What does it mean that the Old Testament was written for our learning rather than for salvation or doctrine?
Romans 15:4 teaches that Old Testament things were written aforetime for our learning, not for salvation and not for doctrine. They provide background and foundation, so believers gain patience and comfort, and faith takes root through a slow, repetitive learning process rather than being rushed into advanced revelation.
Les explains that Paul in Romans 15:4 is not making the Old Testament the basis of salvation or doctrine, but of learning. The things written aforetime in the Old Testament, and even the Gospels because they are hooked to the Old Testament economy, were written beforehand for our learning. They give the necessary background. Les illustrates this by asking whether anyone would expect a child to jump into a university calculus class without first learning arithmetic or grade-school combinations. Yet that is what people do with Scripture: they take others right into the further revelations of Scripture without any concept of what went before, then wonder why they have no root and why their faith does not hold. Ignorance is involved, and all are guilty of it. People are expected to latch onto these things without background. But the learning process works through patience and comfort, and for most it is slow. It takes time, repetition, repetition, repetition, then moving on a little deeper, and repetition some more.
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.
More Questions
Were the Old Testament Scriptures written for our learning or our doctrine?
The Old Testament writings were given for our learning, not merely for doctrine.
Why were Old Testament events written for us?
Old Testament events like the separation of Israel from Egypt were written for our learning, so we are to learn from them.
Who is the Old Testament written for?
Everything written before Paul wrote, that is the Old Testament, is written for the believer's learning, and the same is true of the Gospels.
Why is the Old Testament still relevant for learning today?
The Old Testament is still relevant for our learning because it provides the background of how God's plan of salvation unfolded and how God can offer salvation to the whole human race.