Глава XV

Necessary self-restraint for the benefit of one’s neighbor (1–4). On the need for unity between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians (5-13). On the tone of Romans (14–21). The Apostle's missionary plans (22–33). Rom.15:1. We, the strong, must endure the weaknesses of the powerless and not please ourselves. The Apostle confirms his instructions to those strong in the faith by the example of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, Who showed the most perfect self-sacrifice for the salvation of weak humanity. "Must" . The Apostle now speaks not about what prompts us to condescend to the weak in faith (cf. Rom. 14:21), but about what obliges us to do this: this is the example of Christ (v. 3). The apostle continues here to speak of differences of opinion. Previously (Rom. 14:2), he, turning to the strong, appealed to their nobility, but now he charges them with the duty of sparing the weak by faith. Rom.15:2. Each of us must please our neighbor for good and edification. Rom.15:3. For Christ did not please Himself, but, as it is written: The slander of those who slandered You fell on Me. The words of the psalm can be understood in the sense that Christ took upon Himself the reproaches that people actually directed at God, and in the fact that Christ took upon Himself responsibility for the reproaches (i.e., sins) of people, or, finally, in the way that Christ endured suffering for the house of God, for the Church, out of love for His brothers. According to the context of the speech in the psalm, here too it is better to give the words of the Apostle the final meaning. Christ accepted all these sufferings completely voluntarily and could not have taken them upon Himself. Rom.15:4. But whatever was written before was written for our instruction, so that through patience and the comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope. The more we show patience or perseverance in self-restraint for the benefit of our brothers in faith, the stronger becomes our hope that in this way we will achieve our cherished goal - future greatness in the kingdom of glory. The Scriptures of the Old Testament in this case are a consolation for us: they contain many legends about how the Lord crowned the patience of the sufferers. Rom.15:5. May the God of patience and consolation grant you to be of one mind with one another, according to the teaching of Christ Jesus, From condescension to other people's opinions, the Apostle now moves on to the unanimity that should reign in the Christian church: Jewish Christians and pagan Christians must, following the example of Christ, accept each other, and the Apostle prays to God to strengthen Christians in mutual love. That a new division begins here is evident from the fact that the “unanimity” that the Apostle now desires for believers is something other than mutual condescension. Now the question is being raised about whether it is possible to have a difference of opinion about the very essence of Christianity, and the Apostle says that in this area there should not only be a mutual condescending attitude of pagan Christians to Jewish Christians and vice versa, there should not be special views, externally trying on other people’s views - no, there must be internal unity here. What is required here is not that Christians should be able to tolerate the concept of people of the opposite party; There should be no parties here at all, and Christians must conclude a single union among themselves in Christ, forgetting about all differences. – “According to the teachings of Christ Jesus” – more precisely: “according to the example of Jesus Christ...”. Christ is the ideal by which we should live and feel. - Since this unanimity is a difficult matter, the Apostle puts his exhortation to unanimity in the form of a prayerful wish: “may God Himself grant it to you!” Rom.15:6. so that with one accord, with one mouth, you may glorify God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. This unity in thoughts and dispositions must be joined by the consciousness that we all have one goal - the glory of God. If we all, no matter what nation we belong to, seek only the glory of God, then all opposition between Jewish Christians and pagan Christians will disappear. Rom.15:7. Therefore accept one another, just as Christ accepted you to the glory of God. “Therefore,” that is, in order to glorify God, Christians, for their part, in order to achieve the desired unity, must shake hands with each other. This circumstance prompts them to do this, that God Himself in Christ accepted into His Kingdom equally both Jews and pagans. - “To the glory of God.” These words refer to the expression "accepted". The Apostle wants to say by this that Christ, our example, also had in mind, when performing his redemptive work, the glory of God, which should serve as the highest goal for us. Rom.15:8. I mean that Jesus Christ became a minister for the circumcision - for the sake of the truth of God, in order to fulfill what was promised to the fathers, Rom.15:9. and for the Gentiles - out of mercy, so that they glorify God, as it is written: For this reason I will glorify You, O Lord, among the Gentiles, and I will sing praises to Your name. Explaining the work of Christ, the Apostle says that in his ministry to the Jews, Christ revealed the truth of God, showed that God exactly fulfills the promises given to the forefathers of the Jewish people about salvation through the Messiah. On the contrary, in relation to the pagans, Christ showed God's mercy, which, so to speak, unexpectedly bestowed the pagan world with the same salvation that the Jews received. Since Christ directly preached the Gospel only to the Jews, the Apostle calls Him a minister (διάκονος) for the circumcised - only! He accepted the pagans into the church only mediocrely, for example, through the Apostle Paul. Rom.15:10. And it is also said: Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people. Rom.15:11. And again: Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and glorify Him, all you nations. Rom.15:12. Isaiah also says: the root of Jesse will arise and rule over the nations; The pagans will hope in Him. This union of Jews and pagans in the Church of Christ was already foreshadowed in Ps 17:50, 116:1; Deut 32:43, Isa 11:10. Since the pagans had less reason to hope for salvation than the Jews, they, for their part, should glorify God more than the Jews - both of these thoughts are expressed in the indicated places of the Old Testament. In the first, David, as a prototype of the Messiah, declares that he wants to praise God among the pagans - naturally, for the salvation granted to them. In the second and third, the pagans themselves are called upon to give glory to God. In the latter, finally, it is added that salvation in Christ, which they already boast of now, is at the same time the basis of their hopes for a better future. Rom.15:13. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in faith, so that you, through the power of the Holy Spirit, may abound in hope. The Apostle has just mentioned hope, and since he attaches great importance to it in the life of a Christian, he now expresses to his readers his desire that they should be enriched by this hope as much as possible. Since, further, they themselves cannot give it to themselves, the Apostle wants God to strengthen them in hope: after all, all hope comes from Him! (God of hope). By hope here the Apostle means Christian hope in its highest development (cf. Chapter VIII): this hope is the result of the virtuous life that Christians lead, having received the power of the Holy Spirit. This is the same as the assurance of salvation (πίστις), which the Apostle spoke about in Chapter VIII, or the same as joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). People do not come to such joyful confidence in future salvation immediately, but gradually, having had in their lives many confirmations of the existence of God’s grace and faithfulness. To be confirmed in this hope, we must retain within ourselves the peace that we received after justification, and the joy of our redemption, and this peace and this joy must become complete and perfect (all joy and peace). And all this must be based on faith (έν τ πισιεύειν). The idea of ​​the entire apostolic wish can therefore be expressed as follows: “stand firm and grow in faith, so that God will give you more and more joy and peace and that in this way you will come to the fullness of hope, which, of course, is only possible when you lead a life pleasing to God, in the power of the Holy Spirit.” – This conclusion of the Apostle’s admonitions is in complete harmony with the beginning of the epistle (Rom. 1:16, 17). Both there and here the power of God is presented as the source of all salvation; both here and there, faith is the alpha and omega of the Christian life. Rom.15:14. And I myself am confident about you, my brethren, that you too are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and can instruct one another; The Apostle explains his bold appearance before the Roman Church as a teacher by the fact that God Himself called him to this. In addition, he points to the great results of his preaching activities, which clearly indicate that this activity was always under the influence of the power of Christ. This success gives him the right to address an instructive message to the Roman church. “Full of goodness” (αγαθωσύνη) - By this the Apostle says that Roman Christians are generally very good people. – Full of “knowledge,” that is, knowledgeable in Christian dogmas. Rom.15:15. but I wrote to you, brothers, with some boldness, partly as a reminder to you, according to the grace given to me from God “With some courage” is more correct: somewhat bolder (than the circumstances of your life seemed to require). - "Partly". Consequently, not the entire message is written in such a somewhat bold tone, but only some part of it. - “As if as a reminder,” i.e., like a teacher addressing his students. Rom.15:16. to be a minister of Jesus Christ among the pagans and to perform the sacred act of the gospel of God, so that this offering of the pagans, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit, may be acceptable to God “The offering of the Gentiles” is more correct: “an offering or sacrifice consisting of the Gentiles.” – “Servant of Jesus Christ” (λειτουργός) The Apostle calls himself in the sense that his activities resemble the services of rich and generous citizens to his city (λειτουγοί). He doesn't spare himself. Rom.15:17. Therefore I can boast in Jesus Christ in the things of God, “I can boast,” that is, I can act as an authoritative teacher of the faith. In Jesus Christ, that is, on the basis that I am a servant of Jesus Christ. - “In that which relates to God.” He does not praise himself in all respects, but only as a religious figure. This praise, therefore, does not exclude humility before God. Rom.15:18. for I will not dare to say anything that Christ did not do through me, in subduing the Gentiles by faith, in word and in deed, Rom.15:19. by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God, so that the gospel of Christ was spread by me from Jerusalem and the surrounding area to Illyricum. The apostle expresses two thoughts here. One is “I cannot tell you anything that is not the work of Christ,” and the other is “I would not dare to say this if it were not the work of Christ.” Thus, the Apostle explains his courage by saying that he does everything in the name of Christ and at His command. – The fact that Christ Himself, through the Apostle, calls the pagans is evidenced by the signs and wonders performed by the Apostle, for which, however, the Apostle gives honor to the Spirit of God, who gives the power to perform these miracles. - “From Jerusalem and the surrounding area”. Since the Apostle did not preach about Christ in Jerusalem, it would be more correct to understand the particle as explanatory and translate it as follows: “from Jerusalem - precisely from the district of Jerusalem.” Thus, this expression can point to both Damascus and Arabia, where Ap. Paul, indeed, preached a sermon about Christ. Rom.15:20. Moreover, I tried to preach the gospel not where the name of Christ was already known, so as not to build on someone else’s foundation, Rom.15:21. but as it is written: Those who have not had news of Him will see, and those who have not heard will know. The Apostle notes that he generally avoided preaching where the name of Christ had already been proclaimed by someone else. He believes the office of the apostle, in fact, is at the founding of new Christian Churches (1 Cor. 3:10 et seq. and 1 Cor. 9:2 et seq.). Rom.15:22. This is what prevented me from coming to you many times. The apostle, getting ready for Spain, intends to go to Rome, but now he is going to Jerusalem with alms collected by the Greek churches. At the same time, the Apostle asks the Romans to pray for him, so that his journey to Jerusalem would be successful for him. The Apostle had not yet visited Rome because there were many places in the east where the name of Christ was not yet known. Rom.15:23. Now, not having such a place in these countries, but from ancient times having a desire to come to you, Rom.15:24. As soon as I take the road to Spain, I will come to you. For I hope that, as I pass, I will see you, and that you will take me there, as soon as I enjoy communication with you, at least in part. "Will you guide me?" Brothers who came from afar were usually seen off by local Christians as they departed (cf. 1 Cor 16:6, 11). - "Partly". The Apostle cannot stay long in Rome; and therefore he will not be able to fully enjoy communication with Roman Christians. Rom.15:25. And now I go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints, Rom.15:26. for Macedonia and Achaia are zealous in giving some alms to the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. From this it is clear that Paul is in Greece while sending his message. – For alms collections for Jerusalem Christians, see 1 Cor 16:1–4; 2Cor.8-9; Acts 24:17. Rom.15:27. They are zealous, and they are in debt to them. For if the pagans have become participants in their spiritual things, then we must also serve them in their physical things. Here the Apostle aims to encourage Roman Christians to imitate the Greek Christian Churches in the work of charity. Rom.15:28. Having fulfilled this and faithfully delivered to them this fruit of zeal, I will go through your places to Spain, Rom.15:29. and I am confident that when I come to you, I will come with the full blessing of the gospel of Christ. Here, what was said in v. 27 is repeated, with the only addition that Paul promises, on his part, to bring to the Romans the full blessing of the gospel of Christ. – “Truely delivering” – more precisely: having captured (σφραγισάμενος). The Apostle wants to say by this that the delivery of alms from the Greek Churches to Jerusalem will be a seal or proof that pagan Christians are aware of the great significance of the Jerusalem church, from where Christianity came throughout the world. - “With full blessing” - cf. Rom.1:11. Rom.15:30. Meanwhile, I beg you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Spirit, to strive with me in prayers for me to God, Rom.15:31. that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, The Apostle is also afraid of unbelieving Jews, who may bring charges against him for apostasy (he, indeed, became their victim, see Acts 21:27 et seq.), and does not quite believe that the Jerusalem Christians will greet him friendly and accept his gift. Rom.15:32. so that I may come to you in joy, if God pleases, and rest with you. Rom.15:33. May the God of peace be with you all, amen. "God of Peace". This is what the Apostle calls God here because of his confidence that God will really send him peace and tranquility, which he now so needs, going into an area hostile to him. You might be interested in: