You Are Not The Main Character | Romans 1:1-4

Biblical illiteracy seemingly becomes more and more common as time passes. Personally, I think there are a lot of reasons for that, but one that I want to look at specifically today is our lack of study of the Old Testament.

We think, "It's so hard to understand," or "it's so long." "Why do I need to read these genealogies?" "What does this have to do with me?"

I know these thoughts because I have been guilty of thinking them myself. God convicted me about how much more I used to study the New Testament compared to the Old Testament, and since the beginning of the year, I have been in a Bible Reading Plan that has me in both the OT and NT every day. It is a game changer.

Now, I want to talk about that last question, "What does this have to do with me?". I would say that this line of thinking is one of the main reasons that Biblical illiteracy is at an increase. We want Scripture to be about us.

This is not that surprising. As humans, we tend to make things about ourselves. We are selfish. But, as Christians, we do not live by the flesh. We walk by the Spirit.

If you think Scripture is about you, you will miss the One it is actually about.

So, who is Scripture actually about?

Well, let's look at the words of the Apostle Paul at the very beginning of the book of Romans.

Look at the words that I have bolded in these verses: "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 1:1-4 ESV).

Did you catch that?

"Concerning his Son."

The Gospel was promised through the prophets in the holy Scriptures: that is the Old Testament! Scripture is about Jesus.

Bible Project says this, "The Bible is a unified story that leads to Jesus." That is SO true. From Genesis to Revelation, it points to Jesus, and when it comes to studying the Old Testament, you must look through the lens of looking for Jesus. Not the lens of looking for yourself.

Now, do not misunderstand me: life application is very important. It is crucial that we take what we learn in the Bible, apply it to our lives, and live it out. But, as important as application is, if you miss Jesus, you are not going to be able to apply anything you read in Scripture to your life anyway because as Jesus taught us in John 15:5, apart from Him, we can do nothing.

This is the best Old Testament study tip I can give: look for Jesus. There is a culture right now, particularly in my generation, that says to live your life as if you are the "main character." Essentially, this phrase means to live your life as if it is all about you.

Well, this is just not true. You are not the "main character." Jesus is. The sooner we realize this, the sooner we can walk in freedom and read Scripture for what it is.

Has God given you His Word as a gift? Absolutely.

Does He want to speak to you through His Word and teach you things through it? Again, absolutely.

But, do you remember in elementary school when we were told to "turn on our listening ears"?

Studying Scripture is a little bit like that. When we sit down to study our Bibles, we need to "turn on our listening ears" (by looking for Jesus in whatever we're reading) to hear the voice of God.

Now, you may be wondering, "Okay, Leslie, that's great, but how do I look for Jesus when reading the Old Testament?"

Make sure to read our next blog post as we answer that question.

The Bible is not about us; it is about Jesus, and when we realize that Jesus is the Hero of the story, it is a weight off of our shoulders.