Romans 12:15

The context

Romans 12 opens the ethical section of the letter, after the mercies described in chapters 1 to 11. Paul appeals for bodies offered as living sacrifice, then describes a community: many members in one body, gifts that differ, love without hypocrisy, and a list of short imperatives that runs through verse 21.

What it establishes

The verse establishes a command about shared feeling. It is placed among instructions about hospitality, blessing persecutors, and living at peace, so the solidarity it asks for is concrete rather than sentimental. Both directions are commanded, which is the harder part.

What it does not establish

It does not promise that feelings can be summoned at will. The verse is an imperative addressed to a community, and it does not describe how empathy is learned. Nor does it tell the sorrowful to stop weeping; the command runs the other way.

Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.

Cited in these answers

• I am homosexual and I was born homosexual – don't homosexuals have the right NOT to be hated and persecuted by the church?

Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.