I do not begrudge a man a title, when he has earned for himself a PhD or some other important degree. If he spent ten years in a notable school, earning good grades and then writing a worthy book on an important subject, if he wants to call himself “Charles K. Johnson, DD.,” I am not the least bit upset. However, when a mere preacher is given a degree without earning it, and when he begins to flaunt it, it smacks of nothing but pride. And when any man adds a string of letters after his name, it quickly looks like nothing but show.
Gaius was Paul’s host, Erastus was a city official, and Quartus was a brother. I’m sure that each of these men were much more well-rounded and symmetrical that this, but Paul didn’t have the time or paper on which to write a biography about everyone. He simply chose something important about each one of these brethren to pass on to his friends in Rome.
And perhaps our first lesson this evening applies to all three of these people generally – It is better to have one talent, and to use it for the Lord, than to squander or waste twenty talents. Most of us are more than one-dimensional, but even if that was not true for us personally, to make the most of our small abilities for the glory of God, will earn us a note in the eternal books of the Lord.
Let’s briefly consider what is said, and perhaps not said, of these three men.
Paul remained in Ephesus a short while, and when the uproar had quieted he moved on. In Acts 20:4 we read, “And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.” This particular Gaius was not a Macedonian, but from Asia Minor close to Timothy’s home town. He appears to be a different man, but with the same name. I Corinthians 1:14 makes an interesting comment which could have been about either of these men, but was probably about a third man of the same name. “I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius.” This Gaius appears to have come to the Lord while in Corinth, and in all likelihood was the man referred to here in Romans, as we remember that this letter was written from Corinth. The final, Gaius, doesn’t help us in our identification at all, because he’s brought in to us from left field. John’s Third Epistle was directed to a man of this name, but that letter doesn’t give us any identification marks at all.
What matters to us this evening, is what Paul says of him here in Romans: “Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you.” “Gaius sends his Christian love.” Was this man a preacher? If I had to guess, I would say that he wasn’t. So he might not have been eloquent, and yet he might have been. He might have had a stammer, and stuttered like some sort of Jay bird, but who knows? He might have been old and worn out after fifty years struggling to make himself rich. He might have been an invalid by this time. We could spend the next thirty minutes describing things that Gaius might or might not have been, but that would be pointless. The only thing that matters at this point is that he was hospitable.
Gaius apparently made a room for the Apostle to stay in at his house. It appears that he made his kitchen and his pantry available to the missionary/Apostle. It doesn’t matter what else he might have done, or what he could have done, this is something that he did. And it was vitally important to the work of the Lord. A lot of preachers eat too much, but all preachers need to eat once in a while. Some pastors golf too much, hunt deer too often and fish too much, sleep too much, but every pastor, every missionary, and every Apostle needs a place to sleep once in a while. As an itinerant preacher, other than his home church, Paul didn’t have a place to lay his head. “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man (and many of the men of God’s Son) hath not where to lay (their) heads.” Gaius did what he could in providing a place of rest for the man of God.
The Lord Jesus once said – to all of us – “Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward.” That is a wonderful verse from Matthew 10 but it comes to us from a larger context. “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” That is a wonderful verse, but there is more. I won’t take time to read it all, but listen to the preceding verses – “He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and he that receiveth a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward.” Whoever this Gaius was, he is today enjoying a righteous man’s reward, because picked up his cross and followed His Saviour. In a sense, he laid down his life for Christ, and he is now enjoying that life in the glories of Heaven. This man’s name was worth recording in the eternal Word of God; he is worthy of imitation.
Notice also, that like Aquila and Priscilla, he not only gave Paul a room in his house, but he made that house available to the church. It might have been large enough for the entire assembly to assemble. Or perhaps he could only give it to smaller groups for prayer meetings or Bible studies. Certainly if Paul was staying there, there was probably a constant parade of traffic. Imagine ladies, if you never knew when people were going to be coming to your house to consult with the man of God. What if you couldn’t be sure that you wouldn’t have visitors at 8:00 in the morning or 9:00 at night? Are you really an hospitable Christian? Have you lost your life for the sake of the Lord? It might have been easy for Gaius, but what about his poor wife?
Whichever, Gaius has been eternally noted as an hospitable person.
I have mentioned from time to time that some of our Baptist forefathers, excommunicated members for participating in politics. We had a member quit this church here, because I mentioned that fact, even though I had no intention of bringing him up on charges. There was an elderly woman who was a member of our church in New Mexico, whose father had stopped attending church because he had been excommunicated for political activism while in Texas. I wonder what those brethren would have done about Erastus. This man was practically one of those hated “publicans” – perhaps a tax collector, or at least a tax spender. And he probably did what he was told to do by other city officials. How much sin and corruption was there in his office.
How important was this office? I don’t have enough information to tell you. But was I Corinthians 1 applicable to this Erastus? “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus…”
There may be a hundred ways in which you could become an important person in this world. It might be that the Lord would have you to become rich, and to use your wealth for good. You might invent something or build the better mouse trap, becoming a blessing to society. You might come up with a cure for cancer, or save a notable person’s life. We all live in a larger society, and yes, it may be wicked, but we are still in it and have a roll to play in it. If it were not so, the Lord would have told us, and removed us. I am convinced that if the Lord has put us into some position – if he has given us nobility – or notoriety, then we are obligated to use that position for His glory. If we are Chamberlain of the city, then we need to be known as a Christian Chamberlain. We need to be as free from corruption and sin as if we were Apostles ourselves. No matter what position we are put into. “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” “Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, (cook or serve,) or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”
What do we know for sure? He was born a sinner – a son of Adam – dead in trespasses and sins – headed for Hell. His name is Roman, so perhaps he first came from Rome, and this is why his name is being sent back there. He was likely raised in heathenism and idolatry, but all of us were to some degree. These things are conjecture, but reasonably good guesses.
What do we know of him? We know that Paul considered him to be a “brother in Christ.” That means that the love of God had been laid upon him. The righteousness of Christ has been wrapped around his heart and soul. The man was a Christian – and still is, except now he knows better what that really means.
And let me ask: how long will the Word of God last? Until Heaven and Earth pass away? Could we say that this reference to Quartus is essentially eternal? This is what it means to be a brother in Christ. Paul is taking one important thing about most of these people and putting his spotlight upon them. And this may be all that he can say about Quartus. The man was not a preacher like Timothy; he was not wealthy like Aquila or Gaius; He was not famous or influential like Erastus. But these things are not as important as many of us think. The really important matter is that we are children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Quartus was prized and loved by God.
Can the same thing be said of you?