What if the greatest threat to Christianity isn't external opposition, but Christians who talk about grace yet live under guilt and shame? Today, on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindall wraps up his five-month study in Romans with a sobering observation. True people of grace are extraordinarily rare. Through Paul's final greetings, mentioning commoners alongside city officials, we discover that grace demolishes every human hierarchy. The application is painfully clear.
Stop shaming others. Stop putting people under bondage. Become someone who sets people free. Chuck titled today's message, Putting Down Evil, Lifting Up Friends. I shudder when I realize how.
Rarely I'm around a person of grace. It's hard to find. We talk of grace, but we live under guilt. And shame. We think we embrace grace, but we seem to prefer works.
We encourage grace in others, and then we judge them when they fail. You know what moves us? Law, it isn't judgment. It's mercy. It's grace.
Stephen Brown tells a wonderful story in his book a scandalous freedom. I was not the best student in the large high school I attended. In fact, I graduated fourth from the bottom. in my class. Let me tell you about a teacher I had who cried when she gave me a low grade on a test.
It really surprised me because I generally considered teachers the enemy. The teacher returned our test papers and asked me to wait after the class. to get my paper. I figured I was in really big trouble. But after everyone had left, she handed me my paper.
with an F marked on it. Stephen, she said. You can do a whole lot better than this. And she began to weep. I didn't know what to say or how to react, so I quietly left the classroom.
Do you know something? I made an A. On the next test. I didn't make it A because I had grown smarter or because I. bought into academic excellence.
I'm not that smart, and at that age, I didn't care an ounce about academic excellence. I made an A. Because a teacher loved me enough to shed tears over my failure. That's grace. Please listen.
Take the word shame out of your vocabulary. Take the words, I am ashamed of you, out of your vocabulary. Or you'll never traffic in grace. Parents, take away the shame. Shame-based Disciplined statements.
I'm ashamed of you. I mean, would any kid after that go, oh boy, now I'll really obey? That's really motivating to know that you're ashamed of me. That's what I've been waiting for. Wow.
Let me tell you something. When you put your arm around him. And you cry. And you tell them how it broke your heart. Because you know they can do so much better.
And you believe they will. Let me tell you something. They will. They will. Nothing motivates like grace.
Speaking of grace. Yeah. Look at this list. These are some of my favorite people. Mm-hmm.
Timothy. My fellow worker greets you.
Now, by the way, the ones listed at the beginning of chapter 16 live in Rome. And Paul in Corinth is greeting them, all 27 of them. in Rome. But at the end of the letter, Verses 21 to 23, they're living in Corinth and they're greeting the people back in Rome. These are people around Paul when he's, the letter's being written.
So these are people that he could turn around and see. They're around him. The others, he sees them in his mind's eye.
So he names Timothy. Didn't name him at the beginning of the letter, probably because Timothy was gone. Normally, he would list Timothy as one of those along with him writing. But he calls him as my fellow worker, Timothy, his child in the faith. Everybody needs a Timothy.
Everybody is a better person because of a Timothy. We all need a Paul. And we all need a Timothy. And we all need a Barnabas. which is another subject.
But Timothy. Timothy. From a a mixed marriage. Led to Christ by the Apostle and recipient of a couple of the letters before Paul is gone and And he calls him my fellow worker. I hope you have some fellow workers.
in your life. You know what Timothy was? Let me use a word I've used recently quite a bit. He was an advocate. He was right alongside Paul.
He took away a lot of the sting of loneliness and rejection. by being his advocate. Fellow worker. The next three names are called kinsmen. See the end of verse 21.
My kinsman. It could either be shirt-tailed relatives. most likely their fellow Jews. And one is Lucius, probably not Dr. Luke.
Paul doesn't call Luke Lucius. This is maybe the same one mentioned in Acts 13. In fact, to really trace these guys, you need to keep a finger in the book of Acts, you need to keep a finger here in Romans, and then go back and forth because you'll see these men mentioned often in that other book. Lucius is a man named Who was among the group before Paul and Barnabas struck out on the first missionary journey? He is called a man of Cyrene.
One of those men in Antioch. See the name Jason? He was his friend from Thessalonica. Mentioned in Acts 17:1 to 9, Jason was one who put him up and gave him a place to stay and later suffered for it. He remembers Jason.
And socipiter, we know nothing more except it may be the same as sopiter mentioned in Acts 20 and verse 4. But they're there because they're around Paul and he They want to greet the people in Rome. And then look at the next word, not name.
Next word. I Don't you love it? Tertius is writing the letter, so he says, hey, Paul. Can I? Yeah, go ahead.
Tertius. Who write this letter? Greet you in the Lord. You know what the name means? Third.
Third. If you ever send one of your kids or grandkids to Kenna Cook camp, You'll come back with a little little button says I'm third. Usually it's big. I'm third. When you first look at it, you go.
Okay. No, honey, you're our fifth child. No, it's not like that dad. Third is God or Christ is first, others are second. And I'm third.
Not good. They learn. You know. Think of others. Serve Christ.
You're third. They could all be named tertius. Primus? Secundus? Tertius?
Quartus Quintus? And I don't know anymore.
So that's the whole five. But why would he be called Tertius? Because he's a slave. And when you became a slave, they took away your proper name. You were a number.
So he's number three. Here in the house of Gaius. And he could write, and so he was chosen to be the stenographer, if you will, the Immanuensis. one who wrote the letter. I Third.
Great unicorn. Oh, I love that. Because he's a nobody. But he's the head of you and me. His name's in the Bible.
Isn't that just like the Lord? There is no nobody. There is no such thing as insignificant. Your life may have been an absolute cesspool of activities for years. You have no less status.
And the wealthiest, most blessed, most gifted, most educated believer in the family of God. You're there. Why? Grace. What's your name?
Third? Third. And Gaius Probably had some bucks. Gaius was the host. to Paul and to the whole church, so he's got a nice big home.
And That's great. Paul needed a place to stay and all those people around him.
So Gaius says, come on in, stay here.
So he greets you. And along with him is Erastus. Eurastus. A great, what is he called? He's not third.
He's called the Oi canomas. Manager, he's a city manager. The guy's loaded. In fact, they found near the ancient ruins of Corinth on the marble pavement these words: Erastus laid the pavement at his own expense. The guy adopted a highway.
And he's got his name inscribed in marble. Erastus. You want a little insight, and it doesn't come from me. I don't get the credit for this. Donald Barnhouse gets the credit for this insight.
Many of the slaves picked up the name Rastus. Because they didn't want a name of a number. Primus or Secundus or Tertius. We'll call him Erastus. Not good.
But Erastus is He's wealthy. Yeah. He's right there next to Tertius. I love that. Tercus, move over.
I gotta get this written down here. Erastus. And you know, look at the last one. And Cortus, their brother. Isn't that great?
He's the younger brother of Tertius. Hey, bud. Don't forget me. Oh, okay. The brother.
Cordis. If in fact that's what it was. You see, folks, we have turned these people in the Bible into sort of a. untouchable. Uh Icons.
Plaster Paris Saints. Marble. standing in the corner of some joint. It's got a cross on top. Probably shouldn't call it a joint, but I you know what I mean.
Yeah. It's just people. If the book were to be written today, you'd be in it. You say not me? Why not?
Happened to be there with Paul hanging out? Writing a letter. Hey, don't forget my brother. Don't forget Cortis. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.
The last verse probably isn't in the better text, so the grace flows out of verse 20, really. God always has a remnant. God always has a remnant. You're part of that remnant. And the less known, don't worry.
You won't get the glory in the Lord's Isaiah. What? Who are you? You're one of his.
Sovereign act of God, whereby He declares righteous the believing sinner. while we're still in a sinning state. Every tertius, every secundus, every primus, every Quintus, every quartus. He remembers. It's crease.
Three great lessons that linger. Number one. We cannot ignore or deny the presence of evil. If Satan will soon be crushed under our feet, he hasn't yet. been crushed.
There will always be people and circumstances and influences from the world system, our own flesh, working in concert. And let me tell you, spiritual warfare is the real deal. It isn't the figment of some fanatic's imagination. If you could see the evil forces. It would shock most of you.
At work in the heavenlies, at work around us. And even at work in the family of God, the venerable. The Bible teacher J. Sidlow Baxter wrote. Whenever Satan gets to Christians, eight out of ten times he does so through other Christians.
I have lived to see that come true. Far more troubles with fellow Christians than unbelievers. You cannot ignore or deny The presence of evil. Here's the second. We need not fear nor be intimidated.
By evil. 1 John 4, verse 4. And five in verse four, greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. Don't be intimidated by evil. By the way, it takes discernment to do the first.
So you are regularly aware that evil is present. and evil may be at work. You don't live suspicious, but you don't ignore. or deny could be from evil. Second, when you encounter it, you're not afraid.
In a previous church I served for a number of years, our receptionist received a call, or the caller asked this. Yeah. Is this the church that teaches people about Jesus? The church that believes the Bible, that tries to get people to turn their lives over to Christ. as their master.
The receptionist taken aback said, well, yes, that's us. You described us accurately. Are you interested in where we're located? He quickly responded, No, I just want you to know that I'm a representative of the Church of Satan. And we worship Satan and the demons, there are just as many of us, working against you and your teacher.
And we are going to win. Hung up the phone. But that's blatant evil. Far more often it's subtle. I have another friend sitting on a plane years ago back when they served food.
On plates. Member? Toy food, but they served food. little weenies and little piece of wilted lettuce and Enjoy your meal. Anyway.
My friend got the meal, and the one next to her did not, and she noticed, she passed it up, and kind of. Was bowing, and she said, I noticed you didn't eat. He said, No, I'm fasting. Oh, she said, you must be a Christian. He said, Uh no, as a matter of fact, uh I am Fasting in honor of my master Satan.
We're praying that at least 100 Christian leaders' marriages will break up this year. It's amazing, it puts a chill up our back when we hear that. But why should we be surprised? By the way, it's pretty effective, isn't it? Don't be afraid of it.
Just be aware of it. Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world. Cynthia was telling me of Mm-hmm. A lady who was going through the horrors of an assault. and of a rape.
And The man was going to do her greater harm. And she said, In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, leave me alone. And he ran. He ran. Praise God, he ran.
The third, and don't ever forget this. We will not experience victory until we appropriate grace. personally. Pray that the Lord in the study of Romans will. build in you a person of grace.
And when he does, you will be a rarity. You may be the only grace person in your home. You certainly will be an only grace person where you work. Most likely The only one in your neighborhood. Pray that you will be a person of grace.
You know what grace people do? They free people. They free them. They set them free. I read this past week that Abraham Lincoln.
Went to a slave market, and there he noted a young, beautiful African-American woman being auctioned off to the highest offer. He bid on her and won. You could see the anger in the young woman's eyes and could imagine what she was thinking. Another white man. who will buy me and use me and then discard me.
As Lincoln walked off with her, he turned to the woman and said. You're free. Yeah. Free? What does that mean?
It means you're free. He smiled. Does that mean I can say whatever I want to say? Yeah. It means you can say whatever you want to say.
Well, does it mean, she asked incredulously, that I can be whatever I want to be? Yes, you can be whatever you want to be.
Well, does it mean She said hesitatingly. That I can go wherever I want to go. Yeah, it means you're free to go wherever you want to go. And the young woman, with tears welling up in her eyes, Said I. I think I want to go with you.
I want to go with you. Most contagious people on the planet. are people of grace. They're also the most misunderstood. I'll welcome you to the ranks.
I'm going to tell you there's a price to pay. It's called being misunderstood. I want us to bow our heads. Let me say to fellow Christians today that what repeatedly kills our witness is pretense. It's not freedom.
It's pretense. I urge you, fellow Christians, to set people free. I love Ruth Graham's words when She was alive. She said, it's my job to love Billy. It's God's job to make him good.
God help us to get this message. Because it isn't being promoted. in the church today. Grace. If you've never met the Lord of grace, you're right now free to trust him or turn him off.
Nobody here is going to force you or embarrass you. You can live your life, and then you can die your lonely death without him at your call.
Now, trust me, he's at work. I don't say that in a cavalier manner. But he's at work. You've never trusted him. He has a way of making you pretty miserable until you do.
May you have no sleep, no rest, no relief. Till you come to the Savior. If we can help you with that decision, connect with us. That's why we're here. God of grace and God of glory.
God of magnificent freedom. Got a profound And Endless love Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
for the Saviour. Thank you that he took all of the cursing. He took all of the load of sin. Once for all. And in taking it He relieved us from having to pay penance.
Earn our way in. or prove the sincerity of our Faith. Teach us the simplicity of taking the gift. and reveling in the freedom. Forgive us our Father for putting anyone under bondage.
Which we do regularly. May we stop it. And Lord, just as you've remembered these seven, eight virtually unknown people, remind us that you know us. You know everything about us. And the one who loves us the best knows us.
The best. How great of you. Mm. I pray for those who've never trusted your son. that they may do so before sundown.
This day. In the name of Jesus, I pray. And all the people of Grace said, Amen. Amen. With his prayer, Chuckswindahl concludes another study in Paul's letter to the Romans.
He titled today's message, Putting Down Evil, Lifting Up Friends. Stay with us because we'll hear a personal comment from Chuck in just a moment. If you're ready to dig into the scriptures on your own, Insight for Living has a wide variety of helpful resources to guide you. For instance, one of our most popular tools is the Searching the Scriptures Bible Study Workbooks. The two workbooks for Romans cover all 16 chapters of Paul's letter.
And while it's fresh on your mind, be sure to take advantage of this offer and the other resources we've made available for this study, because our series concludes this coming Tuesday. To purchase the Bible study workbooks today, go to insight.org/slash offer. Recently, one of your fellow listeners left a comment that said, Chuck, I've been following your podcasts faithfully, and I just placed an order for the workbooks for Romans. You know, here at Inside for Living, we love reading these affirming notes. It's the very reason we create these Bible study tools.
As we enter the Christmas season, we're reminded that regardless of what's going on in our world, this should be a time of deep peace and joy. Remember what the angel said? Don't be afraid. I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. Here's Chuck.
Think for a moment. When was the last time you heard an infant giggle? Seriously. Can you remember? Maybe it was a video clip you saw online.
Perhaps it was one of your grandkids. or great grandkids. Nothing like a pudgy little one, sitting upright, hands flailing in the air, cackling until he loses his breath.
Well, it's hard to resist that sound, isn't it? The joy is infectious. I've often thought That's the kind of pure, innocent, unbridled joy the Lord offers His children. Oh, it's not about the laughter. There's something about that irrepressible joy.
that beautifully reflects our Lord's character. Can't you just picture Mary and Joseph in those private moments? With the Christ child? This Christmas, we celebrate Jesus, the innocent baby born in Bethlehem who is our everlasting light. He came to bring us joy that can't be suppressed, diminished, or stolen away.
As we conclude another year of ministry together, I want you to join me in spreading God's everlasting light. and his irrepressible joy to others around the world. When you give to insight for living, you're infusing a supernatural source of joy into someone's life. You're giving them something genuine to smile about. in the midst of their struggles.
I can tell you the opportunities to do so through Insight for Living are countless. All that stands in the way are the resources to do so. Please, as you thank God for His everlasting love this year, include Insight for Living among those you support. By giving a generous gift. You'll offer a waiting world something to smile about.
real joy that comes from knowing Jesus Christ. Thanks so much. And here's how to respond to Chuck Swindall. To send your donation in the mail, you can address your envelope to InsightForLiving. Post Office Box 5000.
Frisco, Texas 75034. That's Post Office Box 5000. Frisco, Texas, 75034. If you prefer to call us at Insight for Living, the number is 800-772-8888. Or you can give online at insight.org/slash donate.
Ah. I'm Bill Meyer. Join us when Chuck Swindahl continues our study in Romans, the Christian's Constitution. Monday on Insight for Living. The preceding message, Putting Down Evil, Lifting Up Friends, was copyrighted in 2008, 2010, and 2025, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2025 by Charles R.
Swindahl Incorporated. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.
