"One In Christ"

Recently, a friend approached me and asked the following question, "Who are the Jewish people today?" I was somewhat surprised by the question but not totally surprised. Why? We currently live in what is referred to as the "Church Age" or the "Age of Grace." Jesus said in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to The Father except through Me." In effect, Jesus is saying that the only way to have a relationship with God plus salvation is through knowing Him as your Lord and Savior. If misunderstood, this could give the impression that the Jewish people are excluded. 

Additionally, there is a movement in some churches known as the "Replacement Theology" meaning that some believe that the church has replaced the Jewish people as God's Chosen People. As a result, our message this week is to answer this question, "Who Are The Jewish People Today?" 

Jehovah God answers this vitally important question in Ephesians 2:13-18 when He describes the current relationship between Jews and Gentiles, "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For He himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in His flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which He put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through Him we both have access to The Father by one Spirit."

The shed blood of Jesus Christ which established the New Blood Covenant has Jews and Gentiles equal or "One In Christ." This means both are now eligible to have an intimate relationship with God; can also have salvation, eternal life and forgiveness of sins through receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The Jewish people are still "God's Covenant People" but many continue to search for their Messiah. Why is this? We will discuss this challenging question in our following messages. Stay tuned!

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You This Day And Every Day,

Frank   

 

God's Covenant People - Part Seven

During the last six weeks our messages have centered on Jehovah God's Covenants including the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant and the new and better covenant referred to as the New Blood Covenant. Last week we learned that through the shed blood of Jesus Christ all people now have a way to salvation, eternal life and forgiveness of sins when they accept Jesus Christ as their Savior and Messiah. In this our last message of the Covenant Series, we will share another important lesson of living under the New Blood Covenant.

Jeremiah 31:33 says, "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says The Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My People." God says as part of the New Blood Covenant the law will be in their minds and on their hearts. What does this mean? When God established the Mosaic Covenant at Mount Sinai He explained that the only way to keep the Mosaic Covenant was to obey Him by keeping a number of laws. The people agreed not knowing they were unable to keep these laws. This inability started with the Fall of Man and the Garden of Eden resulting in a separation of God from man.

Let me ask a very important question. Do you remember the supernatural event that took place in the Temple when Jesus died? The veil was torn in two. Thus the barrier between God and man is gone. For those who know Jesus as their Savior and Messiah there are now no more separations, every barrier separating us from God is removed. 

When we say that God's Law is now in His people's minds and written on their heart, this means that under the New Blood Covenant a relationship between God and man is now established. Yes, the law still exists but God's people are now better able to keep the law through their new relationship with God and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Keeping the law is no longer a difficult requirement but is now a desire in our hearts. Hallelujah!

In closing, Hebrews 10:19-22 encourages us to approach the very Throne of God regularly to have our hearts, minds and bodies cleansed, "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith."

I trust this series on God's Covenants has been a true blessing for you as it has been for me.

May The Lord Bless You This Day And Every Day,

Frank 

God's Covenant People - Part Six

In our continuing study of the Covenants which Jehovah God established with His people, we have examined the Mosaic Covenant in our last two messages. At Mt. Sinai, God presented His Law that are guidelines for living lives acceptable to Him but we learned God's people disobeyed almost immediately. In reality, God's Covenant people are not able in their own way to keep the Mosaic Covenant and not sin.

As a result, God established a New and Better Blood Covenant as illustrated in Jeremiah 31:31-34:

"The time is coming," Declares The Lord,

"When I will make a new Covenant with the house of Israel 

and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the Covenant

I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand

to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke My Covenant, 

though I was a husband to them," Declares The Lord. 

"This is the Covenant I will make with the House of Israel

after that time," Declares The Lord.

"I will put My law in their minds and write it on their hearts.

I will be their God, and they will be My people.

No longer will a man teach his neighbor,

or a man his brother, saying 'know The Lord,'

because they will all know me, from the least of them

to the greatest." Declares The Lord.

"For I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more."

How did Jehovah God establish this New and Better Blood Covenant? He sent His Son Jesus Christ to earth to shed His blood by dying on a cross. Hebrews 9:22 says, "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness." The Mosaic Covenant required the sacrifice of bulls and goats to atone for the sins of the people but this was not forgiveness of sins.

The broken body and shed blood of Jesus Christ, the most important event in world history, accomplished the will of Jehovah God. Jesus said in Matthew 5:17, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the Prophets, I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." The law is still in effect today but Jesus gave us a way to have our sins immediately forgiven when we sincerely repent of our sins and ask for forgiveness. 1John1:9 says, "If we confess our sins He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Next week's message will conclude our study of God's Covenants and will concentrate on another very important benefit of living under the New and Better Blood Covenant. Stay Tuned!

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You This Day And Every Day,

Frank    

God's Covenant People - Part Five

Last week we started our study of the Mosaic Covenant which Jehovah God established with His people through Moses at Mt. Sinai. The Mosaic Covenant required God's people to "Obey His Voice" as indicated in Exodus 19:5. Our message this week is to determine whether God's people obeyed "His Voice."

When Moses shared all the requirements for keeping the Mosaic Covenant with God's people they responded in Exodus 24:7, "All That The Lord Has Said We Will Do And Be Obedient." Shortly thereafter, they did not keep these critically important commitments to Jehovah God. Aaron speaks to God's people when he believed Moses was on Mt. Sinai too long by saying in Exodus 32:1, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."

Aaron is recommending breaking the Third Commandment which says, "You 
Shall Have No Other gods Before Me." Then to make matters worse Aaron tells the people to bring to him all their golden earrings which he will make into a golden calf. The people responded by saying, "This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt." Exodus 32:4. The Third and Fourth Commandments Were Broken!

Well, how did Jehovah God respond to these events? In Exodus 32:7-9 God said to Moses, "Go, get down! For your people who you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them." His Word also shows there were consequences in disobeying as "Three Thousand men of the people fell that day." Exodus 32:28.

However, this is not the end of the story. Hallelujah! God has provided a Better Covenant available to all people known as The New Blood Covenant that we will begin studying with the next message. Stay Tuned!

Even in their disobedience God has not turned against His Chosen People. Deuteronomy 7:6 says, "For you are a holy people to The Lord your God; The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth."

May The Lord Bless You And Keep You This Day And Every Day,

Frank  

God's Covenant People - Part Four

Our previous three messages were all about the Abrahamic Covenant that was an Unconditional Covenant in which Jehovah God provided for His people. We could come to the conclusion that in the Abrahamic Covenant God gave to His people and His people received this Covenant. Our next few messages will concentrate on the Mosaic Covenant that was initiated by God through Moses at Mt. Sinai.

During the third month after the Israelites came out of the bondage in Egypt, they came to the wilderness of Sinai at the base of Mt. Sinai. Moses went up the mountain to meet with God and God said, "Thus you shall say to the House of Jacob and tell the children of Israel; 'You have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to Myself. Now therefore, If You Will Indeed Obey My Voice And Keep My Covenants, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel." Exodus 19:3-6.

We will carefully examine these verses because they are the foundational verses of the Mosaic Covenant. Verse 5 is the key verse in the establishment of the Mosaic Covenant because now God's People had a part or an investment in this new covenant - They Must Obey God's Voice To Keep The Covenant.

Then Moses spoke these same words from God to His people and their answer was most intriguing in Exodus 19:8 when they said, "All that The Lord has spoken we will do." The people said yes we will obey but they had not heard any of God's requirements to keep the Mosaic Covenant.

This raises a very important question - what are the requirements for God's people in the Mosaic Covenant? Exodus chapters 20 - 23 outline these requirements and it all starts with the Ten Commandments and is commonly referred to as the Law of God. Now that God's people have heard the requirements on their part of the Mosaic Covenant, how did they respond? Exodus 24:3,7 says, "All the words which The Lord has said we will do . . . All that The Lord has said we will do and be obedient."

The Mosaic Covenant was enacted at Mt. Sinai. However, this is not the end of the story. In Reality, How Did God's People Respond? Stay Tuned!

May The Lord Bless You This Day And Every Day,

Frank