Last week, we established that God could not ever turn His back on Israel. We ended our journey in Hosea last week, and in that book, we are reminded that even though Israel has prostituted herself with other gods, they are still loved by God, and one day He will redeem them. God put Israel back in the Promised Land in May 1948, and they will not be moved again. In fact, Jesus will come and reign from Jerusalem itself. But as yet, there is a wall between them and God, a roadblock that hampers them, and that roadblock is Jesus. So, this week we will take a look at the issue at hand.
Vs 1-3, there is a zeal for God; this is the problem with a lot of religions. They have a seal for God, but they want to do it their way. SDA churches, Mormons, Catholics, Church of England and others all have a zeal for God. But sadly, the zeal is not according to knowledge. When we meet Paul in Acts 9, he too had a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge; Paul is the human picture of Israel the nation. But as we know, Paul was saved, and so too will Israel be one day.
Vs 8-13, we will see that there is a huge difference between those with religion and those in relationship with God. There are those with zeal who are trying to work their way to Heaven. Entering into the abyss or heaven refers to those that would do all kinds of grandiose things to be saved. Some, like the Seventh Day Adventists, want to be Jews. They observe Sabbaths and all the rules they think, but obviously ignore others. They are sure that keeping the Law will get them to Heaven. The Jews are the same to this day.
Even in the days when Jesus walked the earth, their big thing was ‘we are children of Abraham.’ Jesus kept telling them, and He is still telling them that salvation is by faith only. We need to stop, and the Jews as well need to stop trying to buy God’s favor. Once we get to the end of our works, then end of our efforts, then we see that we need to simply fall on God’s mercy and grace. Faith in the person and work of Jesus is all, and the only way of salvation. Some folks would rather work to go the Hell than trust Jesus and go to Heaven.
Once Paul became a believer in Jesus, he immediately began to preach Jesus to others, Acts 9: 20-22. One of the greatest signs that you are saved is the desire to share the Good News with others. You desire to share that Jesus is God, and you want to help others know about what you have as well. It is hard to keep it inside. One day soon, the Jews, as recorded in the Revelation, will be our calling other Jews to Jesus. Sadly, for now, the Jews are still blind. We are promised in Zechariah 12:10-13 that one day soon they will see and recognize Jesus. They will cry out to Him and weep over Him.
There are ministries like ‘Jews for Jesus’ that actively pursue Jews with the Gospel. God is calling still, reaching out still, and like He promises in 2 Peter 3:9, He is patient and wants all, not only Jews, to repent.
Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church
70 Victoria Street, Elora, Ontario
The post Romans 10: The Law vs Grace :: By Sean Gooding appeared first on Rapture Ready.
Leave a Reply