Romans 15:18-20
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
18 For I will not dare to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me to lead the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,(A) 19 by the power of signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit [of God], so that from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum[a] I have finished preaching the gospel of Christ. 20 Thus I aspire[b] to proclaim the gospel not where Christ has already been named, so that I do not build on another’s foundation,(B)
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- 15:19 Illyricum: Roman province northwest of Greece on the eastern shore of the Adriatic.
- 15:20 I aspire: Paul uses terminology customarily applied to philanthropists. Unlike some philanthropists of his time, Paul does not engage in cheap competition for public acclaim. This explanation of his missionary policy is to assure the Christians in Rome that he is also not planning to remain in that city and build on other people’s foundations (cf. 2 Cor 10:12–18). However, he does solicit their help in sending him on his way to Spain, which was considered the limit of the western world. Thus Paul’s addressees realize that evangelization may be understood in the broader sense of mission or, as in Rom 1:15, of instruction within the Christian community that derives from the gospel.
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