Romans 15

Note: This transcript was made automatically from the class recording and lightly edited. Comments and questions from the class are not always clearly audible. Words in [brackets] are uncertain.

The page, or 10 numbers, anyway. I noticed that I didn’t actually make number 9 a question. But we, I think, have a lot to discuss in looking at the content of Romans 15. So let’s have a prayer, and we’ll get started with the class.

Heavenly Father, thank You for this evening and for the opportunity we have to be here and study Your Word together. We pray that we’ll learn from Your Word and grow and become more like Your Son and do the things that You would have us to do here in this life.

We pray that you’ll grant to us a continued measure of strength and will to accomplish what you put us here to do, and reaching out to the lost, and encouraging, strengthening one another, and participating in the things of ministry and the things that the church can do.

We ask that you would help us to be mindful of the souls that are around about us and to say and do those things that would be persuasive and enlightening and guiding people in the ways of the truth and away from the false precepts of the world and the deceptions of Satan. We ask these things in Jesus’ name. Amen.

So, as I said, we’re in Romans 15, and we’ll kind of ease our way into it. The book of Romans is about what? Okay, Paul is writing to the Romans. What is he kind of…okay. I could see that maybe in Galatians, and probably since the two are pretty closely related, somewhat in Romans also.

And Romans chapter 1, verse 16 kind of gives a theme statement for the epistle when he says, I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, or for, I’m not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation, the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

What he spends the time and the text doing in the chapters of the book of Romans, this epistle, He pursues that theme or that premise, and he lays out just how it is the case that the gospel is God’s power unto salvation.

And that is exactly what he’s doing from that first chapter. He goes through the entire book and kind of builds one argument after another. Having said that, and of course, we’re not covering all of the intervening chapters, but as we get to chapter 15, we can look just like any other chapter and see how this set of verses, these sets of arguments, play into that premise that the gospel is God’s power unto salvation.

But how does he begin chapter 15? In verse 1, what does he say? We ought to bear, we that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. This is kind of flowing in the text. If you’ve read and remember what chapter 14 says, it’s kind of flowing in the text there. Not necessarily a chapter division, of course, in the original. That’s something that we’ve added in the intervening years, but this verse just follows the previous statement.

And so, it does make sense in the context that if you look back in chapter 14, chapter 14, verse 1, “…him that is weak in the faith, receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.” And so, yeah, he’ll actually repeat this somewhat also in chapter 15, receiving one another as an injunction.

But chapter 15, verse 1, if we’re strong, we ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves. Well, what argument does he give here in these verses in the first part of chapter 15 for why that is the case?

Okay, Christ did not please Himself. Christ did bear the infirmities of the weak. And so, yes, like Brother Thomas just mentioned, bearing one another’s burdens is something that we are looking at, especially, specifically in this chapter, chapter 15, verse 1. Bear the infirmities of the weak if we are strong. If we are able, certainly. And Galatians chapter 6, I think, verse 2 says something along the same lines, right? After he begins that chapter and says, He says, Brethren, if there’s any among you overtaken in a fault or trespass, ye which are spiritual, do what? Restore such a one in the spirit of meekness or gentleness. And then he says, bear one another’s burdens. All right. And the verse 2 also says, let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification.

Now, what is he looking at when he uses this word edification? What do we derive from that? What is edification? Teaching? Okay. And education? Okay. I think of edification, I think of an edifice. An edifice is a building, and when you’re edifying, you’re building up, because people do that. They build up.

Leading to righteousness? Sure. That is, you know, he’s talking here about taking people where they are and getting them where they need to be. So, yeah. And that is part of this process, this education, this edification. It is a process for getting where we need to be, building one another up, literally. Any other thoughts on that? Okay. Yes. Yeah, I’m trying to think of where that is, too. Paul telling either Titus or Timothy about remembering what he has taught them and kind of…

Does edification mean to improve? We are to improve more than that? Well, edification is, yeah, it is improving in the sense of you have something, an edifice, for instance, where you didn’t have anything there before to use. But we’re doing it for one another, in people, in hearts, in a spiritual aspect.

So we’re gaining in tools, we’re gaining in our faith, we’re increasing in our abilities, we are able to do more. And yeah, that’s vast improvement, sometimes by leaps and bounds, yeah, and instruction. So education, instruction, improvement, all tied up in that word edification. Good points.

Yes, yes, yes, yes it is. And a lot of people begin to miss it after they can’t come together anymore. And they really yearn for the company of their brethren. And that’s something that we do fail to appreciate while we have it many times.

That’s right. That is a great reason that is given to us in something like singing. We’re to speak to one another and exhort one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. And we certainly are edified as we hear the prayers of others and take part in those things, and as we partake together in the common aspects of worship, in the partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, and in the common offering, the fellowship that is there is a great source of edification.

Just to read the definition, like Ray said, the word edification actually means the instruction, improvement, or enlightenment of a person, particularly in a moral, intellectual, or spiritual way. So that all of that applies to what we’re saying, and so in a spiritual way, we edify somebody in our form, and we build them up by our presence in Jesus Christ.

Yeah. Yeah, that’s right. Oh, yeah. It begins to tell. Oh, I get you. Yeah. Yeah. Yes, sir. Thank you. Second Peter 1:12 was the verse. All right. That verse we’re trying to think of, but it does, obviously not that much.

The speaker is different. All right, so as we’re getting into Romans 15, end of the chapter, we’ve covered a couple of verses, and we looked at that word edification, and we talked about verse 3, Christ pleased not Himself, and that’s one of the arguments here that we shouldn’t do that, because Christ didn’t do that, we have to follow His example, and it says, and it gives a citation here, And so he was not someone that was standoffish. He was not someone that refused to associate with others. He was not someone that thought of himself as better than anybody else. He was not someone that did any of those things that would prevent him from bearing the infirmities of others, but was strong enough to help.

He was strong enough as an individual to reach out and help those that needed His help. That was pretty much everybody. He had so much empathy without being sought. Yeah, that’s right. He had no weakness but sympathy for all matters of mankind suffering.

And so we have a lot of statements in Isaiah 53 about prophetically what Christ would do and how He would help so many, and it wasn’t gonna be by just standing and pointing fingers, was it? No, He was going to be in the middle of it, and He was going to take the punishment, He was going to bear the reproaches and all the consequences of the sins of others.

What about verse number 4? Whatsoever things were written aforetime, written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope. I know that kind of flows off my tongue because I like to quote that verse, but sometimes I quote it kind of out of context. If we think about this context, he has just pointed at the example of Christ, and here he’s talking about the things written aforetime, written for our learning, all of what he is talking about includes, of course,, the prophecies. And he’s going to continue to quote Old Testament as the verses progress here in chapter 15. But those things that were written aforetime were written for our learning. We ought to pay attention to what God said back then and know how it’s relevant even now and know why God did the things He did even with His Son, Jesus Christ. And that’s kind of what he’s summing up right here.

Any thoughts? Okay. Verse number 5, the God of patience and consolation grants you to be like-minded one toward another according to Christ Jesus. So Christ did not please Himself. Christ fulfilled prophecy. Christ was, we’ll get to this in just a minute, minister to the circumcision, ministry, minister to the circumcision.

He was someone who did all things to please the Father, did always those things that pleased the Father. He was someone who ministered to those round about Him. Those that were weak and needed edifying, He certainly did edify them, and we are put to the same task.

And then he says in verse number 6, “…that ye may, with one mind and with one mouth, glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” So, there’s quite a bar set, just looking at the example of Jesus, of course, but this gets specific.

He says in verse number 5, we should be like-minded, and we should think about this example, this conduct that is shown to us in the person of Jesus Christ, or Christ Jesus, but with one mind and one mouth, glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And he’s going to continue talking about how this has all been happening. All of what did happen in the person of Jesus Christ, all that has happened, all that was prophesied to happen, has all come to fruition, at least in part, and to a great extent, really, in glorifying God.

And this is what he is talking about. We should do, we should see this in the scriptures, and we ought to praise God and glorify Him because of what He has done and what He continues to do and how He’s working through us and how that His word, of course, Isaiah 55, does not return unto Him void.

Any thoughts about it in chapter 15, verses 1 through 6 so far? We haven’t even got onto the sheet yet, but… I think verse 3 through 6 is so cut and dry, plain spoken. It doesn’t take expounding on it, truthfully, to make it, just because it’s so well said, and it’s all about what it tells you specifically to do, how to act, the way to be, the way to treat each other.

And it helps if we already know what Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John say about Jesus. I mean, but after we go back and after we’ve read this, you know, and we go back and look at it, we can see it just kind of pop out.

You know, that’s true. That’s what Jesus was like. I mean, that’s how He did it. And that’s what we need to be doing. We can see what He did and how He did it. We can attempt it ourselves. We’re not always successful, but we are held to a standard, and we ought to try. We ought to be working toward it. But yeah, I agree. He says things very plainly in regard to a lot of the content.

All right, verse 7. Receive ye one another. There we are again. Receive ye one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God. This sounds similar to some of what Jesus taught Himself in regard to things like mercy, right?

What did Jesus teach about mercy? If we don’t show mercy, what’s going to happen to us? We don’t get any mercy. That’s right. That’s kind of what is being echoed here, but in a slightly different vein. It shows to give it mercy. When you do that, you give it an example to everyone.

That everyone knows that’s the example He said. That God just wanted. That’s what He wanted. That’s what Jesus was here for, and that’s why we should do it. Not because earlier where it says, don’t do it for yourself. You’re doing it for God. All of us do it for God. Never speak up to the Lord by yourself. Speak up or do something for God to show that He helps you get it.

Yeah, I mean, this is kind of what he’s going after in a broader sense. He’s shining a spotlight on the motivation of so many in religion being pride. And it’s not coming from Christ. It’s not in His person, in His example. It’s not there. But so many wanted to operate on that basis.

And here he’s saying that, no, you receive one another. And this is, just look at what Christ did and conduct yourself like Christ did. What would Jesus do is a valid question according to what Paul’s teaching here. What did He do? And this is how you should behave yourself. Verse number 7. As Christ also received us to the glory of God.

So, no basis for prideful exclusion, trying to put somebody down or make them feel out of place, anything like that. That’s just inappropriate. Any other thoughts there on number 7 or that word, receive? It’s a be attitude. Okay. Beautiful attitude? No, it’s a be attitude. Yeah. Beatitude is a beautiful attitude.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. All right. Yeah, yeah, that’s right. Matthew 5. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy. Yeah, that’s what Christ taught. We ought to remember such things, and that’s what he’s echoing, like I said, right here.

Receive one another as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. And this I say, verse 8, that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the fathers.

And we, like I said, we should be thinking about how this relates to the premise of the book or the epistle. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. That points to God’s operating purpose and the things that were done with and through Jesus Christ that points to not necessarily just or only His death, burial, and resurrection, like we might sum it up sometimes, 1 Corinthians 15:1–4, but also points to all of the things that Christ has done here to fulfill the promises made unto the Fathers.

This is all going to feed into the glory of God. This is all going to feed into the thanksgiving that we give God for showing us so much of His majesty and His forethought, His ability, His power, and bringing so much to pass.

But, Jesus was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the promises made unto the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written, for this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.

So, now we’re getting into verse 9 and that first question there. What do 2 Samuel 22:50 and Psalm 18:49 have to do with this verse? And I tried to find the passages that correlated to the citations that are given here in the text. This is what popped out, but Psalm 18, verse 49 says what?

All right. That’s right. Oh, me. All right. For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. And then verse number 10, and again he says, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with His people. And so the Gentiles, or the heathen, are mentioned, and these are all the other nations, all the other nations that benefit.

Is it because Jesus has come in the flesh through Israel? And they’re able to see all of what Christ does as a minister to the circumcision for the truth of God, verse 8. And this is allowing, verse 9, that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.

And then again in verse 11, Praise the Lord, O ye Gentiles, and laud Him, O ye people. Like I said, I’ll give all these different citations here on the sheet, and I’ll let you look at those on your own time, I guess, but how that these correspond to what Paul is bringing up and what he wants the Romans to understand about all that’s transpiring and how he wants them to collect themselves.

What about number 5 there? How does verse 13 tie all this together? Verse 13, if you get down past the citations, he says, “…now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

This chapter is referring to the state of mind. It should be automatic. It’s kind of a counter-anxiety that God is providing by means of the Holy Ghost for the Christians then and for us today, that we might have this level of hope or this strong confidence and comfort with His presence, with His abiding presence, with His guidance, and this is made available to us in His Word.

Any thoughts about that? Okay, well, that’s a good thought that Paul wrote to both Jews and Gentiles, and we can certainly see that in the first few chapters of Romans. He talks about how that all were under sin in the first three chapters there. All are under sin, Romans 3:23, all have sin, it comes short of the glory of God.

Chapter 2 is talking about the Jews, how the Jews are under sin. But Romans chapter 1, the rest of Romans chapter 1, after verse 16, is talking about how the Gentiles are under sin, because they have forgotten God and left Him behind, and He has given them up.

But yeah, finally in chapter 3, all are under sin. But yeah, the epistle is to both, and about both, Jews and Gentiles, because the gospel is for everyone, right? And that’s where he goes from there. Yeah. Yeah. Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And pertaining to, before, I’m trying not to forget one point while I’m dealing with another one, but Brother Ray, it’s a good point about looking at this, and it’s almost incidental, but it’s still a vital point that, yeah, Christ was always the plan from the very beginning to come and do what He did, and to serve in all the capacities that He did, it is mind-boggling to consider how many different things were accomplished in the person of Christ.

But, yeah, it’s something that we have to learn. We can’t just pick it up and say, well, okay, He’s a Savior, and that’s good enough. Well, yes, it is good, and it might be good enough for some, but there’s so much more there. There’s so much more there than just to say, well, He’s the Savior. He has fulfilled so many roles in doing what He did that, yeah, it’s for us to see and learn and to help others see. And we appreciate even more what He did.

And the other point is a little later on in the chapter where Paul is talking about what he is doing in bringing the offering of the Greeks and Macedonians to the brethren in Judea. And he says, it’s fitting, it’s right, it’s proper, because having been a benefactor of those spiritual things of the Jews, it is right that they should minister to the Jews in physical things.

That’s just, like I said, a little bit later on, here in chapter 15, I think. But there is a lot to consider in what is being accomplished in Christ and us looking at Christ and helping one another to understand more about Jesus.

But here he’s talking to Jews and Gentiles. You can help one another. You can certainly edify one another in the things that you observe, to observe the things that you learn about Christ. Anything else? I didn’t get very far, but I do appreciate the comments. I thought that was a good study.

End of transcript. Thank you for reading along!