A solitary lamp illuminates five faces in a darkened room. In Vincent van Gogh's The Potato Eaters, a family of farmers gathers around a humble table, sharing a simple meal after a long day's labor. The table draws them close, but physical proximity alone cannot guarantee unity of heart. The same is true of every human community, including the church. People may worship beneath the same roof, recite the same confession, and listen to the same sermon, yet remain separated by invisible walls of misunderstanding, judgment, and pride.
In his exposition of Romans 15, Pastor David Jang, founder of Olivet University in the United States, explores what it truly means for believers to become one body in Christ. His teaching raises questions that reach beyond the boundaries of a local congregation: How can people with different convictions and backgrounds learn to embrace one another? And why must the unity of the church ultimately open outward toward the nations?
We readily confess that the church is one. Yet that confession becomes far more demanding when we must decide how to treat a brother whose convictions differ from ours, whether to surrender a freedom we believe we have every right to exercise, or how much of our own resources we are willing to share with suffering believers far away.
At such moments, unity ceases to be a theological abstraction. It becomes a matter of everyday obedience.
Romans 15 follows a remarkable progression. Paul begins with the tensions between strong and weak believers, moves to the reconciliation of Jews and Gentiles, and then unfolds his missionary calling, the offering for Jerusalem, and his appeal for intercessory prayer. These themes may initially appear to be separate concerns. Yet together they reveal a single, coherent vision: a church united by the grace of Christ becomes a living witness to the gospel before the world.
Spiritual Strength Is Measured by the Burdens We Are Willing to Bear
“We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves” (Romans 15:1).
Paul's instruction turns our ordinary understanding of strength upside down. Those who possess greater spiritual understanding and freedom are not invited to assert their superiority or insist upon their rights. Instead, they are called to bear the burdens of others, even when doing so requires them to restrain their own freedom.
Within the church, believers do not always arrive at the same understanding of Scripture at the same time. An action that presents no difficulty to one Christian may trouble the conscience of another. A practice that one person regards as an expression of legitimate freedom may become a source of spiritual anxiety for someone whose faith is still growing.
When we insist that others conform immediately to our own convictions, we risk turning what we consider right into a stumbling block for someone else.
The measure of spiritual maturity is not the extent of the freedom we can claim, but the willingness to use that freedom for the good of others.
Pastor David Jang draws attention to the contrast between pleasing ourselves and seeking the good of our neighbors. A person whose life revolves around personal satisfaction will inevitably regard the weaknesses of others as inconveniences. Their hesitation becomes an obstacle, their struggles a burden, and their slower growth a source of impatience.
But love changes the way we see another person's weakness.
When the spiritual growth of a brother or sister becomes a source of our own joy, patience is no longer merely something we endure. We begin to wait willingly, listen attentively, and carry burdens that are not originally our own. The joy we once sought exclusively for ourselves is transformed into the joy of helping another person grow.
The supreme example of this love is Jesus Christ.
Paul reminds the Roman believers that even Christ did not please Himself. He supports this declaration by citing Psalm 69:9, where the reproaches directed against God fall upon His faithful servant (Romans 15:3).
Jesus did not endure humiliation because He lacked the power to escape it. He willingly entered the path of suffering because His love for sinners was greater than His concern for His own comfort.
This is why reconciliation within the church must reach deeper than compromise or the negotiation of competing interests. Before asking how much another person ought to yield, we must stand before the cross and confront the self-centeredness of our own hearts.
Paul then turns to the enduring ministry of Scripture. The things written in former times, he explains, were written for our instruction, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope (Romans 15:4).
Endurance does not mean pretending that conflict does not exist. Neither does encouragement mean excusing wrongdoing or dismissing legitimate concerns. Rather, the Scriptures teach us to examine our own attitudes, persevere in love, and continue seeking ways to build up those around us.
As judgment gives way to compassion and criticism is transformed into prayerful concern, the church begins to embody Paul's vision of believers glorifying God with one mind and one voice (Romans 15:5–6).
Such unity cannot be manufactured through organizational discipline alone. It grows when hearts are reshaped by the same grace that Christ has shown to us.
“Accept One Another”: From Christian Fellowship to the Praise of the Nations
At the center of Romans 15 stands a command that gathers Paul's entire argument into one sentence:
“Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7).
The beauty of this command lies in its order.
Before we are asked to welcome others, we are reminded that Christ has already welcomed us.
Christian acceptance is not rooted in the natural generosity of people who happen to possess broad minds or agreeable personalities. It begins with the recognition that we ourselves have been received through undeserved grace.
We were welcomed before we could claim to be worthy. We were shown mercy before we had anything with which to repay it. And it is precisely this experience of grace that becomes the foundation of our relationships with others.
To welcome another believer, therefore, means more than reluctantly tolerating someone whose presence makes us uncomfortable.
It means making room for that person to worship, serve, grow, and belong. It means recognizing that the community of faith is not our private possession, organized around our preferences, but the body of Christ, gathered by His mercy.
Unity does not demand that every difference of opinion disappear. It does require us to resist the temptation to turn those differences into reasons for exclusion.
We are called to humble ourselves before a purpose greater than our personal preferences: the glory of God.
Paul then expands this command beyond the relationships of individual Christians to the historic division between Jews and Gentiles.
He explains that Christ became a servant to the circumcised in order to demonstrate God's faithfulness and confirm the promises made to the patriarchs. At the same time, the Gentiles have been brought into God's saving purpose so that they, too, might glorify Him for His mercy (Romans 15:8–9).
Paul supports this vision by drawing from the Psalms, Deuteronomy, and Isaiah. Together, these Scriptures anticipate a day when the nations will rejoice with God's people and join in praising His name (Romans 15:9–12).
What begins as an appeal for mutual acceptance within the church thus expands into a magnificent vision of God's redemptive purpose for the world.
The unity of Jews and Gentiles is not an incidental feature of the gospel. It reveals the fulfillment of God's promises and the breadth of His mercy.
In Pastor David Jang's treatment of this passage, church unity is not reduced to a practical method for managing disagreements or maintaining institutional harmony.
A church that welcomes one another becomes a present-day witness to God's promise that people of every nation will one day join together in His praise.
We cannot credibly profess love for distant nations while refusing to respect the people who stand beside us.
Nor can we claim to embrace the universal gospel while allowing personal prejudice, cultural differences, or wounded pride to determine whom we are willing to receive.
Conversely, every act of genuine Christian hospitality offers a glimpse of the future promised in Scripture. When someone from a different background is welcomed as a brother or sister in Christ, the hope of the gospel becomes visible in the ordinary life of the church.
Paul brings this section to a close with a prayer to the “God of hope,” asking that the believers be filled with joy and peace in believing, so that they may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).
This prayer reminds us that unity is not ultimately a human accomplishment.
It is not the product of agreeable temperaments, shared interests, or carefully managed relationships. It is sustained by the God who gives endurance, encouragement, hope, and peace.
The Holy Spirit enables people who might otherwise remain divided to stand together before God, not because all their differences have vanished, but because they have received a grace greater than those differences.
From the Jerusalem Offering to the Mission in Spain: Unity That Crosses Boundaries
In the second half of Romans 15, Paul turns from exhortation to the story of his own ministry.
He begins by expressing confidence in the Roman believers, acknowledging that they are full of goodness, filled with knowledge, and able to instruct one another. Nevertheless, he explains that he has written boldly on certain points to remind them of the truth they have already received (Romans 15:14–15).
There is a quiet but important lesson here.
Christian maturity is not measured only by the discovery of new spiritual insights. It also involves returning repeatedly to the truths we already know and allowing them to shape the decisions we make today.
The grace of Christ is never something we merely learn once and leave behind. It must continually transform the way we live with others.
Paul then describes himself as a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, carrying out a priestly service in the proclamation of the gospel. His purpose is that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:16).
This is an extraordinary way of understanding missionary work.
Paul does not regard the expansion of the gospel primarily as the achievement of a gifted preacher or the growth of a religious organization.
He sees people brought to faith through the gospel as a holy offering presented to God.
The true fruit of his ministry is not his own reputation but the lives of those who have come to belong to Christ.
Having proclaimed the gospel from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum, Paul expresses his ambition to preach where Christ has not yet been named (Romans 15:19–21).
His missionary vision extends westward, toward Rome and ultimately Spain.
He hopes that the Roman believers will help him on his journey, becoming partners in the work of carrying the gospel into places where it has not yet been proclaimed (Romans 15:24).
Yet before traveling westward, Paul must first go to Jerusalem.
The believers in Macedonia and Achaia have collected an offering for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem, and Paul intends to deliver this gift (Romans 15:25–26).
At first glance, this journey may seem like a practical interruption to his missionary plans. But Paul understands the offering as an expression of a profound spiritual reality.
The Gentiles have shared in the spiritual blessings that came through Israel. Therefore, Paul explains, it is fitting that they should also serve the Jewish believers with their material resources (Romans 15:27).
The offering is far more than an act of charitable assistance.
It is a visible expression of the fellowship created by the gospel.
Believers separated by geography, culture, and historical experience now recognize one another as members of the same spiritual family. The faith they confess together finds expression in the resources they share.
The unity of the church becomes credible when the grace believers have received is translated into generosity toward those in need.
Here, the missionary vision of Paul and his concern for the poor belong together.
The responsibility to care for suffering brothers and sisters does not compete with the calling to proclaim the gospel to the nations. Both spring from the same love of Christ.
To be a church with a vision for the world does not mean looking so far beyond our immediate surroundings that we overlook the people who need us now.
Neither does caring for the local community mean losing sight of the nations.
Paul's journey holds both responsibilities together. He carries the generosity of Gentile churches to the believers in Jerusalem, while looking ahead to a future mission in Spain.
His footsteps trace a single movement of grace: received from God, shared among believers, and carried outward to the world.
The church's missionary calling is therefore inseparable from its practice of mutual care.
A congregation that learns to recognize the suffering of its members, share its blessings, and honor the bonds of faith is already bearing witness to the gospel it hopes to proclaim across the earth.
A Church That Prays Together and Finds Rest in God's Peace
After describing his missionary plans, Paul turns to the Roman believers with a deeply personal appeal.
He asks them, through the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Spirit, to join him in earnest prayer to God (Romans 15:30).
There is something profoundly moving about this request.
Paul is an apostle who has endured extraordinary suffering and traveled great distances to proclaim the gospel. Yet he does not present himself as a spiritual hero who has no need of others.
He knows that dangers lie ahead. He recognizes the uncertainty surrounding his visit to Jerusalem. And rather than concealing these concerns, he shares them with fellow believers and asks for their prayers.
His example challenges a common misunderstanding of spiritual strength.
A strong Christian is not someone who never experiences weakness, fear, or uncertainty. Nor is a healthy church a community in which a few capable individuals are expected to carry every burden alone.
The church is meant to be a fellowship where believers can acknowledge their needs without shame and entrust their struggles to one another in prayer.
Paul's requests are specific.
He asks to be delivered from those in Judea who oppose him. He prays that his ministry of bringing the offering to Jerusalem will be accepted by the believers there. And he hopes that, by the will of God, he may eventually come to Rome with joy and find refreshment in the company of the Roman Christians (Romans 15:31–32).
These requests reveal the breadth of his concern.
He seeks protection from danger, but he also desires that the offering strengthen fellowship between Jewish and Gentile believers. His concern is not limited to completing a task. He longs for trust, reconciliation, and mutual acceptance among the churches.
Intercessory prayer, therefore, is much more than expressing distant sympathy for those engaged in ministry.
It means allowing another person's circumstances to become part of our own spiritual concern.
When we pray for someone, their danger is no longer entirely remote. Their burdens enter our hearts. Their struggles become matters we bring before God, and their joy becomes something we hope to share.
One phrase in Paul's prayer is especially tender: his desire to find rest and refreshment among the Roman believers.
For Paul, the church was more than a gathering place for people assigned to accomplish religious work.
It was also meant to be a home of spiritual companionship.
After long journeys, conflict, and suffering, he hoped to enter a community where he would be received with joy, surrounded by brothers and sisters, and strengthened by their fellowship.
This reveals an often-overlooked dimension of Christian unity.
A church must be a place where people can serve, but it must also be a place where weary people can rest.
A congregation that listens to the burdens of its members, prays for their needs, and creates space for genuine fellowship does not weaken its commitment to mission.
Rather, such relationships make perseverance possible.
When believers are sustained by love instead of driven only by obligation, they are better able to continue the work entrusted to them.
The missionary passion of the church is not diminished by compassion. It is strengthened by it.
Paul closes the chapter with a simple blessing:
“May the God of peace be with you all. Amen” (Romans 15:33).
Earlier, Paul invoked the “God of hope.” Now, he calls upon the “God of peace.”
These two expressions frame the chapter's remarkable vision of Christian community.
Hope enables believers to look beyond the divisions of the present toward the fulfillment of God's promises. Peace enables them to live together in the midst of those differences, sustained by the reconciling grace of Christ.
Welcoming one another, bearing burdens, sharing resources, carrying the gospel to distant nations, and persevering in intercessory prayer are not achievements that human effort alone can secure.
They are responses to the grace of the God who gives His people hope and peace.
When that grace takes root in a community, love becomes more than a command written on the pages of Scripture.
It becomes a way of life.
The person we once regarded as difficult becomes a brother or sister whose growth matters to us. The suffering of distant believers becomes a concern worthy of our generosity. And the burdens carried by those who serve become matters we bring together before God.
Let us return, finally, to the modest table in van Gogh's painting.
The people gathered around it are united by more than their proximity to one another. A shared meal speaks of dependence, companionship, and the quiet dignity of lives bound together.
The church, too, becomes a genuine community through something deeper than gathering in the same building.
It happens when we willingly set aside a portion of what belongs to us for the sake of another, when we carry someone else's suffering into our prayers, and when voices shaped by different experiences rise together in praise of the same Lord.
Romans 15 reminds us that Christian unity does not begin with our ability to agree on everything.
It begins with the grace of Christ, who welcomed us when we had nothing to offer Him.
And it grows as that grace teaches us to welcome others.
In the church where I worship today, to whom should I first extend the welcome that Christ has so graciously extended to me?
Dr. David Jang has proclaimed the gospel in various regions of the world through field missions and digital media ministry, and as the fruit of that ministry, many people devoted to the Great Commission have been raised up. Based on this missionary vision, Olivet first began as a small church school for missionary training. Later, in order to provide more systematic theological education and cultivate missionary leaders, Olivet Theological College and Seminary was established in Los Angeles and Seoul in 2000.
As the school grew, Dr. Jang officially founded Olivet University in San Francisco in 2004. In the diverse and dynamic environment of San Francisco, Olivet expanded its educational fields beyond theology to include music, journalism, art and design, and technology. The university also strengthened its educational capacity by recruiting faculty members, including Dr. William Wagner, and in 2005 moved to the former UC Berkeley Downtown Extension campus, further solidifying its foundation as a university.
In 2006, Dr. Jang transferred the presidency to Dr. David James Randolph in order to focus more fully on missionary work, while continuing to lead global missions as International President. Olivet University later received institutional accreditation in 2009, added a language education college and a business college, and continued to grow as a Christian educational institution for world missions by expanding its degree programs and international partnerships.
