Romans 15

Ro 15:1-13.

SAME

SUBJECT

CONTINUED AND

CONCLUDED.

1. We then that are strong--on such points as have been

discussed, the abolition of the Jewish distinction of meats and days

under the Gospel. See on

Ro 14:14;

Ro 14:20.

ought . . . not to please ourselves--ought to think less of what we

may lawfully do than of how our conduct will affect others.

2, 3. Let every one of us--lay himself out to

please his neighbour--not indeed for his mere gratification, but

for his good--with a view

to his edification.

3. For even Christ pleased not--lived not to please

himself; but, as it is written--

(Ps 69:9).

The reproaches, &c.--see

Mr 10:42-45.

4. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our

learning--"instruction"

through, &c.--"through the comfort and the patience of the Scriptures"

might have hope--that is, "Think not that because such portions

of Scripture relate immediately to Christ, they are inapplicable to

you; for though Christ's sufferings, as a Saviour, were exclusively His

own, the motives that prompted them, the spirit in which

they were endured, and the general principle involved in His

whole work--self-sacrifice for the good of others--furnish our most

perfect and beautiful model; and so all Scripture relating to these is

for our instruction; and since the duty of forbearance, the

strong with the weak, requires 'patience,' and this again needs

'comfort,' all those Scriptures which tell of patience and

consolation, particularly of the patience of Christ, and of the

consolation which sustained Him under it, are our appointed and

appropriate nutriment, ministering to us 'hope' of that blessed

day when these shall no more be needed." See on

Ro 4:7,

Note 7. (For the same connection between "patience and hope"

see on

Ro 12:12,

and

1Th 1:3).

5, 6. Now the God of patience and consolation--Such beautiful names of

God are taken from the graces which He inspires: as "the God of hope"

(Ro 15:13),

"the God of peace"

(Ro 15:33).

grant you to be likeminded--"of the same mind"

according to Christ Jesus--It is not mere unanimity which the apostle

seeks for them; for unanimity in evil is to be deprecated. But it is

"according to Christ Jesus"--after the sublimest model of Him whose

all-absorbing desire was to do, "not His own will, but the will of Him

that sent Him"

(Joh 6:38).

6. That, &c.--rather, "that with one accord ye may with one mouth

glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ"; the mind and the

mouth of all giving harmonious glory to His name. What a prayer! And

shall this never be realized on earth?

7. Wherefore--returning to the point

receive ye one another . . . to the glory of God--If Christ received

us, and bears with all our weaknesses, well may we receive and

compassionate one with another, and by so doing God will be glorified.

8-12. Now--"For" is the true reading: the apostle is merely assigning

an additional motive to Christian forbearance.

I say that Jesus Christ was--"hath become"

a minister of the circumcision--a remarkable expression, meaning "the

Father's Servant for the salvation of the circumcision (or, of Israel)."

for the truth of God--to make good the veracity of God towards His

ancient people.

to confirm the--Messianic

promises made unto the fathers--To cheer the Jewish believers, whom

he might seem to have been disparaging, and to keep down Gentile pride,

the apostle holds up Israel's salvation as the primary end of Christ's

mission. But next after this, Christ was sent.

9. that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy--A number of

quotations from the Old Testament here follow, to show that God's plan

of mercy embraced, from the first, the Gentiles along with the Jews.

as it is written--

(Ps 18:49).

I will confess to--that is, glorify

thee among the Gentiles.

10. And again--

(De 32:43,

though there is some difficulty in the Hebrew).

Rejoice, ye Gentiles--along

with his people--Israel.

11. And again--

(Ps 117:1).

Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people--"peoples"--the

various nations outside the pale of Judaism.

12. And again, Esaias saith--

(Isa 11:10).

There shall be a--"the"

root of Jesse--meaning, not "He from whom Jesse sprang," but "He that

is sprung from Jesse" (that is, Jesse's son David)--see

Re 22:16.

and he that shall rise, &c.--So the Septuagint in substantial,

though not verbal, agreement with the original.

13. Now, &c.--This seems a concluding prayer, suggested by the whole

preceding subject matter of the epistle.

the God of hope--(See on

Ro 15:5).

fill you with all joy and peace in believing--the native truth of that

faith which is the great theme of this epistle (compare

Ga 5:22).

that ye may abound in hope--"of the glory of God." (See on

Ro 5:1).

through the power of the Holy Ghost--to whom, in the economy of

redemption, it belongs to inspire believers with all gracious

affections.

On the foregoing portion, Note, (1) No Christian is at liberty to

regard himself as an isolated disciple of the Lord Jesus, having to

decide questions of duty and liberty solely with reference to himself.

As Christians are one body in Christ, so the great law of love binds

them to act in all things with tenderness and consideration for their

brethren in "the common salvation"

(Ro 15:1, 2).

(2) Of this unselfishness CHRIST is the perfect

model of all Christians

(Ro 15:3).

(3) Holy Scripture is the divine storehouse of all furniture for the

Christian life, even in its most trying and delicate features

(Ro 15:4).

(4) The harmonious glorification of the God and Father of our Lord

Jesus Christ by the whole body of the redeemed, as it is the most

exalted fruit of the scheme of redemption, so it is the last end of God

in it

(Ro 15:5-7).

Ro 15:14-33.

CONCLUSION:

IN

WHICH THE

APOSTLE

APOLOGIZES FOR

THUS

WRITING TO THE

ROMAN

CHRISTIANS,

EXPLAINS

WHY

HE

HAD

NOT

YET

VISITED

THEM,

ANNOUNCES

HIS

FUTURE

PLANS, AND

ASKS

THEIR

PRAYERS FOR THE

COMPLETION OF

THEM.

14, 15. And, &c.--rather, "Now I am persuaded, my brethren, even I

myself, concerning you"

that ye also yourselves are full of goodness--of inclination to all I

have been enjoining on you

filled with all knowledge--of the truth expounded

and able--without my intervention.

to admonish one another.

15. Nevertheless, I have written the more boldly unto you in some

sort--"measure"

as putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of

God--as an apostle of Jesus Christ.

16. that I should be the--rather, "a"

minister--The word here used is commonly employed to express the

office of the priesthood, from which accordingly the figurative language

of the rest of the verse is taken.

of Jesus Christ--"Christ Jesus," according to the true reading.

to the Gentiles--a further proof that the Epistle was addressed

to a Gentile church. (See on

Ro 1:13).

ministering the gospel of God--As the word here is a still more

priestly one, it should be rendered, "ministering as a priest in the

Gospel of God."

that the offering up of the Gentiles--as an oblation to God, in their

converted character.

might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost--the end to

which the ancient offerings typically looked.

17. I have therefore whereof I may glory--or (adding the article, as

the reading seems to be), "I have my glorying."

through--"in"

Christ Jesus in those things which pertain to God--the things of the

ministry committed to me of God.

18-22. For I will not dare to speak of any--"to speak aught"

of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me--a modest, though

somewhat obscure form of expression, meaning, "I will not dare to go

beyond what Christ hath wrought by me"--in which form accordingly

the rest of the passage is expressed. Observe here how Paul ascribes

all the success of his labors to the activity of the living Redeemer,

working in and by him.

in the next clause.

19. Through mighty--literally, "in the power of"

signs and wonders--that is, glorious miracles.

reading seems to be. This seems intended to explain the efficacy of the

word preached, as well as the working of the miracles which attested it.

so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto--"as far as"

Illyricum--to the extreme northwestern boundary of Greece. It

corresponds to the modern Croatia and Dalmatia

(2Ti 4:10).

See

Ac 20:1, 2.

I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

20, 21. Yea, &c.--rather, "Yet making it my study (compare

2Co 5:9;

1Th 4:11,

Greek) so to preach the Gospel, not where Christ was [already]

named, that I might not build upon another man's foundation: but (might

act) as it is written, To whom no tidings of Him came, they shall see,"

&c.

22. For which cause--"Being so long occupied with this

missionary work, I have been much (or, 'for the most part') hindered,"

&c. (See on

Ro 1:9-11.)

23, 24. But now having no more place--"no longer having place"--that

is, unbroken ground, where Christ has not been preached.

and having a great desire--"a longing"

these many years to come unto you--(as before, see on

Ro 1:9-11).

24. whensoever I take my journey into Spain--Whether this purpose was

ever accomplished has been much disputed, as no record of it nor

allusion to it anywhere occurs. Those who think our apostle was never

at large after his first imprisonment at Rome will of course hold that

it never was; while those who are persuaded, as we are, that he

underwent a second imprisonment, prior to which he was at large for a

considerable time after his first, incline naturally to the other

opinion.

I will come to you--If these words were not originally in the text,

and there is weighty evidence against them, they must at least be

inserted as a necessary supplement.

in my journey, &c.--"as I pass through by you, to be set forward on

my journey thither, if first I be somewhat filled with your company":

that is, "I should indeed like to stay longer with you than I can hope

to do, but I must, to some extent at least, have my fill of your

company."

25-27. But now I go to Jerusalem to minister--"ministering"

to the saints--in the sense immediately to be explained.

26. For, &c.--better, "For Macedonia and Achaia have thought good to

make a certain contribution for the poor of the saints which are at

Jerusalem." (See

Ac 24:17).

"They have thought it good; and their debtors verily they are"; that

is, "And well they may, considering what the Gentile believers owe to

their Jewish brethren."

27. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual

things, their duty is also--"they owe it also"

to minister unto them in carnal things--(Compare

1Co 9:11;

Ga 6:6;

and see

Lu 7:4;

Ac 10:2).

28, 29. When therefore I have . . . sealed--that is, delivered over

safely

to them this fruit--of the faith and love of the Gentile converts

I will come--"come back," or "return"

Ro 15:24).

29. And I am sure--"I know"

that . . . I shall come in the fulness of the blessing of

Christ--Such, beyond all doubts, is the true reading, the words "of

the gospel" being in hardly any manuscripts of antiquity and authority.

Nor was the apostle mistaken in this confidence, though his visit to

Rome was in very different circumstances from what he expected. See

Ac 28:16-31.

30. Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and

for the love of the Spirit--or, "by the Lord Jesus Christ, and by the

love of the Spirit"--not the love which the Spirit bears to us, but that

love which He kindles in the hearts of believers towards each other;

that is "By that Saviour whose name is alike dear to all of us and whose

unsearchable riches I live only to proclaim, and by that love one to

another which the blessed Spirit diffuses through all the brotherhood,

making the labors of Christ's servants a matter of common interest to

all--I beseech you."

that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me--implying

that he had his grounds for anxious fear in this matter.

31. That I may be delivered from them that do not believe--"that do not

obey," that is, the truth, by believing it; as in

Ro 2:8.

in Judea--He saw the storm that was gathering over him in Judea, which,

if at all, would certainly burst upon his head when he reached the

capital; and the event too clearly showed the correctness of these

apprehensions.

and that my service which I have for Jerusalem--(See on

Ro 15:25-28).

may be accepted of--"prove acceptable to"

the saints--Nor was he without apprehension lest the opposition he had

made to the narrow jealousy of the Jewish converts against the free

reception of their Gentile brethren, should make this gift of theirs to

the poor saints at Jerusalem less welcome than it ought to be. He would

have the Romans therefore to join him in wrestling with God that this

gift might be gratefully received, and prove a cement between the two

parties. But further.

32. That I may come unto you with--"in"

joy by the will of God--

(Ac 18:21;

1Co 4:19; 16:7;

Heb 6:3;

Jas 4:15)

and may with you be refreshed--rather, "with you refresh myself,"

after all his labors and anxieties, and so be refitted for future

service.

33. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen--The peace here sought

is to be taken in its widest sense: the peace of reconciliation to God,

first, "through the blood of the everlasting covenant"

(Heb 13:20;

1Th 5:23;

2Th 3:16;

Php 4:9);

then the peace which that reconciliation diffuses among all the

partakers of it

(1Co 14:33;

2Co 13:11;

and see on

Ro 16:20);

more widely still, that peace which the children of God, in beautiful

imitation of their Father in Heaven, are called and privileged to

diffuse far and wide through this sin-distracted and divided world

(Ro 12:18;

Mt 5:9;

Heb 12:14;

Jas 3:18).

Note, (1) Did "the chiefest of the apostles" apologize for writing

to a Christian church which he had never seen, and a church that he was

persuaded was above the need of it, save to "stir up their pure minds by

way of remembrance"

(2Pe 1:13; 3:1);

and did he put even this upon the sole plea of apostolic responsibility

(Ro 15:14-16)?

What a contrast is thus presented to hierarchical pride, and in

particular to the affected humility of the bishop of this very Rome!

How close the bond which the one spirit draws between ministers and

people--how wide the separation produced by the other! (2) There is in

the Christian Church no real priesthood, and none but figurative

sacrifices. Had it been otherwise, it is inconceivable that

Ro 15:16

should have been expressed as it is. Paul's only priesthood and

sacrificial offerings lay, first, in ministering to them as "the

apostle of the Gentiles," not the sacrament with the "real presence" of

Christ in it, or the sacrifice of the mass, but "the Gospel of God,"

and then, when gathered under the wing of Christ, presenting them to

God as a grateful offering, "being sanctified [not by sacrificial

gifts, but] by the Holy Ghost." (See

Heb 13:9-16).

(3) Though the debt we owe to those by whom we have been brought to

Christ can never be discharged, we should feel it a privilege when we

render them any lower benefit in return

(Ro 15:26, 27).

(4) Formidable designs against the truth and the servants of Christ

should, above all other ways of counteracting them, be met by combined

prayer to Him who rules all hearts and controls all events; and the

darker the cloud, the more resolutely should all to whom Christ's cause

is dear "strive together in their prayers to God" for the removal of it

(Ro 15:30, 31).

(5) Christian fellowship is so precious that the most eminent servants

of Christ, amid the toils and trials of their work, find it refreshing

and invigorating; and it is no good sign of any ecclesiastic, that he

deems it beneath him to seek and enjoy it even amongst the humblest

saints in the Church of Christ

(Ro 15:24, 32).