Download Study Materials
God is not through with Israel vs. 1-6
- Has God cast away His people… vs. 1-2
- Replacement Theology…
- A VERY destructive doctrine commonly taught today in many churches…
- It states – God has rejected Israel – and been replaced by the church…
- Galatians 6:16 – “Peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.”
- The reason is – because Israel betrayed and crucified Jesus Christ…
- Matthew 27:25 – “All the people… said, “His blood be on us and on our children.”
- This doctrine has led to intense persecution of the Jews by the church over the years…
- Martin Luther – Protestant reformer / Augustine – early father of the Catholic church…
- All hated Jews – thought were a stain that should be wiped out – subjugated…
- As a result Adolph Hitler – Holocaust 6 millions Jews dead – quoted ‘Martin Luther’…
- Paul uses himself as an example – he was an Israelite (son of Abraham/tribe of Benjamin)…
- All of the Apostles and everyone in the church up to Acts 10 were Jews!
- They are the proof that God has not rejected Israel – Jews were/are still being saved…
- It would be like asking – does anyone in the ‘bukid’ desire to follow Jesus…
- Now the answer might be – not many – but we are here…
- God has not cast away His people – whom He foreknew…
- God promised to the nation of Israel would always be His people…
- Jeremiah 31:36 – “I am as likely to reject my people Israel as I am to do away with the laws of nature!”
- As long as the sun rises – waves crash on the seashore – Israel is God’s nation!
- Even thought they were hard – they did not want to receive Jesus – God was not done…
- Since God can’t break His Word – forsake Israel – that means God also cannot reject us…
- That should bring great comfort to our hearts – it means no matter how bad we get…
- Like the parable of the ‘Lost sheep’ – Matthew 18:12 – God never gives up on us…
- If a sheep sees a hole – thinks that ‘looks like fun’ – jumps in – then complains he fell…
- When the shepherd pulls him out – the sheep looks back at the hole again – ‘looks fun’…
- Like sheep we can be really dumb – we follow the crowd away from our shepherd…
- But Jesus is never ever farther away than turning around (repentance)
- He is always right there looking for us when we wander – seeking His lost lamb
- Replacement Theology…
- The remnant… vs. 4-6
- Just as in the days of the prophet Elijah – I Kings 18:21-40
- Elijah was a prophet to the Northern tribes of Israel during the reign of King Ahab…
- The people of Israel had all forsaken God – and begun worshiping false gods…
- Elijah faced off against 400 prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel…
- Two sacrifices – two alters – the one whose God lit the alter was the true God…
- God won the contest – and Elijah put to death the 400 prophets of Baal…
- Jezebel – the wife of King Ahab – heard what Elijah had done…
- I Kings 19:2 – “May the gods also kill me if by this time tomorrow I have failed to take your life like those whom you killed.”
- Elijah ran for his life – to the mountain of God – Mt. Sinai…
- Elijah felt like he was the only one left who wanted to follow the Lord…
- And all the people around him wanted to kill him for following the Lord!
- I Kings 19:4 – “‘I have had enough, LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life…’”
- Overwhelmed – Elijah was done – exhausted – lonely – wiped out…
- When everyone we know does not want to go to church – or hear about Jesus…
- When we are under constant pressure to conform to the world around us…
- It is easy sometimes to think we stand alone – the whole world is against us…
- It can seem an insurmountable task to simply stand up for Jesus…
- A remnant – chosen by God (election) saved by Grace…
- But when God spoke to Elijah – in a still small voice – there at Mt. Sinai…
- I Kings 19:18 – “You are not the only one left. I have seven thousand others…”
- 1st – One person – with God on their side – equals the majority! – Romans 8:31
- 2nd – We do not stand alone – God always has a remnant that stands with us…
- We may not know – till we get to heaven – just how many people really love Jesus…
- But no matter how dark/difficult things seem to be – we are never alone…
- In fact – often its when we stand up for Jesus – we find we are not alone
- It gives boldness to others – who are quietly on the side – to stand for Jesus too!
- I was attending the party of an unsaved coworker– invited to go to a strip bar…
- When I stood up and refused to go – I faced a lot of ridicule / mocked
- But not only did they see Jesus in me – it gave a friend the strength to stand up too!
- Elijah was a prophet to the Northern tribes of Israel during the reign of King Ahab…
- Just as in the days of the prophet Elijah – I Kings 18:21-40
God’s plan for Israel… vs.7-14
One day all of Israel will be saved!
Their fall… vs. 7-11
So what then – the whole nation of Israel wasn’t saved – just those whom God choose…
All the rest of Israel was hardened (Passive/Indicative) to the truth of the Gospel…
Isaiah 29:10 – Eyes that cannot see – ears that cannot hear – to this very day…
‘Spirit of slumber’ – only here in the NT – over stimulated into apathy…
The idea being they heard about God so much – became calloused to the message…
Much the same as today – if you ask people if they have heard about Jesus – yes…
But they have heard the ‘message’ so many times – they are calloused to its truth…
People think they are going to heaven – because they ‘know about’ Jesus…
They do not know – nor are they willing to see – they do not ‘know Jesus’ personally!
Psalms 69:22-23 – Blinded – in bondage (bow down / bent back)…
The Jews had been freed from slavery – but they choose to go back into bondage…
Rather than receive the freedom that Jesus offered through the Cross…
They choose to live under the Law – blinded to the freedom in Grace…
Most people today choose to be under the Law – rules and traditions…
Bound to rules – baptize you children / go to church on ‘Holy Friday – kiss Jesus…
Bound to fear – don’t sweep your house at night / don’t break a termite mound…
Instead of the incredible freedom that comes from the Grace of God…
We don’t have to do anything – God changes our heart so we want to!
We have nothing to fear – our Father is greater than anything in this world!
So the Jews stumbled at Jesus – but not so they would fall…
It was through their ‘fall’ – salvation came to the gentiles!
If the Jews had embraced the Gospel – the believers would have stayed in Israel…
But instead they faced ‘persecution’ – to chase, hunt, pursue, persecute…
The result of the persecution – the disciples were scattered all over the world…
Acts 1:8 – “You shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
It’s easy to get comfortable in the familiar – so sometimes God shakes things up
Persecution in the Christian walk is not an option – John 16:33
God allows challenges to come into our lives to stir us up
To make us dependant on Him rather than on the familiar…
Their restoration… vs. 12-15
Paul – speaking as the Apostle to the gentiles – lets us know…
God saved us (the gentiles) to provoke the Jews to jealousy – so they’d want Jesus too…
God intended to make the Jews jealous of the work He was doing in the gentiles!
When God takes care of all our needs – as He promises to do…
When we have peace in the midst of turmoil – confidence in difficulties…
The Lord will pour out His blessings on His kids – because He loves us…
But also to provoke those around us to jealousy – so they might accept Jesus too…
Since Israel’s fall was riches to the world / their failure riches to the gentiles…
Since their being cast away – was the reconciling of the world to God…
How much more their fullness / their acceptance will be life from the dead…
It is true that by rejecting and crucifying Jesus – the Jews gave the world salvation…
By rejecting the Gospel – persecuting the church – the Gospel went into all the world
But God still has a plan for Israel – He is not finished with them by any means…
Not only are there still Jews who are being saved – Galatians 3:28
Leave a Reply