Daily Archives: August 25, 2014

Kindness And Sternness

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KINDNESS AND STERNNESS

“Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God; sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in His kindness. Otherwise, you too will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature and, contrary to nature, were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?” Romans 11:22-24.

That puts paid to the pernicious “once saved, always saved” doctrine!

There is a never-ending supply of God’s grace for those who “continue in His kindness.” Of that we can be absolutely confident. However, God’s covenant with His people is a two-way agreement. In one sense He has done it all. There is nothing we can add to what Jesus did by His life and death to make it more effective. He has redeemed us from slavery to sin, reconciled us to the Father and restored us to His family as His sons and daughters. “He has given us everything we need for living a godly life…” 2 Peter 1;3a. He has placed His Spirit within us to nuture and guide us in His ways.

But, like the Israelites who were cut off because of their unbelief and disobedience, we can also be cut off if we persist in living according to the flesh. There is ample evidence in the Scriptures, both in the Old and the New Testaments that the initiative to remain in union with God is ours. Consider what Jesus said to His disciples on the eve of His crucifixion:

‘If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” John 15:6.

Sobering words from the Master Himself!

Paul was equally adamant that the life of God in us must produce the fruit of that life.

“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” Romans 8:5, 6.

From where does the idea come that we can continue to live as we like and still remain in the vine? Our union with Jesus is both passive and active – passive in that we need do nothing to remain in Him because He has called us into His rest, yet active in that we continue to trust Him, obey His Word and walk in the Spirit.

“For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.” Romans 8:14.

There is no limit to God’s kindness towards those who believe and obey what He says, but only punishment for those who do not. He cannot do otherwise because He has done everything necessary to restore us to Himself but leaves the choice to us. Answering an altar call or signing decision card, or even receiving Jesus as our personal Saviour is not the criterion – only obedience is.

For the Jew as well as the Gentile, the way back to God is the same. They, and we, cannot count on our ancestry to guarantee our relationship with the Father; it is individual and personal, just as God revealed to Habakkuk:

“…The righteous person will live by his faithfulness.” Habakkuk 2:4b.

Like many of God’s promises, eternal life is conditional. It is a partnership between us and God. We believe and He responds to our faith by energising us to obey. The Holy Spirit is the “fuel” who gives power to our choices. We act upon the promises of God and He moves us closer to the image of His Son.

“Through these (His own glory and goodness), He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world caused by evil desires.” 2 Peter 1:4.

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

A Wild Olive Branch

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A WILD OLIVE BRANCH

“If some of the branches have been broken off and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root, do not consider yourself superior to those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will then say, ‘Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.’ Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant but tremble. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you either.” Romans 11:17-21.

The picture of the olive tree as a symbol of Israel is common in the Old Testament. The olive tree thrives all over Israel, in any soil and in any conditions. Its fruit and especially the oil pressed from the olives was used for a variety of purposes – for cooking, lighting, healing and anointing, to name just a few.

The olive tree, which is virtually indestructible, is a symbol of faithfulness and steadfastness. Its ability to regenerate when it is cut down makes it a fitting symbol of God’s promise to those who fear the Lord. They will be blessed and prosperous; their wives will be fruitful and bear many children.

“Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.” Psalm 128:3.

Our faith is deeply rooted in the history, culture and religion of the Jewish people. No amount of reasoning and or trying to argue this away will alter the fact that the Christian gospel cannot be divorced from its Jewish roots and makes no sense if we ignore the Old Testament. There are many false notions and teachings that are perpetuated in the church because spiritual leaders have ignored the Old Testament foundations and come up with their own interpretations of what the Bible actually says.

There is no room for the Gentiles to boast. It is arrogant of them to take up the attitude, “God got rid of you so that we could come in. Now we’re in and you’re out!” The only reason the Jews were “out” was because of their unbelief. And anyone, Jew or Gentile, will be rejected if they do not believe what God has said.

God has no time for people who think they are better than others because they enjoy a position of favour in His kingdom. Anything we receive from God is because of His grace and not because of our worth. Without faith, we are worthless to Him even though we have been created in His image. It is through faith that we take possession of everything He has promised.

“Without faith it is impossible to please God because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6.

It is not for us to look around and compare ourselves with others but to “tremble”, recognising that we have no call on God except for His mercy.

“Christianity did not spring forth from a vacuum. It sprang from the highly developed religious tradition and culture of ancient Israel. It is all too easy for us Gentiles to forget this all-important fact…

“Likewise the earliest church was a Jewish church. It was headquartered in the Jewish capital, Jerusalem, and presided over by a Jewish leader…

As Christians we should see that Yeshua epitomised the Law and the teachings of the prophets as the living Word of God. And yet, so many of us know so little of the Tanach, the Hebrew Scriptures. Christians refer to these writings of the “Old Testament” as though the term “old” means it is of little value when compared with the “new”. Yet, without the “old”, the “new” loses much of its meaning and it often misinterpreted or not fully interpreted. When we do this we are missing out on much God has for us in His Word.”

http://www.pray4zion.org/LessonsfromtheOliveTree.html

It would be wise for us Gentile believers, then, not to despise or ignore our roots but to learn what we can and to remember with gratitude that God has “grafted” us Gentiles in because of our faith in Him and not because we have replaced Israel.

“Israel is Israel, even in the New Testament. And when the Gentile church is included in that concept, we are given that position by virtue of “grafting in”, “adoption”, being made “partakers”, and being “made near”; and never by “replacing.”

http://www.pray4zion.org/LessonsfromtheOliveTree.html

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Blessed To Be A Blessing!

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BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING! 

“But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their full inclusion bring!” Romans 11:12.

Now there’s a thought!

If the door of God’s grace was opened to the Gentiles because the Jews refused it, and blessing came to the whole world instead of to only one small group, just imagine what would happen if the Jews as a people, and not just individuals here and there, were to receive Jesus as their Messiah. The entire Jewish nation, not only those in Israel but those who are scattered all over the globe, would be a blessing wherever they are! Isn’t that what God promised Abraham?

“I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Genesis 12:2, 3.

But that does not give the Gentile believers any cause to gloat. We who are not the natural descendants of Abraham, have no reason to think that, because the Jews refused their Messiah and we received Him, that we are any better than they.

“I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I take pride in my ministry in hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and so save some of them. For if their rejection brought reconciliation to the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.” Romans 11:13-16.

Paul was doing much more than expressing wishful thinking or inventing a reason for believing that the Jews will still play a big part in God’s plan for the world. His reasoning was based on a solid Biblical principle which applies anywhere and everywhere. It’s called terumah or the firstfuits offering.

From the beginning of time, God required the first portion of the increase of the harvest, and the firstborn of the flocks and herds to be given to Him. Hence Abel’s offering of the firstborn of his flock was acceptable while Cain’s sacrifice of “some of the harvest” was unacceptable because he did not honour God first. The terumah, offered to God and given to the high priest to support him and his family, guaranteed God’s blessing on the rest of the harvest.

“Honour the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfuits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” Proverbs 3:9, 10.

Israel was God’s “firstborn” son, set apart and belonging to Him. Every firstborn son belonged to God and had to be redeemed by the payment of a sum of money to the high priest. God redeemed Israel through the blood of a lamb – symbolising the blood of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He took the Levites to be His special tribe in place of all the firstborn of the nation.

“I have taken the Levites from among the Israelites in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman. The Levites are mine, for all the firstborn are mine.” Numbers 3:11-13.

Therefore, according to Paul, if the Israelites were holy, set apart for God, then the rest of the harvest (the world) is holy. Since the door of grace has already been opened to the Gentiles because the Jews, God’s firstborn, refused Him, in order for the blessing which has come to the world through Abraham’s descendants to be authentic, the firstfruits of the harvest must be given to God – that’s the Jews.

 

Paul, basing his case on sound Biblical truth and in a kind of reverse reasoning, argued that, since the rest of the harvest is already being blessed i.e., the Gentiles, the full harvest of His people, the Jews, must be blessed and gathered in as well since the firstfuits, the Jews, was gathered in at Pentecost.

That puts paid to the teaching that God is finished with the Jews. He cannot be because He is always true to His word and His nature. The firstfruits and the full harvest are inextricably tied together. Since the blessing of Abraham has already come to the Gentiles, it must still come on the Jews because they are his natural offspring. By faith in their Messiah, they will also become his spiritual children and the full harvest, which began with the first believers who were Jews, will be gathered in.

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

 

 

Don’t Blame God!

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DON’T BLAME GOD!

“What then? What the people of Israel sought so earnestly, they did not obtain. The elect among them did, but the others were hardened, as it is written:

“God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that could not see and ears that could not hear to this very day.”

“And David says:

“May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.”

“And again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.” Romans 11:7-11.

Paul is adamant that, although most of the Jews forfeited their place in the New Covenant because of their unbelief, God still has a remnant, as He had throughout their tragic history, who have not “bowed the knee to Baal.” Scattered throughout the earth today there are many Jewish people who have recognised and embraced the Lord Jesus Christ as their Messiah. They are counted among God’s people as the spiritual sons of Abraham and members of the “Israel of God” because of their faith.

There is a serious warning in Paul’s words about the Jews. Before God endorsed their choices, He gave them many opportunities to listen to His entreaty and to return to Him, but they refused. He sent prophets time and again to both the southern and the northern kingdoms, calling the people back to God and warning them of the consequences of their stubborn unbelief.

They had the example of their ancestors who perished in the wilderness because they refused to trust God and obey His instructions. Their unceasing complaints and rebellion angered Him so much that He withdrew His protection, and left them to suffer the ravages of the desert. Fiery serpents bit them and many died until they cried out to God. In His mercy He delivered them and healed those who looked in faith at the brass snake He had commanded Moses to make.

No amount of miraculous intervention could convince them that God was real and that He meant what He said. They cried for help when the chips were down, only to pursue their old ways as soon as things were back to normal. As then, so now, miracles do not produce faith. Faith produces miracles. God purposely put them to the test, allowing them suffer hunger and thirst to see whether they would trust Him or not. Their hardships exposed their wicked hearts of unbelief. They tried God’s patience until He gave them what they confessed – death in the desert.

“Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter His rest if not those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter because of their unbelief.” Hebrews 3:16-19.

In all of Paul’s discussion about the fate of the Jews, let us not miss the message meant for his readers. The Jews chose unbelief and hardness of heart in response to God’s grace. They could hardly blame God for the outcome since He confirmed their choice, not His, with blindness and deafness. We too, cannot blame God for what we get because the invitation is His but the initiative is ours.

Yet, for the Jews, the door of grace still stands open and will remain open until Jesus comes. As we read on, we shall learn of God’s purpose for them. But what of us? The Word of God assures us that, as long as it is still “today”, we have an opportunity to turn away from our man-made beliefs and receive, by faith, the gift of righteousness. There is still a rest from our own self-effort into which we can enter and receive what Jesus did for us. “It is finished!”

“Therefore, since the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it…But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today”, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness…There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:1; 3:13; 4:9-11.

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.