(This will be a long study – you may wish to split it.)
Now we have a problem. Having exhorted us to devote ourselves to serving God and our neighbours, Paul now looks at the demands of the state.
Read Romans 13:1-7
1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: if you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honour, then honour.
The Pharisees thought they could catch Jesus out on this, but he had a simple answer without discussion: ‘give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s’ (Matthew 22:15-22)
It is obvious to us today, where there is so much injustice in the world, that these verses, especially 3 and 4, can raise questions. I’m sorry, but I have no answers when those in authority are so obviously not God’s servants.
In the life of Christ, and Paul, it would ultimately be the actions of the authorities that would lead to their death.
Read Romans 13:8-10
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not covet,’ (Exodus 20:13-17) and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ (Leviticus 19:18) 10 Love does no harm to a neighbour. Therefore love is the fulfilment of the law.
It is an undeniable fact that the world notices when Christians, struggling under extreme persecution, still demonstrate love to others.
Read Romans 13:11-12
11 And do this, understanding the present time: the hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber, because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. 12 The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armour of light.
Paul recognised that his time on earth would probably end sooner rather than later. But for all of us it is undeniable that our own death and resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:14-17) is nearer now than when we first believed. As we live out our remaining time we actually have a choice – we could spend it in darkness, or we can put on the armour of light.
What a wonderful expression that is! Armour is not offensive but defensive. We do not have to fight the darkness and all it may hide. The light from even the smallest candle can expel darkness. The more light available to you, the greater your protection. My neighbour told me she can remember when street lights were installed in our road and the amazing difference it made to people’s well-being.
So how do we do this? Read on:
Read Romans 13:13-14
13 Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14 Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
Gratifying our desires is a basic animal instinct, but we can still control it. Paul is so sensible – ‘don’t even think about it!’
Now into chapter 14
Read Romans 14:1-4
1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarrelling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
It seems to be another basic instinct to put someone right when their understanding differs from ours. And even if we don’t say it, we still think it. Even if you are in a situation where you are recognised as a teacher, you must treat others as much as servants of God as you are. He can give or withhold understanding to whoever he chooses and it is no business of ours to think we know better. For instance:
Read Romans 14:5-6
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
Those brought up in the Jewish traditions would have learnt to revere the days associated with the seven feasts or festivals.
Romans also had many ‘holy days’ which were considered to be holidays for all. The Greeks similarly had special days .
The celebrations around those days would have included feasting or fasting and new Christians either felt awkward ignoring the customs taught them from their youth, or were glad to be rid of them!
Paul’s attitude is that if you regard these ‘holy’ days as days for worship to the one true God, you can’t go wrong – but it is still not up to you to condemn anyone else for their different understanding.
Read Romans 14:7-12
7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written:
‘“As surely as I live,” says the Lord,
“Every knee will bow before me;
every tongue will acknowledge God.”’ Isaiah 45:23)
12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
In 1 Corinthians 10:12 Paul says ‘So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!’ We are all servants and as such must answer to our God alone.
Read Romans 14:13
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling-block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.
You may be so firmly convinced about something that you may consider it to be a revelation from God and that you must not only share it with everyone you meet, but also insist that they accept your ‘wisdom’. This is still an on-going problem within the church today, and still causes people to stumble. Don’t do it!
Read Romans 14:14-23
14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15 If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died. 16 Therefore do not let what you know is good be spoken of as evil. 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 receives human approval.
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 person 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 or sister to fall.
22 So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who does not condemn himself by what he approves. 23 But whoever has doubts is condemned if they eat, because their eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.
I think we get the message!
So into chapters 15 and 16. Remember that these chapter breaks were not in the original, so it would have continued seamlessly from the previous passage.
Read Romans 15:1-4
1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbours for their good, to build them up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: ‘The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.’ (Psalm 69:9)
4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
The New Testament had not yet been compiled, but Paul knew that the Old Testament scriptures were fundamental for our understanding – and encouragement.
Read Romans 15:5-13
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God. 8 For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God’s truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed 9 and, moreover, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy. As it is written:
‘Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles;
I will sing the praises of your name.’ (2 Samuel 22:50; Psalm 18:49)
10 Again, it says,
‘Rejoice, you Gentiles, with his people.’ (Deuteronomy 32:43)
11 And again,
‘Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles;
let all the peoples extol him.’ (Psalm 117:1)
12 And again, Isaiah says,
‘The Root of Jesse will spring up,
one who will arise to rule over the nations;
in him the Gentiles will hope.’ (Isaiah 11:10)
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.
Again, Paul encourages Jews and Gentiles to fully accept one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, to have ‘the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had’ (v5)
Read Romans 15:14-16
14 I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another. 15 Yet I have written to you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me 16 to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me 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.
Paul is a wonderful teacher: praising his people (v14) but also reminding them where necessary (v15), and all because of the duty (v16) that he had been given to discharge.
Read Romans 15:17-22
17 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 wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way round 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. 21 Rather, as it is written:
‘Those who were not told about him will see,
and those who have not heard will understand.’ (Isaiah 52:15)
22 This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.
Effectively Paul is saying ‘I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ’ (2 Timothy 4:7)
Read Romans 15:23-24
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 visit you, 24 I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and that you will assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.
Paul had for a while been drawn towards Spain as his next mission field.
Had he got the Lord’s leading wrong?
No, not really – but he might have been surprised at how precisely he would be taken to Rome and how he would exercise his ministry there!
But first he had to go to Jerusalem.
Read Romans 15:25-29
25 Now, however, I am on my way to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there. 26 For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people 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. 28 So after I have completed this task and have made sure that they have received this contribution, 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.
For some while the believers in Jerusalem had been suffering financially. Both the Jewish and Roman authorities were against Christians and also there may well have also been hard times caused by local drought conditions. The safest way to deliver the collected gifts was to take them personally. But travelling with so much of value could in itself be dangerous.
Read Romans 15:30-33
30 I urge you, brothers and sisters, 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 kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favourably received by the Lord’s people there, 32 so that I may come to you with joy, by God’s will, and in your company be refreshed. 33 The God of peace be with you all. Amen.
join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. How often do we pray for our church leaders? Do we appreciate the struggles they have? Here Paul needed prayer, not only for safety on his journey but for all that he would encounter when he was in Jerusalem.
Romans 16
Read Romans 16:1-16
1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. 2 I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me.
3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. 4 They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
5 Greet also the church that meets at their house.
Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
6 Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.
7 Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.
8 Greet Ampliatus, my dear friend in the Lord.
9 Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.
10 Greet Apelles, whose fidelity to Christ has stood the test.
Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.
11 Greet Herodion, my fellow Jew.
Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.
12 Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord.
Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.
13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.
14 Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the other brothers and sisters with them.
15 Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the Lord’s people who are with them.
16 Greet one another with a holy kiss.
All the churches of Christ send greetings.
Someone had to carry this letter to the church in Rome and it seems from verse 1 that it would be Phoebe. It also seems that a load of others went with her – or simply that Paul wanted them to pray for those that had helped him in his ministry.
Read Romans 16:17-20
17 I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. 18 For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people. 19 Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I rejoice because of you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.
20 The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.
One last warning from Paul to beware of false teachers – they are still with us today.
Read Romans 16:21-23
21 Timothy, my co-worker, sends his greetings to you, as do Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my fellow Jews.
22 I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord.
23 Gaius, whose hospitality I and the whole church here enjoy, sends you his greetings.
Erastus, who is the city’s director of public works, and our brother Quartus send you their greetings.
What a lovely personal way to end a letter.
(Verse 24 – omitted in NIV – was a copy of the second sentence of verse 20 and is only found in more recent manuscripts – possibly a copying error.)
Read Romans 16:25-27
25 Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith – 27 to the only wise God be glory for ever through Jesus Christ! Amen.
A wonderful summary of his whole letter – in everything give glory to God.
