Romans 15
15
1Some of us have no problem with these things. So we should be patient with those who are not so strong and have doubts. We should not do what pleases us 2but do what pleases them and is for their good. We should do whatever helps everyone grow stronger in faith. 3Even Christ did not live trying to please himself. As the Scriptures say about him, “Those people who insulted you have also insulted me.”#Quote from Ps. 69:9. 4Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us. Those things were written so that we could have hope. That hope comes from the patience and encouragement that the Scriptures give us. 5All patience and encouragement come from God. And I pray that God will help you all agree with each other, as Christ Jesus wants. 6Then you will all be joined together. And all together you will give glory to God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other. This will bring honor#15:7 honor Or “glory.” See “glory” in the Word List. to God. 8I tell you that Christ became a servant of the Jews to show that God has done what he promised their great ancestors. 9Christ also did this so that the non-Jewish people could praise God for the mercy he gives to them. The Scriptures say,
“So I will give thanks to you among the people of other nations;
I will sing praise to your name.” Psalm 18:49
10And the Scriptures say,
“You people of other nations should be happy together with God’s people.” Deuteronomy 32:43
11The Scriptures also say,
“Praise the Lord all you people of other nations;
all people should praise the Lord.” Psalm 117:1
12And Isaiah says,
“Someone will come from Jesse’s family.#15:12 Jesse’s family Jesse was the father of David, king of Israel. Jesus was from their family.
He will come to rule over the nations,
and they will put their hope in him.” Isaiah 11:10
13I pray that the God who gives hope will fill you with much joy and peace as you trust in him. Then you will have more and more hope, and it will flow out of you by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul Talks About His Work
14My brothers and sisters, I know without a doubt that you are full of goodness and have all the knowledge you need. So you are certainly able to counsel each other. 15But I have written to you very openly about some things that I wanted you to remember. I did this because God gave me this special gift: 16to be a servant of Christ Jesus for those who are not Jews. I serve like a priest whose duty it is to tell God’s Good News. He gave me this work so that you non-Jewish people could be an offering that he will accept—an offering made holy by the Holy Spirit.
17That is why I feel so good about what I have done for God in my service to Christ Jesus. 18I will not talk about anything I did myself. I will talk only about what Christ has done with me in leading the non-Jewish people to obey God. They have obeyed him because of what I have said and done. 19And they obeyed him because of the power of the miraculous signs and wonders that happened—all because of the power of God’s Spirit. I have told people the Good News about Christ in every place from Jerusalem to Illyricum. And so I have finished that part of my work. 20I always want to tell the Good News in places where people have never heard of Christ. I do this because I don’t want to build on the work that someone else has already started. 21But as the Scriptures say,
“Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard about him will understand.” Isaiah 52:15
Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome
22That’s what has kept me so busy and prevented my coming to see you even though I have wanted to come many times.
23Now I have finished my work in these areas. And for many years I have wanted to visit you. 24So I will visit you when I go to Spain. Yes, I hope to visit you while I am traveling to Spain, and I will stay and enjoy being with you. Then you can help me continue on my trip.
25Now I am going to Jerusalem to help God’s people there. 26Some of them are poor, and the believers in Macedonia and Achaia wanted to help them. So they gathered some money to send them. 27They were happy to do this. And it was like paying something they owed them, because as non-Jews they have been blessed spiritually by the Jews. So now they should use the material blessings they have to help the Jews. 28I am going to Jerusalem to make sure the poor get this money that has been given for them.
After I finish that, I will leave for Spain and stop to visit you on the way. 29And I know that when I visit you, I will bring you Christ’s full blessing.
30Brothers and sisters, I beg you to help me in my work by praying to God for me. Do this because of our Lord Jesus and the love that the Spirit gives us. 31Pray that I will be saved from those in Judea who refuse to accept our message. And pray that this help I am bringing to Jerusalem will please God’s people there. 32Then, if God wants me to, I will come to you. I will come with joy, and together you and I will have a time of rest. 33The God who gives peace be with you all. Amen.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
Romans 15
15
1Those of us who are spiritually strong ought to support those who are spiritually weak. We shouldn't just please ourselves. 2We should all encourage others to do what's morally right, building them up. 3Christ didn't live to please himself, but as Scripture says of him, “The insults of those who abused you have fallen on me.”#15:3. Quoting Psalms 69:9. 4These Scriptures were written down in the past to help us understand, and to encourage us so that we could wait patiently in hope.
5May the God who gives patience and encouragement help you to be in full agreement among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6so that you can with one mind and with one voice together glorify God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
7So accept one another, just as Christ accepted you, and give God the glory. 8I maintain that Christ came as a servant to the Jews#15:8. Literally, “of circumcision.” to show God tells the truth, keeping the promises he made to their forefathers. 9He also came that foreigners could praise God for his mercy, as Scripture says, “Therefore I will praise you among the foreigners; I will sing praises to your name.”#15:9. Quoting Psalms 18:49. 10And also: “Foreigners, celebrate with his people!”#15:10. Quoting Deuteronomy 32:43. 11And again: “All you foreigners, praise the Lord, let all peoples praise him.”#15:11. Quoting Psalms 117:1. 12And again, Isaiah says, “Jesse's descendant will come to rule the nations, and foreigners will put their hope in him.”#15:12. Quoting Isaiah 11:10. “Jesse's descendant.” This refers to Jesse, the father of King David, who was the beginning of the royal line.
13May the God of hope completely fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you will overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit! 14I'm convinced that you, my brothers and sisters, are full of goodness, and that you are filled with every kind of knowledge, so you are well able to teach one another. 15I've been blunt in the way I have written to you about some of these things, but this is just to remind you. For God gave me grace 16to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the foreigners, like a priest sharing God's good news, so that they could become an acceptable offering, made holy by the Holy Spirit.
17So even though I have something to boast about because of my service for God, 18(I wouldn't dare talk about any of this except as Christ has done it through me), I have led foreigners to obedience through my teaching and demonstration, 19through the power of signs and miracles done with the Holy Spirit's power. From Jerusalem all the way over to Illyricum, everywhere I've shared fully the good news of Christ. 20In fact I was keen to spread the good news in places that hadn't heard the name of Christ, so that I wouldn't be building on what others have done. 21As Scripture says, “Those who haven't been told the good news will discover him, and those who haven't heard will understand.”#15:21. Quoting Isaiah 52:15
22That's why I was prevented so many times from coming to see you. 23But now, as there's nowhere left here to work, and since I've looked forward to visiting you for many years, 24when I go to Spain I hope to see you when I pass through. Maybe you can give me some help for my journey once we've enjoyed some time together. 25At the moment I'm on my way to Jerusalem to help the believers there, 26because the believers in Macedonia and Achaia thought it was a good idea to send a contribution to the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. 27They were happy to do this because they're in their debt.#15:27. Meaning that the foreigners are indebted to the Jews for sharing the good news of God. This particular instance applies specifically to the believers in Jerusalem, so the foreigners are happy to send a gift to help them. Now that foreigners are sharing their spiritual benefits, they owe it to the Jewish believers#15:27. Implied. to help them in material things. 28So once I've done this, and have safely delivered this contribution to them, I'll visit you on my way to Spain. 29I know that when I come, Christ will give us his full blessing.
30I want to encourage you, my brothers and sisters through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to join together in praying hard for me. 31Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea. Pray that my work in Jerusalem will be welcomed by the believers there. 32Pray that I will come to you with gladness, as God wills, so we can enjoy one another's company. 33May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com