Romans, chapters 14 - 16

Chapter 14 Paul writing

Accept Him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. 1 man's faith allows Him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on Him who does not, & the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for GOD has accepted Him. Who are You to judge someone else's servant? To His own master He stands or falls. And He will stand, for the LORD is able to make Him stand.

1 man considers 1 day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each 1 should be fully convinced in His own mind. He who regards 1 day as special, does so to the LORD. He who eats meat, eats to the LORD, for He gives thanks to GOD. For none of Us lives to himself alone & none of Us dies to himself alone. If We live, We live to the LORD; & if We die, We die to the LORD. So, whether We live or die, We belong to the LORD.

For this very reason, Christ died & returned to life so that HE might be the LORD of both the dead & the living. You, then, why do You judge Your brother? Or why do You look down on Your brother? For We will all stand before GOD's Judgment Seat. It is written, 'As surely as I live,' says the LORD, Every knee will bow before ME; & every tongue will confess to GOD ' (Isa 49:18c; 45:23c). So then, each of Us will give an account of himself to GOD.

Therefore let Us stop passing judgment on 1 another. Instead, make up Your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in Your brother's way. As 1 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. If your brother is distressed because of what You eat, You are no longer acting in love-- i.e., do not react to his distress with alienation & repeated referrals. Do not by Your eating destroy Your brother for whom Christ died. Do not allow what you consider good to be spoken of as evil. For the Kingdom of GOD is not a matter of eating & drinking, but of righteousness, peace & joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to GOD & approved by men.

Let Us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace & to mutual edification. 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. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause Your brother to fall. So whatever You believe about these things keep between yourself & GOD. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what He approves. But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; & everything that does not come from faith is sin. If a person is eating against his/her beliefs just to fit-in-with-the-crowd, he/she's being made-to-stumble! The short-of-it is, when, as a congregation, you sit down to eat, it's better to only have vegetables available if you're aware some have that belief (that meat's unclean). And at work, etc., do not base fellowship on what day(s) of the week 1 is to worship on.

Chapter 15 Paul writing

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We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak & not to please ourselves. Each of Us should please His neighbor for His good, to build Him up. For even Christ did not please Himself but, as it is written: The insults of those who insult YOU have fallen on Me (Psa 69:9b). For everything that was written in the past was written to teach Us, so that through endurance & also the encouragement of the Scriptures We might have hope.

May the GOD who gives endurance & encouragement give You a spirit of unity among yourselves as You follow Christ Jesus, so that with 1 heart & mouth You may glorify the GOD & FATHER of Our LORD Jesus Christ. Accept 1 another, then, just as Christ accepted You, in order to bring praise to GOD. 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 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 (2ndSa 22:50; Psa 18:49). Again, it says, Rejoice, O Gentiles, with HIS People (Deu 32:43a). And again, Praise the LORD, all you Gentiles, & sing praises to HIM, all you peoples (Psa 117:1). 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 (Isa 11:10). May the GOD of Hope fill You with all joy, so that You may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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I myself am convinced, My brothers, that You yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge & competent to instruct 1 another. I have written You quite boldly on some points, as if to remind You of them again, because of the grace GOD gave Me 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.

Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus as My service to GOD. 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 & done-- by the power of signs & miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to the Roman Empire province of Illyricum north of Italy & the Adriatic Sea, I have fully proclaimed the Gospel of Christ. It has always been My ambition to preach the Gospel where Christ was not known, so I would not be building on someone else's foundation. Rather, as it is written: Those who were not told about HIM will see, & those who have not heard will understand (Isa 52:15cd). This is why I have been hindered from coming to You.

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But now there is no more place for Me to work in these regions, & since I have been longing for many years to see You, I plan to do so when I go to Spain. This was written after his 3rd Missionary Trip, while going to Jerusalem. The 3rd Missionary Trip ended in Acts 20, but after going to Jerusalem, in Acts 24:17 we find Paul in Caesarea talking to Governor Felix, saying, 'After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring My people gifts for the poor & to present offerings.' Note that though Paul originally intended to go to Spain, he was detained in Rome for several years (though originally taken there under arrest, he was allowed to rent a house there for 2 yrs.-- see Acts 28:30)! Note also that above & below we have the only 2 mentions of Spain in the Bible. I was told that outside a wall in Rome is the purported location of Paul's burial. I hope to visit You in Rome while passing through & to have You assist Me on My journey there (to Spain), after I have enjoyed Your company for a while. Now, however, I am on My way to Jerusalem in the service of the saints there. For Macedonia & Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor there among the saints in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do it, & 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. So after I have completed this task in Jerusalem & have made sure They have received this fruit, I will go to Spain & visit You on the way. I know that when I come to You, I will come in the full measure of the blessing of Christ.

I urge You, brothers, by Our LORD Jesus Christ & by the love of the Spirit, to join Me in My struggle by praying to GOD for Me. Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea & that My service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there, so that by GOD's Will I may come to You with joy & together with You be refreshed. The GOD of Peace be with You all. Amen.

Chapter 16 Paul writing

I commend to You Our sister Phoebe, a servant (deaconess) of the Church in Cenchrea. I ask You to receive Her in the LORD in a special way (in view of the "common" greetings below) worthy of the saints & to give Her any help she may need from You, for She has been a great help to many people, including Me. Following are 17 greetings, including several identified as women:

1. Greet wife Priscilla & husband Aquila, My fellow workers in Christ Jesus Jesus. They risked there lives for Me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to Them. That tentmakers Aquila & Priscilla were husband & wife (& that Priscilla persistently taught) is cited in The Zondervan "Pictorial Bible Dictionary" (pp. 54, 684).
2. Greet also the church that meets at Their house.
3. Greet My dear friend Epenetus, who was the 1st convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
4. Greet Mary, who worked very hard for You.
5. Greet Andronicus & Junias, My relatives who have been in prison with Me. They are outstanding among the apostles, & They were in Christ before I was.
6. Greet Ampliatus, whom I love in the LORD.
7. Greet Urbanus, Our fellow worker in Christ, & My dear friend Stachys.
8. Greet Apelles, tested & approved in Christ.
9. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.
10. Greet Herodion, My relative.
11. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the LORD.
12. Greet Tryphena & Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the LORD.
13. Greet My dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the LORD.
14. Greet Rufus, chosen in the LORD, & His mother, who has been a mother to Me, too. This might be the Rufus mentioned in Mark 15:21, whose father Simon carried Jesus' cross to the site of the crucifixion.
15. Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas & the brothers with Them. Paul was called Hermes in Acts 14:21 because He was the chief speaker.
16. Greet 1 another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.

I urge You, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions & put obstacles in Your way that are contrary to the teaching You have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving Our LORD Jesus Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk & flattery they deceive the minds of naive people. Everyone has heard of Your obedience, so I am full of joy over You; but I want You to be wise about what is good, & innocent about what is evil. The GOD of Peace will soon crush Satan under Your feet. The Grace of Our LORD Jesus be with You. Timothy, My fellow worker, sends His greetings to You, as do Lucius, Jason & Sosipater, My relatives. I, Tertius, who wrote down this, greet You in the LORD. Gaius, whose hospitality I & the whole Church here enjoy, sends You His greetings. Erastus, who is the city's director of public works, & Our brother Quartus send You Their greetings.

Now to Him who is able to establish You by My Gospel & the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed & made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the Eternal GOD. so that all nations might believe & obey HIM-- to the only Wise GOD be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.