Romans 15
15
Pleasing Others, Not Ourselves
1Now we who are strong have an obligation to bear the weaknesses of those without strength,#Rm 14:1; Gl 6:2; 1Th 5:14 and not to please ourselves. 2Each one of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.#1Co 9:22; 10:24,33; 2Co 13:9 3For even Christ did not please himself.#2Co 8:9 On the contrary, as it is written, The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.#15:3Ps 69:9#Ps 69:9 4For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction,#Rm 4:23; 2Tm 3:16 so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures. 5Now may the God who gives#15:5 Lit God of endurance and encouragement#2Co 1:3 grant you to live in harmony with one another,#Rm 12:16 according to Christ Jesus, 6so that you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ#Rv 1:6 with one mind and one voice.
Glorifying God Together
7Therefore welcome one another,#Rm 14:1 just as#15:7 Or because Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God. 8For I say that Christ became a servant of the circumcised#15:8 The Jews on behalf of God’s truth,#Mt 15:24; Ac 3:26 to confirm the promises to the fathers,#Rm 4:16; 2Co 1:20 9and so that Gentiles#Rm 3:29; 11:30 may glorify God for his mercy.#Mt 9:8 As it is written,
Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and I will sing praise to your name. # 15:9 2Sm 22:50; Ps 18:49 #
2Sm 22:50; Ps 18:49
10Again it says, Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people!#15:10Dt 32:43#Dt 32:43 11And again,
Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
let all the peoples praise him! # 15:11 Ps 117:1 #
Ps 117:1
12And again, Isaiah says,
The root of Jesse #
Rv 5:5; 22:16 will appear,
the one who rises to rule the Gentiles;
the Gentiles will hope in him. # 15:12 Is 11:10 #
Is 11:10; Mt 12:21
13Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe#Rm 14:17 so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.#1Co 2:4; 1Th 1:5
From Jerusalem to Illyricum
14My brothers and sisters, I myself am convinced about you that you also are full of goodness,#Eph 5:9; 2Th 1:11 filled with all knowledge,#1Co 1:5; 8:1,7,10; 12:8; 13:2 and able to instruct one another. 15Nevertheless, I have written to remind you more boldly on some points#15:15 Other mss add brothers because of the grace given me by God#Rm 12:3 16to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles,#Ac 9:15; Rm 11:13 serving as a priest of the gospel of God.#Rm 1:1 God’s purpose is that the Gentiles may be an acceptable offering,#Rm 12:1; Eph 5:2; Php 2:17 sanctified by the Holy Spirit. 17Therefore I have reason to boast in Christ Jesus#Php 3:3 regarding what pertains to God.#Heb 2:17; 5:1 18For I would not dare say anything except what Christ has accomplished through me#Ac 15:12; 21:19; Rm 1:5; 2Co 3:5 by word and deed for the obedience of the Gentiles, 19by the power of miraculous signs and wonders,#Jn 4:48 and by the power of God’s Spirit. As a result, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ from Jerusalem#Ac 22:17–21 all the way around to Illyricum.#15:19 A Roman province northwest of Greece on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea#Ac 20:1 20My aim is to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named,#Rm 1:15; 10:15 so that I will not build on someone else’s foundation,#1Co 3:10; 2Co 10:15–16 21but, as it is written,
Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand. # 15:21 Is 52:15 #
Is 52:15
Paul’s Travel Plans
22That is why I have been prevented many times from coming to you.#Rm 1:13; 1Th 2:18 23But now I no longer have any work to do in these regions,#15:23 Lit now, having no longer a place in these parts and I have strongly desired for many years to come to you#Ac 19:21; Rm 1:10 24whenever I travel to Spain.#15:24 Other mss add I will come to you. For I hope to see you when I pass through and to be assisted by you for my journey there,#Ac 15:3 once I have first enjoyed your company#Rm 1:12 for a while. 25Right now I am traveling to Jerusalem#Ac 19:21 to serve the saints,#Ac 24:17 26because Macedonia#Ac 16:9; 1Co 16:5; 2Co 1:16; 2:13; 7:5; 8:1; 9:2,4; 11:9; Php 4:15; 1Th 1:7; 4:10; 1Tm 1:3 and Achaia#Ac 18:12; 19:21 were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27Yes, they were pleased, and indeed are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual benefits,#1Co 9:11 then they are obligated to minister to them in material needs. 28So when I have finished this and safely delivered the funds#15:28 Lit delivered this fruit to them,#15:28 Or and placed my seal of approval on this fruit for them#Jn 3:33 I will visit you on the way to Spain. 29I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing#15:29 Other mss add of the gospel of Christ.
30Now I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit,#Gl 5:22; Col 1:8 to strive together with me in prayers to God on my behalf.#2Co 1:11; Col 4:12 31Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea,#2Co 1:10; 2Th 3:2; 2Tm 3:11; 4:17 that my ministry to#15:31 Lit that my service for Jerusalem#2Co 8:4; 9:1 may be acceptable to the saints,#Ac 9:13; Rm 15:15 32and that, by God’s will,#Ac 18:21; Rm 1:10 I may come to you with joy#Rm 15:23 and be refreshed together with you.
33May the God of peace be with all of you.#Rm 16:20; 2Co 13:11; Php 4:9; 1Th 5:23; 2Th 3:16; Heb 13:20 Amen.
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Romans 15: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Romans 15
15
Patience and Self-Denial. 1We who are strong ought to put up with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves;#14:1–2. 2let each of us please our neighbor for the good, for building up.#14:1, 19; 1 Cor 9:19; 10:24, 33. 3For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written,#Ps 69:10. “The insults of those who insult you fall upon me.”#Liberation from the law of Moses does not make the scriptures of the old covenant irrelevant. Much consolation and motivation for Christian living can be derived from the Old Testament, as in the citation from Ps 69:10. Because this psalm is quoted several times in the New Testament, it has been called indirectly messianic. 4For whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.#4:23–24; 1 Mc 12:9; 1 Cor 10:11; 2 Tm 3:16. 5May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to think in harmony#Think in harmony: a Greco-Roman ideal. Not rigid uniformity of thought and expression but thoughtful consideration of other people’s views finds expression here. with one another, in keeping with Christ Jesus,#12:16; Phil 2:2; 4:2. 6that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s Fidelity and Mercy.#True oneness of mind is found in pondering the ultimate mission of the church: to bring it about that God’s name be glorified throughout the world and that Jesus Christ be universally recognized as God’s gift to all humanity. Paul here prepares his addressees for the climactic appeal he is about to make. 7Welcome one another, then, as Christ welcomed you, for the glory of God.#14:1. 8For I say that Christ became a minister of the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, to confirm the promises to the patriarchs,#Mt 15:24 / Mi 7:20; Acts 3:25. 9but so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:
“Therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles
and sing praises to your name.”#11:30 / 2 Sm 22:50; Ps 18:50.
10And again it says:#Dt 32:43.
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”#Paul’s citation of Dt 32:43 follows the Greek version.
11And again:
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples praise him.”#Ps 117:1.
12And again Isaiah says:
“The root of Jesse shall come,
raised up to rule the Gentiles;
in him shall the Gentiles hope.”#Is 11:10; Rev 5:5; 22:16.
13May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the holy Spirit.#5:1–2.
VII. CONCLUSION
Apostle to the Gentiles. 14#Paul sees himself as apostle and benefactor in the priestly service of the gospel and so sketches plans for a mission in Spain, supported by those in Rome. I myself am convinced about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness,#Full of goodness: the opposite of what humanity was filled with according to Rom 1:29–30. filled with all knowledge, and able to admonish one another. 15But I have written to you rather boldly in some respects to remind you, because of the grace given me by God#1:5; 12:3. 16to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in performing the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering up of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the holy Spirit.#11:13; Phil 2:17. 17In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to boast in what pertains to God. 18For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to lead the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,#Acts 15:12; 2 Cor 12:12. 19by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit [of God], so that from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum#Illyricum: Roman province northwest of Greece on the eastern shore of the Adriatic. I have finished preaching the gospel of Christ. 20Thus I aspire#I aspire: Paul uses terminology customarily applied to philanthropists. Unlike some philanthropists of his time, Paul does not engage in cheap competition for public acclaim. This explanation of his missionary policy is to assure the Christians in Rome that he is also not planning to remain in that city and build on other people’s foundations (cf. 2 Cor 10:12–18). However, he does solicit their help in sending him on his way to Spain, which was considered the limit of the western world. Thus Paul’s addressees realize that evangelization may be understood in the broader sense of mission or, as in Rom 1:15, of instruction within the Christian community that derives from the gospel. to proclaim the gospel not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on another’s foundation,#2 Cor 10:13–18. 21but as it is written:#Is 52:15.
“Those who have never been told of him shall see,
and those who have never heard of him shall understand.”#The citation from Is 52:15 concerns the Servant of the Lord. According to Isaiah, the Servant is first of all Israel, which was to bring the knowledge of Yahweh to the nations. In Rom 9–11 Paul showed how Israel failed in this mission. Therefore, he himself undertakes almost singlehandedly Israel’s responsibility as the Servant and moves as quickly as possible with the gospel through the Roman empire.
Paul’s Plans; Need for Prayers. 22That is why I have so often been prevented from coming to you. 23But now, since I no longer have any opportunity in these regions and since I have desired to come to you for many years,#1:10–13; Acts 19:21–22. 24I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain and to be sent on my way there by you, after I have enjoyed being with you for a time.#1 Cor 16:6. 25#Paul may have viewed the contribution he was gathering from Gentile Christians for the poor in Jerusalem (cf. 2 Cor 8–9) as a fulfillment of the vision of Is 60:5–6. In confidence that the messianic fulfillment was taking place, Paul stresses in Rom 14–16 the importance of harmonious relationships between Jews and Gentiles. Now, however, I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the holy ones.#Acts 19:21; 20:22. 26For Macedonia and Achaia#Achaia: the Roman province of southern Greece. have decided to make some contribution for the poor among the holy ones in Jerusalem;#1 Cor 16:1; 2 Cor 8:1–4; 9:2, 12. 27they decided to do it, and in fact they are indebted to them, for if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to serve them in material blessings.#9:4 / 1 Cor 9:11. 28So when I have completed this and safely handed over this contribution to them, I shall set out by way of you to Spain; 29and I know that in coming to you I shall come in the fullness of Christ’s blessing.
30I urge you, [brothers,] by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in the struggle by your prayers to God on my behalf,#2 Cor 1:11; Phil 1:27; Col 4:3; 2 Thes 3:1. 31that I may be delivered from the disobedient in Judea, and that my ministry for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the holy ones, 32so that I may come to you with joy by the will of God and be refreshed together with you. 33The God of peace be with all of you. Amen.#16:20; 2 Cor 13:11; Phil 4:9; 1 Thes 5:23; 2 Thes 3:16; Heb 13:20.
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