https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/The-Saving-of-Israel.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: Romans 2:17-29<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. In these days of troubled times in the middle East, those who believe that physical Israel is\ncentral to God’s plans for the future have come to the forefront.\n A. “Readers of the Bible know that the Book of Revelation tells of a time when\nMessiah himself will engage in unparalleled acts of warfare prior to establishing his\nrule from Jerusalem. (Revelation 19:21). The Bible also indicates Messiah will only\nreturn following the rebuilding of Israel’s temple to the Almighty (Malachi 3:1,\nEzekiel 43:2-5)” [Ryan Jones, JNW Headline News, 10\/24\/2005]\n B. I recently received a letter scolding me. “How can you explain what is happening\nin Israel today? Is not Jerusalem, as God said it would be, become a cup of\ntrembling, a burdensome stone? Replacement theologists such as yourself cannot\npossibly understand what is happening in Israel today except allegorically…which\nis how you must stretch the Scriptures to fit your Romanist view of God’s chosen\npeople (by whom He will show the fallen world His power and glory – the Jews).\nThe defining line between true and false believers in these last days will be the\nstance that each takes on His people, Israel. … Israel is blinded for a time, but\nIsrael will never be relinquished by God (Romans 11), we Christians (thank God)\nare but grafted in to the vine, the Jews are the natural branches. Yes, they still\nrequire salvation by Jesus, but when the fulness of the Gentiles is brought in, God\nwill concentrate His attention only on Israel. They will look upon Him whom they\nhave pierced…He is their Messiah, although those who die without Christ are still\nlost. Please don’t insult me with quotes of ‘neither Jew nor Greek,’ or of ‘raising\nsons of Abraham from stones’ – clearly, they rejected Jesus the first time, but they\nwill not the second time. He will return to save Israel (real Israel, not your\nallegorical Israel) from annihilation, although only a third will survive – of these, all\nwill receive Him and be saved. … The promises to Israel are to Israel; the promises\nto the church are quite separate. God is very clear on this.”\n C. He immediately sent a second letter apologizing for saying my teaching was\nunsound, but he still insists that “The promises to Israel are to Israel; the promises\nto the church are quite separate.”\n D. A denominational televangelist, John Hagee, said that to suggest that the promises\nof God to Israel have carried over to the church is false doctrine. “We need to\ncease emphasizing respect for dead Jews like Abraham and David and honor living\nIsrael today, the Jewish people.” To prove his point, he claimed Genesis 22:17\nwhere God said, “multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the\nheaven” referred to the heavenly Jerusalem or the church, but “as the sand which is\non the seashore” meant the physical nation of Israel since sand and sea shores are\non the earth. He went on to say that if he had a 28-foot chart and chalk, he could\nexplain it all.\n
II. Is it that difficult to understand?<\/p>\n
A. There is no salvation outside of Christ<\/p>\n
1. Only through Jesus can men be saved – Acts 4:12<\/p>\n
2. Jesus is the way, the only way – John 14:6<\/p>\n
B. There is no special favor toward physical Israel<\/p>\n
1. Lineage means nothing to God – Luke 3:8<\/p>\n 2. What is important is the heart, not physical things such as circumcision –\nRomans 2:28-29\n
3. The Jews have been just as guilty of sin as the Gentiles – Romans 3:9-10<\/p>\n
4. The same gospel saves both Jew and Greek – Romans 1:16<\/p>\n
C. Jews and Gentiles have been brought into one body <\/p>\n
1. Reconciled into one body – Ephesians 2:11-18<\/p>\n
2. The past mystery has been revealed – Ephesians 3:6<\/p>\n 3. There is only one body (Ephesians 4:4), and that body is the church –\nEphesians 1:22-23\n
D. Equality in the body<\/p>\n 1. All were condemned under sin, so that belief could become the standard –\nGalatians 3:22\n 2. The law, which created the nation of Israel, was only until the Seed should\ncome – Galatians 3:19. That seed is Christ – Galatians 3:16\n 3. The law preserved people until Christ came and then the law ended –\nGalatians 3:24-25\n
4. Now, in Christ, we are all one – Galatians 3:25-28<\/p>\n 5. Thus, by belief – not physical lineage – we become descendants of\nAbraham – Galatians 3:29\n 6. Hence, in writing to the churches of Galatia (Galatians 1:2-3), Paul\npronounces blessings upon the Israel of God – Galatians 6:15-16\n
III. The parable of the vineyard – Matthew 21:33-46<\/p>\n A. Notice what Jesus said. Because the Jews would kill God’s Son, the kingdom\nwould be taken from them – Matthew 21:43\n
B. The Pharisees understood the parable was about them – Matthew 21:45<\/p>\n
IV. Did Paul say the Jews, as a nation, would be restored to God’s favor?<\/p>\n A. Was Israel completely rejected? Paul argues no, as he is living proof that some\nhave been accepted – Romans 11:1\n
1. God has always had a faithful core – Romans 11:2-4<\/p>\n
2. That has continued to the time of Paul – Romans 11:5-7<\/p>\n
a. Notice that the elect now has God’s grace or favor<\/p>\n b. It is Christians who are the elect – I Peter 1:1-2; Colossians 3:12; II\nTimothy 2:10\n c. Thus the remnant of Israel are those who became a part of the\nelection of God in the church\n B. The fall of the majority of Israel was necessary in order to bring in the Gentiles –\nRomans 11:8-11\n C. But if their fall was hard, their return, if it happens, will be all that more glorious –\nRomans 11:12-15\n
D. The allegory of the branches<\/p>\n
1. Some, not all, of the branches were broken off – Romans 11:16-18<\/p>\n
2. They were broken off because of unbelief – Romans 11:19-20<\/p>\n 3. God treats the natural branches (the Jews) and the grafted branches (the\nGentiles) equally – Romans 11:21-24\n
a. Unbelief brings removal<\/p>\n b. Belief brings reinstatement – even for the Jews who were broken\noff\n
E. The mystery is that even fallen Jews can be saved – Romans 11:25-27<\/p>\n 1. They are enemies, but concerning the election they can be beloved –\nRomans 11:28\n 2. God’s gift are given equally. They cannot be revoked for one group –\nRomans 11:29\n 3. God condemned all under sin that all can be shown mercy in the same way\n– Romans 11:30-32\n F. Thus Paul said that not all Jews were lost at the changing of the covenant, because\nsome through faith switched over to the church. The fall of the majority, though,\nshowed their sins and allowed God to show equal treatment by accepting only\nthose who believed, whether they were Gentile or Jew.\n 1. Nowhere does Paul relegate this conversion of the Jews to the distant\nfuture. Nor does he state that their conversion is connected with Jesus’\nsecond coming.\n 2. Nowhere does Paul say it would be a complete conversion. He states that it\nwas only if they believed.\n 3. Nowhere does Paul state that God will ignore the Gentiles and focus only\non the Jews.\n
V. Can modern Israelites be saved?<\/p>\n
A. Certainly! By the same manner we are saved – Galatians 3:25-29<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 2:17-29 I. In these days of troubled times in the middle East, those who believe that physical Israel is central to God’s plans for the future have come to the forefront. A. “Readers of the Bible know that the Book of Revelation tells of a time when Messiah himself will…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[49,557,344,47],"class_list":["post-17459","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-faith","tag-israel","tag-premillennialism","tag-salvation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":81558,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/salvation-light-and-glory\/","url_meta":{"origin":17459,"position":0},"title":"Salvation: Light and Glory","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 12, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Shortly after Jesus' birth, His parents took Him to the temple \"to present Him to the Lord.\" There was a righteous and devout man, Simeon, upon whom was the Holy Spirit and who was \"waiting for the consolation of Israel.\" The Holy Spirit had revealed to him\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63042,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/and-so-all-israel-will-be-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":17459,"position":1},"title":"And So All Israel Will Be Saved","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 2, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton Romans 11:26 is typically misunderstood and misapplied. The church is the true Israel that will be saved. The gospel is the power to save (Romans 1:16). Being a mere Jew in the flesh does not save. There must be the circumcision in heart to make a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25481,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-i-believe-the-bible-is-gods-only-revelation\/","url_meta":{"origin":17459,"position":2},"title":"Why I Believe the Bible Is God’s Only Revelation","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 28, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry W. Benton There is something unique about the Bible that sets it apart from all other books that claim some kind of divine authority associated with them. Human Wisdom Alone Can Account For All Others When we examine each book there are features that lend credibility to the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23558,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-page-caused-me-to-rethink-about-modern-israels-place-in-gods-plans\/","url_meta":{"origin":17459,"position":3},"title":"Your page caused me to rethink about modern Israel’s place in God’s plans","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 14, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I saw your web page \"Is the Modern Nation of Israel Important?\" I was trained to view modern Israel as Falwell described it, but I've been rethinking that and you make some good points. Do you know of any books or resources available that go into this topic more?\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66778,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/genealogy-as-evidence\/","url_meta":{"origin":17459,"position":4},"title":"Genealogy as Evidence","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 26, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton One thing about all the lists of names in the Bible (forget about the difficulty of pronunciation) is that they were kept meticulously to keep the record accurate and verifiable. When Genesis gave a genealogy, it was to show that the writer was being historical and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":82830,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/spiritual-israel\/","url_meta":{"origin":17459,"position":5},"title":"Spiritual Israel","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 19, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: Galatians 6:12-18 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I ran across someone claiming that there is no spiritual Israel, that all references to Israel are to the physical nation. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0From this position, he claimed that the kingdom was postponed because of Israel\u2019s unbelief. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He claims that physical Israel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17459","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17459"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17459\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17459"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17459"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17459"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}