“I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them.”
Romans 15:14 NLT
“Personally I am convinced about you, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, amply filled with all [spiritual] knowledge, and competent to admonish and counsel and instruct one another.”
Romans 15:14 AMP
There are two principles in Romans 15:14 that are worthy of note. Paul encourages the Roman Christians with the thought that they are “full of goodness”. How does he know that? After all, Paul had apparently never met anyone in the church in Rome when he wrote this letter. But in faith, he knows in his spirit, and by reports that had probably filtered through from travellers, that those Christians in Rome were great people. What did Paul mean by “goodness”? Qualities such as mercy, compassion, unselfishness and love come to mind. But a Christian is a reflection of God’s “goodness“, and every God-attribute builds together to develop a picture of “goodness”. In the end, though, “goodness” is really godliness. We add into the mix His qualities of purity, forgiveness, holiness, and righteousness. Jesus demonstrated His “goodness” at Calvary, where He put aside all so that we could find forgiveness with God. Paul was “fully convinced” that the Christians in Rome were “full of goodness”. Quite a statement but Paul knew that all followers of Christ would have “goodness” within them.
Because of their “goodness“, Paul knew that those early believers could teach others around them, and reminded them of the second principle in Romans 15:14. The church in Rome was growing, and new converts needed the “goodness” qualities of the older Christians to show them the way in the faith. God in His mercy could of course teach His children about His ways and the correct path to Heaven without the help of others, and it would seem, according to Hebrews 10:25, that indeed some Christians had stopped fellowshipping. We read, “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near“. We meet together as Christians for just the reason Paul wrote about. Teaching each other is not necessarily a formal “chalk and talk” session, but it is to do with shared life together. The Holy Spirit inspired much teaching about the “one another’s” in the Bible.
Here are some “one another’s” that come from “goodness”. “You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God” (Hebrews 3:13). Ephesians 4:32, “Instead, be kind to each other, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you“. 2 Corinthians 13:11, “Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you“. And there are many others. They all speak to a shared life agenda.
We all need the encouragement or goodness in this world of badness. Sometimes we feel as though we are living in a strange place, hostile to God and His people. A place where all the qualities opposite to what God desires and exemplifies abound. A place where the devil is doing his utmost to discourage us and attack us. Breaking up our families. Destroying our finances. In fact he wants to stop believers from following God. But within us is this Holy Spirit glow of God’s goodness, equipping us to prevail over all the enemy throws at us. And we share the encouragement we feel with those around us, helping each other on our separate journeys to our promised land, life with God in Heaven.
Dear Father. We pray the prayer that Jesus gave us, and which includes the words “deliver us from evil”. Thank You for Your goodness and mercy. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 