Romans 15 is a chapter about living together as one church, where strong and weak believers, Jewish and Gentile Christians, learn to welcome and build up one another in Christ. These questions are written for small groups, Sunday classes and personal study, and each one can be used as it is or adapted to the people in the room.
Romans 15 at a Glance
The chapter opens with a call to bear with the weaknesses of others rather than pleasing ourselves, and it grounds that call in the example of Christ. Paul then moves to the shared hope of Scripture, to unity in worship, and to the place of Gentiles within God’s promises to Israel, supported by a string of Old Testament quotations.
From verse 14 onward Paul turns to his own ministry, his plans to visit Rome, his journey to Jerusalem with a gift for the poor, and finally his request for prayer. The chapter closes with a short blessing that ties peace and the God who gives it back to the readers.
Observation Questions
Use these questions first, before anyone offers an opinion about what the chapter means. Ask the group to point to the words on the page and keep the discussion close to the text. Allow a few minutes of silence for people to find their answers.
Romans 15:1-3
1 Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each one of us please his neighbor for that which is good, to be building him up. 3 For even Christ didn’t please himself. But, as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
(WEB)
Read this at the start to set the tone for the study. It names the posture the whole chapter calls for and points to Christ as the one who did not please himself.
Romans 15:4
For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through perseverance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
(WEB)
Read this to help the group see why Scripture matters for hope. It gives a reason for returning to the Bible again and again, especially when life feels heavy.
Romans 15:7
Therefore accept one another, even as Christ also accepted you, to the glory of God.
(WEB)
This short command is worth hearing aloud slowly. It sums up the call to welcome one another and ties that welcome to the glory of God.
Romans 15:13
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, in the power of the Holy Spirit.
(WEB)
Read this as a blessing over the group. It gathers the themes of joy, peace, hope and the Holy Spirit into one prayer-like sentence.
Romans 15:30-32
30 Now I beg you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, 31 that I may be delivered from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints; 32 that I may come to you in joy through the will of God, and together with you, find rest.
(WEB)
Read this to model the request Paul made. It helps the group see prayer as shared work that sustains people across distances and difficulties.
Memory Verse for Romans 15
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we thank you for the hope and encouragement that come to us through your Word. Teach us to bear with the weaknesses of others and not simply to please ourselves, following the example of Christ. Give us one mind with one another, so that we may welcome each other as Christ welcomed us and glorify you together. Fill us with joy and peace as we trust you, and make us abound in hope by the power of your Holy Spirit. Strengthen us to pray for one another, as Paul asked the Romans to pray for him. Keep us faithful in our service and humble in our fellowship. Amen.
