Aug 9, 2020
Originally Presented: January 25th, 2009
Scripture Reading: Romans 15:4
After quoting Psalm 69:9 in Romans 15:3 to highlight the idea that even Jesus did not please himself in His death, Paul makes the statement, "For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" (Rom 15:4).
The whole of the Bible was written for us, that we might persevere in hope through the encouragement we gain from Biblical stories and doctrines. We witness the power of God in the collapse of Jericho's walls. We are stunned by the awesome devastation of God's wrath, seen in the great flood and the inferno that fell on Sodom and Gomorrah. We are comforted by the outcome of the plight of Job because we see that all will, in the end (whether on earth or in heaven) be well for God's people.
One of the results, in our hearts, of the things written in the Scriptures is that we have hope. We have hope because of God's promises. "I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope" (Psa 130:5). We have hope because of the plans of God. "For I know the plans that I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope" (Jer 29:11). We have hope in the return of Christ to the earth. ". . . looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus" (Titus 2:13).