Romans 15, Final Admonition, Future Plans

Paul has now focused on practical advice for those who understand the true meaning of Christ's sacrifice.

Romans 15:1-6
We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me."

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. 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. 

Understanding Christ's selfless acts leads to selfless acts among the disciples, encouraging and building up others.  Note that the Scriptures to which Paul eludes is the Old Testament.

The quote in verse 3 is from Psalm 69:9.

Romans 15:7-12
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 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 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."

Again, it says, "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people." 

And again, "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples." 

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." 

The word translated "Jews" in Romans 15:8 is really the Greek word for circumcision (NIV Footnotes.)

Paul strings together a sequence of Old Testament passages that make it clear God intended all along to reach out to the Gentiles. The quote in verse 9 is from 2 Samuel 22:50 and Psalm 18:49.  The quote in verse 10 is from Deut. 32:43; the quote in verse 11 is from Psalm 117:1; that in verse 12 is from Isaiah 11:10.

Romans 15:13-17

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.  I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another. 

I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me to 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. 

Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. 

Paul is encouraged by God's work among the Gentiles in Rome and wants to make sure his instruction is viewed in that light.

Romans 15:18-21

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--by 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.  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.  Rather, as it is written: "Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand."

Paul's ministry is always reaching out to those completely unexposed to the Good News of the Jewish Messiah.  Illyricum, a Roman province northwest of Greece, is probably the extend of Paul's travels to date (at the writing of this letter.)  But he intends to go on to Rome and even further!

The quote in verse 21 is from Isaiah 52:15. 

Romans 15:22-27
This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you. 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 see you, I 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. 

Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. 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. 

Paul hopes to go to Rome and then on to Spain, even further west!  But he must first go to Jerusalem, carrying a contribution raised by the Greek churches for the starving believers in Judea.  The story of Paul's journey to Jerusalem, and the trip to Rome that follows, is the subject of the last quarter of the book of Acts (chapters 21-28.)  Paul does not know that he will make the journey to Rome in chains.

Romans 15:28-33
So 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. I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.

I 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. Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed. 

The God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Paul will end his letter to the church in Rome with a series of personal greetings, listing various individuals active in the church in Corinth and others in Rome. That will be the subject of the final chapter, chapter 16.

Romans 14, Faith and Kosher Foods

The Jews did not eat pork or other meats that were not kosher.  A list of these dietary restrictions appears in the Torah, in Leviticus 11, repeated in Deuteronomy 14.  (See this Wikipedia article on Kashrut.)  So what about these new Gentile followers of the Jewish Messiah?

Romans 14:1-3
Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. One man's faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. 

Let people make their own decisions about their diet and do not judge them.  This is still good advice, two millennia later!

Romans 14:4
Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 

There is a deeper principle: let followers of Jesus be responsible to Jesus, and leave their decisions to Him.  This simple principle permeates this chapter.

Romans 14:5-9
One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. 

If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 

There were (are) similar disputes about observing feast days or the Sabbath.  Paul uses the same principle; let each us seek to serve the resurrected Messiah and be serious about it.

Romans 14:10-13

You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. It is written: "`As surely as I live,' says the Lord, `every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'"  So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God. Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way. 

The quote in verse 11 is from Isaiah 45:23.

The last verse in this paragraph, verse 13, expresses a community view: we are building up a church, a body of disciples, seeking to grow together in the Christ.  Let us keep this in mind as we enjoy our freedom in Christ.

Romans 14:14-16

As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean. If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. 

Paul, the once kosher Pharisee, now says that no foods are unclean.  Like Peter, at the beginning of Acts 11, Paul has come to the surprising belief that the Messiah is available to all, regardless of their diet.

Sadly, I have seen this passage abused, to create the effect opposite of that desired by Paul.  Church people place restrictions on others ("Don't drink, don't smoke, don't dress like that...") by claiming, "You might be a stumbling block to me or someone nearby."  In so doing, they ignore the strong "Don't judge!" theme of the passage.  

It has also been my experience that the act of Judging Others can itself be a significant stumbling block to the cause of Christ. 

Romans 14: 17-21

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 

Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. 

Diet and drink are inconsequential ... unless they are hurting others.  It is how we act with others, caring for others in "righteousness, peace and joy", all provided by the Holy Spirit -- that is what matters.

Romans 14: 22-23
So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.

Paul calls for confidence and "faith", acting with commitment and submission to God.

Romans 11, The Gentile debt to the Jews

Paul continues his discussion of God's work among Paul's ethnic group, the Jews.  In this passage he warns the Gentiles against complacency and arrogance.

Romans 11:1-6
I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. 

Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah--how he appealed to God against Israel: "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"

And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal."

So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace.

As in times passed, God continues to work through a remnant of Israel, including Paul!

The quote in verse 3 is from I Kings 19:10,14 and the quote in the next verse is from 1 Kings 19:18.

Romans 11:7-10

What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, as it is written: "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day." And David says: "May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever."

The Old Testament quote in verse  8 is from Deut. 29:4; Isaiah 29:10 and the quote in verses 9 & 10 is from Psalm 69:22-23.  In each of these passages, the writer describes God's judgment and chastening of the Jewish people. Paul argues that this has not changed.

Romans 11:1-6
Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring! 

Paul looks forward to his countrymen embracing their Messiah!

Romans 11:13-18
I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead

If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches. If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 

If arrogant Gentiles are tempted to think, "God loves us more than the Jews!" then Paul responds that the Jewish people are the "root" of God's work.

Romans 11:19-21
You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. 

If Jews could be moved aside to welcome Gentiles, then these new guests could be moved aside even more so!  This spirit of this passage should confront any anti-Semitism appearing in the thoughts of a Gentile Christian.

Romans 11:22-24
Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.  After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! 

When the Jews embrace God by faith, how much better and natural will be that long-planned relationship!

Romans 11:25-27
I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins."

Ultimately, says Paul, the Messiah will be welcomed by his people.

The Old Testament quote in verse 27 is could be from Isaiah 59:20-21, Isaiah 27:9, or Jeremiah 31:33-34.

Romans 11:28-32
As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable. Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. 

Paul returns to a theme: all people, whether Jew or Gentile, are disobedient and in need of God's mercy.

Romans 11:33-36
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 

"Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?"  

"Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" 

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Paul has concluded the theological-philosophical portion of this letter.  In the next chapter, he argues that this knowledge leads to new life and new actions.

The Old Testament quote in verse  34 is from Isaiah 40:13 and the quote in verse 35 is from Job 41:11.

Romans 10, Paul's concern for Israel

In Romans 9 Paul focused on the Jewish people and their reception to his message. He continues that theme here.

Romans 10:1-4

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. 

Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes. 

Paul expresses his concern for the people of Israel, equating their zeal with a desire to establish their own righteousness.  By attempting to obtin righteousness based on zeal and works, reaching up to God, they did not realize that God was reaching down through the Messiah, Jesus.

Paul, as a former Pharisee, understands this attitude.

Romans 10:5-11
Moses describes in this way the righteousness that is by the law: "The man who does these things will live by them." 

But the righteousness that is by faith says: "Do not say in your heart, `Who will ascend into heaven?'" (that is, to bring Christ down) "or `Who will descend into the deep?'" (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart," that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 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. As the Scripture says, "Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

Paul emphasizes that the Jews do not need to reach out to God as much as accept God's offer, easily accessible.

The quote in verse 5 is from Lev. 18:5.  The next three quotes (in verses 6-8) come from Deut. 30:12-14.  The final quote, in verse 11, is from Isaiah 28:16.

Romans 10:12-13
For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Paul returns to a common theme – ultimately there is no difference between Jew and Gentile for both must call on God.  The Old Testament passage quoted here is Joel 2:32.

Romans 10:14-15
How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

This is a clarion call for missions, explaining Paul's desire to reach out and travel the Mediterranean world in order to speak to his Jewish brothers and sisters.

The quote in verse 15 is from Isaiah 52:7.

Romans 10:16-21
But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. 

But I ask: Did they not hear? 

Of course they did: "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world."

Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? 

First, Moses says, "I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding." And Isaiah boldly says, "I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me." But concerning Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people."

God has been reaching out to the nation of Israel for some time, Paul says.  He cites a number of Jewish scriptures to make his point.  The quote in verse 16 is from Isaiah 53:1; quotes in verses 18-21 are from Psalm 19:4, Deut. 32:21, Isaiah 65:1  and Isaiah 65:2.

Circumcision and Paul's argument in Romans 4

Paul's argument in Romans 4 revolves around the ancient Jewish ritual of circumcision of male babies.  It is, to modern minds, a very strange (and sexist) practice, but deeply embedded in the Jewish understanding of God's promises to Abraham and Abraham's descendants.

God's covenant with Abraham, begun in Genesis 15, occupies all of chapter 17 of Genesis.  In it God sets up the requirement of circumcision for male babies (verses 11-14.)  Later (see Exodus 4:25) God continues that covenant in the time of Moses.  Forty years later, as the Israelites, at the end of the Exodus, are about to enter the promised land, they are circumcised and then celebrate the Passover. (See Joshua 5:2-9.)

In the time of the prophets, circumcision becomes a metaphor; what happened "in the flesh" is also supposed to happen "in the heart."  Jewish males are reminded that the mere fleshly ritual, practiced on them when they were just 8 days old, is merely a sign of the covenant.  It is not the covenant itself. They are to have their hearts circumised so that they follow God automatically! This argument begins in Deuteronomy 30:6, in the time of Moses, and continues throughout the nation of Israel. (See Jeremiah's call in Jeremiah 4:4 and Jeremiah 9:25-26.) Circumcision was a bloody and painful metaphor for a commitment of the heart!

In the same way, in Romans chapter 4, Paul argues that Abraham was made righteous before circumcision and so it is not circumcision that makes one righteous, but it was something prior to that.  It was Abraham's "faith", that is, Abraham's trust and submission to God, that granted him righteousness.

In modern times, circumcision is practiced for both religious reasons or health reasons.  It is a controversial topic at times, as people debate the apparent value versus the pain suffered by an 8 day old baby.  (See this story from 2012, where a German court tried to outlaw circumcision.)  For the modern Christian, circumcision certainly appears to be sexist, as by definition, only boys got the "privilege" and pain of this initiation rite.  Fortunately, Christian baptism is (1) offered to both genders and (2) much less painful!

As always, there is a good Wikipedia article on this topic.