New Testament Commentary

For whatever things were written before were written for our instruction, that through patience and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.  Romans 15:4

Whatever – First word emphasis.  Once again we see Paul rearrange the vocabulary in order to highlight a thought.  Here the first word is “whatever” (hosa), a word that we have encountered before (March 18).  You’ll remember that this is an extension word.  It is used to extend our thought from one place to another.  Here, of course, it is about extending the range of God’s instructions about life across the whole of Scripture, from the Torah to the Prophets to the Wisdom literature.  All of it was written to instruct us.

Paul’s sentiment is an interesting one, especially so given the usual interpretation that the Old Covenant has been supplanted by the New Covenant and the church had temporarily replaced Israel.  If there were ever a man who was in a position to set aside the writings of the Hebrew Scriptures, Paul would be the man.  He knew the Scriptures better than any other follower of Yeshua.  He vigorously upheld the doctrine that salvation comes by faith.  He was the apostle of grace.  Yet, here Paul extends the worthiness of the Hebrew Scriptures beyond the first five books (the Torah).  He claims that it was all written for our instruction.  In fact, his reference in the same sentence to “Scripture” leaves no doubt about what he means.  Paul, the “New Testament” apostle, claims that his “Old Testament” Bible is the source of our hope.

Of course, Paul would never have put it quite that way.  The designation “New Testament” and “Old Testament” happened hundreds of years after Paul was dead.  For Paul, there was only one Scripture, the Hebrew Bible.

Some might argue that this only means the Old Testament Scriptures are background.  They inform the New Testament but they are no longer applicable, in much the same way that early Greek science had an effect on the modern scientific method, but is only of historical interest.   That could be the case, except for Paul’s use of the word “Scriptures.”  Paul considers these writings sacred, inspired and fully fit for instruction in righteousness.  They are not left-overs.  They are the only source of real hope in the day that he wrote this verse to the Roman believers.  The Old Testament was the source of encouragement, hope and direction for these believers.  How could they look anywhere else?  Nothing of the New Testament was canonized and much of it wasn’t even written.  The first-century believers didn’t make up their code of behavior as they went along.  They joined an already-existing stream of devoted followers who happened to be of the house of Israel.  They were grafted into a culture and a standard that had been part of God’s community for 2000 years.  Do we really think that Paul tossed it all out and started over?  That’s not what Paul says.

Maybe we’re the ones who threw out the Scriptures and started over.

Topical Index: Scriptures, grace, law, instructions, Romans 15:4

PS – We’re going to try again. Israel in October. Click here to read more and sign up on the list if you’re seriously interested.