said about that law? He said, if somebody calls you to pick up and take somebody else's burden for a mile, you take it for two miles. It's not about fulfilling the law, it's about you know serving, it's about loving, it's about glorifying God and who you were. And Rufus, his dad, did that. And and Rufus, he had some big clout in the church there in Rome. And greet not only Rufus, chosen in the Lord, but greet his mother and mine. I don't think this was Paul's mom, but she was so open and so you know hospitable to him and taking Paul in whenever he was in town, he he would feel like uh, you know, he was welcomed by his own mom. So, Rufus, your mom is my mom. Give her a big hug for me. Greet Aristocritus, or uh I hope I got that right. Asyncritus. Just say it with confidence, right? Incomparable. Aristocratus, there's no one like him. And what made him incomparable is the change of Jesus in his life. The Lord is uncomparable. You can't compare it to anyone because there's no one greater or higher or better than him. And when he works in and through our lives, he changes us from the inside out. What a neat name, right? Philegon, uh, which means zealous or burning. He may have been part of that 70 as well, and and his fire never went out for the Lord. Part of the problem as we grow in Christ is we our fire burns out. We we get less and less excited about the Lord because just life and its pressures come upon us, um, and we become less and less effective. May it not be that way. May we be like filegon, zealous or burning, ever burning for the Lord. May the Holy Spirit come and fill us and give us that burning that we need to go forward, no matter what life takes us, no matter what life serves us up. Hermas, this is interesting. Hermas is named after it's the same sort of name as the Greek god Mercury. Um, and and a lot of times in the Bible, the Lord would change somebody's name. When you used to be Abram, now you're Abraham. This person continued with their old name. But this old name is now redeemed. This old name is now glorified. Yeah, my name means Mercury, but I serve the true God. Let me tell you about him. He was a former slave and may have been, may have authored uh an interesting book called The Shepherd or the Pastor of Hermes. Uh Hermas. Um look that up. The Shepherd of Hermes or the Pastor of Hermes. Uh it circulated around in the early church for a while. Some people thought it should have been part of the Bible. Um, it didn't make it into the Bible. Uh it's an interesting story, um, and it brings glory to the Lord. So uh check that out. Um, so Hermas was a writer as well as you know, a servant of the Lord. Uh, we got Petraboas, uh may have been part of the emperor's whole household. We got Hermes, which was one of the 70s, and later a bishop, and and may have been a freed slave to begin all of that. Um and you got the brethren who were with them. Uh there, these guys are not on the low uh on their own, as as the life of a of a Christian, especially in ministry, is not a lone ranger call. We're called to be part of a covenant, part of a of a community. And not just because that's what you need to do, but because that's how God operates. And you see all these people that that Paul came in contact with throughout the years that he can have a rapport with and have support from and and encourage and support at the same time. That is how the body of Christ is to work. Great Philiogas, filogas, which means lover of the word. We should all be fililogos, right? Love the word. Phili love logos the word. Lovers of the word, because the word is where we find our power, our strength, our the change. Renew our minds by the power of the word, changes from the inside out. Uh we we get all these messages from the world and from ourselves, um, but we need to flush it out with the word of God and to become strong in the word and love studying the word. He formed one of the home churches in Rome as well. So he loved the word so much he wanted to teach the word and share the word with others, and people came to hear and were changed. Julia, she was the wife or sister of Logius, uh, and may have been part of the imperial household as well. Nerius, he was a servant of this couple that served under the Roman government, and apparently he shared with them the gospel because the husband was executed and the wife was banished because he shared with them the gospel. Now, sharing the gospel doesn't always end up the way we think it should, right? So I I I share the gospel with you and you get killed and you get banished. But you have the Lord for eternity. See, things you could be rich and and comfortable for the rest of your life and burn in hell forever if you don't have the gospel. This is all perspective. This is the Lord's uh mind on these things that often are just upside down from our way of thinking, isn't it? We need the Lord to show us his heart. So greet Nurus and his sister at Olympias. Uh Olympius, her name means heavenly. And isn't it glorious when you have it? Heavenly women in your midst that love Jesus and just shine with the glory of God. And he just said, just say hi to her. I just appreciate her so much. And all the saints who are with them. He says, Greet one another with a holy kiss. The churches of Christ greet you. So now we want you to stand up and give each other a good smack right now. Nobody's moving. Okay, that is a cultural thing. All right. Give yourself a good side hug, a high five, fist bump, whatever it is. Just show the love and appreciation in the Lord as your culture says so, you know. And and just sharing the love of the Lord with one another. I just say I am, I just I miss you guys so much. Just give everybody a hug for me. That's that's what Paul is saying at this point. Now he gets into a little more teaching again before he wraps things up. He was telling all these things about how in their midst, problems with the way they were thinking and the way they were uh approaching their their relationship with the Lord. And and and and in one of the greatest books of theology ever created, the book of Romans, Paul was laying it out and straightening them out so that at the end he would say, So, you know, treat each other. If these are brothers and sisters in the Lord, recognize that their sin was paid for at the cross. And now you walk in that grace. Now he's changing the fact that, but there are those that come into the flock that are not part of the flock. And you need to watch out for them. Verse 17, now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrines which you learned and avoid them. What are those doctrines that they've learned? Everything that they've said in the last few chapters of Romans, which point to the gospel of Jesus Christ. If anybody teaches something other than the gospel of Jesus Christ, or contrary to the gospel of Jesus Christ, that doesn't build on the gospel of Jesus Christ, then you need to point them out and watch them. Things that, you know, some of the things you guys were believing early on. That if you are a Jew, you know, and you come to faith in Jesus Christ, you're better than the Gentiles still, because the Gentiles were cursed of God. But if they want to come in, then they need to be circumcised and they need to start following the law to become part of God's grace and his family, and that doesn't work. And if people are coming in that don't understand the gospel and start teaching that, you need to, you need to mark them and and you know uh disassociate yourself with them, avoid them. Because there are people that come in that do not want to seek after the Lord, that do not want to humble themselves before the Lord, that do not want to be, to learn, to grow, to be changed. There are ones that come in with their own agenda. And if they're coming in with their own agenda that is, that is different than what God has called the church to be, that's going to be a problem. But if there are people coming in that believe all sorts of weird stuff, but they have hearts that are willing to learn that they have come to faith in Jesus Christ, but they brought a lot of other stuff with it, you can work with them, and they can work with you. You can learn from them, they can learn from you. That's part of what he was talking about in the last couple of chapters.

SPEAKER_00: 24:07

You've been listening to Pastor Carl here on Come On Up as he covered another interesting passage in Romans. The book of Romans has many meaningful verses that are good to keep in mind. For example, Romans 6.23 states, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Never forget that God's generous gift of salvation through faith allows you to be saved by grace. May you walk in that truth today. Come on up comes to you from the Mountain Cross, a group of believers in Jesus who seek to grow in faith by simply teaching the Bible verse by verse, chapter by chapter. We meet Sundays at the Smoky Mountain Cinema in Waynesville, North Carolina, beginning at 10 a.m. To learn more about us, visit our website, themountaincross.com. You can also make plans to join us for the next Faith Film Night. We show faith-based films on the first Monday of each month. Our February film is the 10th anniversary presentation of Risen, which follows a Roman soldier who was given the task of finding Jesus' body after the resurrection. Mark your calendar for Risen back on the big screen, Monday, February 2nd at 6.30 p.m. at the Smoky Mountain Cinema. To learn more, go to themountaincross.com. You can also search for Faith Film Night on Facebook. That's all we have for today. But come on up to the mountain with us again tomorrow as we seek to learn more from the Lord through His Word. Come On Up is sponsored by the Mountain Cross, a Calvary Chapel fellowship.