Romans 15 - Part One

“We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him 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 endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:1-4 NIV)

It may help us to understand what the text means by “strong” and “weak” if we translate the two words as “able” and “unable”. The consciences of the first group made them able to eat things the other group was unable to eat, and able to do things on days that the other group could not in  good conscience do. the words “we who are strong” show that Paul belonged to the first group, but was happy to give up some of his own freedom and rights in order not to harm those in the second group. As he puts it here, it was a matter of priorities. “Pleasing” himself took a back seat to “pleasing” his christian neighbor “for his good, to build him up”. Those last two clauses are very important. Paul never advised Christians to conform to sinful behavior in order to please others. All accommodation was directed to the twin goals of the spiritual good of others, building up their faith in the Savior. Any accommodation that tended to weaken faith in Jesus or commitment to the scriptures was not for the other person’s “good”.

Jesus is the primary example. The insults that others normally directed to God and to his word, the scriptures, regularly fell on Jesus, since he was always loyal to god and to the scriptures. And because insulting God regularly takes the form of belittling the Bible, sometimes by pitting one part of it against another, Paul reminds his hearers that everything written in the earlier scriptures (which for him was the Old Testament) was to help us endure temptations and challenges to what we believe and how we live, and to encourage us with the prospect (“hope”) of Jesus’ ultimate victory.

15:5-12

“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth 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, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs 9 so 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.” 10 Again, it says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” 11 And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples.” 12 And 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.”” (Romans 15:5-12 NIV)

5-6 And although endurance and encouragement come through our study of the Bible, ultimately it is God who bestows it on us. And that God—Paul reminds these Romans—is the God of both Jews and gentiles, who wishes there to be no disunity between Jews and gentiles who believe in Jesus as the Messiah and Savior (“Christ Jesus” = “Messiah Jesus”). The words “with one heart and mouth” were intended to recall what he had written in Romans 10:9-10 “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved” (see my discussion of Romans 10:9-10).  This was and is today the basis for Christian fellowship, regardless of differences in race or culture.

7-12 Paul’s words here are mainly addressed to the gentiles, who were in the majority in the Roman churches at this time. And as we have seen earlier in this letter, Paul is combatting their tendency to discount the Jews, even including Jewish believers. So Paul uses somewhat strong language here: “Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs” (v. 8). The  first item on God’s agenda in Jesus was to confirm his promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. this was “God’s truth”. And in confirming these promises Jesus became “a servant of the Jews”. Secondly, in v. 9 Paul repeats what he had written earlier in chapters 9-11, that it was only through promises confirmed to the Jews that the gentiles could experience God’s mercy in Christ. In chapter 11 he had described gentiles obtaining God’s mercy by being grafted into the olive tree which was Israel. Gentile salvation in a real sense is derivative, coming through the Jews. Therefore gentiles should not feel superior or discount Jews, but see them through the lens of Jesus,  the “servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth”. The rest of this section consists of Old Testament verses Paul quotes to show that god’s plan always was for Jews and gentiles to share a common faith in him and to joyfully worship him together. This common faith had its center in the assertion that “Jesus the Messiah (‘Christ’) is Lord.”

15:13-16

“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. 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.” (Romans 15:13-16 NIV)

In these verses Paul continues to address primarily the majority gentile group (see v. 16). His concern is not just with their salvation, but also that they might become “an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.” Part of achieving that goal was to correct their mistaken attitude toward the gospel and toward the Jewish people. This should result in harmonious worship and a believing community characterized by hope, joy and peace in Christ. The urgency and importance of Paul’s task necessitated his writing “quite boldly on some points” (v. 15). We don’t know just what parts of his letter Paul considered “quite bold”.  Verse 16 shows that he saw his responsibility as similar to that of a priest under the Old Testament system. The believing gentiles were like an offering that he presented to God. And all temple offerings had to conform to strict quality controls.