Romans 15:1-6

We who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” For whatever things were written before were written for our instruction, so that through patience and through the comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope. Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be of the same mind toward one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one mind and one mouth you may glorify God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This means that those who are strong in faith must not criticize those who are weak in faith, but must help them. The rich must help the poor, the healthy must help the physically weak, those who have much knowledge must help those who lack knowledge, and those who have authority must help those who are neglected.

The kingdom of the Lord is love. Love is sharing, and it is understanding and helping those who are weaker than oneself. To believe in God means to obey the Word of God, and obedience means following the will of God. The will of God is that we bear the fruit of love.

Bible knowledge without the fruit of love is dead knowledge. Dead knowledge is not truly believing in Jesus. Faith without love is false faith, and therefore it cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.

All the teachings written in the Bible ultimately conclude with this command: love God and love your neighbor.

The people of Israel crossed the Red Sea and experienced countless miracles. The purpose for which God showed them such miracles was so that they would believe in God, obey Him, and love God and their neighbors.

All power comes from God. Through Moses, God divided the Red Sea and caused water to come out from the rock. Even today, God heals diseases, casts out demons, and solves many problems through the servants of the Lord.

However, all glory belongs only to God. The servant of the Lord is nothing more than an instrument of God. If a human being acts as though he performed miracles by his own power, he will perish. Those who give glory to created beings and depend on created beings will also eventually perish.

Those who have experienced the power of God and clearly realized that God is alive must, from that time on, learn to obey the Word of the Lord. This is the training by which we bear the fruit of love.

Failing to love the person whom we ought to love is sin. Sin must surely be repented of. Covetousness is placing one’s own desire ahead of the Word of God. For Christians, covetousness is idolatry.

The fruit of faith and the fruit of the Holy Spirit is love. Love does no evil to God or to one’s neighbor. Love is not simply knowing much Bible knowledge. Love is understanding and helping those who are weaker than oneself.

Great power itself is not faith. Only power that is used for the will of the Lord is recognized as true faith. In the end, the faith that bears the fruit of love is the faith that saves one’s soul.

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Romans 15:7-12

Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God. Now I say that Christ became a servant of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises given to the fathers, and so that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy, as it is written: “For this reason I will give thanks to You among the Gentiles, and sing praises to Your name.” Again it says, “Rejoice, O Gentiles, with His people.” And again, “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples praise Him.” And again Isaiah says, “There shall be the root of Jesse, and He who rises to rule over the Gentiles; in Him the Gentiles shall hope.”

God received the Gentiles by His mercy. The Gentiles were originally people who did not know God, served idols, and lived according to the lusts of the flesh. They had no righteousness at all before God, and they were all under the condemnation of the law, destined to receive the judgment of God.

All Gentiles were people who lived without knowing the will of God and in opposition to Him. Yet God had mercy on the ignorant and filthy Gentiles.

Jesus carried even the sins of the Gentiles and died on the cross. The blood of Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of all humanity.

The moment the Gentiles believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior and confess Him, all the sins of their past are washed clean by the blood of Jesus. This is redemption from sin.

Those who have been redeemed from sin are those who have entered into the arms of Jesus. Now they must live a life of obedience and repentance. Those who keep the life of repentance to the end will enter the kingdom of heaven.

The Jews received the law early and served God. Yet they also did not reach perfect obedience. Therefore the Lord caused them also to be redeemed from sin by the blood of Jesus, and to enter the kingdom of heaven through a life of repentance.

By human works, no one can fully reach the righteous law of the Lord. Therefore all people are saved by the mercy of the Lord.

Apart from the law, a new way of salvation appeared in the world through Jesus Christ. All humanity fell short of the righteousness of the Lord and had no choice but to perish, but the mercy of the Lord came upon them, and a more gracious way of salvation was opened wide for those who could not be saved by the law.

The new way of salvation is not the law. It is only to believe in Jesus Christ as Savior. To believe in Jesus as Savior means to follow the words of Jesus, to love the Lord, and to love one’s neighbor. Love covers all sins.

Have you failed while trying to love? Do not be discouraged, but repent. When you repent, all sins are immediately forgiven, and you can always begin anew. We must praise the Lord, who patiently endures to the end and saves us.

The prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament proclaimed in advance that the age would come when all nations would believe in Jesus and be saved.

Even though we are lacking, we must always strive to forgive and love. Those who strive to obey and repent are always forgiven by the blood of Jesus, even though they are lacking. All who repent to the end will enter the kingdom of heaven.

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Romans 15:13-16

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. And I myself am also convinced concerning you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able also to admonish one another. Nevertheless, brothers, I have written to you more boldly in part, as a reminder to you, because of the grace given to me by God, that I should be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, carrying out the priestly duty of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

God gives us faith and hope. He also fills us with all joy and peace through the Holy Spirit.

God created human beings, provided everything necessary for them, and made them live always in joy and peace. There was no lack at all in the Garden of Eden. But because Adam and Eve broke the promise of God, they lost life and every blessing, and they came to live in sorrow and anxiety, eventually going down the path of destruction.

However, God had compassion on human beings who were created in His own image, and He opened the way for them to be saved.

The way of salvation is that God Himself came to this earth in human flesh and bore the sins of human beings in their place, dying on the cross. By the price of His precious blood, He opened the way of forgiveness of sins for all human beings and gave them new life again.

However, human beings do not easily understand this blessed news. Therefore, in the Old Testament age, God made them understand the way of salvation through the sacrificial system. In the New Testament age, He first sent John the Baptist to proclaim that Jesus is the only Savior. After Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, He came again among us as the Holy Spirit and caused the blessed news of salvation to be preached to the whole world through the servants of the Lord.

The work of the Holy Spirit is only to bring the words of Jesus to our remembrance and to make us believe those words. The Holy Spirit causes us to know that Jesus is God Himself and the only Savior.

To believe in Jesus means to believe the words of Jesus. The words of Jesus are to repent of sin, forgive one another, and love one another.

Those who serve God and serve their neighbors will overflow with joy and peace. They will also be filled with the hope of entering the kingdom of heaven.

The tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life, which were in the Garden of Eden, symbolize the words of promise of Jesus Christ today. Those who serve God, serve their neighbors, and repent whenever they sin are forgiven and live. But those who do not believe in God, do evil to their neighbors, and do not repent walk the path of death.

The work of the Holy Spirit causes us to believe in Jesus as Savior, to obey His words, and to repent of sin. In this way, He enables us to live with joy and peace, and to enter the kingdom of heaven on the last day.

But Satan creates human doctrines and causes people to disobey the Word of the Lord. He causes people to be unable to repent, to live in sadness, pain, and worry, and ultimately to go to hell.

There are two kinds of worship in the church. There is worship offered by those who live according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and there is worship offered by those who believe human doctrines, disobey, and do not repent.

When we live and worship according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the Lord receives that worship with joy. But the Lord does not receive worship offered by those who believe human doctrines, disobey, and do not repent.

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Romans 15:18-19

For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me, in word and deed, to make the Gentiles obedient, by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit. So from Jerusalem and all around as far as Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ.

God preached the gospel through Paul so that the Gentiles would believe in Jesus Christ and obey the words of Jesus.

When Paul preached the gospel, the signs, wonders, and power of God appeared together with it. This was so that the gospel would be preached effectively.

When Jesus preached the gospel, countless miracles also appeared. Those miracles testified that Jesus Christ is God Himself. They were also given so that people would believe and acknowledge that the words of Jesus were not the will of man, but the will of God.

However, many people only wanted to be healed of diseases and experience miracles, but they did not want to obey the words of Jesus.

The purpose of believing in Jesus is to obey the words of Jesus and enter the kingdom of heaven.

As time passed, Jesus taught the true purpose of the gospel.

“Cast away idols. Forgive your neighbor and love your neighbor as yourself. Cast away evil thoughts and live in harmony with one another. Always repent of your shortcomings.”

When many crowds heard these teachings, they lost interest in Jesus. They did not want to hear the words of eternal life. Therefore, they regarded the gospel as worthless and left Jesus.

John 6:66

“From that time many of His disciples went back and no longer walked with Him.”

The purpose of miracles is not miracles themselves. The purpose of miracles is to lead people to believe in Jesus Christ and obey His words.

When Paul preached the gospel to the Gentiles, he also followed the method Jesus used. Wherever Paul went, signs and wonders appeared, diseases were healed, demons were cast out, and even the dead were raised.

However, those who only desired miracles and did not want to obey the words of Jesus eventually left Paul. They rather became those who hindered the gospel.

2 Timothy 1:15

“You know this, that all those in Asia have turned away from me, among whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.”

The gospel is the good news that Jesus Christ died on the cross, forgave the sins of humanity, and saved them from destruction.

However, the people of God who have been saved have a clear purpose. It is to depart from sin, become clean, forgive their neighbors, love one another, and become a people who are zealous for good works.

Titus 2:14

“He gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all lawlessness and cleanse us for Himself as His own special people, zealous for good works.”

In the end, the purpose of the gospel is not merely to experience miracles. The purpose of the gospel is to believe in Jesus Christ and become the people of God who obey His words.

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Romans 15:30-33

Now I urge you, brothers, through our Lord Jesus Christ and through the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, that I may be delivered from those in Judea who are disobedient, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, so that by the will of God I may come to you with joy and be refreshed together with you. Now may the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

There is one Creator God. That God came into the world in the flesh to forgive the sins of human beings, died on the cross, rose again, and then ascended back into heaven. The one God came into the world in the name of Jesus and bestowed the grace of salvation upon all nations. And so that this news of salvation would be preached to all nations throughout the world, the same God came again among us as the Holy Spirit and is with us.

However, the Jews, who claimed to believe in God, maintained only a formal religious life while disobeying the Word of God. The apostle Paul earnestly desired that the Jews, who were heading toward destruction in disobedience, would obey the words of the Lord and be saved. But this was difficult for Paul to bear by his own strength alone, and so he asked many saints to pray together for this purpose.

When the apostle Paul preached the gospel, he asked them to pray that those who were bound by human doctrines would open their hearts and receive the words of Jesus just as they are. Even today, many churches follow human doctrines more than the words of the Bible. This is the same as the Jews who lived a formal religious life while following the teachings of men. Believing human doctrines is never believing in Jesus. It is no different from following another religion.

There is one Creator God. The one God accomplished the work of salvation in various ways in order to save humanity from sin. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the same God Himself.

However, human doctrine tries to divide the one God into two or three. This is a theory made by human beings. Church members who follow human theories cannot receive the Holy Spirit. Those who do not have the Holy Spirit cannot correctly understand the words of the Bible, cannot obey, and cannot come to true repentance. Heaven and hell truly exist, but even that truth cannot be deeply believed in their hearts.

Such Christians come to feel severe spiritual thirst. Therefore, they wander here and there, eventually fall into heresy, are deceived by false signs and false prophecies, and go down the path of destruction.

Salvation is believing that Jesus is God and obeying the words of Jesus. The first act of obedience is repenting of one’s sins. Then one must cast away an evil life, pursue what is good, and strive to love one another. Those who keep this faith until death will enter the kingdom of heaven.

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Romans 16:17-20

Now I urge you, brothers, watch out for those who cause divisions and stumbling blocks contrary to the teaching you have learned, and turn away from them. For such people do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth and flattering words they deceive the hearts of the simple. Your obedience has become known to all people; therefore I rejoice over you. But I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent concerning what is evil. And the God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

We must be on guard against those who go against the teaching of Jesus Christ and cause divisions in the church, and we must turn away from them. Such people are not serving Jesus Christ, but serving their own desires.

Those who seek to fulfill worldly desires cause divisions in the church. Such people also call on the name of Jesus and quote the words of the Bible in order to justify their own desires. However, they are not rightly following the Word of God, but are distorting it according to their own will. With skillful and flattering words, they deceive and confuse the hearts of innocent believers.

Blessed is the one who is not deceived by the lies and temptations of human beings, but believes and practices the Word of God just as it is. Such a person is the one who pleases God.

The Bible tells us to be wise in what is good and innocent concerning what is evil. This means that we must strive and be zealous for good works, but stay far away from evil and cast it away. The Ten Commandments of the Old Testament teach this, and the commandment of love given by Jesus also teaches this.

All evil things belong to Satan. But the God of peace will soon destroy the power of Satan. When greed and hatred arise in the heart of a Christian, Satan does not miss that opportunity and begins to work. When trials and suffering come, if the saints hold on to the Word of God and repent, the Holy Spirit destroys the work of Satan. Then the peace of God comes again into our hearts.

The grace of Christ is always among us. When we repent, the blood of Jesus forgives our sins. When we strive to obey, the Holy Spirit helps us and leads us so that we can obey the Word of God.

Therefore, we must cast away human doctrines that distort the words of the Bible. In order to fulfill covetous desires, human beings create theories and doctrines that oppose the truth. Those who love human doctrines are those who hate the life of obedience and repentance. But the children of God must live not according to the words of people, but according to the Word of God. True faith is revealed through a life that obeys the Word and repents of sin.