Romans 15:7

Romans 15:7, in plain English

Receive each other the way Christ received you—not because you deserved it or earned it, but because He chose you. And do it to bring honor to God, not to yourself.

Why it's here

Paul is giving the practical command that flows from everything he's said. He's calling both the 'strong' and 'weak' to the same radical acceptance that Christ showed. Notice he says 'receive'—it's active, intentional, costly sometimes. It's not passive tolerance.

Who's speaking

Paul

Where it sits in the story

This brings you back to the Gospel itself. Christ's acceptance of you wasn't based on your performance or your agreement with Him on everything. He accepted you while you were still His enemy. That's what you're called to mirror.

The scholarly reading

Believers must welcome one another unconditionally, patterning their acceptance after Christ's radical reception of them despite their unworthiness.

Language and setting

The verb 'accept' (proslambanō) means to take to oneself, to grant full table fellowship and community standing. This directly addressed the historical rupture—Jewish and Gentile Christians eating separately, observing different practices. Christ's acceptance (his death for 'the weak' in 14:15) became the non-negotiable standard, not personal preference or ethnic identity.

Voice

Paul

Significance

This embodies the gospel's most revolutionary claim—that Christ's acceptance of sinners becomes the grammar of Christian community. No human category (Jew/Gentile, slave/free, male/female) can supersede the community formed by divine acceptance.

5Now may the God who gives endurance and encouragement grant you harmony with one another in Christ Jesus,

6so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring glory to God.

8For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the circumcised on behalf of God’s truth, to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs,

9so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to Your name.”

Read all of Romans 15 — The strong must bear with the weak. Christ did not please himself. Paul's vision for the church is a chorus of diverse voices glorifying God together.