The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (165 page)

  
and every tongue shall give praise
^u
to God."

¹²
So each of us shall give account of himself to God.

Do Not Hinder a Brother

13
 Then let us no more pass judgment on one another, but rather decide never to put
a stumbling block
or hindrance in the way of a brother.
¹⁴
I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that
nothing is unclean
in itself; but it is unclean for any one who thinks it unclean.
 
*
¹⁵
If your brother is being injured by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one
for whom Christ died
.
¹⁶
So do not let what is good to you be spoken of as evil.
¹⁷
For the kingdom of God does not mean food and drink but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit;
¹⁸
he who thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.
¹⁹
Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
²⁰
Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for any one to make others fall by what he eats;
²¹
it is right not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything that makes your brother stumble.
^v
22
The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God; happy is he who has no reason to judge himself for what he approves.
²³
But he who has doubts is condemned, if he eats, because he does not act from faith; for whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
^w

Please Others, Not Yourselves [
Map
]

15
  
We who are
strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves;
²
let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to edify him.
³
For Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, "
The reproaches
of those who reproached you fell on me."
⁴
For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that by steadfastness and by the
encouragement of the Scriptures
we might have hope.
⁵
May the God of steadfastness and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,
⁶
that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Gospel for Jews and Gentiles Alike

7
 Welcome one another, therefore, as
Christ has welcomed you
, for the glory of God.
⁸
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,
⁹
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";

¹⁰
and again it is said,

  
"Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people";

¹¹
and again,

  
"Praise the Lord, all Gentiles,

  
and let all the peoples praise him";

¹²
and further Isaiah says,

  
"
The root of Jesse
shall come,

  
he who rises to rule the Gentiles;

  
in him shall the Gentiles hope."

¹³
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.

Paul's Reason for Writing So Boldly

14
 
I myself am satisfied
about you, my brethren, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.
¹⁵
But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God
¹⁶
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.
 
*
¹⁷
In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God.
¹⁸
For I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has wrought through me to win obedience from the Gentiles, by word and deed,
¹⁹
by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyr'icum
I have fully preached
the gospel of Christ,
²⁰
thus making it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on another man's foundation,
²¹

  
"
They shall see
who have never been told of him,

  
and they shall understand who have never heard of him."

Paul's Plan to Visit Rome

22
 This is the reason why I have so often been hindered from coming to you.
²³
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,
²⁴
I hope to see you in passing as I go to
Spain
, and to be sped on my journey there by you, once I have enjoyed your company for a little.
²⁵
At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem with
aid for the saints
.
²⁶
For Macedonia and Acha'ia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem;
²⁷
they were pleased to do it, and indeed they are in debt 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.
²⁸
When therefore I have completed this, and have delivered to them what has been raised,
^x
I shall go on by way of you to Spain;
²⁹
and I know that when I come to you I shall come in the fulness of the blessing
^y
of Christ.

30
 I appeal to you, brethren, 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,
³¹
that I may be
delivered
from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,
³²
so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company.
³³
The God of peace
be with you all. Amen.

Personal Greetings

16
  
I commend
to you
our sister Phoebe
, a deaconess of the Church at Cen'chre-ae,
²
that you may receive her in the Lord as befits the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a helper of many and of myself as well.

3
 
Greet
Prisca and Aqui'la
, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,
⁴
who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I but also all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks;
⁵
greet also
the church in their house
. Greet my beloved Epae'netus, who was the first convert in Asia for Christ.
⁶
Greet Mary, who has worked hard among you.
⁷
Greet Andron'icus and
Ju'nias
, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners; they are men of note among the apostles, and they were in Christ before me.
⁸
Greet Amplia'tus, my beloved in the Lord.
⁹
Greet Urba'nus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys.
¹⁰
Greet Apel'les, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristob'ulus.
¹¹
Greet my kinsman Hero'dion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcis'sus.
¹²
Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphae'na and Trypho'sa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord.
¹³
Greet
Rufus
, eminent in the Lord, also his mother and mine.
¹⁴
Greet Asyn'critus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patro'bas, Hermas, and the brethren who are with them.
¹⁵
Greet Philol'ogus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them.
¹⁶
Greet one another with
a holy kiss
. All the churches of Christ greet you.
 
*

Final Instructions

17
  I appeal to you, brethren, to take note of those who create dissensions and difficulties, in opposition to the doctrine which you have been taught; avoid them.
¹⁸
For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but
their own appetites
,
^z
and by fair and flattering words they deceive the hearts of the simple-minded.
¹⁹
For while your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, I would have you wise as to what is good and guileless as to what is evil;
²⁰
then the God of peace will soon
crush Satan
under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
^a

21
 
Timothy
, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosip'ater, my kinsmen.

22
 I
Tertius
, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord.

23
 
Ga'ius
, who is host to me and to the whole Church, greets you. Eras'tus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.
^b

Final Doxology

25
 Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of
the mystery
which was kept secret for long ages
²⁶
but is now disclosed and through the prophetic writings is made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about
the obedience of faith
—
²⁷
to the only wise God be glory for evermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

Commentary on The Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans

1:1-7
Paul adapts and expands the conventional introduction of ancient epistles ("A to B, greetings") by filling it with Christian elements. In addition to his name (1:1) and the destination of the letter (1:7), he states his apostolic calling (1:1), introduces the gospel (1:2-5), and replaces the customary wish for good health with one for
[g]race
and
peace
(1:7). 
Back to text.

1:1 Paul:
A Roman surname used consistently since the early days of his apostolic ministry (Acts 13:9). Before this he went by his Hebrew birth name, "Saul". Like Paul, many Jews of the NT period had both a Semitic and Hellenistic name (Acts 1:23; 9:36; 12:12; 13:1).
a servant:
Or, "a slave". Paul does not use this term to suggest that his submission to Christ is degrading or inhuman. The point is that Paul has made his entire life a gift to Christ and has placed all of his talents and energies at the service of the mission assigned to him (CCC 876).
an apostle:
An emissary or messenger sent by the risen Jesus to spread the gospel (1 Cor 9:1; Gal 1:1). • Paul right away calls himself an apostle, not to boast of his authority, but so that others will be moved to read the letter more earnestly and attentively (Theodoret of Cyrrhus,
Interpretation of Romans
).
set apart:
Even before birth Paul was consecrated for his apostolic mission (Gal 1:15). 
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