This post will be extremely short and to the point. There is an erroneous belief in some Christian circles that I will challenge with nothing more than New Testament (NT) Scriptures. The belief is that Jews living in Israel are God's chosen people, even though the vast majority don’t believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah.
That is the reason some “christians,” especially Evangelicals, have been donating money, through their churches, for the Jewish cause, whatever it may be (I don’t know). Please correct me if I am wrong. From what I understand, only those who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are God’s chosen people.
Since I published this post several days ago on July 8th, I found the answer to the above “I don’t know.” The answer lies in Genesis 12:3. This is the Lord speaking to Abraham: “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse.” Evidently, some Evangelical Churches, and others, believe that by blessing Abraham’s offspring (natural-born Jews living in Israel), they are being obedient to Old Testament Scripture by supporting Israeli Jews in their original homeland—as if they haven’t received enough money from the American government, to the tune of billions of $ each year since 1948. The only thing is, Abraham’s offspring are the Jews who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, along with all genuine Christians. The evidence is in the following verses.
Let's examine several NT verses that corroborate the aforementioned. Romans 9:6-8. “It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham’s children. On the contrary, ‘It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.’ In other words, it is not the natural children who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise [Christians] who are regarded as Abraham’s offspring.”
Galatians 3:16. “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say ‘and to his seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ.”
Romans 2:28-29. “A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit and not by the written code [the old Jewish Law]. Such a man’s praise is not from men, but from God.”
Just one more verse that has a strong implication as to what was happening in the Church at Philadelphia is Revelation 3:9. "I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.”
According to the above descriptions, genuine Christians can rightfully be called real Jews, and Jews that stick to the old Jewish Law handed down by Moses are only Jews by natural birth. These naturally born Jews have no inheritance given by God through Jesus Christ. Of course, if any natural Jews believe and live as Christ requires, they can again become part of the family of God. Romans 11:23. “And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.”
Please send me any comments to contradict the above message, but only if it is according to the New Testament and not the Old Testament. This is a blog, so feel free to make this a two-way conversation.
In ending, I want to mention that this false belief is held by millions of American Evangelical Christians. Could I be wrong?
6 comments:
I am sorry by I can’t send any contradicting comments because you were right on… Jay
Jay, thanks for your conformation of this short but to the point blog.
althinker
JOHN 8:31-45 GENESIS 15:13 THE REAL JEW,ABRAM'S SEED WAS IN BONDAGE "ACCORDING TO GOD" TELL ME WHAT YOU AL THINKER. THIER IS NO KNOWN HISTORY OF ANY PEOPLE CALLED JEWS HELD IN BONDAGE IN HISTORY FOR 400 YEARS.
Thanks for your comment. If I understand what you are saying, in Genesis 15:13, the Lord was speaking to Abraham in a dream; God was telling him that through his descendant (Jacob) the nation of Israel will be in bondage in Egypt for 400 years until Moses delivers the Israelites out of bondage. That 400 year bondage period is in Old Testament history. Those Israelites were Abraham’s natural descendants. Abraham’s spiritual descendants are those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord (boss) and Savior. If I didn’t respond correctly to your comment, please let me know.
Althinker
Hey , i believe i might be of some help to your answer of who is the true jew.
you see, first of all, it is very hard to get a clear reading of scripture , based soley on the new testament. that is why there is also an old testament... but that is not the subject ... the reason some christians feel the need to support those that are of jewish decent ( i.e. decended from judah ) is that both the new and old testaments contain prophesies directed to the jews, and the other 11 tribes of Isreal. And some of those prophesies have yet to be fulfilled. For instance, after jesus comes back, there will be a 1000 year reign of jesus, at which time the jews, not the christians as they will reign with jesus over the jews, but the actual decendents of judah, will go back into the temple and sacrafice offerings to God. this is a relatively new belief among christians as Isreal has only become a nation in the last century. So although it is true, lots of christians who lived during a period of time when isreal, as a nation, did not exist, didnt interpret the prophecy correctly as they assumed isreal referred to christians. but since isreal has come back into the promised land, the prophecies are being interpreted more accuratly. Infact the book of Isaiah, says that the prophesies will be sealed till the time of the fulfillment, which many believe is the very near future.
one question i did have was this... you seem to be, what i would call, a law oriented christian. as there are some christians who feel that your not saved unless you keep the commandments. whereas i am a christian that thinks that if you believe the gospel, you will be saved. So here is my question... do you think that you keep the commmandments?? Because i must admit, I find it impossible to keep all the commandments. After i read someone who is more law oriented such as yourself, i always want to ask if they really keep the commandments, to such a degree, that they can say that it is the only way to christ.
i am just asking because when i read the bible, I always put my hope in the fact that i am forgiven based soley upon jesus' act on the cross. Because, if , like you say, it depends upon keeping his commandments, then i am up the creek without a savior.
dont get me wrong, i believe in jesus and read the bible daily. i love jesus for what he has done and i want to be free of sin, but i find it imposible for instance i smoke, i want to quit, but i cant seem to... Anyways please write me back especially about if you think that you keep all his commandments, cause if you do, please tell me how. I have always understood sanctification as an ongoing act of God.
stratt_17@hotmail.com
Dear Anonymous,
Thank-you for your informative and well thought-out comments. Your comments are worthy of the author’s name; anonymous does not do you justice. Therefore I will name you anonymous # 12, a Godly #. I agree with you, in the value of the Old Testament (OT). It is irreplaceable; nevertheless, for instructions on how to live the Christian life, the OT is limited. That was one of the reason for the coming of Jesus Christ, e.g. Matthew 5:38, “You have heard that it was said, [in the OT teachings] Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth. But I tell you, do not resist an evil person.” In other words: That is just one instance of how Jesus revised (perfected) many of the laws/rules that govern how we MUST live to please Him.
But, we must remember, when it comes to interpreting prophesies, just about ever denomination/church group have their own particular beliefs for each prophesy. As we do our best to interpret correctly, still it is only speculation of what will actually happen, where they will happen, and when they will occur. We must be extremely cautions when taking prophesies as dictations of what or who to support, or how we must live. If we are blessed by God, our interpretations my be correct some of the time. Most, if not all, OT prophesies were/are for a very specific purpose: caveats as to what will come to pass; also, Almighty God desires us to understand that He knows the complete future of everyone and everything; even though in the OT, He sometimes speaks through His prophets as if His knowledge is limited. SAID ANOTHER WAY, in certain cases, God is able to hold-back His knowledge of the future so as to act impartially.
I purposely stay away from all prophesies, so as not to possibly mislead any of the readers. In fact in all my 150 some blogs, I never mentioned nor will I mention prophesies. Therefore, you know when anyone mentions prophesies, I take them with a grain of salt.
You said the NT contains prophesies in which Christians should support Jews of natural decent. Could you tell me where they are? Also, tell where those prophesies are in the NT concerning the natural Jews being God‘s people that has yet to be fulfilled, other than when Jesus spoke of the end times, like in Matthew Chapter 24 and Luke 21?
Also tell me where it says concerning the thousand year reign of Christ, the decedents of Judah will go back to sacrifice offering to God in the temple? Since now you know how I feel about prophesies, I will not comment on the next few sentences.
Next, you asked, am I trying to save my self by obedience–some call it works--to what Scripture commands; that is hogwash. Obedience/works saves no one. Only God through Christ saves anyone who believes in the work of Jesus. We cannot save ourselves, no matter what we do or how much we obey His commands. Though I have said many times in previous blogs, our obedience to all the He commands is no more than confirmation to the authenticity of our faith in Jesus Christ. Only Christ can give us salvation; that was His part. And our part is obedience.
As to obeying completely every word and deed that is expected of all Christians, let me put it this way: When we are save completely by Christ because of our belief and no more, we are placed/positioned in a realm of perfection; in God’s opinion, we are perfect (justified and sanctified). That is the way we must see ourselves. How can we displease Christ when we see ourselves in that condition? While in that holy realm, our perfection will increase more and more each day as we continually grow into the likeness of Christ--the result of our obedience. Without obedience, there is no redemption. Christ saves; we obey. When there is little of no obedience, it becomes obvious in the sight of God and genuine Christians, that there is no spiritual life.
You mentioned forgiveness. We are forgive because of our belief in what Christ’s death on the cross did for us. Our obedience cannot forgive anything or anyone. Obedience is a result of our faith. It is impossible for anyone to be obedient to what Christ demands, if their faith goes no further than their mind. Our faith must penetrate the heart, which will always affect the life, in benevolent and Godly ways. This will happen when we have a GENUINE need to live as Christ requires.
As to your last statement, about not being able to stop smoking, let me say this: Once we are saved, we must make sure we have a desperate NEED to further/continue Christ’s cause on earth. If one’s Christianity is nothing more than an addendum to one’s present life, all efforts to live as Christ requires will be futile. I pray that is not your case. Please, if nothing else, remember this: Every Christian is a roll-model for others Christians to emulate. Cleaning up our lives is a continual process. That’s what is meant by growing in perfection. Stagnation implies death.
My final thought: This ancient adage is still true: “We become like those we gaze at.” When we are gazing–with our mind and heart--at Jesus Christ a great deal of the time, how can we not continually desire to become like Him? He–not some-human superstar-- must be our only roll-model. Most of what I wrote to you, has already been mentioned somewhere in this blog-sight.
In ending, I pray that God will bless you with His best (the life of His Son). Thanks again for your thought-provoking comments. Looking forward to hearing from you again. Althinker
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