Romans 15:30-33

³⁰ Now I beg you, brethren, through the Lord Jesus Christ, and through the love of the Spirit, that you strive together with me in prayers to God for me,

³¹ that I may be delivered from those in Judea who do not believe, and that my service for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints,

³² that I may come to you with joy by the will of God, and may be refreshed together with you.

³³ Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

love of the Spirit — probably referring to the results of the Spirit’s work in them

do not believe — disobedience in unbelief

God of peace — in contrast to the dangers Paul faced

Paul’s prayer:

1. safety from unbelievers — didn’t work out according to Paul’s plan

2. acceptance by Jewish believers — didn’t work out according to Paul’s plan

3. see Roman believers — it happened, but not as Paul expected

4. be in God’s will — this was accomplished

In the New Testament the word Amen is found in 127 verses. In many of these it occurs twice because the Lord Jesus Christ frequently said, “Amen, amen, I say unto you.” The older version translates it, “Verily, verily;” the revision, “Truly, truly.” In any case, it is Christ’s affirmation that He is uttering divine truth.

In 76 verses the word Amen occurs at the beginning of a sentence, in 48 others it is found at the end. It is always God who uses the word at the beginning and always man who uses it at the end. God says, “I solemnly affirm the truth of what I am about to say,” and His people reply, “We believe that what God has said is true.” The truth of God is the foundation, and the superstructure is our faith in His reliability. His truth and our faith go together like father and child. — Barnhouse, page 118