Romans 15:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,

NIV: May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had,

NASB: Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another, according to Christ Jesus,

CSB: Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you to live in harmony with one another, according to Christ Jesus,

NLT: May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus.

KJV: Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus:

NKJV: Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,

Here, Paul transitions back to the main point he has been teaching since the beginning of chapter 14. In the previous verse, he wrote that the Scriptures written in former days are intended to be a source of encouragement and hope for modern Christians. Now he offers a prayer to the God of endurance and encouragement.

What beautiful names for God! Paul views God as the ultimate source of encouragement and endurance. God is not merely the one to whom we will all give an account of our lives (Romans 14:12), He is also the one who will lift us up and help us to keep going. Paul asks God to give to the Christians in the church in Rome the ability to live in harmony with each other as they all live in accord—or in step—with Jesus Himself.

Paul will go on in the following verses to pray that the church in Rome will be unified, as well. Harmony, though, is something different. It is a metaphor about music, of course. The sense of it is that all Christians are singing the same song, but that we are singing different parts. This requires two things: We must adjust our pitch and tone to coordinate with each other while also performing our individual parts in the song.

Romans 15:1–7 concludes Paul's teaching on how Christians with strong faith, those who understand their freedom from the law, should live with those of weaker faith. All Christians must please each other and not themselves. After all, Christ didn't come to please Himself. With God's help and encouragement, everyone in the church can live together in harmony and glorify God with one, unified voice, as they serve each other ahead of themselves. They must welcome each other as Christ has welcomed them.

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.