1We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me."[1] 4For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
5May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, 6so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews[2] on behalf of God's truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs 9so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written:
"Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing hymns to your name."[3] 10Again, it says,
"Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people."[4] 11And again,
"Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and sing praises to him, all you peoples."[5] 12And again, Isaiah says,
"The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
the Gentiles will hope in him."[6]
13May 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
14I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. 15I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with 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.
17Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 18I 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-- 19by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 20It 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. 21Rather, as it is written:
"Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand."[7] 22This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.
Paul's Plan to Visit Rome
23But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you, 24I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. 25Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. 26For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 27They 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. 28So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way. 29I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.
30I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. 31Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, 32so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. 33The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
Paul continues the theme from chapter 14 regarding the strong and weak brethren. And he continues the theme from
chapter 12, that we should love one another in view of God’s mercy toward us. He also wraps up the main purpose
of his teaching with v13. V14 and on is his conclusion. Notice several points in these verses:-
V1-3 – Rather than please ourselves, we strong in faith should strive to build up those around us. We’ve already
defined the weak-in-faith, so let me simply point out that Paul acknowledges their failings, yet commands the
strong-in-faith to bear with them or put up with them or be patient with them or bear their burdens in support
and love, even and especially when that means sacrificing self-pleasure. Not surprisingly, Paul counts himself
among the strong. And he says that we should please our neighbors for their good. Compare Galatians 1:10. We
don’t try to please men in that sense, because that is essentially pleasing self. Rather we please our neighbor
for God’s glory, and out of love for him and for his good, to build him up as we mentioned last time. God’s glory
and praise is ultimate according to Paul.
Paul then turns to the Old Testament to show that Jesus Christ Our Lord did the same thing when He was Incarnate
on this earth. No better example could be found of a man not pleasing Himself for the sake of the welfare of
others. He bore the failings of His disciples in an ultimate way and experienced a greater joy by pleasing others
rather than Himself. “For the joy set before Him He endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). He denied Himself and took
up His cross. He lived for others; and He died for others.
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V4 – Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the
encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. What can be added here? Paul eloquently and elegantly
expresses an amazing truth: the Scriptures, the Old Testament, were written to teach and encourage believers
in Christ to endure with hope. We’ve seen Paul give examples of this idea earlier in Romans. He told us that
Abraham experienced all that he did not for his own benefit but for ours. He told us that Jacob was chosen
unconditionally to teach us about God’s sovereignty in salvation. And Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, says that
the events and circumstances surrounding the Exodus happened to serve a purpose greater than theirs; what went
on over the 40 year wanderings were for us, not merely for them. Considering all of that both humbles me and
makes me feel much valued.
The Bible is first and foremost for our instruction – to teach us. 2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is God-breathed
and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” We need the Bible to inform and
reshape our minds. There is no godliness apart from right thinking. Now, godliness is more than right thinking,
but the way to the heart, the way to the affections, is through the mind. That’s why God gave us a book! Bible
means “The Book.” And it’s not just some of the Scriptures. Every word is God’s Word and useful and worthy of
our study. God would not have included it if it weren’t useful for the edification of His people.
The Scriptures are the source of our endurance and encouragement. Other translations render these two words,
“patience” and “comfort.” The believer whose mind is saturated with the Scriptures will be “encouraged to endure”
or “patiently comforted” even under the most difficult of circumstances. Paul uses the Greek word, “paraclete,”
for “comforted” or “encouraged.” Jesus calls the Holy Spirit a paraclete, a comforter, an encourager, a defender.
It comes from the legal context, and the idea is that in this spiritual war where physical persecution is a
reality, we have the Holy Spirit as Someone who knows us and defends us and encourages us and comforts us and
preserves us. And the result of the Holy Spirit’s work in us is hope, just as we saw in Romans 5:1-11, where
God poured out His love in us by the Holy Spirit. We’ll see again tonight how this hope is wrought in us by the
God of hope in v13.
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V5-7 – Paul’s prayer that the Body of Christ would experience unity to the glory of God and accept one another to
bring praise to God. In v4, it is the Scriptures that give us encouragement and endurance; and here in v5, it is
God Himself who gives us these things. It’s just a clear testimony from Paul of the truth of what John wrote to
begin his Gospel: “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God” (John 1:1). God
is the Word; the Word is God communicating Himself to His people.
Paul prays for unity to the glory of God. The word “unity” that he uses might better be translated, “unanimity,”
and of course, that’s like our English word “unanimous.” Unanimous is made up of “unun,” which means, “one,” and
“animus,” which means, “mind.” Therefore, Paul is praying that the believers in Rome, made up of Jews and Gentiles
with very different backgrounds and passions and lifestyles and occupations and political slants, be of one mind,
one heart, and one mouth, in order to glorify God. Again – priority # 1 = God’s glory! And we can’t have unity
unless God unites us – so Paul prays for unity, that God would be glorified.
We might ask, “How is it possible for believers to be of the same mind? How can we think alike? How can we be
unanimous? How can we be in agreement?” The key is found at the end of v5, which would be better rendered,
“according to Jesus Christ,” rather than “as you follow Jesus Christ.” Our thinking is to line up with His
thinking. He is the standard. Our thinking must line up with His thinking, and His thinking is revealed in
God’s Word. If either you or I or both of us disagree with Christ, then we will not be of the same mind. And
what value is it that we agree with each other if we disagree with God’s Standard? God’s people must make every
effort to line up with Jesus Christ and His Word. We must love what He loves, hate what He hates, and think what
He thinks.
Notice that we glorify “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” The point in this language is that God is
Jesus’ God, but also His Father. It’s essentially another claim to Jesus’ deity. Titus 2:13; 2 Peter 1:1 Finally
to glorify God is why we accept one another in our differences, to bring Him praise. God’s glory is Paul’s main
point throughout.
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V8-13 – Paul’s quick summary of Romans 9-11. Christ became a servant of the Jews to confirm God’s promises to
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in order that the Gentiles glorify God for His mercy. This is another way for Paul
to express the truth found in Romans 9-11. Have the promises of God to His people failed? Of course not! Jesus
Christ came! He came as a Jew. He came to the Jews. He came to confirm and fulfill the promises of God to them.
The promises of God to the Jews were confirmed by Christ’s perfect life of service and His death, burial, and
resurrection. The Jews could always appeal to God to keep His promises to them, and now they can glorify God,
because He so faithfully kept His promises and honored His covenant commitments. Furthermore, note that the
Gentiles could not appeal to God on the basis of His promises. They were not part of God’s covenant with Abraham.
They could only cry out for mercy. And Christ’s Incarnation worked all that out to perfection as well. The
Gentiles could glorify God because of His mercy in Christ. And this is additional support that Jesus is the
only way.
And as usual, when Paul offers a difficult truth, he returns to the Old Testament for proof that his teaching
is not new. Here he quotes 4 passages to show that the Gentiles were prophesied to be included. These 4 passages
come from all of the major sections of the Old Testament – the law, the prophets, and the psalms. He’s proving
that this is not a peripheral issue. It is the central theme! And this teaching is inline with Romans 3:29-30:
“Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only One
God, Who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.” The point is that
to the Jews, God is true to His Word and faithful to His promises, and to the Gentiles God is gracious in
abounding and overflowing mercy!
Now, Paul has just come to the end of his argumentation in the most important polemical presentation of the
Gospel and its effects ever written in the history of man, and how does he conclude it? Paul concludes it with
prayer – another prayer – that the God of hope would fill His people with all joy and peace in order that His
people would overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. God always delights in what He is doing, and
we get to experience His delight and His joy as we trust in Jesus and are filled with His Holy Spirit and adopted
as sons as co-heirs with Christ. God is never troubled about anything, and we get to share His peace even though
we live in a troubled world (John 16:33). It is amazing that we can be abounding and overflowing in hope, even we
who were once described as “separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel, and foreigners to the
covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12). Hope is the work of God
which He performs in us through our faith in the promise that we, the Gentiles, are included in the great
salvation of God. “May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace so that you may overflow with hope by the
power of the Holy Spirit.”
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V14-19 – Paul is convinced that he has done his duty in this letter. Paul offers 4 E’s in this section. First he
estimated the Roman believers. Second he explained why he wrote so boldly. Third he exalted God for his ministry.
Fourth he evangelized throughout his given territory.
First, Paul estimates, in fact he is convinced, that the Roman believers are full of goodness, complete in
knowledge, and competent to teach each other. He gives 3 signs of healthy Christianity. (1) “Full of goodness”
means indwelled by the Holy Spirit. Goodness is a fruit of the Spirit, and Jesus said that “No one is good—except
God alone” (Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19). Thus believers are “full of goodness,” because they have God’s goodness,
God’s Holy Spirit in them. While this is great and wonderful and gracious of God, the next one is even more
impressive to me. (2) “Complete in knowledge” is quite an impressive phrase. But the same explanation applies
here. Believers are filled with Christ. He is in us. And He certainly is complete in knowledge, so there is a
sense in which we are as well. However, we use some 10% of our brain, so, though we are “complete in knowledge,”
we never (rarely?) exhibit that faculty. Here though, Paul is referring to an understanding of doctrine. And it
makes sense that Paul can say that to this group, because his letter that he is about to complete to them is
itself full of knowledge. Having heard and taken to heart what Paul has to say, they are indeed “complete in
knowledge.” (3) Finally, Paul is convinced that the Roman believers are “competent to teach each other.” The
verb might better be translated “admonish” or “warn.” Warning one another is a manifestation of genuine love.
The person who clearly sees a danger and fails to warn is not exhibiting love, but hatred. Therefore a failure
to warn God’s people is due to one of two things: a lack of love or a failure to discern dangers. Yet there is
a fine line here: Warning people without edifying and encouraging them would be to their destruction. Paul is
confident that the Roman believers could bring about Biblically positive change in each other through gentle
and peaceful confrontation with each other out of genuine concern for each other. So to summarize, a healthy
Christian is full of goodness, complete in knowledge, and able to teach or admonish his brothers.
Second, Paul explains his bold assertions. Paul acknowledges that his letter contained bold words, and the reason
is to bring sanctification. The source of Paul’s boldness is found in the grace of God, which produced his
unquenchable desire to see the sanctification of his converts. Neither Paul nor God Himself are satisfied with a
profession of faith; they want to see lives turned inside out by the work of the Holy Spirit, and both of them
work to bring that to pass. God works through Paul in Romans to make it happen. Philippians 1:6 “He who began a
good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
Third, Paul exalts God for his ministry. John MacArthur said, “No brush takes credit for a masterpiece it was
used to paint. No violin takes credit for the beautiful music the musician makes with it.” Here Paul once again
acknowledges that grace has made him what he is – a minister of the Gospel to the Gentiles to bring them to the
obedience of faith. And he glories in God that he has served in this capacity and credits Christ for accomplishing
through him the proclaiming of the Gospel to the Gentiles and bringing about the obedience of faith. Notice that
Paul ministered as a priest. He offered an acceptable offering unto God, the believing Gentiles. Numbers 8:9-15
Aaron offered the Levites before the Lord “that they may be ready to do the work of the Lord;” so also
believer-priests (Paul and you and me) are to offer Gentiles converts before the Lord that they may serve Him.
God is well pleased when Gentile converts are offered up to Him, because it is His plan to take “from the Gentiles
a people for Himself” (Acts 15:14). Isaiah 66:18-20 Also notice that Paul has brought about the obedience that
comes from faith, or the obedience of faith. We talked about this as Paul’s primary purpose as explained in Romans
1:5. Obedience to God is faith. 1 John 3:23 And sanctification is the obedience that results from faith, that
comes from faith. God has both brought the Roman believers to faith and to the process of sanctification through
the Holy Spirit and through the ministry of Paul, and Paul knows it and is excited about it. 1 Corinthians 15:10
In all Paul’s work—and in all our work—it is God who works. Romans 11:36 “For from Him and through Him and to Him
are all things. To Him be the glory forever! Amen.”
Before moving on to the fourth E, notice that Paul’s ministry was confirmed as legitimate by the miracles that
the Holy Spirit worked through him. 2 Corinthians 12:12 Paul’s miracles included: Acts 13:6-12 Elymas the sorcerer
struck with blindness; Acts 14:1-3 Signs and wonders in Iconium; Acts 14:8-10 A crippled man healed in Lystra;
Acts 16:16-18 A demon cast out of the for-profit prophesying slave girl; Acts 16:25 ff. Miraculous deliverance
from prison; Acts 19:11-20 Many were healed and demons cast out. The results of these miracles included: belief,
astonishment, fear, growth and prevalence of the Word of God, and magnification of the name of the Lord Jesus.
And this confirms additionally that God does the work; salvation is all of God and all of grace. But God uses
means – and we are privileged to participate.
Fourth, notice that Paul’s mission to evangelize the Gentiles in this region has been completed. His “sales”
territory was from Jerusalem, the southeast boundary to Illyricum, the northwest boundary (north and west of
Macedonia and Achaia). The distance between these two boundaries was about 1400 miles (and Paul did not just
minister in a straight line, but all throughout this area). Acts, of course, does not specifically mention Paul’s
trip to Illyricum, but it may have taken place at the time of Acts 20:1-2 or perhaps during his stay in Corinth,
from whence he wrote Romans. Paul was a seeder, a church planter. And he had saturated the region with start-ups.
Others, like Apollos and Timothy and Titus, were waterers, and they could stay in this region and work with the
churches that Paul planted. But Paul fulfilled his mission. What a special thing to be able to say about yourself.
2 Timothy 4:6-8 This was said of John the Baptist who “completed his work” (Acts 13:25). As Paul testified to the
gospel of the grace of God, he was determined to declare the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:24,27). This is
contrary to our day where only the bare minimum is proclaimed in order to avoid doctrines that potentially
divide or offend. The teaching of the more difficult doctrines within Christian theology must not be ignored,
as Paul proclaimed them boldly. 1 Corinthians 1:1-11
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V20-29 – Paul’s ambition and travel plans. Though Paul preached the Gospel passionately to all, there was a
special place in his heart for unbelievers who have not heard of Christ. Why? He gets to set the foundation.
If anyone other than Christ should be the foundation setter, it was Paul. Why? Paul and Jesus’ foundations
were one-in-the-same! Consider the importance of the Old Testament as foundational to the Gospel. Notice Paul’s
application of Isaiah 52:15 in v21. Isaiah says that God said, “Those who weren’t told will see, and those who
haven’t heard will understand,” and Paul aspires to be right in the middle of that. He wants to be involved in
God’s prophesied work.
Here’s a fifth E to add to the above. Paul expedited his travel plans. Paul acknowledged that in order to fulfill
the Old Testament prophecy that those who have not heard will understand, He has been kept from visiting Rome.
But now that he has fulfilled that work in this particular region, “all roads lead to Rome” – on the way to Spain.
The Old Testament prophecy still stands, and thus Paul will continue to reach the un-reached and church the
un-churched. Paul really wanted to visit Rome, as he mentioned in Romans 1:10-13, but was kept from there by
the Holy Spirit until his work was done. We talked about Paul’s continued attempts to get there while at the
same time submitting to the sovereign decretive will of God regarding the timing and the method by which he
would finally get there. So now that a foundation has been established in all the regions where he has traveled,
he’s expediting his plans to stop by Rome on his way to Spain. He has set his sights on the horizon, which of
course, never ends. And this is the passion for the Gospel that we all need to have.
Rome, having been evangelized and established, now becomes no longer Paul’s ends, but the means to his ends
(Spain). He wants the believers in Rome to contribute to his travels in every way, financially and prayerfully
and for mutual refreshment. Did Paul ever arrive in Spain? The Bible does not give us an answer. There are some
writings outside of the Bible which might indicate that he did arrive in Spain. Clement of Rome writes in his
first letter to the Corinthians (chapter 5): “Paul…after preaching both in the east and west, gained the
illustrious reputation due to his faith, having taught righteousness to the whole world, and come to the
extreme limit of the west, and suffered martyrdom under the prefects. Thus was he removed from the world,
and went into the holy place, having proved himself a striking example of patience”
(http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf01.ii.ii.v.html). The “extreme limit of the west” suggests Spain according
to most scholars, or even Britain according to some.
First, however, Paul has to go to Jerusalem to deliver an offering from the believers in Macedonia and Achaia
to support the poor within the Jerusalem congregation. Paul says that their contribution was both a cheerful
one and an obligated one. 1 Corinthians 16:1-4; Acts 11:27-30 Since the Gentiles get to share in the Jews’
spiritual blessings, the Gentiles should share their material blessings with the Jews. It is the privilege of
God’s church to support God’s individuals in and for God’s work here on earth.
Finally, Paul announces that, when he comes to Rome, he will come will the full measure of the blessing of
Christ. Paul not only preached the Gospel but he lived the Gospel; he was immersed in the Gospel, he was “set
apart for the Gospel” (Rom. 1:1). One could not find Paul without finding the blessing of the Gospel. One could
not meet Paul without having a full encounter with God’s good news. And when these believers met Paul, they met
the closest thing to Jesus that they’d see on earth. That’s the full measure of the blessing of Christ.
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V30-33 – Paul’s final requests. Paul commands (urges) the Roman believers to “join him in his struggle” by
praying to God for him by Jesus and the love of the Spirit. Notice first the clear mention of the Trinity.
Then notice how prayer warriors are just as important in the work of evangelism throughout the world as the
missionaries themselves. We join with the missionaries in their struggles, in their challenges, in their dangers,
by wrestling, by laboring, by fighting with God in prayer for them in the work of evangelism. His urging or
begging is essentially a command. He’s just mentioned that he was convicted of their standing and now he’s
saying, “If you have any regard for Jesus, then pray for me. If the Holy Spirit has worked in your heart the
love of God, then pray for me.” And we know what Paul was about to experience, but he didn’t know when writing
this letter. He was forewarned by the Spirit (Acts 20:22-24) that danger was ahead, but compelled to go; he
didn’t know how it would play out. 2 Corinthians 1:8-11
Notice next Paul’s threefold prayer request. First, he asks that the Roman believers pray for him to be rescued
from the unbelievers in Judea, which happened in a strange way. He was locked up for 2 years in Roman prisons to
be saved from the Jews. We could say that it was remarkable that Paul escaped Judea with his life. Acts 22:22
This is not s selfish request by Paul. He wants to be saved to serve in some form of ministry. And we should
as well. Second, he asks that they pray for his service in Jerusalem to be acceptable to the believers there.
Remember the Jerusalem believers weren’t extremely fond of Paul and his ministry to the Gentiles, because they
weren’t real excited about the non-Jews being included. They may have accepted it, but it took some time for
them to cherish the Gentiles as equal brothers in Christ. Nevertheless, Acts 21:17-20a tells us that the believers
in Jerusalem received Paul warmly and heard his testimony and praised God. He was humble, and they accepted him.
Third, and somewhat indirectly, Paul asks the Roman believers to pray that he would arrive in Rome by the will
of God with joy for a time of mutual refreshment or peaceful spiritual rest and renewal. Of course, we know that
Paul did arrive in Rome by the will of God, though again, in quite an unexpected manner, as a prisoner enduring a
lengthy and tumultuous journey. Philippians 1:12-14 Was he filled with joy and refreshed? Acts 28:14-16, 30-31
Indeed he was! He was encouraged and strengthened for more preaching.
Finally, see Paul’s benediction. “May the God of peace be with you all.” Regardless of our circumstances, the God
of peace gives peace when He gives Himself into our presence. What a great thing to say to someone: May God be
with you. And so, “May God be with you. Amen.”
Footnotes
- 15:3 Psalm 69:9
- 15:8 Greek circumcision
- 15:9 2 Samuel 22:50; Psalm 18:49
- 15:10 Deut. 32:43
- 15:11 Psalm 117:1
- 15:12 Isaiah 11:10
- 15:21 Isaiah 52:15
Bible text from
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International Bible Society.