Lonang Commentary on Romans 15

Rom. 15:1-3 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

If Only the Weak and Strong Could Get Along

These verses are a continuation of the theme of chapter 14, as those who are here identified as weak’ are undoubtedly those considered to be weak in the prior chapter. Remember who the weak are: people who lack the proper knowledge to discern what things are morally indifferent, who typically regard something as sinful that others regard as acceptable. But it is rare that the person who lacks knowledge about a particular behavior will be the same person who is weak with regard to a different behavior. Everyone in a community of believers will have different gaps in their knowledge, and so who is weak and who is strong will change, depending on the behavior at issue.

In other words, generally speaking, it isn’t a good idea to go around labeling people as weak or strong, as a way of strengthening the sense of community. That just tends to drive people apart and fragment the fellowship. Besides, the normal dynamic in any church, once people have gotten to know each other pretty well, is that people who are strong in the faith are easily identified – and that identity usually has nothing to do with indifferent behaviors.

I am reminded of the admonition to the Corinthians, “On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.” 1 Cor. 12:22. Thus, who seems weak or strong is a matter of perception, and group perception is often wrong. For as God sees it, every believer is equally important, and in the end, that is what should drive the way we treat fellow believers as well. Which is exactly what Paul is getting at in verses 1-3. Build everyone up, don’t tear anyone down – especially over indifferent matters, for heaven’s sake – and everyone get along as Christ would have us do.

An admonition to similar effect is “Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.” 1 Pet. 3:7. I don’t claim to be an expert, though I can speak from considerable experience, that telling a woman she is the weaker vessel – in almost any context imaginable – is not the way to win her heart, gain her favor, or increase fellowship. Some personal judgments, whether in a church or a family setting, are best kept to yourself and never verbalized, for there is nothing really to be gained by that.

Actually, my experience teaches that the dynamic between the weak in faith (or those with a weak conscience) and the strong usually works the other way. Rather than the strong oppressing the weak, the weak get together and refuse to tolerate the strong. I’ve run into several Christian organizations which, speaking of eating and drinking, prohibit all employees, volunteers, and in some cases students, from drinking any alcohol, even merely an occasional glass of wine during the holidays, and merely in the privacy of one’s home.

Now let’s ask some very basic and simple questions. Is that a behavior that scripture makes essential – absolutely always a sin – or one which is left to the discretion and liberty of each believer? Well, considering that Jesus turned water into wine and drank it Himself, I would have to say it is a non-essential matter left to the discretion and liberty of each believer. According to Romans, who is the one weak in faith and conscience – the organization that won’t tolerate, or the individual who feels free to drink? Well, of course it is the organization or ministry which is weak. Yet, instead of bearing with the failings of others, as Paul says, those weak in conscience (weak in faith) impose their ironclad will on others in an unyielding fashion.

And instead of instilling a biblical sense of the liberty Christ came to bring (Lk. 4:18), Christians act stupidly, and like tyrants, in the name of the Gospel that actually holds the opposite of what they do. They might as well require all students to speak in tongues, require all employees to tithe to a local church, or refuse to hire someone who is divorced. Many times such things are justified as avoiding any “appearance of impropriety,” but in reality they are merely adopting policies that give the appearance of being righteous. It is the exaltation of form over substance – exactly the opposite of what Paul is advocating.

It is sad, but true, that organized Christianity has long harbored a strong bias against liberty in Christ, favoring instead an autocratic and authoritarian approach to institutional government that seeks only to force conformity, or else be exiled. It is an approach which is not in accord with this or any other scripture. Those with knowledge – who actually know better – are treated as outliers to be marginalized or shunned. This is the history of the institutional church over the centuries, and it is no less true today than it was at any time in the past. There are too many Christian organizations today (even one is too many) which are ruled by people who have weak minds, weak faith, and the least knowledge.

What is the strong Christian, who has the requisite biblical knowledge, to do? Yield to their spiritual shepherds in the Lord? Lord, no. The Lord is my shepherd – not any other man. Whose conscience is inviolable? The individual’s. An organization may have a policy, but it has no conscience given by God, for it is not a human being. To whom did God give dominion authority over each person’s home? Christian organizations? Nope – the individual. May the individual strong in faith bear with the failings of the weak Christian institution and yield their conscience? Yes. Must they do so? Not on your life.

For why should my liberty be determined by someone else’s conscience? 1 Cor. 10:29.

Rom. 15:4-7 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Written For Our Instruction

Here we are told that a major purpose of whatever was written in former days, that is, the entirety of the Old Testament, was written for our instruction. Realizing, of course, that almost everything in the O.T. after Genesis chapter 11 pertains primarily to the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. Which might at first seem strange to Paul’s Gentile readers back in the first century A.D., who had no real familiarity with the scriptures up to that point, because they had all been initially given to the Jews. Rom. 3:2.

How wonderful it is that we have the full scriptures readily available in a variety of formats today, so that reading them has never been easier. Yet, I have observed that even today, nearly 2,000 years later, many Christians simply don’t know what to do with the Old Testament. Some churches almost entirely ignore it, and only preach sermons from the New Testament.

Paul here mentions specifically endurance, encouragement and hope, as things to be gained from reading the O.T. This undoubtedly refer to the history of the Jews as the special people of God. For the history of the Jews was full of bumps in the road, as it were, where they were born in slavery, wandered in the wilderness, fought wars (won some, lost some), became a divided kingdom with a broken monarchy, fell into habitual idolatry, and were exiled, etc. Not exactly a stellar history in many ways, yet God remained faithful, never abandoned them, chastised them but did not destroy them, preserved them for 3,500 years, and continues to give them a strong hope for the future.

All of which give cause for us to find endurance, encouragement and hope from their example. And that is exactly what Paul says in another place. “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.” 1 Cor. 10:11.

Not that those are the only things we can learn from the O.T. There is a great deal to be learned about world history, the coming and going of nations and empires, and the rise and progress of the kingdom of darkness opposed to the kingdom of God. Much is to be learned about creation, the flood and its impact on world population, and the worldwide environment and ecosystems. A basic understanding of anthropology, the development of languages and ethnic groups, and the migration of peoples are all to be found there. In addition, many scientific discoveries, such as the discovery of ocean currents, are traceable directly to the O.T. scriptures.

And of course, the O.T. is the single greatest repository of knowledge of the laws of nature and of nature’s God, the primary documentary evidence of the several divine covenants, a revelation of the principles of government, and a delineation of all the various statutes of God. Not to mention that much of what we are told about the future – end times prophecies, in particular – is contained in the O.T. To try to fully understand and appreciate end-times prophecy based solely on N.T. scriptures is doomed to failure. Similarly, to treat the O.T. as merely a religious text designed to impart spiritual truths is indeed foolishness. There is so much instruction the O.T. has to impart to us, if we would only take the time to search it diligently.

Rom. 15:8-13 For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles, and sing to your name.” And again it is said, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.” And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.” May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Christ the Hope of the Gentiles

In these verses, Paul reminds his readers that Jesus became a servant to the circumcised – that is, He came to the Jews only. Jesus Himself said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Mat. 15:24. He did this to show God’s truthfulness to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs – that is, He fulfilled the many prophecies of the Messiah given to Abraham, Moses, David and others, demonstrating that God is not a liar.

Then Paul inserts that very crucial word at the beginning of verse 9, and, signifying that he is going to pivot. He is no longer talking about the Jewish Messiah, per se, but about the hope of the Gentiles who have no Messiah – even though they are, in fact, one and the same. Jesus is both the Jewish Messiah and the hope of the Gentiles.

The Gentiles, of course, who did not have the O.T. scriptures for most of history, did not know their hope lay in Jesus until He had already come. So for Paul’s earliest Gentile readers, they were just being clued into the fact that God had planned for their inclusion in the kingdom of God from the beginning. Thus, Paul quotes from Isaiah, the Psalms and Deuteronomy to show the ancient origins of God’s plan.

To which he could have easily added: “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” Isa. 42:6-7.

Yet this is just another example of to the Jew first, then to the Greek. And it’s not simply a matter of God switching focus from one group to another, for we have extensively covered how God has not, and will never, abandon the Jews. Rather, He used the Jews as the means or method of getting through to the Gentiles, even though neither the Jews or Gentiles clearly perceived God’s plan. One person who did perceive the plan, at least in part, was Simeon, who declared, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” Lk. 2:29-32.

So it wasn’t merely that the gospel came to the Jews first, and then went to the Gentiles. It was Jewish men who wrote the Gospels so that all Gentiles could read them. It was a Jewish man, Paul, who specifically took the message of the gospel to the Gentiles. It was even the job of the Jews as a nation to be a light to the Gentiles, though they rarely acknowledged the light themselves. “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the LORD will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isa. 60:1-3

In other words, Christ is the hope of the Gentiles by virtue of the manner in which His light was displayed to and through the Jewish people.

Rom. 15:14-16 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

The Priestly Service of the Gospel

Paul here confirms that he is an instrument used of God to bring the gospel to the Gentiles, but in keeping with the prior section, Paul uses language consistent with him being a Jewish instrument. See, Rom. 11:1; Php. 3:5. This the significance of the phrase, the priestly service of the gospel of God. He is not writing about ministers of the gospel generally, or evangelists generally, or even church leaders generally. He knows that there are no human priests in the Church of Christ. He is writing about himself specifically, as a particular Jewish man working among non-Jews, fulfilling a very particular promise to the Jews.

“And you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Ex. 19:6. This all ties in together with the verses quoted from Isaiah in the prior section, that Israel would be a light to the Gentiles. This will reach its zenith in the Millennium, when all Israel (that is, all the surviving remnant of Israel) will be saved – when Jer. 31:31-34 will be fulfilled, and when Gentiles will clutch the robe of a Jew in the hope of being shown the way to Christ.

This function, on the part of the Jews, is an intermediary function – a priestly function. For the definition of a priest is one who stands between another person and God. In the Church, there is no mediator between God and man except Jesus Christ. But in the long view of both history and prophecy, the Jewish people will stand between the Gentiles and God and show them the way to Christ. Not in the way we typically associate with people calling themselves priests today, hearing confessions, doling out communion, baptizing infants, etc. But simply pointing the way to Christ, by one who knows the way, to one who does not know the way.

Paul, being the leading apostle to the Gentiles, is performing God’s desire for the Jewish people to point the way to the one true God. In this sense he is rendering a priestly service of the gospel. Similarly, Peter reminds his readers, that “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession. … Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. … Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable.” 1 Pet. 2:9-12.

This last phrase in particular shows who he is writing to – primarily believing Jews. That is, non-Gentiles who will be observed by Gentiles. And what he is bringing these Jewish believers back to is Ex. 19:6 (chosen race, royal priesthood, holy nation), a scripture never designated as applying to Gentiles. Neither Paul nor Peter are putting Gentile believers into the shoes of the Jews. There has never been a sense in which the Church is either a chosen race or a holy nation. Nothing in the Church is determined by bloodlines or nationalities. What is being recognized, is that God intended, from the very beginning of the nation of Israel, to use them as a means of reaching the Gentiles.

Rom. 15:17-21 In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else’s foundation, but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.”

What Christ Has Accomplished

Here Paul takes occasion to note some of his accomplishments for the sake of the gospel, though he never takes credit for himself. Rather, it is what Christ has accomplished, and the power of his ministry he ascribes to the Holy Spirit, not himself. In a very real sense, not to diminish him in any way, but merely to put the Lord in the proper place, we can say that Paul was nothing special, and had no special powers or authority. God chose him, yes, and showed him great mysteries that had never been revealed to anyone else. But none of this put him in charge of anything, or anyone. God used him, but He could have used anyone, at any time. Everything Paul was, or had, God gave him.

It was God who confronted Saul/Paul on the road to Damascus, and brought about his conversion. It was God who called him to be an apostle to the Gentiles. It was God who decided to reveal things which had been previously hidden. The gifts and talents Paul had all came from God. Even who he was, his intellect, his personality, his creativity and abilities, all came from God. As is true for all of the patriarchs and saints in the Bible, and which is also true for all of us. God chooses whom He uses, and to what extent. Who we are, and how we are used, is not something anyone can take credit for.

The same is true for objects mentioned in the scriptures. People today talk about the ark of the covenant like it was some sort of energy weapon, able to kill those who touched it, to dry up rivers, and slaughter armies opposed to whoever carried it into battle. What utter nonsense! The ark was a box made of ordinary wood and gold that had no inherent powers. The only thing that made it special was the Mercy Seat – the place in the center of the lid where God’s presence resided. The box itself did nothing except hold important objects. It was the power of God and His presence that made the ark extraordinary. And the idea that someone other than the Jews, like Adolf Hitler, could wield the ark to destroy his enemies, is pure fantasy and fiction. God alone decides where, when and on whose behalf He will display His power. The ark, by itself, is nothing special.

Similarly with respect to the so-called Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper. As if a plain, ordinary cup could grant anyone healing powers, or immortality, just because (even if such a thing were true) Jesus touched it. Jesus touching the cup did not imbue it with any special properties or powers. Even if it once held some of Jesus’ blood (a doubtful claim) it would mean nothing. The power of God does not reside in physical objects. The fascination of institutional Christianity over the centuries with so-called holy relics is just another form of idolatry.

Paul is here reminding us that no one is special, and no thing is special, apart from the power of God which He wields in His sole sovereign discretion. No one can capture or wield the power of God for their own private use.

Rom. 15:22-28 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you. But now, since I no longer have any room for work in these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem. For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings. When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you.

Aid to the Jerusalem Church

In these verses, Paul tells of a contribution he was to carry from the churches in Macedonia and Achaia to the church in Jerusalem. The gifts are described as being “for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” No indication is made that the contribution was made to, or on behalf of, church workers, church leaders, or any of the things people would normally consider today as part of the mission, work or ministry of the church. Nor were the funds for building maintenance, improvements or construction projects. The contribution was to be distributed among the members of the church according to their need, not their position, their calling, or for their services.

Paul mentions similar contributions from various churches in 1 Cor. 16:1-3 and 2 Cor. 9:1-5. In each case, the contributions came from a Gentile church and were for the benefit of the Jerusalem church. I am not aware of any other inter-church contributions in the N.T. The question is, why did the Jerusalem church need financial assistance, and why only them and not anyone else? The answer, of course, takes us back to the Day of Pentecost and the days shortly thereafter.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. Acts 2:42-45.

Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. Acts 4:32-35.

The tendency among many is to look at these verses and think, “My, how wonderful that must have been. Sitting at the feet of the apostles. Seeing signs and wonders. Praising God together, and being of one heart and soul. What marvelous fellowship that would have been.” You know, that probably would have been quite the experience. It’s always energizing to see the hand of God moving in the affairs of men.

It was also one of the most colossal and abysmal failures in the entire history of the Church. Don’t get me wrong. Listening to the apostles first hand, seeing signs and wonders, and having extraordinary fellowship is all good stuff. Watching the Spirit move among men, gaining new converts – hey, I’m all for it.

But no one told them to sell their possessions and distribute the proceeds, or to have all things (i.e., material things, or property) in common. Don’t assume facts not in evidence. Don’t assume that because they did these things, someone told them to do it, or that God wanted them to do it. Just because God blessed them spiritually doesn’t mean He approved of their economic plan. Just because so-and-so did such-and-such and the event is recorded in the Bible, does not mean God wanted those people to act that way. Or worse yet, that it is a pattern God wants others to follow. All the evidence is contra.

The example of Ananias and Sapphira won’t help. They were punished not for failing to sell their property, or failing to turn over all the proceeds, but solely for lying about what they did. Acts 5:1-5. They were under absolutely no duty before God to participate in this mad scheme.

And it was a mad scheme. What each of the families at Jerusalem did, by selling their property and distributing the proceeds to others, was to disobey the Dominion Mandate of Gen. 1:28-30. They gave up their private property for the sake of a common ownership, and thereby became communists for Jesus. They deprived themselves of their future ability to take dominion over the earth, and engaged in an economic scheme that was inherently unsustainable. And because of their foolish choice, they became a burden on many of the other churches in the region, which now had to divert funds from other uses to prop up a failing enterprise.

Which, I suggest, is why there is no record of any other church in the New Testament adopting a similar plan. Granted, there have been religious groups over the centuries who have tried to replicate the “all things in common” experience of the early Jerusalem church. All failed spectacularly. The Dominion Mandate has never expired or been modified – it still binds all the descendants of Adam today. This means you. Nothing in the ministry, life, death, or resurrection of Christ did anything to terminate, modify or supersede the Dominion Mandate. God expects Christians to follow the same rules as everyone else – God does not have two sets of laws, one for Christians “living in the Spirit” and another for everyone else.

The early Jerusalem church is the quintessential example of how not to operate a church. Anyone trying to replicate that today is being foolish. Their experience is recorded in scripture not to give us an example to follow, but as an object lesson of something to avoid.

But here’s the true legacy of that experience, which still affects us today. Church leaders, not so filled with the Holy Spirit as much as greed, decided very early on to task believers to give sacrificially’ to the Church, only instead of distributing the funds gained to needy church members, retained the funds for the benefit of church workers and lavish buildings. And so many churches have grown rich. When in fact there is not a single call in the scriptures for believers to give sacrificially to the Church, but that whole idea was born out of a gross perversion of the story of the widow’s mites. Lk. 21:1-4. Along with a gross misunderstanding of the experience of the early Jerusalem church. Not a pretty picture at all. One to be avoided at all costs, one might say.

Rom. 15:29-33 I know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the blessing of Christ. I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Deliver Us From The Unbelievers

It’s tempting to think that when we meet resistance to doing God’s work in the world, it’s most likely to come from demonic forces, pagans, and people aligned with palpable evil. But who are the unbelievers Paul talks about here? Fellow Jews, in the heart of Judea, (former) fellow Pharisees, people just like him in ethnicity, religion, and background. Well, the names and dates have changed, but not much else. For often the people likely to oppose the work of God you may be doing are fellow Christians, who will do anything to protect their own positions of power, revenue streams, and influence or reputation.

Oh, they believe in Christ – that’s not what makes them unbelievers. But they don’t believe the same as you do about matters of church authority, evangelism, civil disobedience, a biblical worldview, Christian nationalism, public schools, ordaining homosexuals, and a whole host of modern issues. The last thing they want you or anyone else doing is rocking their boat, taking a public stand that is different from theirs. Christians, it seems, are just as territorial as everyone else.

Such as the Christian university that liked the idea of starting a Christian law school, but had no idea what a biblical view of law is. And when they found out, didn’t like it because it conflicted with their view of attracting donations, getting accreditation, and gaining political influence. The remedy? Not to abandon the project, no never. Just fire all the biblically faithful faculty, strip the curriculum of biblical teachings, and rely on secular textbooks. Of course, they retained a statement of faith (all about Jesus, but nothing about law), maintained a daily student chapel (for fellowship, not instruction), and still promoted themselves as a Christian school. Turns out the enemy wasn’t really those heathen secularists in the A.B.A. after all.

Far from displaying the unity and community Paul commended his readers to follow, Christians are all too often ready to withdraw the hand of fellowship at a moment’s notice for perceived threats, perceived slights, and perceived offenses. If you’ve ever worked full-time for a Christian church or ministry, you know exactly what I mean.