Skip to main content
Psalmlog Logo

Romans 15

Paul joins mutual acceptance, hope from Scripture, and service among the nations under Christ’s work for God’s glory.

Paul urges the believers in Rome to bear with those who are weak and accept one another as Christ accepted them. He draws on Scripture to show that Christ confirms God’s promises to Israel and brings Gentiles into praise of God. Paul then describes his ministry among the Gentiles and his plans to carry aid to Jerusalem before visiting Rome on his way to Spain. He closes by asking for prayer amid danger and uncertainty.

church hurtserving and tiredwanting a steady prayer habit
Read
1Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, to be building him up.
3For even Christ didn’t please himself. But, as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
4For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through perseverance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
5Now the God of perseverance and of encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,
6that with one accord you may with one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7Therefore accept one another, even as Christ also accepted you, to the glory of God.
8Now I say that Christ has been made a servant of the circumcision for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises given to the fathers,
9and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written, “Therefore I will give praise to you among the Gentiles and sing to your name.”
10Again he says, “Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.”
12Again, Isaiah says, “There will be the root of Jesse, he who arises to rule over the Gentiles; in him the Gentiles will hope.”
13Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope in the power of the Holy Spirit.
14I myself am also persuaded about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish others.
15But I write the more boldly to you in part as reminding you, because of the grace that was given to me by God,
16that I should be a servant of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, serving as a priest of the Good News of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be made acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
17I have therefore my boasting in Christ Jesus in things pertaining to God.
18For I will not dare to speak of any things except those which Christ worked through me for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed,
19in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of God’s Spirit; so that from Jerusalem and around as far as to Illyricum, I have fully preached the Good News of Christ;
20yes, making it my aim to preach the Good News, not where Christ was already named, that I might not build on another’s foundation.
21But, as it is written, “They will see, to whom no news of him came. They who haven’t heard will understand.”
22Therefore also I was hindered these many times from coming to you,
23but now, no longer having any place in these regions, and having these many years a longing to come to you,
24whenever I travel to Spain, I will come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I may enjoy your company for a while.
25But now, I say, I am going to Jerusalem, serving the saints.
26For it has been the good pleasure of Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are at Jerusalem.
27Yes, it has been their good pleasure, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, they owe it to them also to serve them in material things.
28When therefore I have accomplished this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will go on by way of you to Spain.
29I know that when I come to you, I will come in the fullness of the blessing of the Good News of Christ.
30Now I beg you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me,
31that I may be delivered from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,
32that I may come to you in joy through the will of God, and together with you, find rest.
33Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Romans 15:13Paul’s prayer gathers the hope promised to the Gentiles into a blessing grounded in God and the Spirit’s power.
Romans 15:4Scripture teaches perseverance and supplies encouragement, grounding the hope that sustains believers as they bear with one another.
Romans 15:1The opening command makes strength a responsibility to carry another’s weakness, with Christ’s self-giving as its pattern.
Where this chapter reaches

The book of Psalm supplies quotations about bearing reproach and praising God among the nations, which Paul connects to Christ and Gentile worship. Acts shares the account of Paul’s ministry among Gentiles and his return to Jerusalem amid opposition.

Romans 15's chapter linksAll strongest linksHover or tap a book
Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What connection do you notice between accepting one another and glorifying God with one voice?

Write on this

How might Paul’s request for prayer shape what you ask others to pray for you?

Write on this

Questions people ask about Romans 15

Who are the strong and the weak in Romans 15?

Paul addresses believers with differing degrees of strength in faith and conscience. He includes himself among the strong and places responsibility on them to bear others’ weaknesses. The opening verses focus on conduct: seeking a neighbor’s good, building that person up, and following Christ’s example of bearing reproach.

What does Romans 15:13 mean?

Verse 13 is Paul’s prayer that God would fill believers with joy and peace as they trust him, causing hope to overflow through the Holy Spirit’s power. It follows quotations about Gentiles sharing in praise and hope. That setting connects the prayer to God’s mercy toward people from different nations.

Did Paul go to Spain in Romans 15?

Romans 15 records Paul’s intention to travel to Spain, with a visit to Rome along the way. His immediate task is to take a contribution from Macedonia and Achaia to poor believers in Jerusalem. The chapter does not report a completed visit to Spain or settle whether it later happened.

Read it. Now write it.

Start an entry on Romans 15. Your words go beside the text, and you get one next step for the week.

Romans · 16 chapters
12345678910111213141516

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).