Romans 15 - What is the "Full Gospel"?

Click Here to Listen to or Read Romans 15 

Paul continues to exhort the church of Rome on how to live out their love for Christ, specifically in the church. He realizes that there will be times we are weak and times we are strong. When we are strong we need to be there for others by, encouraging them and building them up. This is following the model of Jesus, who endured hardship for us to be saved. In essence it is to be more concerned about others than ourselves. This goes against our sinful nature, which always tries to get us to look inward and think only about ourselves. 

The key to this kind of behavioral response is having the mind of Christ. Again we see that the way we train our minds, trains our emotions, and then our subsequent behavior. As we care for each other it creates unity in the body of Christ, as we worship the Lord. 

Then, he addresses the fact that there were both Jews and Gentiles in the church. In the Jewish culture this was a huge stereotype the new Jewish Christians needed to overcome. It is obviously a huge concern for Paul, and he accentuates his point by quoting 5 Old Testament passages where the promises were not only for the Israelites but the Gentiles too. It was always God's plan to reach all people through His Son Jesus starting with the covenant promises he made to Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.

Paul concludes with this verse, 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 15;13

Paul points out three things the Holy Spirit gives us as believers: hope, joy, and peace. We not only have hope but "overflow" with it. Hope, joy, and peace are also listed as the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5. 

Paul the Minister to the Gentiles

Since God appointed Paul to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, he encouraged them that he had equipped them to teach each other what he had taught them. They were "competent" to instruct one another. Their competency came from knowing God's Word and connecting the Old Testament promises to their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. Also, the Day of Pentecost where prophets like Joel and predicted that the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all people. 

Paul points to what God has done through him, as he did signs and wonders to prove what he was saying was true. 

I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done— 19 by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 

Note Paul refers to the power of God through the Holy Spirit. So when Paul says he preached the "whole gospel", it was that he not only just preached about Jesus, but showed them His power through the signs and wonder the Holy Spirit worked through him. 

You can see Paul's heart as a missionary in that he was constantly seeking to preach the gospel where it was not known. We call them "unreached people groups" today. He was not content to minister to the saints, but he wanted to reach the sinners with the gospel of grace. 

Paul’s Plan to Visit Rome

Paul's ultimate goal was to make it so Spain, which he saw as the end of the known world. On the way he wanted to stop in Rome to visit them. First, however he needed to go back to the saints in Jerusalem to give them the money he had collected in Philippi and Greece for them. He was giving them an example of what he taught at the beginning of the chapter, where those who are strong should help those who are weak. They were one body of Christ whether they were in Jerusalem, Rome, or Macedonia. 

This is how we should look at it today. We should look at the church as much bigger than just our own churches. We who are strong should bear the burdens of those who are going through persecution and trials. The Christians in the Middle East need our prayers. Both Palestinian Christians and Messianic Jews, who live in the Holy Land. Both are suffering. 

Finally, Paul calls on them to pray for him in his journeys. 

 I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.

Note Paul includes the role of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in praying to "God", which could also be called "the Father". This is a reference to the Trinity. When we pray we should always be praying for Christians all around the world, as well as leaders, pastors, and missionaries who proclaim the gospel in word and deed!