Romans 15
The Welcome
"Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." (Romans 15:7)
Paul grounds the call to unity in the reminder that Christ accepted us just as we were. Not when we were ready or cleaned up. Not when the disputable matters were resolved. As we were. While we were still weak, still sinners, still enemies.
We should follow this example and accept one another as Christ accepted us.
Paul continues by describing his own ambition to preach where Christ is not yet known. He doesn’t want to build on someone else’s foundation. He wants to go where the name hasn’t been spoken yet. He shares his travel plans. He asks for prayer. The grand theological letter ends in very human, specific, relational terms.
I’ve needed to be reminded that the theology Paul unpacks in chapters 1 through 11 is meant to produce something in chapters 12 through 15. Doctrine that doesn’t change how you treat the person in the room with you hasn’t fully landed yet.
The welcome is the evidence. Not just the belief.
