A brilliant testimony of God’s grace

Romans 15:14 And concerning you, my brethren, I myself also am convinced that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able also to admonish one another. The believers in Rome must have had a brilliant testimony in the city. If you remember in the introduction to Paul’s letter, he mentioned that he was excited to see them so that they could encourage each other by one another’s faith. In this verse we learn what Paul thought about the character and spiritual maturity of the church. They were full of goodness, which I take to mean that goodness spilled out of their lives to others. They were also filled with knowledge applicable to various situations, which means they were knowledgable of God’s Word, His promises, and the gospel. This goodness and knowledge gave them the ability to admonish one another when needed. He was convinced that they cared for each other enough to confront each other when they were acting contrary to the truth. This is a brilliant testimony of God’s grace and mercy. We might ask ourselves if these things could be said about our churches, about ourselves. These qualities flow out of the life of Jesus within believers. He is full of goodness. He is full of knowledge. He gives us the grace and love to admonish one another. That’s the reality of living to love with Jesus which gives us a brilliant testimony in our community and cities.