Thursday, 18 April 2013
Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was imputed to him, Romans 4:23
In 1 Corinthians 10:11, Paul says, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.” Jude’s epistle says the same basic thing in verse 1:7. The stories of the Old Testament aren’t just written for us to read without careful consideration. Instead they are written so that we have real examples of how God works in and through history and they are to be used in for our instruction and learning.
Having said this, its important to understand that these are types and pictures and so care needs to be used when evaluating them. In the case of Abraham, Paul explicitly says that what is written about how righteousness was imputed to him wasn’t “written for his sake alone.”
We have the assurance that the pattern set down in Scripture concerning imputation was one that we can apply directly to ourselves and Paul will explain it in the next two verses.
Life application: When evaluating passages in the Bible for self-application, context is king. Understanding proper context takes an immense amount of study and contemplation. Be careful not to run ahead and attempt to apply verses or passages to your own life without understanding their full intent and purpose. Unless a concept, type, or shadow is explicitly explained, use great care in how you apply it.
Heavenly Father, lead me to teachers of the Bible who will use care and right reasoning when teaching and preaching from it. Please keep me from those who would misapply verses or passages and give me right discernment in what I hear and believe. This I pray to Your honor and glory. Amen.