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Romans

Romans 15 – Christ Our Example; Paul’s Ministry

Published since 02. Dec. 2025
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Romans 15
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The opening paragraph of chapter 15 completes Paul’s teaching on dealing with differences among believers. The conclusion is this: believers who are strong in the faith are responsible for bearing with the weaknesses of believers who are not as strong. Instead of pleasing themselves, they should aim for what spiritually benefits the other. The mindset that says, “I have the right to do this, and I will, no matter what anyone thinks!” is not the mind of Christ. It is the exact opposite of what Christ did.

“Christ did not please Himself.”
Scripture bears witness to this, and the Gospels confirm it. He alone had the absolute right to please Himself, yet He lived entirely at God’s disposal and identified Himself completely with God. So fully was He aligned with God that when people wanted to reproach God, they ended up heaping their insults on Christ. He is our great Example. As we meditate on Him as revealed in Scripture, the patience and encouragement we need to follow Him become ours.

Therefore, we are to reflect the gracious spirit of Christ in our interactions with one another; we are to be “like-minded … according to Christ Jesus.” For this, we need not only the guidance of Scripture but also the power of God Himself, who is “the God of patience and comfort.” Strengthened by Him, we will be able to glorify God together. Instead of the weak criticizing the strong and the strong despising the weak (see Rom. 14:2), all our minds and mouths should be filled with praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. What a beautiful picture that is!

Therefore, despite any differences that may exist, we are to receive one another warmly, enjoying Christian fellowship, so that this beautiful picture becomes reality, to the glory of God.

Having finished the practical instructions about daily Christian living, Paul begins in verse 8 to summarize what he had taught earlier about Christ’s relationship to both Jews and Gentiles. Christ came as the Servant who fulfilled all of God’s purposes for Israel, confirming the promises made to the patriarchs, even though those promises are not yet fully realized. As for the Gentiles, Christ came to bring God’s mercy to them as well, so that they too might glorify God. This mercy to the Gentiles, though unexpected by the Jews, was not a new idea — it was foretold in the Old Testament. Moses, David, and Isaiah all testified to it (as verses 9–12 show).

Most believers in Rome were Gentiles. So Paul’s prayer in verse 13 carries special weight. Formerly, they had been “without God and without hope,” just as Gentile believers in Ephesus were reminded. Now the God who is “the God of hope” is asked to fill them with such joy and peace that they overflow with hope. This is a glorious result — and it comes from believing the Gospel. It is “in believing” and “through the power of the Holy Spirit.” When we believe the Gospel, we receive the Spirit — and then peace, hope, and joy flow in, just as Romans 5 revealed.

Many people desperately seek peace and joy, but they try to obtain them by working harder, resolving more, praying harder, or stirring up emotions. None of these produces what they seek. These blessings come only by believing. Faith alone brings the soul into real contact with God. And only the Holy Spirit fills the believer’s heart with the joy, peace, and hope that are the proper fruits of the Gospel. It is very fitting that Paul desires these things for his readers, since this epistle unfolds the Gospel that produces them.

In verse 14, Paul expresses his confidence in the believers at Rome. From that point to the end of the chapter, he discusses personal matters—his service for the Lord, his intentions, and what he has already accomplished.

Paul’s ministry was directed especially to the Gentiles. In verse 16, he describes this ministry in striking terms: he speaks of preaching the Gospel as if offering a priestly sacrifice, so that the Gentile converts are presented to God as an offering, made acceptable because they have been sanctified by the Holy Spirit given to them. This likely alludes to the consecration of the Levites in Numbers 8:1–19, where Aaron presented the Levites to the Lord as an offering on behalf of Israel. Paul saw his Gentile converts as a spiritual band of Levites consecrated to God for service. His whole approach to Gospel work had a priestly character. He could “boast,” but only “in Christ Jesus,” since all of it was truly the work of Christ through him.

These thoughts led him to a short review of what he had accomplished. First, the geographic scope of his work was immense: “from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum.” Illyricum was northwest of Macedonia — so we see what an enormous region he had covered, especially given the primitive travel conditions of his day. Second, the character of his work was pure evangelism — pioneering, foundational, going where no one else had gone, preaching where Christ had not been named. In this, he fulfilled Scripture, as verse 21 indicates.

Because this was the nature of his ministry, he had been prevented from visiting Rome; others had already brought the Gospel there. But his missionary vision extended beyond Rome to distant Spain, and he hoped to travel there one day, stopping at Rome on the way. For now, however, he planned first to go to Jerusalem, carrying a gift from the believers in Macedonia and Achaia for the poor saints there.

This collection is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, and more extensively in 2 Corinthians 8–9. These passages help us understand why Paul places Macedonia before Achaia. The Philippians, though poorer, were far more generous than the Corinthians. They talked less and gave more. Acts tells us why the Jerusalem saints were in special need: there had been a famine in the region (Acts 11:27–30), and earlier, in Acts 2:44–45, they had practiced a kind of Christian communal sharing that later left many in poverty. Their need became the occasion for strengthening the practical bond between Gentile and Jewish believers.

There was a strong tendency in those days for Jews and Gentiles to drift apart, intensified by the influence of Judaizing teachers from Jerusalem. Paul, therefore, felt this collection was extremely important and insisted on taking it himself. He knew the risks — verses 30–31 show he anticipated danger. Whether Paul was right to go to Jerusalem has often been debated; we need not settle that here. What we should notice is that the prayer request he gave the Roman believers was answered — though not exactly as he intended. He was indeed delivered from his enemies, but through imprisonment by Roman authorities.

And he did eventually come to Rome “with joy,” and was refreshed by the believers there, just as Acts 28:15 shows. Another example of how God answers prayer — but according to His will, not necessarily our expectations. And Paul did come “in the fullness of the blessing of Christ.” Philippians 1:12-13 and Philemon 10 testify to this. Paul desired peace — peace in which the saints and God’s work might flourish — and so he ends the chapter with a prayer that “the God of peace” would be with them.

It is worth noticing the three titles of God in this chapter:

  • “the God of patience and consolation”(v. 5)
  • “the God of hope”(v. 13)
  • “the God of peace”(v. 33)

We should meditate on these. What God is at any time, He always is; and what He is to any of His people, He is to all of them — and to each of us personally. Therefore, He is all of this for you and for me.

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