Romans,
Chapter 15
© Copyright 1998 Darroll Evans-all rights
reserved
Romans 15:1 We
then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to
please ourselves.
Those Christians that are strong (Gr. dunatoi-dunatoi),
powerful in the faith should help the spiritually weak. When we call a person
weak in the faith that does not mean they are less loved.
Faith is similar to a physical muscle. It
must be exercised in order to grow to its maximum potential. What is your
maximum faith potential? Only God knows that, but I do know that nobody has
ever reached his or her maximum spiritual potential.
Romans 15:2-3
2 Let every one of us please his neighbour for his
good to edification.
3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it
is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
"Go along to get along" is not a
Christian concept. However, we do try to live at peace with all men.
It is in our best interests to respect all
men (even those with whom we disagree spiritually or politically). How can we
win a person to Christ unless we are on speaking terms with him or her?
Paul reminds us that even Christ Jesus did
not seek to only please Himself. Then, Paul refers to the Psalms.
Psalm 69:9 Because zeal for Your house
has eaten me up, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on
me. (NKJV)
False or misdirected zeal is a dangerous
thing.
Romans 15:4 For
whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we
through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
In your studies of the Scriptures, keep in
mind that whatever was written in them was written for our instruction. It is
through systematic study that we find encouragement of the word of God. That
encouragement breeds godly hope.
“Things written aforetime” refers to Old
Testament writings. So, what can we
learn from the Old Testament that are valid and usable in the New?
We can learn of God’s creation of the
universe. The ungodly deny that essential point for all physical sciences. Many “scientists” today deny the validity of
scientific research and instead favor unscientific guess work.
We can learn that God had planned to send His
Messiah to be the Savior of the world long before the physical birth of Christ
Jesus.
We can learn about the spiritual battles that
still lie ahead and our victory, through Christ, over all that opposes God.
However, one thing that we can learn, the
Church still has not learned, In fact,
the Church is now going through a state of almost total denial in the area of
“free will.”
Free will is a carnal
reaction to the power of God in and over our lives! It is rooted and grounded in carnal human
pride! God’s omnipotence and man’s free will are mutually annulling. You cannot accept both! Either your personal
pride will cause you to espouse free will, or Spirit induced humility before
God will cause you to bow to Christ!
The most popular claim free
will advocates is that God did not create us to be robots, and that point is
correct, as far as it goes.
We have not come up to the
level of being robots. We are just lumps
of clay being molded by the Master Potter.
Jer 18:1-6
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
2 Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear
my words.
3 Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the
wheels.
4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so
he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
6 O house of
Isa 45:9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker!
Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to
him that fashioneth it, What
makest thou? or thy work, He
hath no hands?
All that is Old Testament,
what about the New?
Rom 9:14-22
14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness
with God? God forbid.
15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I
will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him
that runneth, but of God that sheweth
mercy.
17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for
this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew
my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find
fault? For who hath resisted his will?
20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against
God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why
hast thou made me thus?
21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel
unto honour, and another unto dishonour?
22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to
make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath
fitted to destruction:
Free will is man’s way of
proclaiming power over God!
On of the great messages of
the Old testament is: Man’s free will does not work.
Moses led the children of
Exod 19:8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath
spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.
They failed!
Joshua led the children of
Josh 24:15
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose
you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served
that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose
land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (KJV)
Their loyalty to the Lord
lasted all of ONE DAY!
That is one of the great
lessons from the Old Testament!
The carnal man cannot truly
acknowledge Christ as Lord!
Rom 8:5-8
5 For they that are after the
flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the
things of the Spirit.
6 For to be carnally minded is
death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
7 Because the carnal mind is
enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can
be.
8 So then they that are in
the flesh cannot please God.
Free will is a carnal
act! Those who cling to free will have
rejected Christ as Lord of their lives, and that includes many supposed
Pastors!
Hope (Gr. elpida-elpida), in Verse 4, is confidence. As we exercise our
confidence in God, faith grows.
Romans 15:5 Now the God of patience and
consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ
Jesus:
Likeminded (Gr. phronein-fronein) refers to our opinions.
What is the "Christian opinion?" We
are to preach Christ and to do good works. If we put social works ahead of the
preaching Christ, the preaching is in vain. Far too many Churches are out of
sync.
Romans 15:6 That
ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ.
Let me fine tune the firt
few words of this verse. "That in one mind (Gr. homothumadon-
homoqumadon) with one mouth (Gr. stomati-stomati)."
Being united in Love, we are to act and speak
in unity. Those that say they are Christians and yet do not acknowledge that
Christ Jesus is the only Way are not Christians!
John 13:35 "By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
(NKJV)
Romans 15:7 Wherefore
receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
Because Christ died for each of us we are to
accept one another, just as He also accepted us. It is difficult for many to
understand, but His love for us is unconditional.
Romans 15:8-12
8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the
truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:
9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written,
For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy
name.
10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with
his people.
11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people.
12 And again, Esaias saith,
There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise
to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust.
Read this carefully: Jesus was born under the Law, Lived under the law,
was crucified under the law, and died under the Law. He also was resurrected
under the provisions of the Law.
(v. 8) This is a
truth that escapes many. Jesus did a very limited ministry among Gentiles, He
was not sent to the Gentiles.
Christ became a servant to the Jewish nation,
a light of truth to that nation so that He might confirm (Gr. bebaioosai-bebaiwsai), or
establish the truth of God's promises that were given to the Hebrew patriarchs.
Jesus was sent to minister to the Jews. Matthew
15:24---But He answered and said, "I was not sent except to the lost
sheep of the house of
In addition, the original Apostles were sent
to the Jews, not to Gentiles, although they did minister sparingly to certain
Gentiles, namely Cornelius and his family.
Galatians
2:9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the
grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of
fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. (NKJV)
Acts
11:19 Now those who were scattered
after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as
Paul was saved under the provisions of grace.
He was given the ministry to the Gentiles under grace. Grace came to all
men because Jesus fulfilled the Law, but the preaching of grace toward
the Gentiles was given to Paul.
The provisions of the Law and grace cannot be
mixed without causing confusion. That is why we need to "rightly
divide" the Word.
Christ also did what He did so Gentiles, by
birth, could glorify God because of His great mercy.
Beginning with verse nine, Paul appeals to
the Old Testament to verify the Truth.
Psalms 18:49 Therefore I will give thanks to You, O LORD, among
the Gentiles, and sing praises to Your name. (NKJV)
(v. 10) Deuteronomy 32:43a "Rejoice,
O Gentiles, with His people; (NKJV)
(v. 11) Psalms 117:1 Praise the LORD, all
you Gentiles! Laud Him, all you peoples! (NKJV)
(v. 12) Isaiah 11:1 There shall come
forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
(NKJV)
In using references from the Hebrew
Scriptures, we must remember that Paul and the other Apostles were Israelites,
and the Old Testament is the scriptural foundation for the New Covenant.
Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the
power of the Holy Ghost.
This verse is a short Pauline benediction.
"May the God of hope be filling you with all joy and peace in believing,
so that you may be superabounding in hope in the
power of the Holy Spirit."
Romans 15:14 And I myself also am
persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with
all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.
Paul was persuaded (Gr. Pepeismai-Pepeismai) speaks of personal belief.
Paul believed that the Romans brothers of
that day were full (Gr. mestoi- mestoi) of goodness, and filled (Gr. pepleeroomenoi-peplhrwmenoi) (filled up to correct a deficit) with all knowledge
so that we are able to admonish (Gr. nouthetein-nouqetein), or exhort one another.
Romans 15:15-16
15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you in some
sort, as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of God,
16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles,
ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be
acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.
Paul wrote in measured words to strengthen
their faith in God, in Christ Jesus, in the Holy Spirit, and in the power of
God's grace which was given to him and to them.
Paul was given the grace to become the Apostle
to the Gentiles. That is an awesome responsibility. It also tells us why Paul,
above all others, wrote so much about the grace of God. Grace was his lifeline
and ours.
Romans 15:17 I have therefore whereof I
may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God.
Glorifying Christ is our number one and
perhaps our only job. His glory should be reflected in our daily lives.
18 For I will not dare to speak of any of
those things which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient,
by word and deed,
19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so
that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the
gospel of Christ.
It was Paul’s opinion that he should restrict
his conversation to those things that Christ did in him. Do you know any like
that today?
"To make the Gentiles obedient" is
a poor translation. Paul spoke the way he did "for the obedience of the
nations" in word and deed.
Mighty (Gr. dunamei-dunamei) signs and wonders are always done by the power (Gr. dunamei-dunamei) of the Holy Spirit.
Did you know that Paul preached the gospel
had been preached from
Illyricum is known today as
Romans 15:20-22
20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named,
lest I should build upon another man's foundation:
21 But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and
they that have not heard shall understand.
22 For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to you.
Paul had personally preached over a wide
area. However his ambition was to go where no Preacher of the gospel had gone
before.
He longed to take the good news to those who
had not heard. He did not want to build on another's foundation (Gr. themelion-qemelion). In
sharing his spiritual ambitions, Paul once again appeals to the Hebrew scriptures.
Isaiah 52:15b for what had not been told them they shall see, and
what they had not heard they shall consider. (NKJV)
Here, I must point out what I should already
have said.
The writers of the New Testament were not
hindered with the chapter and verse style of learning that now is present.
Neither Paul nor Christ Jesus feared quoting only part of what we now use as
chapter and verse.
There were no chapters and no verses. The
classic example is Jesus teaching is when he read from Isaiah 61, and quit in
the middle of a modern day sentence (Luke 4:18-19).
When Paul told the Romans that he was
"hindered" (Gr. enekoptomeen- enekoptomhn) in coming to them, "detained" would have
been a much better translation.
Paul eventually went to
Romans 15:23 But now having no more place
in these parts, and having a great desire these many years to come unto you;
In our instant world, we often times lose
sight of the fact that New Testament grace was not preach or believed
instantly. Paul’s ministry covered many years.
Romans 15:24 Whensoever I take my journey into
At the writing of Romans, Paul had
accomplished all that was given to him in those areas where he preached. Now he
could come to
Paul went to
Paul was acquitted at the end his first
trial. He may have traveled to
Romans 15:25-29
25 But now I go unto
26 For it hath pleased them of
27 It hath pleased them verily; and their debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual
things, their duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things.
28 When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit,
I will come by you into
29 And I am sure that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.
As Paul wrote to
There are some things we see in Paul' plan
that we find in Christian plans today.
First, Paul was planning to minister in
What he proposed to do was not the same as
his past activities. In the past, Paul had preached in Synagogues so that he
might have an entrance to meet Gentile converts to Judaism.
As a side effect, Paul preached to Jews, but
that was not his main field of endeavor. Paul Preached in Synagogues because it
was the quickest, most efficient way of accomplishing his main task.
Now Paul proposed going into the heart of
Judaism. That was not his assigned field.
Paul was, in track and field terms, about to
run outside of his assigned lane. You may be thinking that in proposing to do
that he was not in God's will. I don't think that is the case.
God was using Paul's extreme love for the
Jewish people to bring him into a position in which God could move him to
Let me explain, As a Roman citizen, Paul had
rights that were not available to non-Roman Jews.
As a simple preacher of the gospel or as the
unhindered Apostle to the Gentiles, Paul would not be able to take the gospel
to Roman high society. However, as a Roman citizen charged with a crime against
the Jews, Roman high court officials would be forced to listen to Paul's gospel
defense.
Remember that at the time of his first trial,
Paul was not charged with crimes against the Roman government. That happened
after the burning of
Paul's love for the Jewish people was made
all the more apparent since a contribution had been collected for the saints in
According to Paul these Churches were pleased
to make the contributions because they understood the way the gospel worked.
The gospel went to the Jew first and then to the Gentile.
When he finished his current assignment, Paul
proposed to go to
Paul was a "hands on"
Apostle. His desire was to serve. In Paul's case "serving" meant
"Blessing" those around him. What does it mean to you?
Romans 15:30-33
30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for
the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God
for me;
31 That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that
my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints;
32 That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be
refreshed.
33 Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
In my opinion, Paul's reference to
"those that do not believe in
Paul was going to
2 Corinthians 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the
abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger
of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. (NKJV)
The messenger of Satan was a reference to
those who opposed the teaching of grace. That opposition to grace continues to
this very day.
Notice that Paul wanted to come to
Paul ends chapter 15 by saying, "Now the
God of peace be with you all. Amen." That is not a throwaway statement. It
is a blessing of peace from one who was charged bringing the gospel to the
Gentile world.