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Romans 15: Bible Study, Commentary and Summary

Romans 15: Bible Study, Commentary and Summary

Last updated on: May 26, 2016 at 3:17 pm by Jack Wellman

Romans 15: Bible Study, Commentary and Summary 2016-05-26T15:17:13-05:00 Jack Wellman

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Here is a Bible study, commentary, and summary of Romans chapter fifteen.

Romans 15:1-3 “We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

When Paul is getting close to closing the letter to the Romans, he wants to emphasize that those of us who are strong should feel compelled to help those who are weak. I don’t believe he’s talking about physical strength but possibly financial or spiritual support. Who is our neighbor? Our neighbor is everyone we meet and we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, especially considering that the reproaches of God that we deserved as sinners fell upon Christ Who deserved none of it because He was sinless. How can we not help build up others when we ourselves were spared by God and it had nothing to do with us (Eph 2:8-9)?

Who is our neighbor today?

What did Paul mean by “We who are strong?”

What strength was Paul writing about?

What are “reproaches?”

Romans 15:4 “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

Paul quotes a lot out of the Book of Isaiah and his point is that these things written by the prophet, as well as all of the Old Testament, weren’t written just to entertain us. They were written for our instruction so that we might learn to endure suffering. The Scriptures are to be an encouragement to us so that we might have hope of a future. When you read the Old Testament, remember that God never wastes suffering. A.W. Tozer once said, (paraphrasing), “God cannot use a man greatly until He has first wounded him deeply.”

Have you ever thought about the Old Testament as instructional?

Do you look at the Old Testament as an encouragement?

Why would the Old Testament help us endure in this life?

Romans 15:8 “For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God’s truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs.”

If Jesus Christ came, not to be served but to serve, and more so, to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), why can’t we be a servant to our brothers and sisters? Jesus came to be a servant of the Jews (circumcised) but also opened up the way of salvation for all who would believe (Act 4:12). These promises given to the patriarchs were solidly confirmed in Jesus’ earthly ministry, His sinless life, His suffering, His crucifixion, His death, and His resurrection. Not one of these precious promises failed.

Who are the patriarchs?

Who were the circumcised?

Did Jesus only come for the circumcised?

Romans 15:12-13 “And again Isaiah says, ‘The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope.’ May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

When John the Baptist came, he was a voice crying in the wilderness, but it wasn’t a physical wilderness he was going into but a spiritual wilderness. The ground was parched from the manmade and legalistic traditions that the Jews tried to burden everyone down with. This root of Jesse was Jesus Christ Who emerged from the wasteland that was Judea at the time. The Jews held their traditions above and over the Word of God and that makes their place a wasteland for those who wanted to really know God.

Why is Jesus called “the root of Jesse?”

What does the root typify?

Why can Gentiles (non-Jews) place their hope in Him?

Romans 15:15-16 “But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

Near the end of the letter to the Romans, Paul wants to clarify Jesus’ work as a priestly service of God. The main difference was that He was the sacrifice. Christianity is the only religion where God demands a sacrifice and then provides it Himself. The Gentiles had sacrifice so that others could hear the gospel and as Paul writes, “I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a while. At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem” (Rom 15:24-26).

What was the offering the Gentiles made?

What does it mean to be sanctified by the Holy Spirit?

What is a “priestly service?

Summary

In Romans 15:30-31 Paul writes, “I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints.” Apparently the Jews were his worst enemy because at least he was treated somewhat fairly by the Romans, being a Roman citizen, but in summary, Romans 15 was focused on the strong helping the weak, Jesus Christ saving the Gentiles, and the Gentiles supporting the Jews in Jerusalem, many of whom who had lost everything. This is what Paul wants us to build up our neighbor because there is enough “tearing down” in the world as it is.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.

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