Romans
Chapter 15:1-33
Memory
verses for this week: 1 John 5:18 We know that
whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God
keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not..
Introduction:
Last
week, in chapter 14, we
studied on how we should honor our weak brothers and sisters in
Christ by trying to live a life that they could not find fault with.
In Paul’s day, many thought eating meat sacrificed to idols
was an abomination. Paul
said that if his brother felt that way, he would eat no meat in his
presence. In today’s
world, there are many instances where mature Christians can help to
bring along a weaker brother by having some tolerance due to their
lack of understanding.
I.
The
Duty of the Strong Christian toward the Weaker
Rom 15:1
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the
weak, and not to please ourselves.
Rom 15:2
Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to
edification.
We
have a duty to help others, especially the Christian that has a
deeper knowledge of God’s Word.
When we have a thorough and “more complete” understanding
of God’s Word, then we can be a great asset to the weaker
Christian and bear the infirmities of the weak.
We can do many things to help, but one of the greatest is to
encourage that brother or sister with the Word of God.
To have an effective witness, we need to live a Godly,
separated life that honors God and lets that weak person have
confidence in us.
Gal 6:1
Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are
spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness;
considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Gal 6:2
Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of
Christ.
Gal 6:3
For if a man think himself to be something, when he is
nothing, he deceiveth himself.
God
desires that we seek to please our neighbor for his edification.
When we do this, we can gain that person with the Gospel of
the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 9:19
For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself
servant unto all, that I might gain the more.
1 Cor 9:20
And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the
Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might
gain them that are under the law;
1 Cor 9:21
To them that are without law, as without law, (being not
without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain
them that are without law.
1 Cor 9:22
To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I
am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
Paul
did not mean that we should live in sin and do the things the people
of the world do. What
he meant was that he got on common ground with the man or woman he
was trying to reach, and did everything in his power to see that
person came to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.
When we ask a few questions, it is amazing how much we have
in common one with another. And
those common things give us a way for the person we are dealing with
to have some confidence in us.
Until the person we are witnessing to knows us well enough to
trust us, it is unlikely we will be effective in leading them to the
Lord. But if our lives
have been consistent and we know the Word of God, we can be
effective. It is
important to realize that only those that the Holy Spirit draws to
God will ever come to know Christ as Savior.
But when we preach the Gospel, we see the Lord being faithful
to deal with that lost sinner.
1 Cor 10:24
Let no man seek his own, but every man another's wealth.
Phil 2:4
Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on
the things of others.
Phil 2:5
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Rom 14:19
Let us therefore follow after the things which make for
peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
Rom 15:3
For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written,
The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
Rom 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.
Christ
is our ultimate example. He
lived not for himself, but lived to do the very will of the Father.
Mat 26:39
And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and
prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass
from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
John 5:30
I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my
judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of
the Father which hath sent me.
Heb 10:5
Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice
and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
Heb 10:6
In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no
pleasure.
Heb 10:7
Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is
written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
The
very heartbeat of Jesus was to do the Will of the Father. How effective could you and I be if we had that same kind of
determination?
The
Word of God, the Holy Scriptures, were written for our learning.
If you think of all the things penned, there are many
wonderful promises and things of faith to encourage us.
But look at all the failures of man that were recorded.
God did this to show us that we are no different than those
who have gone before us, and those that drew near to God and stayed
faithful were the most successful.
Those who followed the ways of the world paid a dear price.
These examples are for our learning.
We won’t live long enough to make all the mistakes.
Let us learn from these people of old not to sin and make
mistakes, but follow in the “good paths” that lead to
righteousness and honor and glorify God.
1 Cor 10:1
Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant,
how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed
through the sea;
1 Cor 10:2
And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
1 Cor 10:3
And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
1 Cor 10:4
And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of
that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
1 Cor 10:5
But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were
overthrown in the wilderness.
1 Cor 10:6
Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should
not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
Rom 4:23
Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was
imputed to him;
Rom 4:24
But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe
on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
Rom 4:25
Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for
our justification.
Rom 15:5
Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be
likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:
Rom 15:6
That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Rom 15:7
Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us
to the glory of God.
Paul
desired that the Romans might be like Christ in patience and in
giving comfort to one another.
He wanted us to have one mind that spoke the same thing to
the honor and glory of God.
All of this was to be based upon the mind of Christ.
1 Cor 1:10
Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no
divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the
same mind and in the same judgment.
Each
man was to receive the others in love as Christ first received us.
Think how difficult it would be to love an enemy that truly
hates you. That is what
Jesus did when He died for us, the just dying for the unjust.
While we were yet enemies to God, Christ died for the
ungodly.
II.
The
Ministry of Jesus Christ
Rom 15:8
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:
Jesus
was a minister to the Jews in order to show God’s truthfulness.
This was done by confirming the promises made to the Jews in
their fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Rom 15:9
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.
Rom 15:10
And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.
Rom 15:11
And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him,
all ye people.
Rom 15:12
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.
Rom 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.
In
these verses, we see several quotations out of the Old Testament. “For this cause” is taken from Psalm 18:49.
Psa 18:49
Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the
heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
Verse
10 is taken from Deut. 32:43. Verse
11 comes from Psalms 117:1 and verse 12 is taken from Isaiah
11:1-10.
Isa 11:1
And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,
and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
Isa 11:2
And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of
wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the
spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Isa 11:3
And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the
LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither
reprove after the hearing of his ears:
Isa 11:4
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove
with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth
with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he
slay the wicked.
Isa 11:5
And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and
faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
Isa 11:6
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard
shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the
fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
Isa 11:7
And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall
lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
Isa 11:8
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and
the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den.
Isa 11:9
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for
the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters
cover the sea.
Isa 11:10
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall
stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek:
and his rest shall be glorious.
The
root of Jesse is of course Jesus Christ.
All of these verses and fulfillment of scripture were given
it says in verse 13 that we might be filled with joy, peace, and
hope. The Christian
should be the happiest person on the earth.
Not only do we have a great life, but we have a promise of
eternal life beyond this journey here on earth.
As Paul said, to be absent from the body is to be present
with the Lord. We
should never be negative or walk around with our shoulders hung low
like we have not a friend. We
have the greatest friend this world has ever known, and that is
Jesus Christ.
2 Cor 5:6
Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we
are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
2 Cor 5:7
(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
2 Cor 5:8
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from
the body, and to be present with the Lord.
III.
Paul’s
Ministry to the Gentiles
Rom 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
had a lot of confidence in the Romans.
He says he is persuaded that they are full of goodness and
filled with knowledge. When
you are full of goodness and have true knowledge, you will admonish
your fellow brother and sister in the work of the Lord.
Rom 15:15
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,
Paul
had confidence in these members of the church there in Rome, and he
said that he wrote to them boldly to stimulate them… putting you
in mind. This was
due to the grace that God had given him, and due to the trust Paul
had in these men and women. If
we as a church want others to have confidence in us, we need to put
the things of God forefront in the church.
When a church forgets its number one priority of preaching
the gospel, the church suffers. But when we keep our priorities straight and obey God’s
commandments, we have a testimony that others can see.
John 14:21
He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that
loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I
will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Rom 15:16
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.
Rom 15:17
I have therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in
those things which pertain to God.
We
see the reason why Paul had received this grace.
It was so that he might be a minister of God to the Gentiles
and that they, the Gentiles, might be consecrated by the Holy Spirit making them acceptable unto God.
IV.
The
Results of Paul’s Ministry
Rom 15:18
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,
Rom 15:19
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.
Paul
had a great desire to tell what Christ had done with and through him
to make the Gentiles obedient in their lives.
By mighty signs and wonders, Paul had preached the gospel of
Christ. This was
done by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Today, when we reach others for Christ, the Holy Spirit is
still there as He has always been. But we do not have those same powers to do the wonders that
the apostles had in the early days.
Jesus Himself did many signs that we might believe on His
name as the true Son of God.
1 Cor 13:8
Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they
shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether
there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
1 Cor 13:9
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.
1 Cor 13:10
But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in
part shall be done away.
John 20:30
And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his
disciples, which are not written in this book:
John 20:31
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is
the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life
through his name.
Rom 15:20
Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ
was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation:
Rom 15:21
But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they
shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.
Paul
had absolutely no desire to build upon another man’s foundation.
The only foundation that we can build on that will last is
the foundation of Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 3:11
For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which
is Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 3:12
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
1 Cor 3:13
Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall
declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall
try every man's work of what sort it is.
1 Cor 3:14
If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he
shall receive a reward.
1 Cor 3:15
If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but
he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Paul
had an ambition to fulfill. It
Charles Hodges commentary on Romans, he had this to say about verse
21.
“It
had been foretold in Isaiah 52:15 that Christ would be preached to
the Gentiles and to those who had never heard of his name, and Paul acted in accordance with this prediction.
Paul endeavored to preach the Gospel, not where Christ was
named, but to cause those to see to whom he had not been announced,
and those to understand who had not heard.”
The Jews should have known Christ as he had been promised all
through the Old Testament. But
they did not know Him when He came unto His own.
V.
Paul
Anticipated a Visit to Rome
Rom 15:22
For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming to
you.
Rom 15:23
But now having no more place in these parts, and having a
great desire these many years to come unto you;
Rom 15:24
Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you:
for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way
thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.
We
can tell by these verses that Paul had a great desire to go to Rome.
”These many years” spoken of in verse 23 point to how
continually the Roman Christians were on his mind.
Paul had tried to come, but was providentially hindered
several times. We
see he plans to visit there on his journey to Spain.
VI.
The
Collection for Poor Saints
Rom 15:25 But now I go
unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints.
Rom 15:26 For it hath
pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution
for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
Rom 15:27 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.
Rom 15:28 When therefore
I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will
come by you into Spain.
Rom 15:29 And I am sure
that, when I come unto you, I shall come in the fulness of the
blessing of the gospel of Christ.
We have a record in these
verses of Paul’s business there in Jerusalem.
He came to take a collection to the poor in Jerusalem. God is honored when we help our fellow Christians who are in
need. The love gift he
brought was from the churches in Macedonia and Achaia.
Acts 24:17
Now after many years I came to bring alms to my nation, and
offerings.
Acts 24:18
Whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the
temple, neither with multitude, nor with tumult.
2 Cor 8:1
Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God
bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
2 Cor 8:2
How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of
their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their
liberality.
2 Cor 8:3
For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their
power they were willing of themselves;
2 Cor 8:4
Praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift,
and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
VII.
Paul’s Request for Prayer
Rom 15:30 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;
Rom 15:31 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;
Rom 15:32 That I may
come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be
refreshed.
Rom 15:33 Now the God of
peace be with you all. Amen.
Paul asked that they pray for
him to be delivered from unbelievers in Judea and that his service
might be found acceptable to the saints.
We should always desire that any contribution given is
received in the same spirit as it was given.
He desired that he might come
to them with joy and have time to rest with them.
Apparently, God answered those prayers.
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Prov 4:18
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