Romans 15

==Romans 15:1-2==
1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. 
Paul uses this conclusion concerning the thoughts from the last "chapter" to segue into this next section. Ultimately the conclusion is a restatement of the second greatest command, love others. Those Christians who are strong are therefore to take great care with the weak so as to not cause them to lose their faith. 
==Romans 15:3==
3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. 
The ultimate example of this, of course, is Christ. I recommend reading Psalm 69, which is a Psalm of David who was a type of Christ. Much of the chapter is Messianic in nature. Specifically we see the rest of the verse (69:9), which Paul quotes "For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up;" echoes Paul's words in Romans 10:1-3. The zeal of the Jews, the OT house of God, killed Jesus through their lack of knowledge. The Jews, who now persecute His followers, first killed Him. 
==Romans 15:4==
4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. 
I have heard this verse used countless times by itself. Out of its context, it still works, but in a weaker form than what Paul meant I think. It continues to lend itself to the "application to my life" first attitude that so many in the church have. If we leave these verses in their larger context and study them that way, the applications we draw for our own lives are much, much richer. In context, this verse is a conclusion based on the previous verses. The things written aforetime (the OT) were written for "our" learning is directly applicable to the Christians who were suffering under the Jewish persecution. Through reading those OT scriptures, they would learn patience and receive comfort and have hope. Why? Because those who slew Christ and now persecuted the Christians would soon meet judgment and that persecution would end.
So now we have a particular reason why the strong must bear the infirmities of the weak in this context, to help them through "this present distress" (1 Cor. 7:26). That's why the matters of opinion don't matter. It's also why Paul wrote, "Wherefore, if meat make my brother to fall, I will eat no meat [offered to idols] while the age [aionos] remains, lest I make my brother to fall." 
==Romans 15:5-6==
5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Paul makes this plea for unity a number of times in his letters. The foundation of this unity is God. Note here that Paul describes God as the God of patience and consolation. These are bedrock traits one which unity is founded. Christians are to have patience with one another, bear one another's weaknesses (see 1 Cor. 13:1-7). Unity is based in the Bible alone. It takes the spiritual fruits to achieve it. What this does not mean is that when someone comes to you with a different doctrine than you were raised with, you immediately disfellowship them, or elders and preachers immediately black ball someone. Unity cannot be reached if communication is not taking place. Someone using their position of authority or perceived authority to immediately silence someone who holds a different position, especially in weightier matters or matters that don't matter, are no different than denominations who hold church tradition equal to Biblical authority or those who now have legal and monetary control over the U.S. government to the extent that they may claim who is and who is not a scientists and thus no other model of human origin may be taught in public schools than Macroevolution.
No different.Paul called for unity. Jesus prayed for unity. It is sheer stupidity to deny that unity is possible. 
==Romans 15:7==
7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. 
To this end, Paul draws to a close the section began in chapter 14 about receiving one another. He wrote, " Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, [but] not to doubtful disputations." (Romans 14:1). Christians were to receive the weaker brethren to shield them from the temptations that would draw them away before the judgment of Christ that was imminent. As the persecution increased, it would be harder and harder for weaker Christians to maintain their faith and the distractions of the liberties of stronger Christians that violated the conscience of the weaker was something they did not need. Paul adds that Christians were to receive one another as Christ received all Christians, both weak and strong to the glory of God (Romans 9:21; 1 Cor. 12:20-27). 
==Romans 15:8==
8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: 
Paul here returns to the primary premise of his letter, the idea of salvation without regard to physical heritage. Jesus was a Jew in order to confirm the promises God made to folks like Abraham on down through the age. Herein, Paul makes a succinct reference to the whole point of Judaism: to bring about Christ according to God's promises. In the next verse he concludes this thought with the Gentiles glorifying God because those promises included them as recipients of the plan of salvation along with the Jews. To this end Paul quotes a number of OT passages, just in case someone still wasn't getting the point that the Gentiles received equal salvation under the Law of Christ. 
==Romans 15:9==
9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. 
From Psa. 18:49 (again, read the whole chapter with Paul's time period in mind and see what happens). The Gentiles would glorify God for Christ's sake as David prophesied. 
==Romans 15:10==
10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. 
Once more we find ourselves in the song of Moses, the very end of it in fact! (Deut. 32:43) As I type this I am shaking my head at the absolute power and harmony of the scriptures. I can only hope that others see what I see and I weep for those who reject God's Word to any extent for the thoughts of mere men. 
==Romans 15:11==
11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. 
Psa. 117:1-2. Just read it. 
==Romans 15:12==
12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. 
Paul is still talking about Christ. Here he quotes Isaiah 11, specifically verse 10, but read the whole chapter! In what day? In the last days when the root of Jesse shall become King of all nations, both Jew and Gentile alike. For those who are millennialists who are still looking for a future literal fulfillment of animals all lying down together in peace, Paul directly ties those terms to Christ and they are symbolic of the various nations coming together in peace under Christ. The Holy Spirit through Paul does so much better at declaring the meaning of Isaiah than I ever could. I can only grow in my belief that the Bible truly is the only necessary and useful interpreter of the Bible. We commentators are but poor shadows in comparison. 
==Romans 15:13==
13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost. 
As Paul listed God's attributes above as patience and consolation, here he lists the attribute of hope. The source of joy and peace is hope based in faith no matter what happened to the Christians Paul wrote to. (See 1 Cor. 13:13)
From what then does hope spring? Belief. And from what does faith come? The word of God (Romans 10:17). What then is the power of the Holy Ghost here? Not miracles, but the inspired word as Paul has just finished iterating for us with several quotes from it. Verse 13 cannot be read in isolation but is a restatement of verse 4. If one is confused about what the power of the Holy Ghost is, Paul just defined it for us. It is the same as the power of God (Romans 1:16) and the power of Christ (2 Cor. 12:9). 
==Romans 15:14==
14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. 
Go back to Romans 1:11. Paul wants to come there to bestow some miraculous gifts to help them get established as a congregation. Yet he is already persuaded that they are full of knowledge. Their spiritual fruits were already blooming without the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit which they did not have yet. This directly relates back to the previous verses where Paul desires them to be filled with joy and peace and hope and unity. He is tying his points together nicely here. 
==Romans 15:15-16==
15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God, 16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. 
Though he is persuaded that they are filled with the knowledge they need, he is still compelled to write to them in bold words to remind them of his ministry of the gospel to the Gentiles in order that the Gentiles might be acceptable to God as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2). 
That last phrase is a key phrase though. He writes that his ministry (his requirement to preach the gospel to the Gentiles) is for the purpose of making the Gentiles acceptable. How are they made acceptable? By being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. What is the power of the Holy Ghost? The gospel (see vs.13 above). This verse is key not only in understanding much of what Paul says regarding the Holy Ghost here, but in other places where he mentions being sealed by the Holy Ghost (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30; Rev. 7). 
DO NOT SKIM OVER THIS CHAPTER! Go back and fully understand what Paul is saying in this chapter in context and with regard to the Holy Spirit. 
==Romans 15:17==
17 I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God. 
Paul then draws the conclusion based on the ministry given to him that he has something to glory about through Christ in those things that pertain to God. Those things are the teachings he has delivered personally to the Gentiles. He is in these two verses also giving thanks to God for the job God gave him to do. 
==Romans 15:18-20==
18 For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient, by word and deed, 19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. 20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation: 
Paul states here that he has preached the gospel as far and as wide as he could, taking care not to overlap where others have worked primarily to keep from weakening his claim to the office of apostle. Had he been going around behind others rather than laying foundations, his claim to being an Apostle would be an empty claim as the Apostles were those sent first to preach the gospel, to be the foundation (we see this in Revelation 21:14) of the New Jerusalem, the church. 
Please consider what Paul says, though. The preaching of the gospel is to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed. Paul opened with obedience in chapter 1 and he is bringing his letter to a close with the same concept. Obedience is what the gospel ultimately produces, not just faith alone, but faith that demands action so that the obedient might be saved. (Heb. 5:9). 
==Romans 15:21==
21 But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand. 
Paul has alluded to Isaiah 52 before in his letter (Romans 10:15) and he returns there (and I suggest again that you read the whole chapter from Paul's perspective) to the very last verse, 52:15. Here is Isa. 52:13-15: 
* "Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for [that] which had not been told them shall they see; and [that] which they had not heard shall they consider."
 Christ is the servant in the context and He is the Savior of many nations (the Gentiles). Remember, the Gentiles did not receive the oracles of God (Rom. 3:2) so they "had not been told" of the promise of the coming salvation. Yet with the preaching of the gospel, they see and consider those things they had not heard before. 
==Romans 15:22==
22 For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you. 
Paul is slow to come to Rome because he is laying so much foundation where others have not yet been. Rome is already founded by other non-Apostles and Paul puts priority on laying the foundation rather than working to further establish already extant congregations. 
==Romans 15:23-24==
23 But now having no more place in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you; 24 Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. 
Paul lays out his plans to finally come there, iterating his desire in chapter 1. 
==Romans 15:25-26==
25 But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. 26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem. 
A direct reference to what is written in 1 Cor. 16 and other places. 
==Romans 15:27==
27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things. 
Paul here speaks of the Macedonians and Achaians and others who contributed toward addressing the poverty in Jerusalem. They were well pleased feeling indebted to the Christians in Jerusalem to whom they sent their funds because it was the church at Jerusalem who first sent out the gospel to the rest of the world (Isa. 2:3) and so the Gentiles were thereby were able to be saved. If the Gentiles were given spiritual meat and wealth by the Christians at Jerusalem, then what small thing is it to see to the physical needs of those Christians at Jerusalem? 
==Romans 15:28==
28 When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.
 When Paul is done delivering the money to Jerusalem, he intends to head to Spain through Rome. 
==Romans 15:29-31==
29 And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. 30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; 31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints; 
Paul here addresses some concerns that we see come to fruition toward the end of Acts. His thorn in the side, the Jews that were following him around causing problems with the churches, were always seeking ways to hurt Paul. In Jerusalem, they had the most earthly authority to do so. Paul therefore asks for the prayers of the Christians in Rome. 
Interesting to me also is that he asks them to pray that the service, which he has for Jerusalem, might be accepted by the Christians there. In this, I think he refers not only of the money he has collected for them, but also his work with the Gentiles. 
==Romans 15:32-33==
32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed. 33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. 
With these statements he ends the primary meat of his letter, though he will have some things to say in his salutation. In these words he speaks again of joy by the will of God and the God of peace, reminding them of the words he had just written. 
What a powerful chapter! I wish I had heard it preached on more thoroughly and more completely growing up. 
In Truth and Love.
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Category:Apocalyptic