로마서 15

Bearing with the weak, as Christ did

¹Those of us who are strong have a duty to carry the weaknesses of those who lack strength, instead of living to please ourselves. ²Each of us should please our neighbor, aiming at what is good for them and what builds them up. ³For even Christ did not please himself. Instead, as it is written, “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.” ⁴Everything that was written in earlier times was written to teach us. It was written so that we might have hope, as we endure and as the Scriptures encourage us. ⁵May God, who gives endurance and encouragement, grant you to live in harmony with one another, as Christ Jesus would have you, ⁶so that together, with one voice, you may give glory to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Gentiles glorify God for his mercy

⁷So welcome one another, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.^{a 8}For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised for the sake of God’s truth, to make good the promises given to the patriarchs, ⁹and so that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “That is why I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing praises to your name.” ¹⁰And again it says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, together with his people.” ¹¹And again, “All you Gentiles, praise the Lord; let all the peoples sing his praise.” ¹²And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, the one who rises to rule over the Gentiles; the Gentiles will set their hope on him.” ¹³May the God of hope fill you with joy and peace of every kind as you believe, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you overflow with hope.

Paul’s work as a minister to the Gentiles

¹⁴My brothers and sisters, I myself am convinced about you: you are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to counsel one another. ¹⁵Yet on some points I have written to you quite boldly, to remind you of them again. I have done so because of the grace God gave me ¹⁶to be a minister of Christ Jesus for the Gentiles. I serve the gospel of God like a priest, so that the Gentiles may become an offering that God accepts, made holy by the Holy Spirit. ¹⁷So in Christ Jesus I have reason to boast of my service to God. ¹⁸I will not venture to speak of anything but what Christ has done through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience, through what I have said and done, ¹⁹by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit. So I have completed the preaching of the gospel of Christ in a wide circle from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum. ²⁰My aim has been to preach the gospel where Christ was not yet known, so that I would not build on a foundation someone else had laid. ²¹Instead, as it is written, “Those who were never told of him will see, and those who never heard will understand.”^b

Paul’s plans: Jerusalem, Rome and Spain

²²That is why I have so often been prevented from coming to you. ²³But now there is no more room for my work in these regions, and for many years I have longed to come to you ²⁴when I travel to Spain. I hope to see you as I pass through, and to have you help me on my way there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while. ²⁵Right now, though, I am on my way to Jerusalem to serve God’s holy people.^{c 26}For the churches of Macedonia and Achaia were glad to share what they had with the poor among God’s holy people in Jerusalem. ²⁷They were glad to do it, and they really do owe it to them. If the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings, they ought also to serve them with material help. ²⁸So once I have finished this task and made sure they have received this fruit, I will set out for Spain and visit you on the way.^{d 29}I know that when I do come to you, I will come with the full blessing of Christ.^e

A request for prayer

³⁰Brothers and sisters, I appeal to you by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love the Spirit gives: join me in my struggle through your prayers to God for me. ³¹Ask that I may be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to believe, and that God’s holy people in Jerusalem will welcome the help I bring them. ³²Then, if God wills, I can come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.^{fg 33}May the God of peace be with you all. Amen.^h