Passage

Romans 15

• Doctrine

  Christ-Centered Ministry

  Ministry is done in Christ's name, by his power, for his glory; not humanitarian or social-uplift service pursued as an end in itself, however aligned its aims may be with the gospel's fruit.

  ROM.15.17-21

• Doctrine

  Christian Fellowship

  Shared participation in Christ; not merely social or caste-community association.

  ROM.15.24

• Glossary Term

  Church

  Established Marathi Christian term for the congregation.

  ROM.15.26

• Doctrine

  Church as God's People

  A new covenant community, not a caste-segregated assembly or a ritual institution built around a temple building.

  ROM.15.26

• Glossary Term

  Covenant

  करार conveys a binding relational bond; वचन alone (a promise/word) is weaker than the covenant concept requires.

  ROM.15.12

• Glossary Term

  David

  Established proper name form.

  ROM.15.12

• Doctrine

  Davidic Covenant

  Requires OT background explanation; no structural equivalent exists in either Warkari devotional theology or Buddhist teaching.

  ROM.15.12

• Doctrine

  Evangelism

  Culturally sensitive given both Hindu-nationalist and communal concerns around conversion in Maharashtra; use language of proclamation and witness, not confrontation.

  ROM.15.20

• Glossary Term

  Exhort

  Context-sensitive: use विनंती for entreaty; उत्तेजन for encouragement/building up.

  ROM.15.2

• Glossary Term

  Fellowship

  Shared participation in Christ, not mere social friendship.

  ROM.15.24

• Doctrine

  Fulfillment of Prophecy

  Linear, one-time historical fulfillment; not the cyclical cosmic time of Hindu yuga cycles, nor the Buddhist wheel of dependent-origination (pratityasamutpada) in which no single historical moment carries unrepeatable, final significance.

  ROM.15.8-12

• Glossary Term

  Gentiles

  Non-Jewish peoples; विदेशी (foreigners) is too narrowly national.

  ROM.15.7-12

• Doctrine

  Gospel

  शुभवर्तमान must be distinguished from any general positive announcement.

  ROM.15.19-20

• Glossary Term

  Gospel

  Established Marathi Bible term (used as the traditional title for each of the four Gospels, e.g.

  ROM.15.19-20

• Glossary Term

  Holy

  Set apart for God and morally pure; शुद्ध leans toward ritual purity rather than relational holiness.

  ROM.15.16

• Glossary Term

  Holy Spirit

  CRITICAL: never परमात्मा (Hindu Universal Self) or ब्रह्म (Brahman).

  ROM.15.16

• Doctrine

  Inspiration of Scripture

  Distinguish God-breathed Scripture from both the devotional poetry (abhang) of the Warkari sant-poets, treasured as inspired wisdom but not claiming the status of God's own spoken word, and from the Buddhist Tripitaka/Ambedkar's own reinterpreted 'Dhamma' writings, which claim authority as teaching rather than as divine revelation.

  ROM.15.4

• Glossary Term

  Intercession

  Prayer on behalf of others; standard term.

  ROM.15.30-32

• Glossary Term

  Israel

  Proper name; established form.

  ROM.15.7-12

• Doctrine

  Kingdom Mission

  God's reign advancing through the gospel; not a political or social-reform movement, however worthy such movements may be in their own right.

  ROM.15.12, ROM.15.18-21

• Glossary Term

  Kingdom Of God

  God's sovereign reign, not a territorial or political kingdom.

  ROM.15.12, ROM.15.18-21

• Glossary Term

  Law

  Torah/Mosaic law.

  ROM.15.8-12

• Glossary Term

  Messiah

  CRITICAL: transliterated term; the unique OT-promised deliverer, not one of many avatar-descents.

  ROM.15.8-12

• Doctrine

  Messianic Promise

  CRITICAL: the Messiah is the unique OT-promised deliverer, not one of Vitthal's Vaishnav avatar-associations, and not a Buddha-like enlightened teacher who attained realization through his own effort.

  ROM.15.8-12

• Glossary Term

  Mission

  सुवार्ता प्रसार is the descriptive Marathi phrase for spreading the good news; मिशन is retained with awareness of its colonial-era connotation.

  ROM.15.15-24

• Doctrine

  Mission to the Nations

  'Mission' carries colonial-era connotation; सुवार्ता प्रसार is preferred in most contexts.

  ROM.15.15-24

• Doctrine

  Mutual Edification

  Building one another up in faith; no significant doctrinal risk.

  ROM.15.2

• Doctrine

  Prayer and Intercession

  Direct access to God in Christ's name; distinguish from bhakti puja/kirtan directed toward Vitthal and from Buddhist chanting or meditation practice, neither of which addresses a personal, listening God.

  ROM.15.30-32

• Glossary Term

  Prophecy

  God-inspired declaration, distinct from astrological forecasting.

  ROM.15.8-12

• Glossary Term

  Prophet

  God's spokesperson, not a fortune-teller/astrologer (ज्योतिषी).

  ROM.15.4

• Doctrine

  Sanctification

  The Spirit's ongoing work of making believers holy; not ritual purification, and not the self-directed ethical cultivation of the Buddhist Eightfold Path, however much the outward behavior may overlap.

  ROM.15.16

• Glossary Term

  Sanctification

  The Spirit's ongoing work of making believers holy, distinct from ritual purification.

  ROM.15.16

• Glossary Term

  Seed Of David

  Romans 1:3; conveys physical lineage and OT covenant fulfillment.

  ROM.15.12

• Doctrine

  Separation unto God's Service

  Must not be confused with Hindu sannyasa (world-renunciation) or with Buddhist monastic ordination; biblical separation is devotion to God while remaining fully engaged in daily life and community, which is in fact closer to the Warkari lay-devotional ideal than to renunciate asceticism.

  ROM.15.16

• Doctrine

  Unity of Jews and Gentiles

  Directly challenges caste-based spiritual hierarchy; must be translated with full theological clarity, not softened.

  ROM.15.7-12