Children According to the Promise

by Matthew W. Bassford The wisdom and subtlety of God truly are beyond our comprehension. Sometimes, though, we are privileged to get a glimpse of it in the Scriptures. This is the case with the story of Abraham and his descendants in Genesis, which only makes sense in the light of its New-Testament explanation. For…

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Was the Law of Moses applicable to Gentiles?

Question: I have a question about the passage in Colossians 2:11-14: “In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the…

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Thank you for answering how the Gentiles were by the Jews rejecting God

Question: Hello, Thank you for your answer to the question: “If the Jews weren’t provoked to jealousy and didn’t reject God, would the Gentiles have received salvation?” I was reading Luke 4:23-30 and this question popped into my head. I was looking for answers online and chanced upon the church’s website. You have a very interesting…

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Were the Gentiles allowed to go into the synagogues?

Question: Were the Gentiles allowed to go into the synagogues? Answer: Gentiles were allowed to come to the temple complex, but they were restricted to remain in the outer court, the court of the Gentiles. The question is whether some similar restriction forbade Gentiles from entering synagogues. We know that Gentiles did believe in God.…

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The Gospel of the Circumcision and the Uncircumcision

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/GospelOfTheCircumcisionAndTheUncircumcision.mp3 Text: Galatians 2:1-10   I.         I suppose a casual reader could read verse 7 from our text and come away with the idea that two different messages were being taught.             A.        One being taught to the Gentiles and a different message being taught to the Jews.             B.        Yet the goal of the gospel was to unite Jews…

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Could Gentiles have been saved prior to Cornelius?

Question: In Acts 2, the Lord’s church was established.  It’s my understanding that in Acts 10, the Gentiles were officially ushered into the church (with the conversion of Cornelius).  My question is: if a Gentile wanted to be saved prior to Acts 10, what was his option?  Could a Gentile be baptized and the Lord…

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Am I Jewish, Hebrew, or Gentile?

Question: Am I Jewish, Hebrew, or a Gentile? My mother was a German Christian. Her grandparents immigrated and were from Germany. What is known is that my father the son of his mother, who was the daughter of her mother, who was the daughter of her father, an Orthodox German Jew. Although I knew great-great-grandmother,…

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Was Abraham a Gentile or a Jew?

Question: Was Abraham a Gentile or a Jew? I heard that he was first a Jew, but I also heard that He was a Gentile before and then a Jew. Answer: “Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for…

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Were Esau and Ishmael’s descendants considered Gentiles?

Question: We are studying Genesis 36 and the generations of Esau.  Several questions arose that have generated some good discussion, but we are needing some help. The questions asked “Were Esau and Ishmael’s families considered Gentiles? Or were they Jews?  We are a little confused about when the Jewish nation was established and when were…

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Which of Noah’s three sons did the Gentiles come through?

Question: Which of Noah’s three sons did the Gentiles come through? Answer: All three sons. “Gentiles” means “nations” and was used for anyone who wasn’t an Israelite (a descendant of Jacob). Abraham descended from Shem, but through Ishmael came the Arabs, and the Edomites came through Esau. Abraham’s nephew, Lot, was the father of the…

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Do Jews and Christians both follow the teachings of the Old Testament?

Question: Do Jews and Christians both follow the teachings of the Old Testament? Answer: The Old Testament was given solely to the nation of Israel. “And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be…

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