Romans 15:33

Romans 15:33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. Have you learned the 5 parts of a friendly letter? First is the inside address. This may include where the letter is written from and the date that it was written. Next comes the salutation. The salutation is the greeting and to whom the letter is written. Thirdly is the body of the letter. The body is what you have to say. Next is the complementary closing. Then fifth and last is the signature. Although the signature is at the end, we have to get to the end of the letter to find out who sent the letter! It seems like the signature should be at the beginning, doesn’t it? Actually, in the letters of the New Testament, the writer lists his name right at the beginning with the salutation. So, in our verse for today, what part of a letter do you think is our verse? Our verse is the complementary closing. But Romans 15:33 is not the end of the book of Romans. Paul goes on to send greetings to many people in the next chapter – 27 verses of greetings! But these verses in the next chapter are like a P.S. after the letter. P.S. stands for post script. That means added writing that was thought of and added after the letter was finished. And here at the end of the book of Romans is Paul’s blessing to the church in Rome. Sometimes that is called a benediction. The benediction is the final blessing of Paul to the dear people he is writing to. It is like what the preacher says at the end of the service. It is like singing, What a Mighty God We Serve. And isn’t it good to know that the God of peace Who is mentioned in this benediction it the One Who will be with us?