Romans 15: The Purpose of the Past

Romans 15 begins Paul’s wrap up of his great theological treatise. In the process, he offers a glimpse of the purpose behind the past writings of Scripture given in the New Testament. Verse four shares:

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

Notice the details Paul provides: First, he makes clear that everything that was written was to teach us. Not a single verse of Leviticus or Lamentations is a waste; it all contains some meaning useful for today. Second, the Old Testament writings are designed to teach us. They are not to belittle us or demean us or confuse us.

Three results emerge–endurance, encouragement, and hope. When we wonder, “Why do we read Scripture?” let these three words come to mind. Scripture offers endurance for the day’s struggles, encouragement for the day’s challenges, and hope for each step along the way. This is the purpose of the past.

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Dillon Burroughs is the author or co-author of numerous books and is handwriting a copy of all 31,173 verses of the Bible at HolyWritProject.com. Find out more about Dillon at Facebook.com/readdB or readdB.com.