God’s Faithfulness to His Beloved

 


[N.T.] Wright dismissed the idea that the modern state of Israel represents the fulfillment of biblical prophecy. “A totally unbiblical idea,” Wright declared regarding the belief that Israel fulfills Scripture. https://www.faithfreedomreport.com/n-t-wright-urges-christians-to-separate-faith-from-support-for-israel/

“Totally Unbiblical?” Let’s take a look:

Genesis 17:8 And “I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession, and I will be their God.” 

Genesis 13:15 “for all the land that you see I will give to you and to your offspring forever.”

Opposition to Israel will prove costly: Isaiah 41:8–11 “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off; fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish.

God’s enduring love for Israel

Deuteronomy 30:6–9 And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. And the LORD your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. And you shall again obey the voice of the LORD and keep all his commandments that I command you today. The LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers,


Those who repent of their opposition will be blessed: Zechariah 8:21–23 …”‘Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD and to seek the LORD of hosts; I myself am going.’ Many peoples and strong nations shall come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD. Thus says the LORD of hosts: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.’ ”

God will restore Israel: Zechariah 10:8–9 “I will whistle for them and gather them in, for I have redeemed them, and they shall be as many as they were before. Though I scattered them among the nations, yet in far countries they shall remember me, and with their children they shall live and return.

Isaiah 43:1–5 But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior…Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.

Isaiah 49:14–16 But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands

This is only a very small collection of verses demonstrating God’s faithfulness to Israel, but Wright also charges, without any evidence, that the Jews who now occupy Israel aren’t the Jews of the Bible. Well who are they? Hitler had no doubt about their Jewish identity nor do the Muslims. More importantly, we can be assured that the Messiah didn’t bring the wrong people back to their Promised  home. Attempts to claim that the DNA evidence invalidates Israel’s claim to the land have been entirely debunked.

Besides, God’s miraculous workings on behalf of Israel also testify in favor of His Chosen people now occupying the Promised Land. No other people have ever returned  to their land after leaving or be being expelled. However, this miracle has been visited upon Israel three times. 

Israel has not only been the recipient of God’s blessings (rebuilding their nation out of sand dunes into a great and prosperous Israel) but they have also received His curses as well, more than any other nation. Nevertheless, Israel’s God remains faithful even by raising the remnant from the dead:

Ezekiel 37:12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.”

Church, State, and Voting

 

 

Sadly, many Christians believe that the Church should keep politics out of the pulpit. However, every political opinion is a product of morality. Consequently, the question of abortion is political but also moral, and it is a moral question addressed in the Bible. This is also true of the role of the State and that of the Church and it’s Bible.

 

But cannot we entrust these political issues to the Lord like that of illegal aliens and the quest of Islam for world domination?  Certainly these questions fall with the purview of our God, but don’t we also have a role to play even if just a minor role of voting and the Church offering some insight into these issues?

 

Shouldn’t the German Church have sounded a warning against Hitler and the American Church against the evils of slavery?

 

Don’t we also have a role to play in the face of evil? Can we simply wash our hands of this by claiming “We have to just trust in God?” Of course we must trust in God, but shouldn’t we also assume some responsibility if we see someone being mugged, bullied or raped?  Can we shirk our responsibility by claiming that the Lord will take care of this?

 

The Church must not shirk its responsibility. It must expose evil and intervene as the “Righteous Among the Gentiles” had done for the Jews. Our Lord has warned that we too are responsible:

Proverbs 24:10–12 If you faint in the day of adversity, your strength is small. Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay man according to his work?

How Should Christians Regard Israel?

 

 

 

How should we regard Israel and the Jews? If we are concerned about aligning our opinions with the God of the Bible, the answer is quite plain. Even though Israel has often rebelled against their God, He remains faithful to them:

 

Deuteronomy 30:6–9 And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart [regeneration] and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. And the LORD your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. And you shall again obey the voice of the LORD and keep all his commandments that I command you today. The LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers.

 

Israel is God’s sign people. They have been cursed and yet blessed beyond any other people. Israel is almost universally hated but yet profoundly blessed. The evidence of this is evident. The Jews have once again received their Promised Land of sand dunes and have transformed it into the world’s most prosperous and productive nation by the hand of God.

However, the democratic party, instead of aligning with God and His plan, has chosen to hate Israel and the Jews in favor of Islam, their violence, deceptions, and their attempts to subject the entire world to Shariah at whatever cost. 

The knowledgeable Christian has no basis to regard Israel and the Jews with contempt. To do so is to regard both themselves and their God with contempt. For one thing, the true Christian is also spiritually a Jew

:  Galatians 3:28–29 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise. 

Therefore, for a Christian to hate Jews is a form of self-hate. To fail to see this is to align ourselves with Satan’s designs and His hatred of all the things of God. (revelation 12).

Israel and the Jews

 

 

How should we regard Israel and the Jews? If we are concerned about aligning our opinions with the God of the Bible, the answer is quite plain. Even though Israel has often rebelled against their God, He remains faithful to them:

 

Deuteronomy 30:6–9 And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart [regeneration] and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. And the LORD your God will put all these curses on your foes and enemies who persecuted you. And you shall again obey the voice of the LORD and keep all his commandments that I command you today. The LORD your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the LORD will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers.

 

Israel is God’s sign people. They have been cursed and yet blessed beyond any other people. Israel is almost universally hated but yet profoundly blessed. The evidence of this is evident. The Jews have once again received their Promised Land of sand dunes and have transformed it into the world’s most prosperous and productive nation by the hand of God.

 

However, the democratic party, instead of aligning with God and His plan, has chosen to hate Israel and the Jews in favor of Islam, their violence, deceptions, and their attempts to subject the entire world to Shariah at whatever cost.

 

Deception? (Taqiyya)

Beware of any proclamations coming from Muslims. Why? Because Allah, their role model, is the greatest deceiver:

 

Quran 3:54  But they (the Jews) were deceptive, and Allah was deceptive, for Allah is the best of deceivers  (8:30)

 

Quran 3:27] “Let not the believers take the disbelievers for friends rather than believers. And whoever does this has no connection with Allah unless it is done [deceptively] to guard yourselves against them, guarding carefully.

 

Quran 3:32  Say, "Obey Allah and the Messenger." But if they turn away - then indeed, Allah does not like the disbelievers.

 

Perhaps more than ever, our vote carries moral implications and consequences.

 

 

Thursday: Biblical Life, Counseling & the Bible https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87082894562?pwd=ZEQvRFNrdFpxaXpBbklweVVPK2o3QT09 Meeting ID: 870 8289 4562 Passcode: 859663

 

Intimacy with God

 

Intimacy with God depends on our Knowledge of God  Jeremiah 9:23–24 Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.”

 

Therefore Jesus prayed:  John 17:26 “I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

 

Colossians 3:10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

 

To Know How Much We have been Forgiven—>feeling Grateful: Luke 7:47–48 NLT “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.” (Must we become greater sinners?)

 

To know His love: Isaiah 43:1–2,4 …“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the  rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be…Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you…

 

To Know that He Suffers as We Suffer: Isaiah 63:8-9 And he became their Savior. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. (Jesus wept?)

 

Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.

 

Knolwdge of God-->Intimacy with God: 2 Peter 1:2–3 May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence,

 

Knowledge of our Unworthiness-->Appreciation for Christ-->Intimacy

 Baptist To grow less in our self-estimation is to esteem Jesus More: John 3:27–30 …“A person cannot receive even one [good?] thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.” (Addiction to high SE; Anita)

 

1 Timothy 1:13–16 I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy because I had acted ignorantly in unbelief, and the grace of our Lord overflowed for me with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. (If you are haunted by past sins, what’s the lesson?)

 

Does Jesus want to build our SE? Luke 17:10 “So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ ” (gratefulness? What if we thought ourselves worthy of God?)

 

Matthew 8:8–10 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.”

 

 1 Corinthians 1:29–31 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, [Everything?] so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (Why? Boast in ourselves? Paul boasted that he was a nothing. SE-V Anita)

 

Numbers 12:3, 5–13 "Now the man Moses was very humble [No Self-confidence of worthiness] more than any other person on earth…And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed. When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned. Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” And Moses cried to the LORD, “O God, please heal her—please.”

 

Can We Lose Our Salvation? Are we safe in Him?

 

Dan Delzell has written against the Catholic denial that we can have assurance that we that we are eternally saved. In contrast he cites Cardinal Robert Bellarmine (1542-1621): "The greatest of all Protestant heresies is assurance." (eastern Orthodox)

 

As another ex-Catholic  put it: "Learning about mortal sin in Catholic middle school religion class was the first step on my journey to atheism. I remember thinking: 'I could live my entire life as a devout Catholic, only to commit a mortal sin, get hit by a bus, and go to Hell.' I concluded that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the sacerdotal treadmill of mortal sin and confession; I would end up condemned anyway. The only hope, it seemed, was that God did not exist." (Assurance?) https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/other/apostle-peter-vs-modern-catholicism-whose-view-on-assurance-is-right/ar-AA22zVsw

 

However, Scripture provides an alternative hope: Romans 8:38–39 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (This also includes us.)

 

John 10:28-29 "I [Jesus] give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand."

 

John 3:16–17 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

 

1 Peter 1:4–5 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

 

Jeremiah 32:40 I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.

 

John 6:39-40 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day."

 

But are we saved? Luke 17:10 So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ ” (Why then does He save us?)

 

Romans 10:12–13 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

 

But do I have enough faith? Hebrews 11:29 By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. (Can Jesus multiply our mustard seed? Context?)

John 3:14–16 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

 

How blessed we are that we can trust in our Savior and in His gift of salvation: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Do we deserve salvation? Why then does He save us?)

 

If we refuse to trust in Christ and instead trust in our own goodness, we will either become proud or depressed as we observe the truth about our moral poverty.

 

Those who turn away from the faith: 1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out that it might become plain that they all are not of us.