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We who have strong faith should help the weak with their problems. We should not please only ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbours. Let us do what is good for them in order to build them up. 3 Even Christ did not please himself. It is written, ‘The bad things people have said about you have been aimed at me also.’ (Psalm 69:9) 4 Everything written in the past was written to teach us. The Scriptures give us strength to go on. They encourage us and give us hope. 5 Our God is a God who strengthens and encourages you. May he give you the same attitude towards one another that Christ Jesus had. 6 Then you can give glory to God with one mind and voice. He is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Christ has accepted you. So accept one another in order to bring praise to God. 8 I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews. He teaches us that God is true. He shows us that God will keep the promises he made to the founders of our nation. 9 Jesus became a servant of the Jews. He did this so that the Gentiles might give glory to God for his mercy. It is written,
‘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,
‘You Gentiles, be full of joy.
Be joyful together with God's people.’ (Deuteronomy 32:43)
11 And again it says,
‘All you Gentiles, praise the Lord.
Let all the nations sing praises to him.’ (Psalm 117:1)
12 And Isaiah says,
‘The Root of Jesse will grow up quickly.
He will rule over the nations.
The Gentiles will put their hope in him.’ (Isaiah 11:10)
13 May the God who gives hope fill you with great joy. May you have perfect peace as you trust in him. May the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope.
Paul serves the Gentiles
14 My brothers and sisters, I am sure that you are full of goodness. You are filled with knowledge and able to teach one another. 15 But I have written to you very boldly about some things. I wanted to remind you of them again. The grace of God has allowed me 16 to serve Christ Jesus among the Gentiles. I have the duty of a priest to preach God's good news. Then the Gentiles will become an offering that pleases God. The Holy Spirit will make the offering holy.
15:1–16 Paul continued giving instructions about how believers can live in peace with one another. They must treat each other the same way Jesus treated people when he was on earth. Jesus didn't do only what was good for himself. Instead, he did what was good for other people. He accepted others and was a servant. When Jesus served people, this gave them the opportunity to learn about God. Jesus showed that God is real and can be trusted completely. God is a God of hope. He is full of mercy and wants his people to be strong in their faith. Paul prayed for God's people to be filled with joy and peace. The Holy Spirit fills God's people with hope. They also find joy and hope when they read the Scriptures. Paul showed how the promises God made to Israel included blessings for all nations. God's mercy, joy, hope and peace are for all people who trust in him. Believers may be very different from one another. Yet giving glory to God brings them together as one.
17 Because I belong to Christ Jesus, I can take pride in my work for God. 18 I will speak about what Christ has done through me. I won't try to speak about anything else. He has been leading the Gentiles to obey God. He has been doing this by what I have said and done. 19 He has given me power to do signs and wonders. I can do these things by the power of the Spirit of God. From Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum I have finished preaching. In those places, I preached the good news about Christ. 20 I have always wanted to preach the good news where Christ was not known. I don't want to build on what someone else has started. 21 It is written,
‘Those who were not told about him will understand.
Those who have not heard will know what it all means.’ (Isaiah 52:15)
22 That's why I have often been kept from coming to you.
23 Now there is no more place for me to work in those areas. For many years I have wanted to visit you. 24 So I plan to see you when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while I am passing through. And I hope you will help me on my journey there. But first I want to enjoy being with you for a while. 25 Now I am on my way to Jerusalem to serve the Lord's people there. 26 The believers in Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to take an offering. It was for those who were poor among the Lord's people in Jerusalem. 27 They were happy to do it. And of course they owe it to them. The Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual blessings. So the Gentiles should share their earthly blessings with the Jews. 28 I want to finish my task. I want to make sure that the poor in Jerusalem have received this offering. Then I will go to Spain. On my way I will visit you. 29 I know that when I come to you, I will come with the full blessing of Christ.
30 Brothers and sisters, I ask you to join me in my struggle. Join me by praying to God for me. I ask this through the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ. Pray for me with the love the Holy Spirit provides. 31 Pray that I will be kept safe from those in Judea who do not believe. I am taking the offering to Jerusalem. Pray that it will be welcomed by the Lord's people there. 32 Then I will come to you with joy just as God has planned. We will be renewed by being together. 33 May the God who gives peace be with you all. Amen.
15:17–33 Near the end of his letter Paul wrote about the work he had been doing. He was grateful for what Christ had done through him. The Spirit of God was the one giving him the strength to do his work. His work was to share the good news about Jesus. He shared it with people who had never heard it before. He had done this in the lands controlled by the Roman government around Jerusalem. He now wanted to preach in Spain. His plan was to visit the believers in Rome on the way to Spain. He looked forward to how they could encourage one another. But first he needed to go to Jerusalem. He was taking a gift of money from Gentile believers to Jewish believers in need there. Acts chapters 21 to 28 tell what happened. Paul was arrested in Jerusalem. He couldn't make the trip to Rome and to Spain as he had planned. Yet a few years later he was sent to Rome as a prisoner. That is when he got to meet the believers in Rome.