2018 STUDY OF ROMANS
Chapter 15, Verses 1-7
“Living Among the Others!”
[6-30-19]
Review: “Disputable Matters!” Part 3
Romans 14:14-23) [NIV] As one who is in the Lord Jesus, I am fully convinced that no food is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for him it is unclean.
15) If your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died.
***NOTE: Your fellow Christian might decide that if you can go then he can go. However, if he believes it to be sin then his conscience will convince him he sinned by going to the movie. And, in fact, though he has not sinned against God he has sinned against his conscience!!
**NOTE: Christian charity trumps Christian freedom.
16) Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil.
NOTE: Just a reminder: we are talking about disputable matters; we are not talking about conduct that the rightly divided Word of God condemns.
17) For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
18) because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men.
19) Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
20) Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble.
21) It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall.
**NOTE: We should not only consider our own conscience, but the conscience of our Christian brother. Paul identifies this attitude as one that pleases God.
**22) So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves.
23) But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
NOTE: We should not arrogantly tell everyone how we feel about disputable matters. Some of those things are best left to our private decisions.
This Week’s Lesson: “Living Among the Others!”
Romans 15:1-7) [NIV] We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
“strong,” – “dunatos” – “powerful or capable” [Strong].
“weak,” “adunatos” – “unable, that is, weak” [Strong].
NOTE: “Weak” is the same Greek word as “strong,” but with the negative “a” in front of it. It literally means “not strong,” as Robertson tells us.
(NLT) We may know that these things make no difference, but we cannot just go ahead and do them to please ourselves. We must be considerate of the doubts and fears of those who think these things are wrong.
QUESTION: What is Paul referring to here?
ANSWER: He’s referring to the “weak” in conscience that don’t feel the freedom to do some of the things you do. Paul wants us to put the weaker brother’s conscience ahead of our freedom.
2) Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
(NLT) We should please others. If we do what helps them, we will build them up in the Lord.
QUESTION: Why does he want us to be considerate of our brother’s conscience?
ANSWER: When we put the weaker brother’s conscience ahead of our freedom we are giving God, the Holy Spirit, time to guide that brother into the freedom we enjoy.
3) For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”
(GNB) For Christ did not please himself. Instead, as the scripture says, “The insults which are hurled at you have fallen on me.”
4) For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
QUESTION: What example does Paul give us to illustrate this point?
ANSWER: He reminds us that Jesus bore everyone’s sins, even those who misunderstand your freedom and criticize you for it. After all, Jesus placed the needs of others above His own freedom.
5) May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus,
(NLT) May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other — each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other.
**QUESTION: How can Christians learn to walk in a “spirit of unity”?
Philippians 2:1-4) [ERV] Think about what we have in Christ: the encouragement he has brought us, the comfort of his love, our sharing in his Spirit, and the mercy and kindness he has shown us. If you enjoy these blessings,
2) then do what will make my joy complete: Agree with each other, and show your love for each other. Be united in your goals and in the way you think.
3) In whatever you do, don’t let selfishness or pride be your guide. Be humble, and honor others more than yourselves.
4) Don’t be interested only in your own life, but care about the lives of others too.
**ANSWER: We must find ways to agree even when we disagree. And we must actually show one another that we love each other. We must make goals that we can agree on. WE MUST LAY SELFISHNESS ASIDE!! WE MUST BE HUMBLE!! WE MUST HONOR OTHERS!! And getting back to vs. 5, there is absolutely no possibility of our walking in unity if we are not FOLLOWING CHRIST JESUS!!!
6) so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
QUESTION: What is Paul actually teaching us here?
ANSWER: We can’t, as a group, truly worship God if we’re not walking in unity. Individually some might worship God; but there must be unity for us, as a group, to worship God!!
NOTE: That being said, I, as an individual, can’t offer genuine worship to God if I have something against one of you. I must be willing to lay that offense on the altar in order to present legitimate worship to the God I am crazy about!!
QUESTION: What does that mean?
ANSWER: To offer genuine worship to God I must forgive whatever wrong I perceive you have done to me.
7) Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.
(ERV) Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other. This will bring honor to God.
QUESTION: How can I, a simple man, bring honor and praise to a Holy God?
ANSWER: I can accept you, with all of your flaws, the way that Christ accepted me, with all of my flaws!
QUESTION: What’s the bottom line here?
ANSWER: The recipient must become the giver!! The graced give grace! The forgiven forgive! We who have received acceptance that we did not deserve from a Holy God must give acceptance to those who WE THINK DON’T DESERVE IT FROM US!!! THAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE!!!
2018 STUDY OF ROMANS
Chapter 15, Verses 8-16
“Being Reminded Of What We Know!”
[7-7-19]
Review: “Living Amont the Others!”
Romans 15:1-7) [NLT] We may know that these things make no difference, but we cannot just go ahead and do them to please ourselves. We must be considerate of the doubts and fears of those who think these things are wrong.
*NOTE: Paul’s referring to the “weak” in conscience that don’t feel the freedom to do some of the things you do. Paul wants us to put the weaker brother’s conscience ahead of our freedom.
2) [NLT] We should please others. If we do what helps them, we will build them up in the Lord.
NOTE: When we put the weaker brother’s conscience ahead of our freedom we are giving God, the Holy Spirit, time to guide that brother into the freedom we enjoy.
3) [GNB] For Christ did not please himself. Instead, as the scripture says, “The insults which are hurled at you have fallen on me.”
4) [NIV] For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
criticize you for it. After all, Jesus placed the needs of others above His own freedom.
5) [NLT] May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other — each with the attitude of Christ Jesus toward the other.
**NOTE: We must find ways to agree even when we disagree. And we must actually show one another that we love each other. And according to vs. 5, there is absolutely no possibility of our walking in unity if we are not FOLLOWING CHRIST JESUS!!!
6) [NIV] so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
NOTE: To offer genuine worship to God I must forgive whatever wrong I perceive you have done to me.
7) [ERV] Christ accepted you, so you should accept each other. This will bring honor to God.
NOTE: I am to accept you, with all of your flaws, the way that Christ accepted me, with all of my flaws!
BOTTOM LINE: The recipient must become the giver!! The graced give grace! The forgiven forgive! We who have received acceptance that we did not deserve from a Holy God must give acceptance to those who WE THINK DON’T DESERVE IT FROM US!!! THAT’S THE BOTTOM LINE!!!
This Week’s Lesson: “Being Reminded Of What We Know!”
Romans 15:8-16) [NIV] For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs
(GW) Let me explain. Christ became a servant for the Jewish people to reveal God’s truth. As a result, he fulfilled God’s promise to the ancestors of the Jewish people.
9) so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name” [Psalm 18:49].
10) Again, it says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people” [Deuteronomy 32:43].
11) And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples” [Psalm 117:1].
12) And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him” [Isaiah 11:1, 10].
Philippians 2:5-8) [GW] Have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6) Although he was in the form of God and equal with God, he did not take advantage of this equality.
7) Instead, he emptied himself by taking on the form of a servant, by becoming like other humans, by having a human appearance.
8) He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, death on a cross.
QUESTION: What is Paul showing us here?
ANSWER: He’s still on the subject of last week’s lesson; He’s showing us that, if we follow the example of Jesus we will have unity The church can never enjoy unity if every one wants to please themselves. When we seek to please others it makes Christian unity possible.
13) May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
(NLT) So I pray that God, who gives you hope, will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him. May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
NOTE: We must walk in unity if we want to enjoy the peace and joy that comes from experiencing the hope that comes from our relationship with God. When we look out for our own interests we will become territorial; therefore we will have no peace, no joy, and wishful thinking will replace Biblical hope.
14) I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.
“He had never seen them Rom 1:10-13, but he had full confidence in them” [Barnes].
“Paul didn’t write because he felt the Roman Christians couldn’t discern what was right before God or admonish each other to do right. Rather, he wrote to remind them, encouraging them to do what they knew was right” [Guzik].
15) I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me
(ERV) But I have written to you very openly about some things that I wanted you to remember. I did this because God gave me this special gift:
16) to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
(ERV) to be a servant of Christ Jesus for those who are not Jews. I serve like a priest whose duty it is to tell God’s Good News. He gave me this work so that you non-Jewish people could be an offering that he will accept–an offering made holy by the Holy Spirit.
QUESTION: What is Paul telling his readers in these verses?
ANSWER: He is reminding them that they are spiritually mature enough to know these things, and indeed do know them well enough to teach them to others. However, sometimes we need to be reminded of the very things we know, but sometimes forget.
James 1:23-25) [GNB] If you listen to the word, but do not put it into practice you are like people who look in a mirror and see themselves as they are.
24) They take a good look at themselves and then go away and at once forget what they look like.
25) But if you look closely into the perfect law that sets people free, and keep on paying attention to it and do not simply listen and then forget it, but put it into practice—you will be blessed by God in what you do.
QUESTION: What is James pointing out to us in the above passage?
**ANSWER: Christians sin when they forget who they are! We look in the mirror of God’s Word and see that we are “new creatures” in Christ; then the rubber meets the road, and we are tested, and we forget that we are new creatures.
QUESTION: What do we have to do consistently in order to walk out the truth that we know?
*ANSWER: We need to remember the parable of the Sower of the seed:
- We must understand the Word;
- We must conscientiously implement the Word into our daily walk;
- And we must not allow “the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches” to get our eyes off of the prize, but we must continue to walk out the truth we know.
2018 STUDY OF ROMANS
Chapter 15, Verses 17-33
“Why Hadn’t Paul Already Preached In Rome?”
[7-14-19]
Review: “Being Reminded Of What We Know!”
Romans 15:8-16) [NIV] (GW) Let me explain. Christ became a servant for the Jewish people to reveal God’s truth. As a result, he fulfilled God’s promise to the ancestors of the Jewish people.
9) so that the Gentiles may glorify God for his mercy, as it is written: “Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to your name” [Psalm 18:49].
10) Again, it says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people” [Deuteronomy 32:43].
11) And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and sing praises to him, all you peoples” [Psalm 117:1].
12) And again, Isaiah says, “The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him” [Isaiah 11:1, 10].
NOTE: Paul’s still on the subject of the previous week’s lesson; He’s showing us that, if we follow the example of Jesus we will have unity The church can never enjoy unity if everyone wants to please themselves. When we seek to please others it makes Christian unity possible.
13) (NLT) So I pray that God, who gives you hope, will keep you happy and full of peace as you believe in him. May you overflow with hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
NOTE: We must walk in unity if we want to enjoy the peace and joy that comes from experiencing the hope that comes from our relationship with God.
14) I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.
15) (ERV) But I have written to you very openly about some things that I wanted you to remember. I did this because God gave me this special gift:
16) to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
NOTE: Paul is reminding them that they are spiritually mature enough to know these things, and indeed do know them well enough to teach them to others. However, sometimes we need to be reminded of the very things we know, but sometimes forget.
This Week’s Lesson: “Why Hadn’t Paul Already Preached In Rome?”
Romans 15:17-33) [NIV] Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God.
18) I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done-
19) by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
20) It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.
QUESTION: What is Paul doing here?
ANSWER: He’s rejoicing in God for all the things God has done through his ministry in reaching the Gentiles with the Gospel.
QUESTION: What didn’t Paul like to do?
ANSWER: He didn’t want to build “on someone else’s foundation.”
1Corinthians 3:10-11) [GW] As a skilled and experienced builder, I used the gift that God gave me to lay the foundation for that building. However, someone else is building on it. Each person must be careful how he builds on it.
11) After all, no one can lay any other foundation than the one that is already laid, and that foundation is Jesus Christ.
ANSWER: Paul didn’t like other teachers building on the foundation he laid, especially when they weren’t teaching the same Gospel.
QUESTION: Why did Paul prefer teaching Gentiles who had never heard of Jesus before he came?
*ANSWER: He didn’t have to “unteach” them before they could understand the Truth he shared.
21) Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”
22) This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.
(ERV) That’s what has kept me so busy and prevented my coming to see you even though I have wanted to come many times.
NOTE: The reason he had not yet went to Rome was because some there had already received the Gospel.
23) But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you,
24) I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.
QUESTION: Why is Paul ready to go to Rome now?
ANSWER: He had carried the Gospel to the unreached areas and decided that “there is no more place” for him “to work in” those regions.
25) Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there.
26) For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.
27) They were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings.
QUESTION: Why was Paul going to Jerusalem?
ANSWER: He had received offerings from the Gentile churches to assist the “poor” saints in Jerusalem. He was taking that offering to them.
“But in the meantime he was going to Jerusalem to deliver the funds which had been collected among Gentile churches for the needy saints in Judea. This is the collection that we read about in 1Corinthians 16:1 and 2 Corinthians 8 and 9” [BBC].
28) So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this fruit, I will go to Spain and visit you on the way.
29) I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.
30) I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.
31) Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,
32) so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.
QUESTION: What did Paul want his readers to pray about?
ANSWER: He wanted them to pray:
- That God would rescue him “from the unbelievers in Judea;”
- That his “service in Jerusalem” would be “acceptable to the saints there;”
- That God would allow him to visit Rome.
Concerning his visit to Rome and Spain,
When “he came to Jerusalem he was apprehended, and after sometime sent a prisoner to Rome” [Gill].
NOTE: Paul wasn’t able to fulfill his desire because he was arrested in Jerusalem (Acts 23). However, he did end up in Rome, as a prisoner, to stand trial before Caesar.
Acts 21:10-13) [GNB] We had been there for several days when a prophet named Agabus arrived from Judea.
11) He came to us, took Paul’s belt, tied up his own feet and hands with it, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: The owner of this belt will be tied up in this way by the Jews in Jerusalem, and they will hand him over to the Gentiles.”
12) When we heard this, we and the others there begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem.
13) But he answered, “What are you doing, crying like this and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be tied up in Jerusalem but even to die there for the sake of the Lord Jesus.”
NOTE: Paul knew he would be arrested but went anyway.
33) The God of peace be with you all. Amen.