Romans 15

Chapter 15

Living to Please Others

1 We who are strong must be considerate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves.2 We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.3 For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.”t

4 Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.
5 May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.

6 Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory.8 Remember that Christ came as a servant to the Jewst to show that God is true to the promises he made to their ancestors.

9 He also came so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercies to them. That is what the psalmist meant when he wrote:
“For this, I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing praises to your name.”t

10 And in another place it is written,
“Rejoice with his people,
you Gentiles.”t

11 And yet again,
“Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles.
Praise him, all you people of the earth.”t

12 And in another place Isaiah said,
“The heir to David’s thronet will come,
and he will rule over the Gentiles.
They will place their hope on him.”t

13 I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Paul’s Reason for Writing

14 I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters,t that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them.15 Even so, I have been bold enough to write about some of these points, knowing that all you need is this reminder. For by God’s grace,16 I am a special messenger from Christ Jesus to you Gentiles. I bring you the Good News so that I might present you as an acceptable offering to God, made holy by the Holy Spirit.17 So I have reason to be enthusiastic about all Christ Jesus has done through me in my service to God.18 Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them.

19 They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit.t In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.t
20 My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else.

21 I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures, where it says,
“Those who have never been told about him will see,
and those who have never heard of him will understand.”t

22 In fact, my visit to you has been delayed so long because I have been preaching in these places.

Paul’s Travel Plans

23 But now I have finished my work in these regions, and after all these long years of waiting, I am eager to visit you.

24 I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey.
25 But before I come, I must go to Jerusalem to take a gift to the believerst there.26 For you see, the believers in Macedonia and Achaiat have eagerly taken up an offering for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem.27 They were glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. Since the Gentiles received the spiritual blessings of the Good News from the believers in Jerusalem, they feel the least they can do in return is to help them financially.28 As soon as I have delivered this money and completed this good deed of theirs, I will come to see you on my way to Spain.

29 And I am sure that when I come, Christ will richly bless our time together.
30 Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit.31 Pray that I will be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God. Pray also that the believers there will be willing to accept the donationt I am taking to Jerusalem.

32 Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other.

33 And now may God, who gives us his peace, be with you all. Amen.t

Romans 15

1 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.
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus,

6 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 Jewson 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.”

13 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.

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

14 I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.15 I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me

16 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.
17 Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God.18 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–19 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.20 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.

21 Rather, as it is written:
“Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.”

22 This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.

Paul's Plan to Visit Rome

23 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,24 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.25 Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there.26 For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.27 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.28 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.

29 I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.
30 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.31 Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,32 so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.

33 The God of peace be with you all. Amen.