Romans 15
15
Living to Please Others
1We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. 2We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. 3For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.”#15:3 Greek who insult you have fallen on me. Ps 69:9. 4Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.
5May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. 6Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory. 8Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jews#15:8 Greek servant of circumcision. to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors. 9He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:
“For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing praises to your name.”#15:9 Ps 18:49.
10And in another place it is written,
“Rejoice with his people,
you Gentiles.”#15:10 Deut 32:43.
11And yet again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles.
Praise him, all you people of the earth.”#15:11 Ps 117:1.
12And in another place Isaiah said,
“The heir to David’s throne#15:12a Greek The root of Jesse. David was the son of Jesse. will come,
and he will rule over the Gentiles.
They will place their hope on him.”#15:12b Isa 11:10 (Greek version).
13I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s Reason for Writing
14I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters,#15:14 Greek brothers; also in 15:30. that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them. 15Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder. For by God’s grace, 16I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit. 17So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God. 18Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. 19They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit.#15:19a Other manuscripts read the Spirit; still others read the Holy Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.#15:19b Illyricum was a region northeast of Italy.
20My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. 21I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says,
“Those who have never been told about him will see,
and those who have never heard of him will understand.”#15:21 Isa 52:15 (Greek version).
22In fact, my visit to you has been delayed so long because I have been preaching in these places.
Paul’s Travel Plans
23But now I have finished my work in these regions, and after all these long years of waiting, I am eager to visit you. 24I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey.
25But before I come, I must go to Jerusalem to take a gift to the believers#15:25 Greek God’s holy people; also in 15:26, 31. there. 26For you see, the believers in Macedonia and Achaia#15:26 Macedonia and Achaia were the northern and southern regions of Greece. have eagerly taken up an offering for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. 27They were glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. Since the Gentiles received the spiritual blessings of the Good News from the believers in Jerusalem, they feel the least they can do in return is to help them financially. 28As soon as I have delivered this money and completed this good deed of theirs, I will come to see you on my way to Spain. 29And I am sure that when I come, Christ will richly bless our time together.
30Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit. 31Pray that I will be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God. Pray also that the believers there will be willing to accept the donation#15:31 Greek the ministry; other manuscripts read the gift. I am taking to Jerusalem. 32Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other.
33And now may God, who gives us his peace, be with you all. Amen.#15:33 Some manuscripts do not include Amen. One very early manuscript places 16:25-27 here.
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Romans 15: NLT
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Romans 15
15
Please Others, not Yourselves
1We who are strong in the faith ought to help the weak to carry their burdens. We should not please ourselves. 2Instead, we should all please our brothers and sisters for their own good, in order to build them up in the faith. 3#Ps 69.9For Christ did not please himself. Instead, as the scripture says, “The insults which are hurled at you have fallen on me.” 4Everything written in the Scriptures was written to teach us, in order that we might have hope through the patience and encouragement which the Scriptures give us. 5And may God, the source of patience and encouragement, enable you to have the same point of view among yourselves by following the example of Christ Jesus, 6so that all of you together may praise with one voice the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Good News for the Gentiles
7Accept one another, then, for the glory of God, as Christ has accepted you. 8For I tell you that Christ's life of service was on behalf of the Jews, to show that God is faithful, to make his promises to their ancestors come true, 9#2 Sam 22.50; Ps 18.49and to enable even the Gentiles to praise God for his mercy. As the scripture says:
“And so I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing praises to you.”
10 #
Deut 32.43
Again it says,
“Rejoice, Gentiles, with God's people!”
11 #
Ps 117.1
And again,
“Praise the Lord, all Gentiles;
praise him, all peoples!”
12 #
Is 11.10 (LXX) And again, Isaiah says,
“A descendant of Jesse will appear;
he will come to rule the Gentiles,
and they will put their hope in him.”
13May God, the source of hope, fill you with all joy and peace by means of your faith in him, so that your hope will continue to grow by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul's Reason for Writing so Boldly
14My brothers and sisters, I myself feel sure that you are full of goodness, that you have all knowledge, and that you are able to teach one another. 15But in this letter I have been quite bold about certain subjects of which I have reminded you. I have been bold because of the privilege God has given me 16of being a servant of Christ Jesus to work for the Gentiles. I serve like a priest in preaching the Good News from God, in order that the Gentiles may be an offering acceptable to God, dedicated to him by the Holy Spirit. 17In union with Christ Jesus, then, I can be proud of my service for God. 18I will be bold and speak only about what Christ has done through me to lead the Gentiles to obey God. He has done this by means of words and deeds, 19by the power of miracles and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. And so, in travelling all the way from Jerusalem to Illyricum, I have proclaimed fully the Good News about Christ. 20My ambition has always been to proclaim the Good News in places where Christ has not been heard of, so as not to build on a foundation laid by someone else. 21#Is 52.15 (LXX)As the scripture says:
“Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.”
Paul's Plan to Visit Rome
22 #
Rom 1.13
And so I have been prevented many times from coming to you. 23But now that I have finished my work in these regions and since I have been wanting for so many years to come to see you, 24I hope to do so now. I would like to see you on my way to Spain, and be helped by you to go there, after I have enjoyed visiting you for a while. 25#1 Cor 16.1–4Just now, however, I am going to Jerusalem in the service of God's people there. 26For the churches in Macedonia and Achaia have freely decided to give an offering to help the poor among God's people in Jerusalem. 27#1 Cor 9.11That decision was their own; but, as a matter of fact, they have an obligation to help them. Since the Jews shared their spiritual blessings with the Gentiles, the Gentiles ought to use their material blessings to help the Jews. 28When I have finished this task and have handed over to them all the money that has been raised for them, I shall leave for Spain and visit you on my way there. 29When I come to you, I know that I shall come with a full measure of the blessing of Christ.
30I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love that the Spirit gives: join me in praying fervently to God for me. 31Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to God's people there. 32And so I will come to you full of joy, if it is God's will, and enjoy a refreshing visit to you. 33May God, our source of peace, be with all of you. Amen.
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Good News Bible with Deuterocanonicals/Apocrypha. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.