Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
ROMANS 15
1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed 9 and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing the praises of your name.”
10 Again, it says,
“Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”
11 And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
let all the peoples extol him.”
12 And again, Isaiah says,
“The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.”
13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Paul the Minister to the Gentiles
14 I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. 15 Yet I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
17 Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 18 I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— 19 by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 20 It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. 21 Rather, as it is written:
“Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.”
22 This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.
Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome
23 But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, 24 I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25 Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem. 27 They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. 28 So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this contribution, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way. 29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.
30 I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. 31 Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord’s people there, 32 so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed. 33 The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Application Notes
15:4 The knowledge of the Scriptures affects our attitudes toward the present and the future. The more we know about what God has done in years past, the greater the confidence we have about what he will do in the days ahead. We should read our Bibles diligently to increase our trust that God's will is best for us.
15:5-7 The Roman church was a diverse community. It was made up of Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free people, rich and poor, strong and weak in faith. So they had difficulty accepting one another. Accepting means taking people into our homes as well as into our hearts, sharing meals and activities, and avoiding racial and economic discrimination. We must go out of our way to avoid favoritism. Consciously spend time greeting those you don't normally talk to, minimize differences, and seek common ground for fellowship. In this way you are accepting others as Christ has accepted you, and God is given glory.
15:13 These words form Paul's benediction for his letter. What follows next are his personal plans for travel and greetings. He gives confident assurance to his readers by reminding them that God gives us our hope. Paul isn't talking about having an optimistic attitude for a better day tomorrow. We cannot create or talk ourselves into this kind of hope on our own. God gives it as a gift of the Holy Spirit (8:23-24). The hope Paul speaks of means being confident of our resurrection with new bodies in the new earth. With hope, God gives us joy right now as we anticipate what he has ahead for us and as we have the privilege of doing his work and will day by day. We have peace as we rest in the assurance that God will do as he has promised.
15:17-18 Paul did not want to boast about what he had done but about what God had done through him. Being proud of God's work is not a sin-it is worship. If you are not sure whether your pride is selfish or holy, ask yourself this question: Are you just as proud of what God is doing through other people as you are of what he is doing through you?
15:19 lllyricum was a Roman territory on the Adriatic Sea between present-day Italy and Greece. (See the map on page 1944.)
15:20 Paul wrote that he had ambition to share the gospel wherever it hadn't been shared. Paul was single-minded in his focus. We are sometimes uncomfortable with people who show this kind of passion. We've probably all seen bad examples of passionate people who take advantage of some and push others out of their way to accomplish their goals. But that isn't the kind of passion one sees in Paul. Instead of looking out for himself and working hard for personal advancement, he was passionate in his service of God--for Paul, that meant "to preach the gospel where Christ was not known." Are you passionate for God? Do you want, more than anything else, to please him and to do his will? Ask him for a holy and passionate calling and the strength and courage to fulfill it.
15:22 Paul wanted to visit the church in Rome, but he had delayed his visit because he knew there was a more urgent need elsewhere. He had heard many good reports about the believers in Rome, and he knew they were doing well on their own. His higher priority was to preach in areas that had not yet heard the gospel.
15:23-24 Paul was referring to the completion of his work in Corinth, the city from which he most likely wrote this letter. Most of Paul's threemonth stay in Achaia (Acts 20:2-3) was probably spent in Corinth. He believed that he had accomplished what God wanted him to do there, and he was looking forward to taking the gospel to new lands west of Rome. When Paul eventually went to Rome, however, he was a prisoner tActs 28). Tradition says that Paul was released for a time and that he used this opportunity to go to Spain to preach the Good News. This journey is not mentioned in the book of Acts.
15:28 Paul's future plan was to go to Spain because Spain was at the very western end of the civilised world. He wanted to take Christianity there. Also, Spain had many great minds and influential leaders in the Roman world (Lucan, Martial, Hadrian), and perhaps Paul thought Christianity would advance greatly in such an atmosphere.
15:30 Too often we see prayer as a time for comfort, reflection, or making requests to God. But here Paul urges believers to join in his struggle by means of prayer. Prayer is a weapon that all believers should use in interceding for others. Many of us know believers who live in difficult places in order to communicate the gospel. Supporting them financially is part of joining them in their struggle, but prayer is also a crucial way of supporting them. Missionaries strongly desire the prayers of those who have sent them. Do your prayers reflect that struggle on behalf of others?
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)