NOTES for Rom 15:7-9
Continuing the conversation about life in the Kingdom, Paul turns to foundational concepts of the prophetic tradition connected with the description of the relationship between God and the people of God: mercy ("lovingkindness") and faithfulness ("truth"). Such an appeal is, of course, not accidental, for mercy and faithfulness remain foundational also for those who live in the Kingdom in their relationship with Christ. Speaking about the circumcised, that is, about Jews, the apostle recalls not so much the people's faithfulness to God as God's faithfulness to promises once given and to the covenant once made. Speaking about recent Gentiles who have turned to Christ, he recalls mercy: for unlike Jews, God promised Gentiles nothing and made no covenants with them, so if the path to the Kingdom is nevertheless opened to them, it is exclusively as a gift to which they have no right and on which they cannot count in any way, even in the sense in which Jews can count on it, to whom some promises were after all given. And since the Kingdom is founded on mercy and faithfulness, the relationships between those who live in it must also be permeated by mercy and faithfulness. Mercy and faithfulness presuppose condescension toward the weaknesses of those who by definition cannot be strong, having only recently become partakers of the life of the Kingdom. For, unlike an ordinary religious community, where what matters is commonality of views and their orthodoxy, in the Kingdom what matters is the spiritual unity of the faithful.
From the point of view of religion, people's views, ideas, and opinions are most important. From the point of view of the Kingdom, relationships are most important, without which it is impossible to glorify God. And for the sake of relationships one can put up with many differences, religious and worldview differences included, especially since without such humility one can hardly count on the spiritual unity, the "same-mindedness," of the Church, of which the apostle speaks a little earlier in verses 4-5.