For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
--Romans 15:4 (NKJV)
From the daily Bible reading on April 18, 2013 of Psalm 76; Romans 14:19-15:13; Joshua 8:30-10:28.
Many people feel the Old Testament to be irrelevant to the Christian, that it pertains more to the Jewish faith. At best, they think it serves only as a history lesson, a somewhat violent back-story leading up to the real reason for the Bible: Jesus and His new covenant with mankind. But the Old Testament is indeed relevant; it foreshadows Jesus, it predicts Jesus, it paints a picture of Jesus. We can see our Christ described quite clearly and with much detail, as we have discussed in our previous studies.
Paul recognizes and affirms the value of what we refer to as the Old Testament. The New Testament didn't even exist in anything close to its current form in Paul's time. In fact, he was writing a big chunk of it right then. So what Paul refers to as the "Scriptures" comes straight out of our Old Testament, including the Psalms and Proverbs. After all, Paul was very fluent in the Old Testament and referred to the old scripture often in his preaching and his teaching. Remember that as Saul, he was a Pharisee who had studied under the renowned teacher Gamaliel. Paul knew the old Scriptures well and quoted from them all the time, as did Jesus Himself. Even though his primary audience now was the Gentile people, Paul used the writings held sacred by the Jews to give validity to Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah, the Christ.
In this section of his writings to the church in Rome, Paul has been telling us how we should relate with other believers. As we studied earlier, we should not judge one another, especially over minor issues or those instances where what is right and what is wrong may not be clear and easy to distinguish. And we should not hinder one another, not place stumbling blocks in other believers' path or cause them to trip up in their walk of faith. Those are the things we should not do when dealing with fellow Christians. But now Paul tells us what we should do: we should imitate Christ. He begins this discussion by providing evidence of why his ministry is focused on and to the Gentiles. This evidence comes straight from the "things written before". Paul cites numerous Old Testament references to confirm his God-given authority and responsibility to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. He quotes from the Scriptures in the Psalms, the second book of Samuel, Deuteronomy, and the great prophet Isaiah. Paul values these old writings, and here shows justification through them for his ministry to all Gentiles. That includes me, and very likely you reading this.
Paul uses the Scriptures of the Old Testament to justify his ministry, and the example of Jesus Christ to explain why he carries out that ministry without personal restrictions, even if man's authority tries to limit his abilities to do so. Which authority do we obey: man's, or God's as given in the Scriptures? These Words are provided by God for our learning, to give us patience and comfort in troubling times, to fill us with hope in what often seems a hopeless world. Take comfort, take hope. Amen.
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, sometimes we look at Your words from the Old Testament as little more than ancient history, not something we can readily apply to our daily lives. Help us see and understand their true value, please Lord. Show us how those old writings can bring renewed hope in the promise Jesus gives us. May we learn from them of the Jesus we call Christ, the Jesus we call Brother and Friend. In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus we pray. Amen.
Paul recognizes and affirms the value of what we refer to as the Old Testament. The New Testament didn't even exist in anything close to its current form in Paul's time. In fact, he was writing a big chunk of it right then. So what Paul refers to as the "Scriptures" comes straight out of our Old Testament, including the Psalms and Proverbs. After all, Paul was very fluent in the Old Testament and referred to the old scripture often in his preaching and his teaching. Remember that as Saul, he was a Pharisee who had studied under the renowned teacher Gamaliel. Paul knew the old Scriptures well and quoted from them all the time, as did Jesus Himself. Even though his primary audience now was the Gentile people, Paul used the writings held sacred by the Jews to give validity to Jesus of Nazareth as the promised Messiah, the Christ.
In this section of his writings to the church in Rome, Paul has been telling us how we should relate with other believers. As we studied earlier, we should not judge one another, especially over minor issues or those instances where what is right and what is wrong may not be clear and easy to distinguish. And we should not hinder one another, not place stumbling blocks in other believers' path or cause them to trip up in their walk of faith. Those are the things we should not do when dealing with fellow Christians. But now Paul tells us what we should do: we should imitate Christ. He begins this discussion by providing evidence of why his ministry is focused on and to the Gentiles. This evidence comes straight from the "things written before". Paul cites numerous Old Testament references to confirm his God-given authority and responsibility to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. He quotes from the Scriptures in the Psalms, the second book of Samuel, Deuteronomy, and the great prophet Isaiah. Paul values these old writings, and here shows justification through them for his ministry to all Gentiles. That includes me, and very likely you reading this.
Paul uses the Scriptures of the Old Testament to justify his ministry, and the example of Jesus Christ to explain why he carries out that ministry without personal restrictions, even if man's authority tries to limit his abilities to do so. Which authority do we obey: man's, or God's as given in the Scriptures? These Words are provided by God for our learning, to give us patience and comfort in troubling times, to fill us with hope in what often seems a hopeless world. Take comfort, take hope. Amen.
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, sometimes we look at Your words from the Old Testament as little more than ancient history, not something we can readily apply to our daily lives. Help us see and understand their true value, please Lord. Show us how those old writings can bring renewed hope in the promise Jesus gives us. May we learn from them of the Jesus we call Christ, the Jesus we call Brother and Friend. In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus we pray. Amen.
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