Bible Commentaries
Romans 15

Verses 1-7

Romans 15:1. Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves.

Romans 15:2. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.

I am reminded of that passage in Galatians 6:1 where Paul writes, “Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual (you that are strong), restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; looking to yourselves, lest you too be tempted.” This can also be translated, “If a man is out of joint.”

If we are strong, we are to put the brother back into joint again. We’re to receive him. As we had it in Romans 14:1, we should bear the infirmities of the weak, not judge him, not criticize him. We should sacrifice for his sake that he might be built up in the faith, that he may be strong, that he may be able to walk on his own two feet.

A great many Christians need a lot of help. So many are on spiritual crutches. So many are in spiritual hospitals. Some churches are nothing but convalescent wards.

Oh, what an atmosphere of fellowship and joy and blessing there would be among God’s people if we were all trying to please the other fellow. I don’t mean to dance up to the other fellow and pat him on the back with an enthusiasm that’s not real. But let’s edify him, attract him to Christ, especially if he has failed God. Let’s encourage him in the Lord.

Romans 15:3. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is writ­ten, “THE REPROACHES OF THOSE WHO REPROACHED THEE FELL UPON ME.”

This hits us pretty hard, doesn’t it? What is the example? “Christ did not please himself.”

Do you know of any place in our Lord’s life among men when He pleased Himself? There is only one verse where He said, “Father, I want something for myself.” And that’s John 17:24, where He said, “Father, I desire that they also, whom Thou hast given me, be with Me where I am; in order that they may behold My glory.”

Oh, friend, Christ pleased not Himself and the reproaches that should have fallen on other people fell on Him; and the reproaches that men had against God fell upon Him. He is the example of one who pleased not Himself.

May I give you a few Scriptures just to kind of make it very precious to you? Psalms 40:7-8 says, “In the scroll of the book it is written of me, I delight to do Thy will, O my God; Thy Law is within my heart.” In John 4:34, He could say to His disciples, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me.” That was His desire.

434 Let’s Revel in Romans

In John 5:30, John 8:29, Matthew 26:42 and Hebrews 10:5-10 He said again and again that he came not to do His own will, but His Father’s will.

His whole life was one of ministering. He “did not come to be served, but to serve” (Matthew 20:28). He took upon Himself “the form of a bond-servant” (Philippians 2:7). In John 13:1-38, He took a towel and girded Himself. What a sight for angels who had worshiped Him. What a sight for them to see the Son of God on His knees, girded with a towel, washing the dirty feet of His disciples.

Oh, friend, the Lord Jesus left us an example that we should follow in His steps. To think that He should leave the glory just because He loved you. And where were you? Active in your sins.

Where were you?

Dead in trespasses and sins.

Where was the other brother?

In the same position.

And if God the Son loved him and loved you and died for both of you, don’t you think that you ought to love each other? Sacrifice for each other? There is only one answer to that, isn’t there?

Now for the encouragement.

Romans 15:4. For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encour­agement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

He is inferring here that the whole Old Testa­ment gives to us a revelation and an example. Of what? Of patience and comfort.

“But, Mr. Mitchell,” you say, “I can’t stand that other brother. I can’t stand the things he does. I can’t stand him. He is weak. He is stumbling. He’s a disgrace to the Lord.”

Yes, that’s because you need patience. That’s because you need the love of Christ to be welling up in your heart for him.

And, remember, Christ pleased not Himself. The whole Old Testament is a revelation of the fact, written for our learning, that we through pa­tience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope—not only personal hope but hope for the other believer that he might become strong in Christ.

Romans 15:5. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encour­agement . . .

Why didn’t Paul say, “The God of glory?”

Why didn’t he say, “The God of all grace?” Why didn’t he say, “The God of peace?”

No, what strong believers need is patience with the weak believer.

Romans 15:5. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encour­agement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus;

Romans 15:6. That with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 15:7.Wherefore, accept one another, just as Christ also ac­cepted us to the glory of God.

Tell me, how did Christ receive you?

In grace, in tenderness, in compassion, in love. Isn’t that right?

Then how should I receive my brother who doesn’t agree with me? Or my brother who is weak, possibly a little worldly, frail, who doesn’t know very much of the truth of God?

How shall I receive him?

In Christ.

Have fellowship with him so that together with one mouth you may glorify God and accept one another as Christ accepted you.

Remember, he is the object of the grace of God just as much as you are. He is the object of the af­fection of Christ just as much as you are. Then, my friend, fellowship with him and together glorify God.

Now, having dealt with the need for unity and fellowship between strong and weak, between ma­ture and immature Christians, Paul begins to plead for more unity between converted Jews and Gentiles. For, as Christ has accepted both Jew and Gentile, so we should accept each other—not on sectarian grounds or the grounds of culture or background—but because we are in Christ.

You remember in his epistle, John speaks of fa­thers, young men and babies; but they are all in the same family.

Paul is thinking of the family as he writes to the Christian church of his day.

Verses 1-33

Liberty and license are two different things. With license, you do what you want to do without regard for what happens to anybody else. Lib­erty is the freedom not to do something that will be a stumbling block to others.

Real liberty has tremendous respect for the rights of others. No man lives to himself. No man dies to himself. As long as you are on this earth, my friend, you must live with other people and, especially, with other Christians. If you claim to be strong, you have a tremendous responsibility to those who are weak.

Verses 8-12

Romans 15:8. For I say that Christ has become a servant to the cir­cumcision on behalf of the truth of God to confirm the prom­ises given to the fathers,

Romans 15:9. And for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy; as it is written, “THEREFORE I WILL GIVE PRAISE TO THEE AMONG THE GENTILES, AND I WILL SING TO THY NAME.”

One purpose of Christ’s coming was so that He could be the minister of the circumcision for the truth of God. Now, it’s very obvious, when our Lord came and walked among men, that He came to “confirm the promises given to the fathers.”

Why? “That the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.”

One is reminded of Matthew 15:22-28 where the Syro-Phoenician woman said to the Lord Jesus, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.”

A Gentile, she came on the wrong ground. She came to Him as if she were a Jew, claiming the mercies of David. But Gentiles have nothing in the mercies of David. He rightly said, “It is not meet to take the children’s bread, and cast it to dogs.” In other words, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

It was only when she began to plead, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their master’s table” that she got on the right ground and her daughter was healed.

You see, the Lord came to confirm the promises made to Israel. In Matthew 10:5-6, when He sent out His disciples two by two, He said to them, “Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” This was their limited ministry.

In Acts 3:26, in the second message of Peter, he said to Jerusalem, “For you first, God raised up His servant, and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.” To whom? To the Jew first. Christ “came to confirm the promises given to the Fathers” (verse 8).

You take John 12:1-50 when certain Gentiles came and said, “We wish to see Jesus.” Do you know what He said?

“The hour has come.”

What hour?

The hour for crucifixion.

Unless a corn of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it can’t bring forth fruit.

You see, there was no place for the Gentile until Christ died on the cross. He came “to confirm the promises given to the Fathers.” He came to con­firm the truth of God who had made certain prom­ises to Israel about the coming of the Messiah and what they could expect.

And if I were teaching the Book of Matthew, which is the “Book of the Messiah,” I would point out how the Lord proved His legal right to the throne and His moral right to the throne and His prophetical right to the throne in chapters 8, 9 and 10.

That’s why, when He sent out the disciples two by two, He said, “Don’t go to the Gentiles or to the Samaritans. Go to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” These were His prophetical acts. He com­pleted His prophetical right to the throne. They should have known what He would do. Isaiah spoke of it.

But why this Romans 15:9, “For the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy”?

Both Jew and Gentile are included in the pur­pose of God.

Now mark why Paul is writing this. He’s urg­ing the fellowship of Jew and Gentile in the Sav­iour. This is what God expects.

Romans 15:10. And again he says, “REJOICE, O GENTILES, WITH HIS PEOPLE” (that is, with the Jews).

Romans 15:11. And again, “PRAISE THE LORD ALL YOU GENTILES, AND LET ALL THE PEOPLES PRAISE HIM.”

1Romans 15:2. And again Isaiah says, “THERE SHALL COME THE ROOT OF JESSE, AND HE WHO ARISES TO RULE OVER THE GENTILES, IN HIM SHALL THE GENTILES HOPE.”

In other words, Paul is urging these Jewish Christians to accept the Gentile Christians as being one with themselves.

Now it is very hard for us today to realize the tremendous difference between the Jew and the Gentile, especially in the first century. In Galatians 2:1-21, Paul rebuked Peter because Peter left the Gen­tiles and moved over to the Jewish side.

Paul withstood Peter on this because there was a possibility that two kinds of churches, a Jewish church and a Gentile church, would result.

And here in Romans 15:1-33, he is informing us that our Lord came to confirm the promises given to the Fathers, not only for the Jew to be saved, but that the Gentiles also would come to know God. Then both Jews and Gentiles together could be joined in their praises and in their worship of God. This is what you have in Romans 15:8-12.

Verses 8-33

Now, starting in at Romans 15:8, he gives exhortations to the people of God. The first one occurs in Romans 15:8-13 where he says that the Gentiles are to be blessed through Christ and that His ministry is to bring everybody, Jews and Gentiles, into one body called the Church.

Verse 13

Romans 15:13. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is an amazing verse. Our hope is based, first on all, on the resurrection of the Son of God; and then it is based on the faithfulness of God. The resurrection of Christ and the faithfulness of God guarantee our hope.

If our Saviour is not raised from the dead, then we have no hope. This is what 1 Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

Our Saviour is a risen, glorified, exalted Saviour, exalted to the right hand of authority. That, my friend, gives me hope.

Furthermore, the faithfulness of God guarantees that hope. What God has said, He will surely per­form.

For example, God has declared that every Chris­tian is going to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

Jesus said also in John 14:3, “Where I am, there you may be also.” So wherever Jesus Christ is, the faithfulness of God guarantees that we will be there. God will surely keep His Word to every one of His people. So I like this 13^th verse Romans 15:13, “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing.”

You see, friend, He is the God of hope, not only for the Jew but for the Gentile. And having the same Saviour, having the same salvation, hav­ing the same destination, having the same hope in Christ Jesus, then every believer ought to rejoice in having fellowship together in Christ Jesus that we might glorify God for His mercy. And this cer­tainly cancels all credibility for separate churches for saved Jews and saved Gentiles.

When a person really loves and trusts the Sav­iour, my friend, there is a bond there that is eter­nal and complete. We ought to rejoice whether Jew or Gentile, whoever we are, in the God of our sal­vation. Why? He is the God of hope, and He is the God of patience for all of us together.

Now let’s have one more look at Romans 15:13. “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

My, what a verse! That He might “fill you with all joy.” Hope brings joy. A hopeless person has no joy, no joy, nothing to look forward to, living ex­actly in the present.

Do you remember our Lord once told us to be full of joy? In John 15:11, He said to His disciples in the upper room, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full”— full, full, full. Is your joy full? When a Christian’s joy is not full, you can count on one thing. His fellowship with the Lord Jesus is broken. He has lost that deep joy that is not af­fected by circumstances.

“My joy I give unto you.” The Lord said that in light of the cross. In a few hours He was going to be scourged, and then He was going to be cruci­fied. He was going through those two terrible things just because He loved you and me.

And yet He, for the joy, if I may quote Hebrews 12:2, “set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” You see, this is the joy that you have in the midst of affliction or in the midst of sorrow or disappointment or pain. You can have a real and a settled joy. And the hope of the be­liever—even in the midst of all circumstances— that Christ may come today, fills us with joy.

What is the purpose of it all? “That you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Friend, I do not need to know your circumstances. I know One who is with you in your circum­stances, One who knows all about your circum­stances, One who never leaves you in your cir­cumstances. And He is the God of hope who can fill you with all joy, with all peace in believing. He is the One who has caused you to abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Now, I’d like to take a little side trip and no­tice the titles we have here.

For example, in Romans 15:5, He is called “the God who gives perseverance.” Why? Because of our need for endurance. He is patient with each one of us. Hence in a practical way, we ought to be patient with one another.

Now the second thing in Romans 15:5, He is also “the God of encouragement.” You see, again we need encouragement so we can comfort others. Paul suffered a great deal so that he might be able to comfort all of us down through the centuries who have gone through certain afflictions and sorrows.

It may be that you are going through a great deal of sorrow now.

It may be that the Lord is permitting this so that at some future time, if He tarries, He may make you a channel of comfort and blessing to some dear heart that nobody can touch but you.

You see, the Lord never leaves us. He knows ex­actly how much we can stand. And, I tell you, it’s a great thing, when you’ve gone through the same experience someone is going through, to sit down and understand and comfort and encourage him and strengthen him and lead him to a place where the Lord will be glorified. Now come down to Romans 15:13.

He is also “the God of hope.” In the God of hope, we have abounding joy, abounding peace and abounding hope because Christ Jesus is our hope. And our hope is guaranteed by the resurrec­tion of Christ and by the faithfulness of God.

In verse 33, He is “the God of peace.” It’s rather remarkable that our Saviour is called “the God of peace” more than anything else in the New Testa­ment. In Romans 15:33, He is the God of peace who will “be with you all.” In Romans 16:20, He is the God of peace who “will soon crush Satan un­der your feet.” In Hebrews 13:20-21, He is the God of peace, “who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep,” who will equip His people in every good work. He is again the God of peace who “shall be with you” in Philippians 4:9. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, the God of peace will “sanctify you entirely.” In l Corinthians 14:33, the God of peace is opposed to all confusion, anything that will split up and confuse the people of God.

What I’m after, my friends, is one thing—the foundation of the fellowship of God’s people is anchored in the person of God Himself.

This is what we have here in chapter 15. He is the God of patience because we need endurance. He is the God of all comfort because we need en­couragement. He is the God of hope when all around seems to be failing because He fills me with joy and peace and because He will perfect that which He has started.

He’s the God of peace, guaranteeing the perfect­ing of God’s purpose in His people, guaranteeing the completion of our salvation and guaranteeing that He will defeat Satan under our feet shortly.

He is called “the God of all grace” in 1 Peter 5:10: “And after you have suffered for a little, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To him be dominion forever and ever.”

And finally, He is the everlasting God, the eternal God in Romans 16:26.

You see, what I’m talking about here is the fact that the person of God must be the center of our fellowship. If anything else is the center of fellow­ship, then we are going to have confusion, not fel­lowship. Period. But when hearts are gathered around the person of Christ who is the God of all patience and the God of all hope and the God of all comfort and the God of all peace and the God of all grace, the Eternal God, oh, friend, this knits us to­gether in the Person of Christ. He is there for us every day, every hour of the day, every minute of the day.

My, what a God! What a Saviour we have!

Christian friend, why don’t you get occupied with Him? If you look at men, they are failures. If you look at leaders, they disappoint you. You look at Him, and He will never disappoint you.

Take courage. He will work all things out after the counsel of His own will and perfect in you and me that which pleases Him.

Verse 14

Romans 15:14. And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able also to admonish one another.

What an assembly of Christians you have when you have these three marvelous things—goodness, spiritual perception and openness to admonish one another. You notice in Romans 15:13, they had all joy, they had all peace, and they were abounding in hope. But now he is persuaded of them that they are also full of goodness. This is the proof of their faith.

Now remember that Paul had not met these Roman Christians. He had just heard of them. In the first chapter, he longed to see them that he might impart to them some spiritual gift to the end they would be edified and built up and estab­lished. He thanked God for their faith in the Lord Jesus and their love for all the saints, but he had never met them.

Now he says, “I am convinced that you your­selves are full of goodness.” You know, it’s a won­derful thing when the love of Christ is evident in a Christian by his being good. Barnabas was called “a good man.” He was full of the Holy Spirit and full of wisdom. He was able to bring joy and edifi­cation to God’s people. And when the Bible says that a man is a good man, believe me, my friend, he’s good.

And Paul was persuaded that these Roman Christians were full of goodness which, I say, was proof of their faith. And it’s folly for you and me to talk about our faith in the Lord Jesus if it is not transforming our lives.

And, furthermore, they were filled with knowl­edge. It doesn’t mean they were filled with worldly knowledge, but rather they were able to under­stand and perceive spiritual realities. It’s a won­derful thing, you know, to find Christians who are full of spiritual perception. They are able to discern that which is right, that which is in accord with the Word of God, that which is in accord with the character of God as well as the love of God and the grace of God.

And then they were able to admonish one an­other. That is, they were able to guide each other and build each other up. They were able in love to correct fellow believers and to exhort one another for edification.

You know, admonishing one another doesn’t mean that you know more than the other fellow and you kind of crow about things or you sit in judgment on God’s people in their frailty. No, this is one who is not only able to perceive things spiritually but has the grace and the tenderness and the understanding to encourage God’s people to go on with God. Sometimes you have to say things that are hard to say, and yet it is for the glory of God and for the benefit of His people.

As dear old Solomon could say in Proverbs 27:6, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend,” a friend who will love you enough to even wound you sometimes because you need it.

Now Paul begins to speak of his experience.

Romans 15:15-21

Romans 15:15. But I have written very boldly to you on some points, so as to remind you again, because of the grace that was given me from God,

Romans 15:16. To be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, minis­tering as a priest the gospel of God, that my offering of the Gentiles might become acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:17. Therefore in Christ Jesus I have found reason for boasting in things pertaining to God.

Now the Apostle was preaching everywhere in the power of God that he might bring the Gentiles who at one time were in idolatry, afar off, dead in sins, without Christ, without hope and without God, into new life in Christ. He longed that through his ministry of the gospel these Gentiles might be so transformed and so set apart by the Spirit of God that they would be an offering, of­fered up to God with thanksgiving.

You know, it’s a wonderful thing to have the opportunity as Paul did to go to the Gentiles. Who else would go?

You may say Peter. No, Peter didn’t go to the Gentiles. He was an apostle to the Jews. All Peter knew was Jewish culture. But when God wanted a man who could reach the Gentile world, He picked a man who was well acquainted with both the Jewish and Gentile cultures.

For, you remember, the Apostle Paul came from the city of Tarsus where you have the academies of the Stoics and the Epicurean philosophers.

Paul was well versed in the philosophies of the Greeks and the Romans as well as the Jewish people. And the result was he was usable.

Romans 15:18. For I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, resulting in the obedience of the Gentiles by word and deed,

Romans 15:19. In the power of signs and wonders, in the power of the Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and round about as far as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

Romans 15:20 And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build upon an­other man’s foundation;

Romans 15:21. But as it is written, “THEY WHO HAD NO NEWS OF HIM SHALL SEE, AND THEY WHO HAVE NOT HEARD SHALL UNDERSTAND.”

My, what an evangelist this man was! He was full of the compassion and the tenderness of Christ.

Do you remember in Acts 20:1-38, when speaking to the Ephesian elders on the shore of Myletus, Paul said in effect, “I have not kept anything back. I have given everything that I knew of the Word of God to you folk. I didn’t come with a part message. I came with the full message of the gospel of Christ. In fact, I have strived to preach the gospel not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man’s foundation.”

You know, this gets hold of my heart. How of­ten do we hear only a part of the gospel. We don’t hear the full truth that God has given to us. What a need we have for men in this country and throughout the world, men whose very lives are saturated with the Word of God, whose very affec­tions and devotion are centered in the person of Christ and whose dependence is not on the things of man but in the power of the Spirit of God.

This is Paul.

No wonder, when you come to Philippians 1:1-30, he could say—now, may I use my own words here?— “I don’t care whether I live or whether I die. It makes no difference to me as long as Christ is magnified in my body. I count everything but loss—the good things of life—yes, I count every­thing but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord for whom I have suffered the loss of all things.”

What for? “That men might know the gospel of the grace of God.”

Oh, that in some way God would raise up, in these last days, men and women with hearts full of tenderness and compassion for lost souls and whose very passion will be the Person of Christ. We need men and women who will not be satisfied until they reach people everywhere with the gospel of Christ.

I can begin to feel something of the passion of this man Paul who could say, “I have fully preached the gospel of Christ. And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build upon another man’s foundation.”

You know, it is something to go into a place where they have never heard the gospel of Christ. You go in and make known the wonderful, won­derful grace of God; and then you see precious souls saved, taken out of sin, maybe out of idola­try. They have no doctrines to undo, and you can just come with the precious Word of God. Then these dear people accept the Saviour and fall in love with Him. They take up the Word of God, and He just opens it wide to them.

My, what a wonderful experience it is to sit down and talk to somebody who has never really heard the gospel of Christ! It’s wonderful to see the Spirit of God take the Word and make it live in that person’s heart. And then you have the joy of building that person up in Christ Jesus. You know, there is nothing comparable.

Now to make disciples means that you not only bring people to the saving knowledge of Christ but you follow through and you build them up. You build them up in Christ Jesus. I say it’s a wonder­ful thing.

You know, I can appreciate that in my early min­istry I had the joy of preaching the Word of God on the Canadian prairies where nobody else had been with the gospel. They hadn’t had a gospel message for some 20, 30 years.

Believe me, my friends, I loved to stand up be­fore people in a school house and bring to them the precious Word of God. And, after preaching for an hour, to have them say to you, “What are you stopping for? Give us the rest of it.”

And I preached until 11, 12 o’clock at night, three or four hours, to hungry people who for the first time were really hearing the wonderful grace of God. What a joy to see them accept the Saviour and to see the transformation of their lives and to build them up in the holy faith.

I can just sense the yearning of Paul’s heart.

Oh, what an evangelist this man was, what a missionary, what a heart for God, and what a heart for men and women—for God’s people.

Oh, that God would give us big hearts, not little tiny things, but big hearts that will take God’s people and establish them in the truth.

Oh, to get a hold of some of these dear, dear people for whom Christ died; for God still loves them, and He wants that love to be manifested through you and me so that we can reach these people with the Word of Life that they too might be saved.

Verses 14-33

Verses 22-33

Paul’s great desire, of course, was that he might go to Rome and encourage these dear Christians in the Saviour, these people he had never seen. He had heard of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He had heard of their love for the people of God, and how he yearned to see them face to face and to have some fruitage among them.

From verse 22 to the end of the chapter you have the great yearning and desire of the Apostle Paul for the building up of God’s people. He had no desire to build upon another man’s foundation. He was the special apostle to the Gentiles; and he would like to take these Gentile believers and offer them up before God as an acceptable sacrifice, set apart by the Spirit of God.

This ought to be the yearning of every pastor and every Christian worker—to be able to present men and women to Christ with great joy, great blessing, an acceptable sacrifice.

I wonder sometimes if that was in the heart of the Apostle John. You remember in 1 John 2:28 where he said, “And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.”

Now I am well aware of the fact that that could be true of the whole body of Christ; but possibly John is saying “when I present you whom I have led to the Saviour to the Lord Jesus, I want to do it without being ashamed.”

We have the same thought here in the Apostle Paul when he speaks of these Roman Christians. How he longed to see them that he might impart to them some spiritual gift.

Romans 15:22. For this reason I have often been hindered from com­ing to you;

Romans 15:23.But now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you

Romans 15:24. Whenever I go to Spain—for I hope to see you in pass­ing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for awhile—

In other words, Paul is saying, “I am planning to go west to Spain, and on my way I want to stop by Rome and see you folk so that you and I both may be encouraged and edified by our mutual faith.”

Romans 15:25. But now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints.

Romans 15:26. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

Romans 15:27.Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things.

Romans 15:28. Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain.

Romans 15:29. And I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fulness of the blessing of Christ.

You know, he came to them all right, but he didn’t get a prosperous journey because when he went to Jerusalem with the offering to the Jewish Christians, he was taken prisoner in the temple courtyard. And the Jews would have pulled Paul to pieces—they would have killed him—if the Romans hadn’t stepped into the picture and delivered him. He was taken prisoner. Then he went down to Caesarea and was there for more than two years. From there, he went to Rome and was ship­wrecked.

I don’t know whether he ever went to Spain or not. Tradition says he did, but I don’t know ac­cording to the Word of God.

Now, when you come to Romans 15:29, I like the con­fidence of this man Paul. He said, “And I know (am sure) when I come to you, I will come in the ful­ness of the blessing of Christ.”

You know, that has been one of my own great desires when I go out on Bible conference ministry or go to some different places to have meetings. I want to go in all the fulness and blessing of the gospel of Christ.

This gets hold of my heart. Would indeed that every evangelist, every Bible teacher, every pastor every time he gets up and opens the Word of God would be filled unto all the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ so that, as his own heart is full of His blessing, he will relate that blessing to God’s people.

You know when a person gets blessed in his own ministry of the Word of God, he can be very sure that others are going to be blessed. You know that sometimes, when I am talking over the radio, I get so blessed when I think of the truths I am trying to impart. I get so blessed that I am sure the listeners get blessed, too.

I want you to mark Paul’s need for prayer.

Romans 15:30. Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,

Romans 15:31. That I may be delivered from those who are disobedi­ent in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints;

Romans 15:32. So that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.

Paul had just said in Romans 15:18-20 that he had gone out preaching to the Gentiles and the mighty power of God was manifested in signs and won­ders by the Spirit of God. He said that from Jeru­salem to Illyricum the gospel had been proclaimed to everybody. A great many people had come to know the Saviour.

And yet, by the end of the chapter, an amazing thing takes place. Paul turns to these Christians he has never seen and asks them to pray for him. Oh, the humility of this man!

Listen to this prayer because, after he uses an amazing word, he makes three requests. “I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive . . .” Now that word “strive” means to agonize in prayer.

Do you remember Epaphras in Colossians 4:12? He was “always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers.” He was always agonizing in prayer that God’s people might stand complete in the Word of God. Here is a place where the believer can come into the presence of God and plead with Him for others. I’m not talking about saying prayers. I’m talking about getting right down in earnest.

Friend, since when did you get down before God and mean business—I mean really mean busi­ness?

I’ve had the privilege and honor—and it’s a sa­cred thing—to be in the presence of people who have meant business before God when they were on their knees. They forgot about you and every­body else as they laid hold of the Throne of Grace in behalf of somebody else. There is something about it. It’s beyond the ken of men, that redeemed men and women can besiege the Throne of Grace and come right into the presence of God in the inner chamber. They come right into the holi­est place of all and plead with God for the requests on their heart.

This is what Paul is asking—“that you agonize, that you strive, that you mean business together with me in your prayers to God for me.”

Now, what does he want?

First of all, “that I may be delivered from those who are disobedient in Judea,” that I might be de­livered from them that hate the gospel. He knows what he is going to go into. “Pray that I may be de­livered from them that do not believe, from the unsaved Jews in Jerusalem.”

Now, somebody is going to ask me, “Why didn’t God answer that prayer, Mr. Mitchell?”

Just a minute. If the Apostle Paul had not been made a prisoner, the chances are we might not have had such books as Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians. There’s a purpose behind all this. How would the people in Caesar’s household have known about the Saviour if Paul hadn’t been a prisoner there?

See, God answers prayer His own way. He wasn’t blind. He wasn’t deaf to the cry of Paul and these Roman Christians that Paul might be deliv­ered from the unbelievers in Judaea.

Then, the second thing in Romans 15:31, “And that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints.” You see, even though he was going to take an offering back to Jerusalem, he did not know how the Jews would receive it. He didn’t want them to take offense.

He is saying, “Do pray that they will accept my offering in the same spirit in which it is given. For these dear people in Macedonia and Achaia gave out of the abundance of their poverty. It was a real sacrifice for them to give, but they gave because there were others in need.”

How perceptive and how far-reaching were Paul’s concerns for the churches.

And the third thing he prayed for was that “I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.” You have this in chapter one.

You know, the first year I went out preaching the gospel, I was with a certain missionary. One day, when he wasn’t feeling too well, I said, “Why don’t we pray for you, Brother So-and-so?”

He said, “Pray for me? I don’t need your pray­ers!”

It came as a shock to me that a man would spurn the prayers of God’s people. Is he so far above God’s people that he doesn’t need their prayers?

Not the Apostle Paul. Here are Christian Gentiles who have come to know the Saviour, and he is pleading with them that they strive together in prayer before God with him and for him. And, by the way, I would ask you the same thing. Wouldn’t you sometime get down when you are praying and remember the Multnomah Bible College?

“Do you mean to tell me, sir, you folks need my prayers?”

We sure do. We would rather have your prayers than anything else. I’d rather have your prayers that the teaching of the Word of God would go forth in clarity, in power, in tenderness and com­passion to these young people so that through them people will be saved and so that through them the people of God will be established and built up in Christ.

Paul prayed that he might be delivered from his enemies, that his gift to the Jewish Christians might be acceptable and then lastly that he might come to them with joy by the will of God. “I want to come with joy.”

And, you know, I believe he did. Because in Ephesians 3:1, he calls himself “the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles.”

I like the dignity of that. He didn’t say, “Paul, a prisoner of the Romans.”

Oh, no.

He said, “Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus.”

These Romans could not touch him. God’s purpose must be accomplished.

So he asked them to pray that he would be de­livered from the unsaved in Judaea.

“And I want you to pray that my gift, the gift to these dear saints, will be accepted by the saints in Jerusalem and that I may come to you with joy by the will of God.”

And, though he was shipwrecked and despite all the other things that happened to him after he left Myletus, I believe he really was full of joy when he walked up the Appian highway into Rome. Joy filled his heart even though he was in chains.

Romans 15:33. Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

Again, Paul comes right back to the “God of peace.” This man had such a passion for the Sav­iour and such a love for God’s people. He would sacrifice anything, anything and everything, that they might be established in the Word of God and that their joy might be filled full. And that’s my de­sire for you. I don’t know who you are, but I know there are thousands of you who have listened in to the broadcast and/or who are now reading this book. And, I tell you, my friend, God can abso­lutely and perfectly satisfy your heart. Remember, He’s the God of all comfort. He’s the God of all peace.

He’s the God of all grace; and He’s sufficient for your every personal and individual need.