ROMANS ROAD
to
RIGHTEOUSNESS |
Romans
1:18-3:20
|
Romans
3:21-5:21 |
Romans
6:1-8:39 |
Romans
9:1-11:36 |
Romans
12:1-16:27 |
|
SIN
|
SALVATION
|
SANCTIFICATION |
SOVEREIGNTY |
SERVICE |
NEED
FOR
SALVATION |
WAY
OF
SALVATION |
LIFE
OF
SALVATION |
SCOPE
OF
SALVATION |
SERVICE
OF
SALVATION |
God's Holiness
In
Condemning
Sin |
God's Grace
In
Justifying
Sinners |
God's Power
In
Sanctifying
Believers |
God's Sovereignty
In
Saving
Jew and Gentile |
Gods Glory
The
Object of
Service |
Deadliness
of Sin |
Design
of Grace |
Demonstration
of Salvation |
|
Power Given
|
Promises
Fulfilled |
Paths Pursued |
Righteousness
Needed |
Righteousness
Credited |
Righteousness
Demonstrated |
Righteousness
Restored to Israel |
Righteousness
Applied |
God's
Righteousness
IN LAW |
God's
Righteousness
IMPUTED |
God's
Righteousness
OBEYED |
God's
Righteousness
IN ELECTION |
God's
Righteousness
DISPLAYED |
|
Slaves to Sin |
Slaves to God |
Slaves Serving
God |
|
Doctrine |
Duty |
|
Life by Faith |
Service by
Faith |
|
Modified from Irving L.
Jensen's excellent work "Jensen's
Survey of the NT" |
FOR
WHATEVER WAS WRITTEN IN EARLIER TIMES: hosa gar proegraphe (3SAPI): (1Co 10:6,11
2Ti 3:16-17 2Pe 1:20-21)
Whenever you observe a
term of conclusion
like "for" (compare, "for this reason", "because", , "therefore", etc) always take a
moment and ask the natural question "What is the "for" there for?" You will usually be
led to read the surrounding verses (the immediate
context)
to discern the answer. As you practice
inductive
approach
to your study of the divine Word, you will grow in confidence, your
interpretation
will be more accurate
and you will be prepared to more
apply
the transforming truth
to your daily life.
For (gar)
is a causative particle which expresses the reason for what has been
stated just prior, in this case, Paul is defending his application of (Psalm
69:9) to Christ and
by extension to believers. In other words, Paul is explaining how that
specific Old Testament quotation
was not just a prophecy about the coming Messiah but also was meant to give us
sustenance for our daily lives and motivation to carry out the instructions
and exhortations he had just presented.
Cranfield notes that here Paul
justifies the use for the purpose of
exhortation of the Christologically understood OT passage just quoted.
All Scripture has its relevance and applicability to us—though of course
it must be applied intelligently. (Cranfield, C. E. B. A Critical
and Exegetical commentary on the Epistle to the Romans. London; New
York: T&T Clark International)
Cottrell explains that verse
4...
is a parenthesis in which Paul
reminds us of the validity of citing OT texts as a basis for ethical
exhortation to Christians: For everything that was written in the past
was written to teach us, … “Everything that was written” refers to OT
Scripture, and declares that every part of it has meaning and value for
those living under the New Covenant. It was written not just to teach us
theological truths, but also to be a source of practical instruction for
Christians concerning how to live. (Cottrell, J. Romans : Volume 2.
College Press NIV commentary Joplin, Mo.: College Press Pub)
J. E. Toews
explains the "for" by noting that...
Paul has just made a very radical
assertion. The strong people in the church shall act like Messiah Jesus,
they shall absorb and carry the shame of the weak. To make sure they
take his biblical interpretation seriously, Paul adds that the
Scriptures (here specifically
Psalm
69:9) were written
before hand for the instruction of contemporary believers." (Toews, J.
E.. Romans. Believers Church Bible commentary. Page 340. Scottdale, Pa.:
Herald Press)
S Lewis Johnson says that...
The appropriateness of the Old
Testament citation is supported by a reference to the general purpose,
and the more specific moral purposes, of the Scriptures. Instruction
with a view to hope is his point. As Liddon says, "The Old Testament is
not merely archaeologically precious as a record of the past, but has
enduring and spiritual value." The Old Covenant was designed to instruct
us, to the end that we might through endurance and encouragement cling
to our hope of an enduring future. (Cf. Ro 8:28-30)
The practical value of the Word of
God cannot be more strongly emphasized. They give us the power to endure
affliction and temptation, and too often our contemporary believers have
neglected their benefits. In difficulty we flee to our counselors, some
amateur and others professional, but they can never do the work of the
Word of God. It is possible through the Scriptures to have the Lord
Jesus Christ as our constant companion and permanent, moment by moment
counselor. Let us not run to men, but to Him. (Johnson, S. L. Romans
Sermons)
Peter reminds us of the
divine plenary (complete in every respect) inspiration of the Old
Testament (as well as the New Testament) writing that...
that no prophecy of Scripture is a
matter of one's own interpretation (NLT "no prophecy in Scripture ever
came from the prophets themselves" - i.e. the Scripture did not
originate from any private explanation held by the writer) for no prophecy was ever made by an
act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. (see
notes
2 Peter
1:20-21)
The Pulpit Commentary notes
that...
The psalm quoted (quoted verbatim from last half of
Septuagint (LXX)
of
Psalm
69:9) was
peculiarly one of endurance and comfort under vexations and reproaches,
and of hope beyond them. It was written afore-time for our instruction,
that so it may be with us, as it was with Christ.
Denney says that...
Here Paul justifies his use of the
whole OT...(It) was written to teach us, and therefore has abiding
value.
The NIV Study Bible
agrees writing that...
Here Paul defends his application of
Ps 69:9 to Christ. In so doing, he states a great truth concerning the
purpose of Scripture: It was written for our instruction, so that as we
patiently endure we might be encouraged to hold fast our hope in Christ
(see 1Co 10:6, 11).
The Wycliffe Bible Commentary
asks...
What value does the OT have for the
Christian? It has instruction to give to Christian believers. In reading
and responding to the OT Scriptures, the Christian learns both endurance
and consolation. Instruction, endurance, and consolation are all
essential elements for the Christian who has hope (v. 4). The OT can do
this because it is a book about God and his people rather than about
ideas. (Pfeiffer,
C F: Wycliffe Bible Commentary. 1981. Moody
or
Logos)
John MacArthur agrees that...
Whatever was written in earlier times
obviously refers to the divinely-revealed truths we now call the Old
Testament. They were written for the times in which they were recorded
but also for our instruction, for God’s people in the present age. As we
have seen, beginning with Romans 14:1, Paul emphasizes that the
ceremonial requirements of the Old Covenant are no longer binding on
believers, Jews or Gentiles. But even though we are not bound to obey
all of the commands of that covenant, every part of God’s revelation
written in earlier times is still valuable for our instruction.
Knowledge of all Scripture had spiritual benefit for Christians in
Paul’s day and still has benefit for Christians for all time. (MacArthur,
J: Romans 9-16. Chicago: Moody Press
or
Logos)
Barnes
takes an interesting perspective on the phrase whatever was written
in earlier times commenting that...
This is a general observation which
struck the mind of the apostle, from the particular case which he had
just specified. He had just made use of a striking passage in the Psalms
to his purpose. The thought seems suddenly to have occurred to him that
all the Old Testament was admirably adapted to express Christian duties
and doctrine, and he therefore turned aside from his direct argument to
express this sentiment. It should be read as a parenthesis.
Adam Clarke writes that here
Paul...
refers not only to the quotation from
the 69th Psalm, but to all the Old Testament scriptures; for it can be
to no other scriptures that the apostle alludes. And, from what he says
here of them, we learn that God had not intended them merely for those
generations in which they were first delivered, but for the instruction
of all the succeeding generations of mankind.
Mounce writes that Romans
15:4...
contains a principle of great
significance for the twentieth-century believer. Everything that was
written in Scripture in days gone by was written for us. Not only did it
serve the needs of its own day but it is still relevant in the modern
world. Scripture is relevant because it speaks to our deepest needs.
It is through the endurance taught in Scripture and the encouragement
it brings that we are enabled to live in hope. (Mounce,
R. H. Romans: The New American Commentary. Broadman & Holman Publishers
or
Logos)
The Reformation Study Bible
clearly states that...
It is basic New Testament teaching
that the Old Testament Scriptures were written by divine inspiration for
the benefit of Christians (Whitlock, L. G., Sproul, R. C., Waltke, B.
K., & Silva, M.. Reformation Study Bible. Nashville: T. Nelson)
J Vernon McGee
forthrightly states that...
The Old Testament, therefore, does
have a definite application to believers today. I frequently receive
letters from folk who say, “I didn’t know the Old Testament was so
practical,” or, “I had not realized that the Old Testament had such
meaning for us today. I did not know it spoke of Christ as it does.”
Paul here says that it was written for “our learning.”
In my opinion, the greatest sin in
the church of Jesus Christ in this generation is ignorance of the Word
of God. Many times I have heard a church officer say, “Well, I don’t
know much about the Bible, but …” and then he gives his opinion, which
often actually contradicts the Word of God! Why doesn’t he know much
about the Bible? These things were written aforetime for our learning.
God wants you to know His Word. As an officer of the church, are you
boasting that you are ignorant of the Word of God? Well, you had better
get down to business and find out what God has said to you in His Word.
Ignorance of the Bible is the greatest sin of the hour—in and out of the
church. Paul says these things were written for your learning.
What will a knowledge of the Bible do
for you? “That we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might
have hope.” The Word of God imparts patience, comfort, and hope.
You won’t find any hope in the daily
newspaper. You won’t find any hope in modern literature. Look at any
field and see if you can find any hope. There is none whatsoever. It is
dark and dismal when you look out at this world today. My friend, the
only place you can find real hope is in the Word of God.
I was in the state of Washington,
speaking at a Bible conference, and it rained and rained and rained.
Then it rained some more. Oh, how dark and dismal the days were! For our
flight back home we went to the airport, and it was still raining. The
plane took off and went up through a heavy layer of cloud. In a few
moments we broke out into the light—the sun was shining up there. Oh,
how beautiful it was. Less than a mile up, the sun was shining. Here we
had been living like a bunch of gophers in all that rain. Now, don’t
misunderstand me—Washington needs all that rain to grow that lush
vegetation and beautiful trees. But because I live in Southern
California, I am used to sunshine, and I love it.
There are a great many Christians
today who are living down beneath the clouds. The Lord says, “Come on up
here and get in the sunshine of hope!” That is what the Bible will do
for you, my friend. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “Now all these things
happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our
admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come” (1 Cor. 10:11).
When I was teaching the life of David, scores of people told me what an
encouragement David was to them. One person said that he was going
through a very dark period in his life and that the study in the life of
David delivered him from suicide. Well, that is the reason God put these
things in His Word. God put David’s sin on display—and it wasn’t very
nice—but God paints mankind exactly as he is for our learning.
Everything in the Old Testament is written for our learning and to give
us patience and to give us comfort and to bring hope into our lives. (McGee,
J V: Thru the Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson
or
Logos)
John Calvin
wrote that...
This is an interesting passage, by
which we understand that there is nothing vain and unprofitable
contained in the oracles of God (Ed note: Calvin is clearly
includes the OT); and we are at the same time taught that it is by the
reading of the Scripture that we make progress in piety and holiness of
life. Whatever then is delivered in Scripture we ought to strive to
learn; for it were a reproach offered to the Holy Spirit to think, that
he has taught anything which it does not concern us to know; let us also
know, that whatever is taught us conduces to the advancement of
religion. And though he speaks of the Old Testament, the
same thing is also true of the writings of the Apostles; for since the
Spirit of Christ is everywhere like itself, there is no doubt but that
he has adapted his teaching by the Apostles, as formerly by the
Prophets, to the edification of his people. Moreover, we find here a
most striking condemnation of those fanatics who vaunt that the Old
Testament is abolished, and that it belongs not in any degree to
Christians; for with what front can they turn away Christians from those
things which, as Paul testifies, have been appointed by God for their
salvation? (Romans 15)
Expositor's
Bible Commentary notes that Paul...
Having cited
Psalm
69, a portion
evidently regarded in the early church as messianic, the apostle is led
to refer to the Scriptures in a more general way as useful for the
instruction of NT believers--in fact, as deliberately planned for their
edification. The very phenomenon of quoting from the OT speaks loudly of
the dependence of the church on the course of redemption history
reflected there. Things both new and old enter into Christian faith. The
example of Christ was bound to influence the church to revere and use
the OT, and this was made easier because at the beginning its
constituency was largely Jewish-Christian. As for the Gentiles, in many
cases at least, they had become familiar with the OT in the synagogue (Acts
13:44-48) before hearing the gospel and putting their trust
in the Lord Jesus. (Gaebelein,
F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary 6-Volume New Testament.
Zondervan Publishing)
MacDonald
writes that...
This quotation from the Psalms
(referring to
Romans 15:3)
reminds us that the OT Scriptures were written for our learning. While
they were not written directly to us, they contain invaluable lessons
for us. As we encounter problems, conflicts, tribulations, and troubles,
the Scriptures teach us to be steadfast, and they impart comfort. (MacDonald,
W & Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson or
Logos)
In sum, the phrase Whatever was written in
earlier times obviously refers to the Old Testament Scripture.
They were written for the times in which they were recorded but they are
timeless and so are also for
our instruction, so that as we
patiently endure we might be encouraged to hold fast our hope in Christ.
Writing to the Corinthians Paul
reminds them that the Old Testament passages...
happened as examples
(in context they were warnings and admonitions) for us,
that we should not crave evil things, as they also craved (Nu
11:4,34)... and they
were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have
come. (1Cor
10:6,11).
Ray Stedman
adds his keen insight on this verse:
"The Old Testament is really
the richest commentary ever written on the New Testament. If you are
coming to a place where faith is beginning to fail and your heart finds
itself in the grasp of doubt, then turn to the record of God at work with
men of the Old Testament. You will find, as you read thoughtfully, that
your faith will begin to flame up again because "faith comes by hearing
and hearing by the word of God," {cf, note
Romans 10:17}. It's as the Word of God
rings in our ears that faith is created in our hearts to lay hold of the
truth we hear, and to make it available in our lives." (Power
to Please)
(bolding added)
Harry Ironside wrote that Romans
15:4...
stresses the importance of Old
Testament Scripture. "Whatsoever things were written aforetime were
written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the
scriptures might have hope." Link with this 1Cor 10:6,11 . "All Scripture
is not about me, but all Scripture is for me" is a quotation well worth
remembering.
Robert Haldane wrote that...
Some persons have blasphemously said
that the Old Testament is now out of date. But the writers of the New
Testament give no such view of the Old. Instead of this, they refer to it
as proof, and treat it as of constant use to the people of God. All that
is therein written, whether history, types, prophecies, precepts, or
examples, although under another dispensation, is intended for the
instruction of believers, to train them to patience, and to impart the
consolation which the Scriptures provide for those that have hope in God.
“Take, my brethren,” says James (James
5:10), “the prophets, who
have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering
affliction, and of patience.” The passage quoted in the preceding verse
(see note
Romans 15:3)
is not only useful to us, as applicable to Christ, but it is, as the
Apostle shows, useful as an example. If the reproaches of those who
reproached God fell upon Christ, the people of God ought to live and act
in such a manner as the Apostle elsewhere enjoins, when he says “Let us
go forth, therefore, unto Him without the camp, bearing His reproach.” If
Christ did not please Himself, neither ought His people to please
themselves, but to please Him and His people for their edification. (Haldane,
R. An Exposition on the Epistle to the Roman. Ages Classic Commentaries)
H G C Moule offers sage comments
on why we should not neglect the Old Testament...
For all the things forewritten,
written in the Scriptures of the elder time, in the age that both preceded
the Gospel and prepared for it, for our instruction were written —
with an emphasis upon “our” — that through the patience and through
the encouragement of the Scriptures we might hold our hope, the hope “sure
and steadfast” of glorification in the glory of our conquering Lord. That
is to say, the true “Author behind the authors” of that mysterious Book
watched, guided, effected its construction, from end to end, with the
purpose full in His view of instructing for all time the developed Church
of Christ. And in particular, He adjusted thus the Old Testament records
and precepts of “patience,” the patience which “suffers and is strong,”
suffers and goes forward, and of “encouragement,” paraklesis, the word
which is more than “consolation,” while it includes it; for it means the
voice of positive and enlivening appeal.
Rich indeed are Pentateuch, and
Prophets, and Hagiographa, alike in commands to persevere and be of good
courage, and in examples of men who were made brave and patient by the
power of God in them, as they took Him at His word. And all this, says the
Apostle, was on purpose, on God’s purpose. That multifarious Book is
indeed in this sense one. Not only is it, in its Author’s intention, full
of Christ; in the same intention it is full of Him for us. Immortal indeed
is its preciousness, if this was His design. Confidently may we explore
its pages, looking in them first for Christ, then for ourselves, in our
need of peace, and strength, and hope. Let us add one word, in view of the
anxious controversy of our day, within the Church, over the structure and
nature of those “divine Scriptures,” as the Christian Fathers love to call
them. The use of the Holy Book in the spirit of this verse, the persistent
searching of it for the perceptive mind of God in it, with the belief that
it was “written for our instruction,” will be the surest and deepest means
to give us “perseverance” and “encouragement” about the Book itself. The
more we really know the Bible, at first hand, before God, with the
knowledge both of acquaintance and reverent sympathy, the more shall we be
able with intelligent spiritual conviction, to “persist” and “be of good
cheer” in the conviction that it is indeed not of man (though through
man), but of God. The more shall we use it as the Lord and the Apostles
used it, as being not only of God, but of God for us; His Word, and for
us. The more shall we make it our divine daily Manual for a life of
patient and cheerful sympathies, holy fidelity, and “that blessed Hope” —
which draws “nearer now than when we believed.” But may the God of the
patience and the encouragement. He who is Author and Giver of the graces
unfolded in His Word, He without whom even that Word is but a sound
without significance in the soul, grant you, in His own sovereign way of
acting on and in human wills and affections, to be of one mind mutually,
according to Christ Jesus; “Christwise,” in His steps, in His temper,
under His precepts; having towards one another, not necessarily an
identity of opinion on all details, but a community of sympathetic
kindness. No comment here is better than this same Writer’s later words,
from Rome (Philippians 2:2-5); “Be of one mind; having the same love;
nothing by strife, or vainglory; esteeming others better than yourselves;
looking on the things of others; with the same mind which was also in
Christ Jesus,” when He humbled Himself for us. And all this, not only for
the comfort of the community, but for the glory of God: that unanimously,
with one mouth, you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ; turning from the sorrowful friction worked by selfwill when it
intrudes into the things of heaven, to an antidote, holy and effectual,
found in adoring Him who is equally near to all His true people, in His
Son. Wherefore welcome one another into fellowship, even as our Christ
welcomed you, all the individuals of your company, and all the groups of
it, to our God’s glory. These last words may mean either that the Lord’s
welcome of “you glorified” His Father’s grace; or that that grace will he
“glorified” by the holy victory of love over prejudice among the Roman
saints. Perhaps this latter explanation is to be preferred, as it echoes
and enforces the last words of the previous verse. But why should not both
references reside in the one phrase, where the actions of the Lord and His
disciples are seen in their deep harmony? For I say that Christ stands
constituted Servant of the Circumcision, Minister of divine blessings to
Israel, on behalf of God’s truth, so as to ratify in act the promises
belonging to the Fathers, so as to secure and vindicate their fulfilment,
by His coming as Son of David, Son of Abraham, but (a “but” which, by its
slight correction, reminds the Jew that the Promise, given wholly through
him, was not given wholly for him) so that the Nations, on mercy’s behalf,
should glorify God, blessing and adoring Him on account of a salvation
which, in their case, was less of “truth” than of “mercy,” because it was
less explicitly and immediately of covenant; as it stands written (Psalm
18:49), “For this I will confess to Thee, will own Thee, among the
Nations, and will strike the harp to Thy Name”; Messiah confessing His
Eternal Father’s glory in the midst of His redeemed Gentile subjects, who
sing their “lower part” with Him. And again it, the Scripture, says
(Deuteronomy 32:43), “Be jubilant, Nations, with His people.” And again
Psalm 117:1), “Praise the Lord, all the Nations, and let all the peoples
praise Him again.” And again Isaiah says (Isaiah 11:10), “There shall come
(literally, “shall be”) the Root of Jesse, and He who rises up — “rises,”
in the present tense of the divine decree to rule [the] Nations; on Him
[the] Nations shall hope” with the hope which is in fact faith, looking
from the sure present to the promised future. Now may the God of that
hope, “the Hope” just cited from the Prophet, the expectation of all
blessing, up to its crown and flower in glory, on the basis of Messiah’s
work, fill you with all joy and peace in your believing, so that you may
overflow in that hope, in the Holy Spirit’s power: “in His power,” clasped
as it were within His divine embrace, and thus energised to look upward,
heavenward, away from embittering and dividing temptations to the unifying
as well as beatifying prospect of your Lord’s Return. (The Epistle of St
Paul to the Romans)
Alexander Maclaren addresses the
question of whether the OT Scriptures are still "relevant" to us today in
view of the fact that we possess the NT....
Scripture (MacLaren is
referring to the Old Testament)...encourages us by its records and by its
revelation of principles.
Who can tell how many struggling souls
have taken heart again, as they pondered over the sweet stories of sorrow
subdued which stud its pages, like stars in its firmament? The tears shed
long ago which God has put ‘in His bottle,’ and recorded in ‘His book,’
have truly been turned into pearls. That long gallery of portraits of
sufferers, who have all trodden the same rough road, and been sustained by
the same hand, and reached the same home, speaks cheer to all who follow
them. Hearts wrung by cruel partings from those dearer to them than their
own souls, turn to the pages which tell how Abraham, with calm sorrow,
laid his Sarah in the cave at Macpelah; or how, when Jacob’s eyes were dim
that he could not see, his memory still turned to the hour of agony when
Rachael died by him, and he sees clear in its light her lonely grave,
where so much of himself was laid; or to the still more sacred page which
records the struggle of grief and faith in the hearts of the sisters of
Bethany. All who are anyways afflicted in mind, body, or estate find in
the Psalms men speaking their deepest experiences before them; and the
grand majesty of sorrow that marks ‘the patience of Job,’ and the flood of
sunshine that bathes him, revealing the ‘end of the Lord,’ have
strengthened countless sufferers to bear and to hold fast, and to hope. We
are all enough of children to be more affected by living examples than by
dissertations, however true, and so Scripture is mainly history, revealing
God by the record of His acts, and disclosing the secret of human life by
telling us the experiences of living men.
But Scripture has another method of
ministering encouragement to our often fainting and faithless hearts. It
cuts down through all the complications of human affairs, and lays bare
the innermost motive power. It not only shows us in its narratives the
working of sorrow, and the power of faith, but it distinctly lays down the
source and the purpose, the whence and the whither of all suffering. No
man need quail or faint before the most torturing pains or most disastrous
strokes of evil, who holds firmly the plain teaching of Scripture on these
two points. They all come from my Father, and they all come for my good.
It is a short and simple creed, easily apprehended. It pretends to no
recondite wisdom. It is a homely philosophy which common intellects can
grasp, which children can understand, and hearts half paralysed by sorrow
can take in. So much the better. Grief and pain are so common that their
cure had need to be easily obtained. Ignorant and stupid people have to
writhe in agony as well as wise and clever ones, and until grief is the
portion only of the cultivated classes, its healing must come from
something more universal than philosophy; or else the nettle would be more
plentiful than the dock; and many a poor heart would be stung to death.
Blessed be God! the Christian view of sorrow, while it leaves much
unexplained, focuses a steady light on these two points; its origin and
its end. ‘He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness,’ is
enough to calm all agitation, and to make the faintest heart take fresh
courage. With that double certitude clear before us, we can face anything.
The slings and arrows which strike are no more flung blindly by an
‘outrageous fortune,’ but each bears an inscription, like the fabled
bolts, which tells what hand drew the bow, and they come with His love.
(Maclaren. Expositions of the Holy Scripture)
FOR OUR INSTRUCTION:
eis (expresses purpose =
with a view to) tên hêmeteran didaskalian:
Observe three truths from this
verse:
1. All the scriptures are for our
instruction - We must be willing to learn what the scriptures teach
if we expect to be encouraged by the truth of scripture rather than by
an accidental sound of words or reflections of our own ideas and
desires. We need a systematic diet of instruction, not just a few crumbs
a day, if we are going to fight successfully to maintain the full
assurance of hope to the end.
2. All the scriptures are intended by God to give perseverance and
encouragement. - When the instructions of the scriptures are
properly understood, they produce perseverance and encouragement.
Perseverance is what you have to have to keep on going in a path of
obedience when you feel miserable and when you encounter all manner of
opposition. Perseverance comes from the scriptures which is exceedingly
practical! Again and again the we find that meditating on the Word of
God will give you God's perspective on things and that Biblical
perspective will make a hard situation endurable. How foolish we are if
we neglect them. If you want to have staying power, if you want to
endure to the end in the path of costly obedience, then turn off the
television, the mp3 player, and the internet and meditate on the Word of
Truth.
3. All the scriptures have as one of their goals the sustenance of
our Christian hope when we read of others who have persevered. And
these Old Testament examples of perseverance make a difference in our
lives by sustaining our hope, a hope that keeps us going in tough
situations, when you are battling to cope with the daily temptations to
disobey and throw in the towel on your responsibilities.
In sum, clearly the Old Testament is
profitable for New Testament saints. In the OT we find the record of how God
taught men to live not to please themselves, but to please Him.
Instruction
(1319)
(didaskalia)
(Click
study of
didaskalia) is a general term referring
to instruction or “doctrine” which is used by God's Spirit to shape our
will and renew our minds. Instruction then indicates far more
than impartation of intellectual knowledge. The emphasis, in fact, is on
practical knowledge, knowledge that can be, and should be, applied to
living the supernatural, transformed life of a Christian.
Didaskalia is
derived from
didasko,
to teach which describes instruction given meant to shape one's will by
the content of what is taught. Didasko speaks less of the method of
teaching & more of the actual content.
The Biblical concept of teaching
differed quite radically from secular Greek teaching in the matter of its
goal. Whereas the Greek teacher sought to impart knowledge and skills,
teaching for the Jew sought to change one’s entire life. The ministry of
teaching in the OT sense that carried over to the early Church was
therefore concerned “with the whole man and his education in the deepest
sense.” It included the intellect, but its final goal was the will. Rengstorf says that “to the Jewish ear didaskein suggests the
successful and total molding of the will of another by one’s own.”
Didaskalia appears 15x in the Pastoral Epistles (1 Timothy,
2 Timothy,
Titus) where it implies the systematic
explanation of the Word of God. It could embody developing a means of
teaching people individually, or in small groups meeting in homes. The
point is that an excellent minister is to disseminate sound teaching to
all people at all times through all means. That is the heart and soul of
the ministry, since the Word is the only source of life and truth. It is
no surprise, then, that an elder was required to be able to teach (1Ti
3:2; see note
Titus 1:9).
Paul wrote to Timothy that
All Scripture
is inspired by God and profitable for teaching (didaskalia), for
reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness (see note
2 Timothy 3:16)
WAS WRITTEN THAT THROUGH THE PERSEVERANCE: egraphe (3SAPI)
hina dia tes hupomones kai dia tes parakleseos ton graphon ten elpida
echomen (1PPAS): (Ja 5:10,11
Heb 6:11,12)
The idea appears to be that the
Scriptures, the actual Word of God written in the Old Testament, give us "perseverance
and encouragement".
How so? For one thing others have run the race and testify that bearing up
under the trials of life with a Godward attitude is worth the "pain".
The Scriptures do not teach us to
just ''grin and bear it". These things happened for our encouragement.
Let
us not shrink back (see notes
Hebrews 10:38;
39;
2 Timothy 2:12;
2:13) from suffering for Messiah that we might persevere &
hold fast to the end (see notes
Hebrews 3:6;
3:14).
Perseverance
(patience, KJV)
(hupomone) (Click study on
hupomone)
is the word which speaks of patience in respect to things or
circumstances. It is a God-honoring endurance which undergoes life's
fiery trials because of the glory that lies ahead. It is this character
quality which will determine whether we finish our course or not. (see
notes
Hebrews 10:36;
Hebrews 12:1
).
The
difficulties in our lives,
The obstacles we face,
Give God the opportunity
To show His power and grace.
Hupomone
is graphically described by William Barclay as that
lithe spirit which can bear all
things, not simply with resignation, but with blazing hope; it is not
the spirit which sits statically enduring in the one place, but the
spirit which bears things because it knows that these things are leading
to a goal of glory; it is not the patience which grimly waits for the
end, but the patience which radiantly hopes for the dawn. It is the
quality which keeps a man on his feet with his face to the wind. It is
the virtue which can transmute the hardest trial into glory because
beyond the pain it sees the goal... it is the triumphant adequacy which
can cope with life; it is the strength which does not only accept
things, but which, in accepting them, transmutes them into glory.
(Barclay,
W: The Daily Study Bible Series. The Westminster Press
or
Logos)
Barnes commenting on the KJV
word patience that...
This does not mean, as our
translation might seem to suppose, patience of the Scriptures;
but it means, that by patiently enduring sufferings, in connexion with
the consolation which the Scriptures furnish, we might have hope. The
tendency of patience, the apostle tells us, (Romans 5:4,) is to produce
hope.
AND THE ENCOURAGEMENT:
kai dia tes parakleseos:
(see note
1Thessalonians 5:11)
Encouragement (3874)
(paraklesis from pará = side of +
kaléo = call) means literally the calling to one's side and so
refers can refer to exhortation, solace, comfort (that which gives
strength and hope and which eases the grief or trouble of another) and
consolation (that which alleviates grief, sense of loss, or trouble of
another).
Kenneth Wuest
notes that paraklesis...
...has various meanings; “a calling
near, a summons, imploration, supplication, entreaty, exhortation,
admonition, encouragement, consolation, solace.” The well-rounded
all-inclusive idea is that of encouragement, of aid given the
needy person, whether it be consolation, exhortation, or supplication.
(Wuest,
K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek Ne