We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of
the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his
neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please
himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who
reproached you fell on me.” For whatever was written in former days
was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through
the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God
of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony
with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you
may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you,
for the glory of God.
For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to
show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to
the patriarchs, and in order that the Gentiles might glorify God
for his mercy. As it is written,
“Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles,
and sing to your name.”
And again it is said,
“Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.”
And again,
“Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles,
and let all the peoples extol him.”
And again Isaiah says,
“The root of Jesse will come,
even he who arises to rule the Gentiles;
in him will the Gentiles hope.”
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in
believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound
in hope.
I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves
are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to
instruct one another. But on some points I have written to you very
boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to
be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly
service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles
may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. In Christ Jesus,
then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God. For I will not
venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished
through me to bring the Gentiles to obedience—by word and deed, by
the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of
God—so that from Jerusalem and all the way around to Illyricum I
have fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ; and thus I
make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has
already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but
as it is written,
“Those who have never been told of him will see,
and those who have never heard will understand.”
This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from
coming to you. But now, since I no longer have any room for work in
these regions, and since I have longed for many years to come to
you, I hope to see you in passing as I go to Spain, and to be
helped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company
for a while. At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem bringing
aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to
make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.
For they were pleased to do it, and indeed they owe it to them. For
if the Gentiles have come to share in their spiritual blessings,
they ought also to be of service to them in material blessings.
When therefore I have completed this and have delivered to them
what has been collected, I will leave for Spain by way of you. I
know that when I come to you I will come in the fullness of the
blessing of Christ.
I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the
love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to
God on my behalf, that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in
Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the
saints, so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be
refreshed in your company. May the God of peace be with you all.
Amen.
