Romans 15:2 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

NIV: Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.

NASB: Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification.

CSB: Each one of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.

NLT: We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord.

KJV: Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.

NKJV: Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.

Paul has written in the previous verse that those who are strong in their Christian faith, fully convinced of the grace of God and their individual freedoms in Christ, should not insist on pleasing themselves at the expense of other Christians.

Now he puts it positively: Strong Christians should make it higher priority to please others for their good than to please themselves. They should take on the mission of building up their neighbors. This echoes what Paul wrote in Romans 12:10: that living-sacrifice Christians must outdo each other in showing honor. To put it another way, they must honor each other above themselves.

This is an application of what Jesus called the greatest commandment among human relationships (Matthew 22:35–40). Loving our neighbors as we love ourselves means putting their "pleasing," or satisfaction, or good outcome above achieving our own good outcome. It's a lifestyle of sacrificing what I want, to give to others what they want, for their good and growth.

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.

Accessed 5/8/2024 4:42:53 PM