Romans 15:31 - Printer Friendly

ESV: that I may be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,

NIV: Pray that I may be kept safe from the unbelievers in Judea and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably received by the Lord’s people there,

NASB: that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints;

CSB: Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, that my ministry to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,

NLT: Pray that I will be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God. Pray also that the believers there will be willing to accept the donation I am taking to Jerusalem.

KJV: That I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judaea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints;

NKJV: that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,

Paul has asked, very seriously, that the Christians in Rome would wrestle with him in prayer about his circumstances. Now he begins to list three specific requests.

The first thing he wants them to ask God for is that he will be delivered from the unbelievers in Judea. Paul has learned by repeated experience that the religious Jews want to kill him (Acts 14:9; 23:12; 25:3). He is preparing to travel to Jerusalem, the very heart of religious Judaism. He realizes this will put him in grave danger. He is asking the Roman Christians to pray for his safety, that his life will be spared.

Paul was right to be concerned. Acts 21:27–36 describes what happened when the Jewish religious leaders found him in the temple in Jerusalem. Furious about his teaching that salvation was available only through faith in Christ and not through following the law, they grabbed Paul, dragged him out of the temple, and tried to kill him. This prayer was answered, however, in an unexpected way. Roman soldiers intervened and took Paul into custody. He was spared but found himself in prison for the following two years. God does not always answer our prayers in the way we expect.

Paul's second request was that the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem would receive the gift of financial aid he was delivering from the Gentile believers. Why would they not? Perhaps tension between Jewish and Gentile Christians was running high. Perhaps the Christian Jews would reject the gift out of fear of the unbelieving religious Jews. Maybe Paul was concerned about being robbed or imprisoned on the way. In any case, he wanted desperately for the gift to be received.

Apparently, this prayer was also answered when Paul was, at least at first, received warmly by the Christian Jews in Jerusalem on his arrival (Acts 21:17).

Romans 15:22–33 describes Paul's plan to visit the Christians in Rome on his way to preaching the gospel in Spain. He has longed to see them for years. Before he comes, he must deliver a gift of financial aid from Gentile Christians to the poor Jewish believers in Jerusalem. He asks his readers to wrestle with him in prayer about this trip. Paul especially hopes to be delivered from the unbelieving Jewish religious leaders who want to kill him, and that the Christian Jews will receive the gift he is bringing.

Romans 15 begins with Paul's encouragement to those strong in faith: to please other Christians before themselves so the church can be unified. Christ came to fulfill God's promises to Israel and about the Gentiles. Paul is satisfied with the faith and practice of the Roman Christians. His work of taking the gospel to unreached regions of Gentiles in his part of the world is completed, and he longs to come see them. First, he must deliver financial aid to Jerusalem, a trip about which he asks them to pray along with him.

Romans 15 concludes Paul's teaching that those strong in faith ought to sacrifice their own desires to live in harmony with other believers. Paul shows that God always planned to welcome the Gentile nations, and his mission is to introduce Gentiles to the message of salvation by faith in Christ. He longs to visit the Christians in Rome and plans to do so as soon as he delivers financial aid to poor Christian Jews in Jerusalem. He begins Romans 16 by greeting many friends and acquaintances in Rome by name, as part of a drawn-out ending to this letter.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.