Romans 15:14

And. myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren, that ye yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another.

'There are few passages which reveal Paul's character better than this..Paul reveals himself as. man of tact. There is no angry rebuke here. He does not nag the brethren at Rome, nor does he speak to them like some angry schoolmaster...Paul was much more interested in what. man could be than in what. man was. Paul saw faults with utter clarity; and he dealt with faults with utter fidelity...He did not want to knock. man down and out; he did not criticize to cause hurt and pain; he spoke with honesty and with severity, but he always spoke because he wished to enable. man to be what he could be, and had never yet attained to being.'

'Paul assures the Roman Christians that the teaching in his letter had not been given because he imagined they were incapable of teaching one another. He is well aware of their moral and intellectual quality, and what he has written is more by way of reminder of what they already know than instruction in the elements of Christianity.' (F.F. Bruce p. 258)

'Yes, but what right had he to speak to them so? Did he think they were simpletons? He didn't establish the church there. Who was he to lay down the law to people he hadn't even seen? What follows is courtesy and explanation.' (McGuiggan p. 426)

'I myself am persuaded of you, my brethren' -'I myself also am convinced' (NASV) Paul means every word that he says.

'that ye yourselves are full of goodness' -the situation described in Roman 14, wasn't the whole story concerning the Church in Rome. In fact, only. small minority might have been causing problems.

'filled with all knowledge' -which leads to the next point. Having sufficient knowledge to:

'able also to admonish one another' -'well able to give advice to one another.' (TCNT); 'and well qualified to instruct one another.' (Gspd); 'Competent to counsel one another' (Wms)

'He wasn't foolishly naive. He had some grounds for saying what he says here. Look at the kind of people he knew in at Rome (Chapter 16).' (McGuiggan p. 426)

'A preacher who scolds and criticizes all the time never brings out the best that is in men.' (Whiteside p. 284)