It Is Written
Bob Yandian
“As it is written: There is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10, Psalm 14:3)
This quotation is found in many parts of the Old Testament, the prophets as well as the Psalms. Our verse in Romans 3:10 simply shows God’s word has much to say about itself. But the most important thing is the atmosphere contained in the Word through the whole of the Old and New Testaments. There is no need of any outside source to prove itself. Why is this important? Because the word becomes a part of our lives, controlling, stabilizing and guiding every move we make. We become self-sufficient because the word in us is self-sufficient. We need no outside support or proof of our belief in our relationship with Jesus Christ.
The world compels us to compare ourselves with other religions, philosophies or political views. There is no higher standard in our life than God Himself and His Word. Jesus did not call Himself, “a way”, or “a truth.” You never look for “a truth” to support “the truth.” Jesus is the only way and the only truth. Why do we need anything else?
Old and New Testament Self-Verification
The Old Testament says many times of itself, "thus says the Lord", as well as “it is written.” And the New Testament simultaneously declares, "it is written.” The scriptures do not defend the fact they are written by God. God does not treat His word as theory. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the word treats God’s authorship as fact as we do the theory of gravity.
It Stands Written
A more correct Greek way of saying “it is written” is, “it stands written.” In the New Testament, the meaning of the word written, found in the phrase “it is written”, is in the perfect tense. The perfect tense means the action happened in the past with results that keep coming to the present. Simply put, it stood written long before it was written. It was known by God from eternity past and it only found its way onto parchment when the writers of the Bible transcribed what they heard from the Holy Spirit. The Word of God is eternal. How can something that began in time be used to support something that is timeless?
All of it Has to be True
Jesus handled the Old Testament as the sword of truth in the four gospels. If you do not believe one part, how can you believe any part? If you do not believe what Jesus said about the Bible, then you do not believe what Jesus said about Himself. For He declares Himself to be the revealed word of God and the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesies written about Himself as the only means of salvation for all mankind.
Hebrews 10:5-7 tells of the first time Jesus spoke about the Old Testament, calling it the “volume of the book it is written of me.” He also told of His knowledge of the mission He was called to fulfill, to do the will of God. Also, as a young child Jesus spoke to the Jewish religious leaders and Mary, of His mission to do the will of God by fulfilling the scriptures of the Old Testament.
At the introduction of His public ministry, Jesus spoke to His hometown crowd from the synagogue as was His custom. He announced that the scripture He was reading from was fulfilled in their ears that day. He knew how to find the scripture from Isaiah though there was no chapter and verse separations. He was well accomplished in handling the Bible which He quoted, and He had written.
After this introduction of His ministry, He was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tested by Satan. At each of three temptations of personal testing by Satan, Jesus responded to each with the word of God from the book of Deuteronomy, saying “it is written.”
Jesus was confronted by the crowd and the religious leaders about issues of life. Jesus defended paying taxes from the consistent view of the Old Testament as rendering to God the things of God (tithes and offerings) and to Caesar, the things of Caesar (government taxes).
In marriage and divorce, He went to the Old Testament to Genesis 2, telling how the two in marriage become one. In keeping the law, He told them they did not understand the law or prophets quoting “I AM the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of the living, not of the dead.” He confirmed that Abraham was still alive though he physically had left the earth thousands of years before.
Jesus quoted the Word on His resurrection day when He joined two men on the road to Emmaus and spoke of His resurrection. He explained the scriptures of Himself from Moses through the prophets.
The Church is Built on the Scriptures
Christianity is not a religion, nor can it be compared to religions. Although religions contain some truths, they are not the truth. Every aspect of our faith in Christ and in God’s Word is truth, absolute, unchangeable truth. All religions will one day be removed from the earth at the Second Coming of Christ to rule, but the Word of God will live and remain forever as it has existed forever. So, New Testament truth and the Church of Jesus Christ must also be built on Old Testament truth.
The Church is described as “built on the foundation of the apostles (New Testament writers) and prophets (Old Testament writers), Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). As the chief “cornerstone” Jesus joins the two walls of the Old and New Testament. The Old Testament pointed forward to His coming and the New Testament looks back on His eternal work in life, death on the cross, resurrection and ascension into heaven
Acts and the Epistles
Although the Church Age enjoys many benefits unknown in the Old Testament, it must find its foundations for those benefits in the Law and Prophets. This can be found beginning in the book of Acts and running through the New Testament epistles. “It is written” is as common in the New Testament writings as it is in the Old.
In Acts 13:33, Paul taught the religious Jews in the synagogue in Antioch that the means and object of salvation had not changed from the Old Testament. It was by faith in the resurrected Jesus Christ. In Acts 15:15,16 Paul taught the Jews that the Church was prophesied in the Old Testament. See also Acts 23:5.
“It is written” is found concerning our obtaining and walking in righteousness by faith in Romans 1:17. It is used of the fallen nature of all mankind in Romans 3:10.
It is seen again in 1 Corinthians covering many areas of our daily Christian walk (1 Corinthians 1:19,31, 2:9, 3:19, 9:9).
Galatians also builds on the Old Testament telling us “it is written” of the grace of God in the life of Abraham that Gentiles by faith would one day be part of the Abrahamic Covenant (Galatians 3:10,13, 4:22,27). See also 1 Peter 1:16).
Eternity is in Your Side
Psalm 2:1-4 tells us that the “heathen rage and plot a vain (empty) thing”, “rulers take counsel against the Lord and His anointed (the Church)”, yet “He who sits in the heavens will laugh.” How can God laugh at the mocking and ridicule of the world against the Church? God knows the end, how all His plans will come together.
The good news is so do we. We understand God’s plan and know how all will end. We can laugh inside ourselves when we hear their plans of world domination and limiting of the rights of believers in Jesus Christ. God has the final word. His word declares and guarantees it
If God’s word was the final authority for the prophets of the Old Testament, Jesus Christ Himself and the writers of the New Testament, what more do we need? We don’t try to answer the world’s wisdom with our own wisdom. We give our answers from God’s wisdom. As the Christian song says, “At the enemy’s lie, it is written I cry, over and over again.”
