Chapter Fifteen

Necessary self-restraint for the benefit of one’s neighbor (1–4). On the necessity of unity between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians (5–13). On the tone of the epistle to the Romans (14–21). The Apostle’s missionary plans (22–33).

Romans 15:1. We who are strong ought to bear with the weaknesses of those who are weak and not to please ourselves. The Apostle confirms his admonitions to the strong in faith with the example of the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who displayed the most perfect self-sacrifice for the salvation of weak humanity. “Ought.” The Apostle now speaks not of what prompts us to be patient with the weak in faith (cf. Rom 14:21), but of what obliges us to do so: this is the example of Christ (v. 3). The Apostle continues here his discussion of the difference in opinions. Earlier (Rom 14:2) he appealed to the strong, calling on their nobility; now he makes it their duty to spare those who are weak in faith.

Romans 15:2. Let each of us please his neighbor, for his good, for his edification. Romans 15:3. For even Christ did not please himself, but, as it is written: the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. The words of the psalm can be understood both in the sense that Christ took upon himself the reproaches that people were actually directing at God, and in the sense that Christ took upon himself responsibility for the reproaches (that is, the sins) of people, or, finally, in the sense that Christ endured suffering for the house of God, for the Church, endured it out of love for his brothers. According to the context of the passage in the psalm, here too it is better to give the Apostle’s words this last meaning. Christ accepted all these sufferings completely voluntarily and could have declined to take them upon himself.

Romans 15:4. Now whatever was written in former times was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might maintain hope. The more endurance or steadfastness in self-restraint for the benefit of our brothers in faith we show, the stronger our hope becomes that by this path we will attain our cherished goal — future greatness in the kingdom of glory. The Scriptures of the Old Testament are in this regard a consolation to us: they contain no small number of accounts of how the Lord crowned the endurance of those who suffered.

Romans 15:5. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to be of one mind with one another, according to the teaching of Christ Jesus, From tolerance toward others’ opinions the Apostle now moves on to the unanimity that should reign in the Christian church: Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians must, following Christ’s example, accept one another, and the Apostle prays to God to strengthen the Christians in mutual love. That a new section begins here is apparent from the fact that the “unanimity” the Apostle now desires for the believers is something different from mutual forbearance. Now the question arises whether differences of opinion regarding the very essence of Christianity are possible, and the Apostle says that in this sphere one should not merely maintain a mutually tolerant attitude between Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians and vice versa, nor preserve particular views while outwardly accommodating oneself to others’ perspectives — no, here an inner unity must of necessity exist. What is required here is not that Christians know how to treat the views of the opposing party with tolerance; there should be no parties at all, and Christians must form in Christ a single union among themselves, setting aside all distinctions. — “According to the teaching of Christ Jesus” — more precisely: “according to the example of Jesus Christ.” Christ is the ideal by which we must live and feel. — Since this unanimity is a difficult matter, the Apostle gives his exhortation to unanimity the form of a prayerful wish: “Let God himself grant it to you!”

Romans 15:6. so that with one accord, with one voice, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. To this unity in thought and disposition must be added the awareness that we all have one goal — the glory of God. If we all, whatever nation we belong to, seek only the glory of God, every opposition between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians will disappear.

Romans 15:7. Therefore welcome one another, just as Christ also welcomed you, to the glory of God. “Therefore,” that is, in order to glorify God, Christians must for their part, in order to achieve the desired unity, extend a hand to one another. They are prompted to do this already by the fact that God himself in Christ has received into his Kingdom equally both Jews and Gentiles. — “To the glory of God.” These words relate to the expression “welcomed.” The Apostle wishes to say by this that Christ, our model, likewise had in view, in accomplishing his redemptive work, the glory of God, which should serve as our highest goal.

Romans 15:8. I mean that Jesus Christ became a servant to the circumcised — for the sake of God’s faithfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the fathers, Romans 15:9. and for the Gentiles — out of mercy, so that they might glorify God, as it is written: therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, O Lord, and will sing to your name. Explaining the work of Christ, the Apostle says that in his ministry to the Jews Christ demonstrated God’s faithfulness, showing that God fulfills precisely the promises given to the forefathers of the Jewish people regarding salvation through the Messiah. Conversely, in relation to the Gentiles, Christ manifested God’s mercy, which, so to speak, unexpectedly bestowed upon the Gentile world the same salvation that the Jews had received. Since Christ preached the Gospel directly only to the Jews, the Apostle calls him a servant (διάκονος) to the circumcised — and only to them! The Gentiles, however, he received into the church indirectly, for example, through the Apostle Paul.

Romans 15:10. And again it says: rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people. Romans 15:11. And again: praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples glorify him. Romans 15:12. Isaiah also says: the root of Jesse will come, and he will rise to rule over the nations; in him the Gentiles will place their hope. This union of Jews and Gentiles in the Church of Christ was foretold already in Ps 17:50; Deut 32:43, Isa 11:10. Since the Gentiles had less reason to hope for salvation than the Jews, they for their part should glorify God more than the Jews — both of these thoughts are expressed in the indicated passages of the Old Testament. In the first, David, as a type of the Messiah, declares that he wishes to praise God among the Gentiles — naturally, for the salvation granted to them. In the second and third, the Gentiles themselves are called to give glory to God. In the last, finally, it is added that the salvation in Christ, in which they already boast even now, is at the same time the foundation of their hopes for a better future.

Romans 15:13. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle has just spoken of hope, and since he attaches great importance to it in the life of the Christian, he now expresses to his readers his wish that they may abound in this hope as fully as possible. Since they cannot give it to themselves, the Apostle desires that God would establish them in hope: for from him comes all hope! (the God of hope). By hope here the Apostle means Christian hope in its highest development (cf. ch. VIII): this hope is the fruit of the virtuous life that Christians lead having received the power of the Holy Spirit. It is the same as the assurance of salvation (πίστις) of which the Apostle spoke in ch. VIII, or the same as joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom 14:17). People do not arrive at such joyful assurance of future salvation all at once, but gradually, having had in their lives many confirmations of the existence of grace and of God’s faithfulness. To be established in this hope we must preserve in ourselves the peace we received after justification, and the joy over our redemption, and this peace and joy must become full and perfect (all joy and peace). And all this must be grounded in faith (ἐν τῷ πιστεύειν). The thought of the entire apostolic wish can therefore be expressed as follows: “Stand firm and grow in faith, so that God may give you more and more joy and peace, and that you may thus arrive at the fullness of hope, which is of course possible only when you are living a life truly pleasing to God, in the power of the Holy Spirit.” — This conclusion of the Apostle’s exhortations is fully in harmony with the beginning of the epistle (Rom 1:16). As there, so here, the power of God is set forth as the source of all salvation; as here, so there, faith is the alpha and omega of Christian life.

Romans 15:14. I myself am convinced about you, my brothers, that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another; The Apostle explains his bold approach to the Roman church in the role of teacher by the fact that God himself called him to this. Moreover, he points to the great results of his preaching activity, which clearly testify that this activity always stood under the influence of Christ’s power. This success gives him the right to address a didactic epistle to the Roman church. “Full of goodness” (ἀγαθωσύνη) — by this the Apostle says that the Roman Christians are in general very good people. — Full of “knowledge,” that is, well-versed in Christian doctrines.

Romans 15:15. but I have written to you rather boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them, by the grace given to me by God “Rather boldly” — more precisely: somewhat more boldly (than the circumstances of your life seemed to require). — “On some points.” Consequently, not the entire epistle is written in such a somewhat bold tone, but only a certain part of it. — “As if to remind you,” that is, as a teacher addressing his students.

Romans 15:16. to be a minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, performing the sacred work of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles, sanctified by the Holy Spirit, might be acceptable to God “The offering of the Gentiles” — more precisely: “the offering or sacrifice consisting of Gentiles.” — The Apostle calls himself a “minister of Jesus Christ” (λειτουργός) in the sense that his activity resembles the public services of wealthy and generous citizens to their city (λειτουργοί). He does not spare himself.

Romans 15:17. So I have reason to boast in Christ Jesus in what pertains to God, “I have reason to boast,” that is, I can come forward as an authoritative teacher of the faith. In Christ Jesus — that is, on the ground that I am a minister of Jesus Christ. — “In what pertains to God.” He boasts not in all respects, but only as a religious figure. This boast, consequently, does not exclude humility before God.

Romans 15:18. for I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in bringing the Gentiles to obedience to the faith, by word and deed, Romans 15:19. by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem and the surrounding region as far as Illyricum I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. The Apostle expresses here two thoughts. One is: “I cannot tell you anything that is not the work of Christ,” and the other: “I would not venture to say this if it were not the work of Christ.” Thus the Apostle explains his boldness by the fact that he does everything in the name of Christ and by his command. — That Christ himself through the Apostle calls the Gentiles is also attested by the signs and wonders performed by the Apostle, for which, however, the Apostle gives the honor to the Spirit of God, who grants the power to perform these miracles. — “From Jerusalem and the surrounding region.” Since the Apostle did not come forward with preaching about Christ in Jerusalem itself, it is more correct to understand the conjunction “and” as explanatory and translate it: “from Jerusalem — namely, from the region of Jerusalem.” This expression can therefore refer both to Damascus and to Arabia, where the Apostle Paul did indeed come forward with preaching about Christ.

Romans 15:20. Moreover, I made it my ambition to proclaim the gospel not where Christ had already been named, so as not to build on someone else’s foundation, Romans 15:21. but as it is written: those who were never told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand. The Apostle notes that he generally avoided preaching in places where the name of Christ had already been proclaimed by someone else. He sees the proper office of an apostle in the founding of new Christian churches (1 Cor 3:10 and following, and 1 Cor 9:2 and following).

Romans 15:22. This is also why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. As he plans to travel to Spain, the Apostle intends to stop in Rome as well; but now he is going to Jerusalem with the charitable gift collected by the Greek churches. At the same time, the Apostle asks the Romans for their prayers on his behalf, so that his journey to Jerusalem might go well for him. The reason the Apostle had not yet visited Rome was that in the East there were still many places where the name of Christ was not yet known.

Romans 15:23. But now, having no more room in these regions, and having had a desire for many years to come to you, Romans 15:24. as soon as I set out on my journey to Spain, I will come to you. For I hope that while passing through I will see you and that you will send me on my way there, once I have first enjoyed your company for a while. “You will send me on my way.” Brothers who had come from afar were customarily escorted by local Christians upon their departure (cf. 1 Cor 16:6). — “For a while.” The Apostle cannot stay long in Rome, and so he will not be able to enjoy the fellowship of the Roman Christians to the full.

Romans 15:25. But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints, Romans 15:26. for Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. From this it is evident that Paul is in Greece at the time of sending the epistle. — On the collection of charitable gifts for the Jerusalem Christians, see 1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 8-9; Acts 24:17.

Romans 15:27. They were pleased to do it, and indeed they are debtors to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to minister to them in material things. Here the Apostle aims to prompt the Roman Christians as well to follow the example of the Greek Christian churches in the matter of charitable giving.

Romans 15:28. When I have completed this and have delivered this fruit of their contribution to them securely, I will go on by way of your city to Spain, Romans 15:29. and I know that when I come to you I will come with the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ. Here what was said in verse 27 is repeated, with only the addition that Paul on his part promises to bring the Romans the full blessing of the gospel of Christ. — “Delivered securely” — more precisely: having sealed it (σφραγισάμενος). The Apostle wishes to say by this that the delivery of the charitable gift from the Greek churches to Jerusalem will be a seal or proof that Gentile Christians recognize the great significance of the Jerusalem church, from which Christianity spread throughout the world. — “With the fullness of the blessing” — cf. Rom 1:11.

Romans 15:30. Now I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, Romans 15:31. that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea and that my ministry for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, The Apostle fears both the unbelieving Jews, who may bring charges against him for apostasy from the faith (he did indeed become their victim — see Acts 21:27 and following), and he is not entirely confident that the Jerusalem Christians will receive him in a friendly manner and accept his gift.

Romans 15:32. so that I may come to you with joy, if it is God’s will, and find refreshment with you. Romans 15:33. The God of peace be with you all. Amen. “The God of peace.” The Apostle gives God this name here out of his confidence that God will indeed send him the peace and rest he so greatly needs now as he goes into a region hostile to him.