We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.” 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 15:1–4
The phrase “it is written” appears more than 60 times in the New Testament. Each time it is used, the inspired writer is referring the reader back to something that can be found in a passage of the Old Testament. This might leave the reader to wonder why God would go to all the trouble of foretelling the establishment of a new covenant and sacrificing His own Son to ratify it (Hebrews 8:13) only to constantly refer back to the old one. To understand why, let’s spend some time looking through one book that casts a backward glance more than just about any other––Paul’s letter to the Romans. In this letter, Paul told the brethren that the “things written before were written for our learning” (15:4). This he says immediately after quoting one of David’s psalms to make a point about suffering for the sake of helping others. What other lessons does the OT have to teach us?
We learn that all have sinned. When Paul makes this assertion in this letter (3:23), he quotes several verses from the OT in its support. He begins this line of thought by pointing out that the endowment of “the oracles of God” was the chief advantage that the Jews enjoyed over the Gentiles during the Christian era (vv 1–2). He then strings together a series of quotations from Psalms 5, 10, 14, 36, and 140, as well as a section of Isaiah 59. Paul points out that the words of the law were written specifically for the Jews, proving that they were guilty of sin for having failed to perfectly observe it––just as guilty, in fact, as any heathen Gentile. Although the OT offered no remedy, it did, as Paul observed, point forward to a righteousness “witnessed by the Law and the Prophets” (v 21). That remedy is Jesus Christ (vv 24–31).
We learn that the just live by faith. God taught this lesson to the OT prophet Habakkuk when he looked at the evil around him and asked God why He did not bring forth judgment. God explained that He had matters well in hand and instructed the prophet that “the just shall live by his faith” (Habakkuk 2:4). Paul quotes this line in his letter (Romans 1:17) and uses an OT example to illustrate this important principle. To show that the works of the OT law were not the means for justification, he points out that Abraham was justified by his faith prior to the advent of the law (Romans 4:1–4). He tells us that we can learn from what is written here, for “it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, but also for us,” since the same righteousness “shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead” (vv 23–24).
We learn that God’s word is final. In chapter 9, Paul shows that Israel was blessed as a nation because God had pronounced a blessing upon the children that He promised to give to Abraham. This promise did not pertain to all of Abraham’s seed (i.e., Ishmael), for, “In Isaac your seed shall be called” (v 7; Genesis 21:12). The “children of flesh” were not included in the seed promise, but only those who came as a result of God’s promise that Sarah would have a son (v 9; Genesis 18:10). Paul shows that God’s word supersedes all human traditions and understanding. Contradicting the tradition of primogeniture and Isaac’s express wishes, God said that his elder son would serve his younger brother (vv 10–11; Genesis 25:23). Paul hastens to add that God did not do this to be unfair (v 14), but only to show that His word (the “word of promise”) never fails.