P art I T here are many portions of Scrip ture which stand out as high- points for spiritual understanding. I Corinthians 13 reminds us of the importance of love. Hebrews 11 is the chapter in which is a record of God’s hall of fame. I Corinthians 15 and I Thessalonians 4 deal with the re turn of the Lord as far as the Be liever is concerned. In Romans 16 we have a listing of names of those whom we might call God’s obscure saints. This is a rich section, con taining Paul's salutations to his loved ones. Too often, Bible teachers have a tendency to hurry over and even omit these important verses. Many of these people are not men tioned anywhere else in the Word of God. I’ve often referred to these verses as “God’s Who’s Who in Heaven.” The apostle doesn’t single these people out for significant out standing achievements, but for con sistent deeds of faithfulness. What a blessing to realize that these names have been in this Book for over 19 centuries! They’ll be here throughout all the eternal ages because God’s Word is eternal. We can look forward to the time when we get to heaven and meet them personally. Have you ever gotten discouraged and started to think that you don’t amount to much? Have you ever felt that this world wouldn’t be any bet ter or worse if you hadn’t come into it? If you know Christ as your Sav iour, you can rejoice first of all that your name is already written in heaven’s book of eternal life. Without question, nearly everyone
has heard the name of D. L. Moody. He was one of America’s greatest Bible preachers. But, let me ask you, have you ever heard about the man who led him to Christ? George Goodman was a shoe salesman who lived and died unheralded. It’s my belief that at the judgment seat of Christ this man’s crown will be as bright as the one the Lord will have for D. L. Moody. So, if you feel ob scure or unimportant, take the time to study these names. You will feel encouraged in your own soul. In Rom. 16:1. Paul, under the in spiration of the Holy Spirit, pens, “I commend unto you Phebe our sis ter.” I’m impressed, first of all, with the fact that this list of God’s chos en servants starts with the name of a woman. It may be that when re wards are given out in heaven, wom en will be first. We have seen over the years how that those who go to the mission field are anywhere from three or four to one who are women. I found this to be true in my vari ous trips to survey the work of our Biola graduates. I recall hearing about the leader of a foreign religion who was concerned about the inroads of Christianity. He wanted to know what might be done to suppress the doctrines of the Saviour. He was told, “We can stop men preaching on the streets and building places to preach in, but how can we stop the women going into the homes and reaching the people there? Until we can get rid of Chris tian women missionaries, we will never be able to halt the growth of the faith.” Note what Phebe did: “Who is a 3
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