Promised Before – The Promise of the Good News

Romans 1:2

2which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures,

(Verse 2) - Which he had promised afore - Which gospel, or which doctrines, he had before announced in the form of the Old Testament Scriptures.  This is a particularly important point in Paul’s argument.  What he is teaching and proclaiming is not new – it has not sprung on the scene without and preamble or preparation.  The specific form it takes is perhaps new, but the doctrine is as old as the revelation of God.  The Old Testament is filled, literally filled with the revelation of God concerning the coming Messiah, Jesus Christ.  This Paul bears out in the passages and chapters to come.

The gospel, which originated with God, was not a divine afterthought, nor was it first taught in the New Testament. It does not reflect a late change in God’s plan or a revision of His strategy. It was promised by God beforehand through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, that is, in what we now call the Old Testament.

Perhaps especially for the sake of his Jewish critics, Paul emphasizes in the very beginning of the epistle that the good news did not originate with him or even with Jesus’ earthly ministry. He was frequently accused of preaching and teaching against Moses and of proclaiming a revolutionary message unheard of in ancient Judaism (cf. Acts 21:20 ff.). But here he makes clear that the good news he teaches is really old news of the Hebrew Scriptures now fulfilled and completed in Jesus Christ.

By the prophets – There were two kinds of Old Testament Prophets – ones who spoke, that is preached only, and ones who wrote, that is preached and wrote Scripture.  The word “prophets” here is used to include those who wrote as well as those who spoke. It also, generically, included the teachers of the ancient Jews generally. It is the consistent record of all of the ancient Biblical and Hebrew writings that we have that God would send His Messiah to save man from sin – that is the kernel of the Gospel.

Paul’s use of prophets refers to the Old Testament writers in general, all of whom were spokesmen for God, which is the basic meaning of prophets. Moses, for instance, was the great lawgiver, yet he also considered himself a prophet (Deut. 18:15). Paul’s reference to the holy Scriptures was probably to contrast the divinely-inspired Old Testament from the many rabbinical writings which in his day were studied and followed more zealously than was Scripture. In other words, although the rabbinical writings said little or nothing about the gospel of God, the holy Scriptures had a great deal to say about it. They did not originate with men or reflect the thinking of men, but were the divinely-revealed Word of the living God.

In the holy scriptures - In the writings of the Old Testament. They were called holy because they were inspired by the Holy Spirit, and were regarded as separated from all other writings, and worthy of all reverence. As we have noted, the apostle here declares that he was not about to advance anything new. His doctrines were in accordance with the acknowledged oracles of God. Though they might appear to be new, yet he regarded the gospel as entirely consistent with all that had been declared in the Jewish dispensation; and not only consistent, but as actually promised there. He affirms, therefore:

(1) That all this was promised, and no small part of the Epistle is employed to show this.

(2) That it was confirmed by the authority of holy and inspired men.

(3) That it depended on no vague and loose tradition, but was recorded, so that people might examine for themselves.

The reason why the apostle was so anxious to show that his doctrine coincided with the Old Testament was because the church at Rome was made up in part of Jews. He wished to show them, and the remainder of his countrymen, that the Christian religion was built on the foundation of their prophets, and their acknowledged writings. So doing, he hoped he would disarm their prejudice, and furnish a proof of the truth of religion. It was a constant position with the apostle that he advanced nothing but what was maintained by the best and holiest men of the nation (Acts 26:22-23). 

There is a further reason here for his appealing so much to the Old Testament. He had never been at Rome. He was therefore personally a stranger, and it was proper for him then especially to establish and show his regard for the doctrines of the prophets and for the historic work of God in the world. Hence, he appeals here so often to the Old Testament; and defends every point by the authority of the Bible. The particular passages of the Old Testament on which he relied will come before us in the course of the Epistle. (See particularly Rom. 3; 4; 9; 10; 11). We may see here,

(1)  The reverence which Paul showed for the Old Testament. He never undervalued it. He never regarded it as obsolete, or useless. He manifestly studied it; and never fell into the impious opinion that the Old Testament is of little value.

(2)  If these things were promised - predicted in the Old Testament, then Christianity is true. Every passage which he adduces is therefore proof that it is from God.

Most Jews of that day were so accustomed to looking to rabbinical tradition for religious guidance that the holy Scriptures were looked on more as a sacred relic than as the source of truth. Even after His three years of intense teaching, Jesus had to chide some of His own disciples for failing to understand and believe what the Scriptures taught about Him. Before He revealed His identity to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus, He said to them, “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!” (Luke 24:25). And as He proceeded to teach them about His death and resurrection, He expounded Scripture (v. 27, cf. v. 32).

It was a defective traditional Judaism that was revolutionary, man-originated, man-centered, and that was not grounded in the holy Scriptures. And it was the proponents of that man-made perversion of Judaism who most strongly opposed Jesus. He denounced the religious devotion of the scribes and Pharisees as being hypocrisy rather than piety and their theology as being the false tradition of men rather than the revealed truth of God.

The phrases “You have heard that it was said” and “You have heard that the ancients were told” that Jesus frequently used in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5:21, 27, 33, 38, 43) did not refer to the Old Testament but to rabbinical traditions that contradicted and invalidated the Old Testament (Matt. 15:6).

It is estimated that the Old Testament contains at least 332 prophecies about Christ, most of which were fulfilled at His first coming. The Old Testament is filled with truths that predict and lay the groundwork for the New.

Jesus taught nothing that was either disconnected from or contrary to the Old Testament. “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets,” He declared; “I did not come to abolish, but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matt. 5:17-18).

Throughout the history of the church Jews have resisted the gospel by arguing that to embrace it would be to deny their heritage. On the human level that is true, because since long before Jesus’ day, popular Judaism has been based more on human tradition that on divine revelation. To become a Christian certainly demands denial of a heritage such as that. But for a Jew to embrace the gospel is for him to truly inherit what his scriptural heritage has always promised. The Jew’s greatest heritage is the promise of God’s Messiah, and Jesus is that Messiah, the fulfillment of that promise. Every Jewish prophet, directly or indirectly, prophesied of the ultimate Prophet, Jesus Christ. Every Jewish sacrificial lamb spoke of the ultimate, eternal Lamb of God who would be sacrificed for the sins of the world.

Thought Confronting that same issue, the writer of Hebrews opens his letter by declaring, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son” (Heb. 1:1-2). Peter also accentuated that same truth in his first letter:

As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry; seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look. (1 Pet. 1:10-12)

The prophets spoke generally of the anticipated new covenant (cf. Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:25-27) as well as specifically of the Messiah who would bring that covenant (cf. Isa. 7:18; 9:6, 7; 53:1-12).

The consistency of the Old Testament with the New Testament is important for us to understand.  That God did not change plans or modify plans in midstream is an important concept that many have misunderstood over time.  Many perceive profound and significant differences between the two testaments, to the point, for some, of almost believing in two different gods.  Christians routinely see things as being vastly different in the Old Testament, a works kind of mentality, as opposed to the New, a grace mentality.  Nothing could be further from the truth, or be more damaging to our understanding of theology than this kind of erroneous dichotomy in our thinking.  There is one story of God’s dealing throughout the entire Scripture, and one alone.  It is a unified and entirely consistent story that is completely non-contradictory.  The sooner we come to grips with this truth, the better and more clearly we will understand the message of the Gospel and more able we will be to communicate that message to those to whom God has sent us.

I need to keep the consistency of the Scripture in mind as I seek to understand the message of the Gospel so that I do not misinterpret and miscommunicate God’s message.