GREET RUFUS ("red") A CHOICE MAN ("the chosen") IN THE LORD: aspasasthe (2PAAM) Rouphon ton eklekton en kurio: (Mark 15:21)  (John 15:16 Eph 1:4 2Th 2:13 2Jn 1:1)

Rufus whom the Lord picked out to be his very own(NLT)

MacArthur comments on "choice" writing that

Eklektos (choice) has the literal meaning of chosen, or elected. Paul could hardly be speaking about his being chosen for salvation, since, as made clear earlier in the epistle, every believer is “predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son” (see note Romans 8:29). In that sense, every Christian is equally chosen “in [Christ] before the foundation of the world” (see note Ephesians 1:4). The idea here, as the New American Standard Bible rendering indicates, is that Rufus was choice in the general sense in which that word is used today. He was an extraordinary Christian, known for his love and work for the Lord and for the Lord’s people. (MacArthur, J: Romans 9-16. Chicago: Moody Press or Logos)

ALSO HIS MOTHER AND MINE: kai ten metera autou kai emou: (Matt 12:49,50 Mark 3:35 John 19:27 )

GREET ASYNCRITUS, PHLEGON, HERMES, PATROBAS, HERMAS AND THE BRETHREN WITH THEM : aspasasthe (2PAAM) Asugkriton, Phlegonta, Ermen, Patroban, Erman kai tous sun autois adelphous: (Rom 8:29 Col 1:2 Heb 3:1 1 Pet 1:22,23)

GREET PHILOLOGUS AND JULIA, NEREUS AND HIS SISTER, AND OLYMPAS: aspasasthe (2PAAM) Philologon kai Ioulian, Nerea kai ten adelphen autou, kai Olumpan:

This as well as other "groupings" of names may represent those who belonged to a small church in a home.

Philologus means fond of words or a lover of words -- he either loved the "word" or he talked too much! Or perhaps he was a good inductive Bible study student who loved "word studies"!

AND ALL THE SAINTS WHO ARE WITH THEM: kai tous sun autois pantas hagious:

All the Saints - not the name of a church.

Saints (40) (hagios =  set apart ones, separated ones, sanctified ones, holy ones) is literally a holy one and depending on the context refers to whoever or whatever is set apart (sanctified) for a special purpose. In the New Testament,  saints are holy ones both in character and conduct having been set apart by God to be exclusively His, to be dedicated to Him and to manifest holiness of heart and conduct in contrast to the impurity of pagan unbelievers. Saints are set aside for sacred use.

GREET ONE ANOTHER WITH A HOLY KISS ALL THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST GREET YOU: aspasasthe (2PAAM) allelous en philemati hagio aspazontai (3PPMI) humas ai ekklesiai pasai tou Christou: (Acts 20:37 1 Cor 16:20 2 Cor 13:12, 1 Thes 5:26, 1 Pet 5:14)

See Ray Pritchard's sermon entitled Let’s Bring Back the Holy Kiss

The holy kiss was an oriental form of friendly greeting, which was adapted by the early church to indicate Christian love, with men so greeting the men, and women the women. Robertson says, “The near-east mode of salutation as hand-shaking in the western.” The kiss was to be “holy,” hagios, i.e., free from everything unworthy of their calling as saints (hagioi). Moreover there was to be freedom from prejudice arising from social distinctions, and from partiality toward those who were well-to-do. In the assembly, masters and servants would thus salute one another with freedom from an attitude of condescension on the one part, and from disrespect on the other.

Stedman writes:

Having just come from Mexico, I was struck by the difference in the way people greet one another there. You don't just shake hands, you embrace. This is a carry-over from the custom that Paul refers to here, of "greeting one another with a holy kiss," and, among the Christians of Mexico, this is very common. When two greet each other, they have an abrazo (embrace), and sometimes I think we have gotten too far away from this kind of greeting. It was such a wonderful expression of true Christian love.

MacArthur writes:

"Paul ends this section with the admonition, Greet one another with a holy kiss. The practice of embracing and kissing friends on the forehead or cheek was common in Old Testament times. Men would sometimes be kissed on the beard. Such kisses were in no way romantic, much less erotic, and kissing on the mouth was rare, except for married couples. Kissing was common among relatives and close friends, especially when they first came together after a long separation and when they departed, as is common today. To kiss a person of high position was a sign of honor and respect. The New Testament church, at first composed primarily of Jews, carried on the traditional practice of kissing among relatives and close friends. Because many new believers were made outcasts by their biological families, the spiritual kinship of Christians became all the dearer and was frequently manifested by what came to be called a holy kiss. Paul admonished believers in Rome to maintain the practice when they would greet one another. He gave the same admonition at the end of both of his letters to the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12) and in his first letter to believers in Thessalonica (see note 1Thessalonians 5:26). Peter had in mind the same idea of demonstrating spiritual kinship when he said, “Greet one another with a kiss of love” (see note 1 Peter 5: 14). After Paul exhorted the elders from Ephesus who came out to meet him at Miletus as he was traveling to Jerusalem, “he knelt down and prayed with them all. And they began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they should see his face no more” (Acts 20:36–38)....The practice of the holy kiss, or kiss of love, continued for many years in the early church. It probably came to an end by being corrupted by sensuous perversion. Some centuries later, it was somewhat revived in the form of a liturgical kiss, which was purely formal and ritualistic, not personal or spiritual. In our own day, there is also danger of certain physical signs of affection being misunderstood and abused. Those dangers have always existed and will continue to exist until the Lord returns. But, if practiced with sensible discretion, a loving embrace and a truly holy kiss that reflect genuine, heartfelt love between Christians should not be jettisoned simply because of possible misunderstanding or misuse." (MacArthur, J: Romans 9-16. Chicago: Moody Press or Logos)

Newell adds:

The simplicity and warmth of early Christian devotion cannot be brushed aside as an "Orientalism" by the colder hearts and more formal and "reserved" manners of our day. "Behold, how these Christians love one another!" was the constant remark in the early days. The word beloved is used four times by Paul in these few verses....Would it not be wonderful in our eyes to come upon some community today where the saints were all one! loving one another and thus fulfilling our Lord’s great prayer in (John 17)? Surely the world has much to stumble at in our divisions and lack of tenderness one toward another." (Romans 16)

Bishop Moule gives us some "food for thought" observing that

This page is no mere relic of the past; it is a list of friendships to be made hereafter, and to be possessed forever in the endless life where personality indeed shall be eternal, but where also the union of personalities in Christ shall be beyond our utmost present thought."

NOW I URGE YOU BRETHREN: Parakalo (1SPAI) de humas, adelphoi:

Urge (3870) (parakaleo from para = side of + kaléo = call) conveys the basic idea of calling one alongside to help or give aid. Because a person can be called alongside for many purposes, the word has a wide range of meanings. They include to entreat, appeal to, summon, comfort, exhort, or encourage. Later parakaleo came to mean exhorting, admonishing, encouraging, call to one’s side, call to one’s aid.

Paul's idea is something like "I beg of you, please"

It has been suggested that those of whom he is now speaking promulgated the errors of Antinomianism, with which he had dealt in chapter six, or belonged to the party referred to in chapter fourteen. Possibly the opposition was that arising from Judaistic teachings, with which Paul and his fellow-laborers were continually confronted.

KEEP YOUR EYE ON THOSE WHO CAUSE (continually are making) DISSENSIONS AND HINDRANCES : skopein (PAN) tous tas dichostasias kai ta skandala ... poiountas (PAPMPA):  (Phil 3:17 Acts 15:1-5,24, 1Co 1:10-13, 1 Cor 3:3, 1 Cor 11:18, Gal 1:7-9, // Gal 2:4, Phil 3:2-3 Col 2:8, 2 Pet 2:1-2, 1 John 2:19, 2 John 1:7-10, Jude19)

Keep your eye (4648) (skopeo from skopos = distant mark looked at, goal or end in view as in Philippians 3:14 [note]) means keep your eye on and carries the idea of looking at or observing with intensity. It is from the noun form of that word that we get the scope in telescope and microscope. Skopeo means more than simply to look at, but to examine and scrutinize carefully. It implies mental consideration and so to contemplate. It means to look into, examine, inspect, continue to regard closely or to keep one's attention on.

Skopeo is in the present tense which calls for this to be a continual activity, implying the danger of spiritual intruders is ever present. In short, Paul is saying  continually  your eye on those "who cause dissensions and hindrances". Keep "scoping" them out!

John MacArthur clarifies that...

Paul is not talking about what today is often referred to as a “witch hunt,” an effort that is determined to find fault whether it is there or not. Nor is he talking about legalistic and often mean-spirited and unloving “litmus tests” for an orthodoxy that is more rigid than Scripture."...Although it is helpful for Christians, especially preachers and teachers, to have some knowledge of what liberal Christianity and so-called Christian cults teach, it is spiritually unwise and dangerous to be overly exposed to their falsehoods, whether through reading their literature or becoming involved in their churches, colleges, seminaries, or other institutions. By doing such things, many ill-prepared but self-confident believers have had their faith as well as their doctrine seriously subverted, as they are “carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming” (see note Ephesians 4:14). Many seminarians, who typically are more familiar with Scripture than