| May 24, 1998 |
Vol. I, No. 4
|
Many Bible students are closely watching the events taking place in the land of Palestine with the view that God has not yet fulfilled His promises regarding fleshly Israel. A careful study of God’s word should dispel such thinking.
In Gen. 12:7, God promised Abraham, “To your descendants I will give this land.” See also Gen. 13:14-15; 15:18. This promise was fulfilled, as recorded in Josh. 21:43-45, “So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it... Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.”
Later, after the descendants of Abraham had rebelled against God, and after the house of Judah was taken into Babylonian captivity, God promised to restore the Jews to the land of Canaan after 70 years in Babylon. For the fulfillment of such promises, see Ezra 1:1-4 and related passages.
Christ has taken away the law given to Israel on Mount Sinai and nailed it to the cross, Col. 2:14-16, breaking down the wall of separation between Jews and Gentiles, Eph. 2:11-17, and establishing one fold of which He is the one shepherd, John 10:16; Eph. 4:4-6. Even though there is now no distinction between Jews and Gentiles, Acts 15:9; Rom. 10:12, there is an Israel of God today, a spiritual Israel. The Israel of God today is made up of the descendants of Abraham by FAITH, and NOT BY FLESH! This is firmly established by Divine revelation.
“For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that
which is outward in the flesh; but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and
circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter, whose
praise is not from men but from God” (Rom. 2:28-29). God selected
Abraham to “be the father of all those who believe though they are
uncircumcised,” (Rom. 4:11). See also Rom. 4:12-16 and Phil.
3:3.
Any promises to Israel that are being fulfilled today are being fulfilled in spiritual Israel, those of the faith, the heirs according to the promise. Fleshly Jews need the same thing to make them heirs according to the promise as do Gentiles. They must hear, believe, and obey the gospel of Jesus Christ, Rom. 1:16; Gal. 3:26-27.
The God who could have turned stones into descendants of Abraham (Matt. 3:9) has chose all who put their trust in the Lord Jesus, in obedience to His commands. Fleshly Israel has no hope today apart from the hope of other nationalities or ethnic groups. There is but one hope for all, Eph. 4:4, with Christ as its source and eternal life in heaven as its object.
--CRJ
I am fortunate to have been raised in a Christian household. As a family we always worshiped at congregations which were small in number. There are times when I would feel that I (or we) were the only one(s) who were serving God. Some of my fondest memories as a child were when Gospel Meetings were held both at Gettysburg, (I grew up there,) and at neighboring congregations. Not only were we edified by hearing another message from God’s Word, but we were also strengthened by the visitors from other congregations. When visiting other congregations we were also encouraging to those brethren. We at the Susquehanna church of Christ have always been encouraged when we have had visitors attend our Gospel Meetings from neighboring congregations. Let us then, make an effort to visit them when they are holding their Gospel Meetings. Visiting during their meetings will not only edify us, but will be of encouragement to them as well.
--Percy R. Wilson, Jr.
One of the most fascinating events surrounding the birth of Jesus was the visit of the wise men from the East. Who were they? Where did they come from? What was the star that led them? How did they know what it meant? The only authoritative source of information we have is the record of the apostle Matthew in Matthew 2:1-12.
There are, of course, some things about the wise men and their visit that we cannot know, because it has not been revealed. There are some things we can know. We cannot know how many wise men there were, for the Bible doesn't say. We cannot know their names. We cannot know of a certainty from what country they came, but we learn from verse 12 that they were all from the same country, thus they were not "three kings" as suggested by a familiar song. No country has three kings at the same time. We do not know exactly when they came to Bethlehem. The Bible does not tell us the month, day or year of the birth of Jesus, nor how long after his birth the wise men appeared. We do know that Jesus was no longer in a manger, but was dwelling in a house, verse 11.
We know the wise men were not familiar with the Hebrew Scriptures, else they would not have needed to ask Herod where the young king was to be born, verses 1-6. It is possible that they were familiar with the prophecy of the Gentile prophet, Balaam, as recorded in Numbers 24:17.
We know that the star which led them was supernatural. It is useless to try to explain it otherwise. It appeared, led them west toward Jerusalem, disappeared, then re-appeared and led them south to Bethlehem. Finally, it hovered over the precise house in which Jesus and His family were lodged. No natural star could have done all this. The star that led the wise men was a special sign from God. It is most likely that the wise men had been in direct communication with God to know what the star meant and what they should do about it. We know for certain that they were in direct communication with God in the matter of going home by a different route, verse 12.
We know these men traveled a long distance. Their journey was costly in a number of ways. A great deal of time was involved. It required a cessation of other activities. The trip must have been quite costly in supplies, lodging, etc. There was also the danger of robbers, but none of these things kept wise men from seeking Christ.
We know that their finding Him was not a coincidence. They found Him because they were seeking Him. They worshiped Christ and gave Him gifts. There is no evidence that they worshiped His mother. Even though they were not familiar with the Scriptures, they were willing to believe and be corrected by them as they learned. Wise men--and women still seek Jesus today.
--CRJ
"Let all that you do be done in love"
In his book, RACCOON JOHN SMITH, published in 1963, Louis Cochran quotes the words spoken by Godly pioneer preacher, “Raccoon John Smith, on January 1, 1832. More than 150 years later, we are still able to commend those words to you.
“God has but one people on earth. He has given them but one Book, and therein exhorts and commands them to be of one family. But an amalgamation of sects, is not such a union as Christ prayed for. To agree to unite upon any system of human invention would be contrary to His will. The only union practical or desirable must be based on the Word of God as the only rule of faith and practice.
“...There is but one faith, yet there may be 10,000 opinions. Hence, if Christians are ever to be one, they must be one in faith and action, not in opinion. When certain subjects arise, even in conversation or social discussion, about which there is contrary opinion, speak of them in the words of the Scripture, and no offense will be given, and no pride of doctrine encouraged. We may then come to the end by thus speaking the same things, to think the same things, and to be of one mind and body in Christ. [The Bible] is the foundation on which Christians once stood, and on it they can and must stand again. While for the sake of peace I have long since waived the public utterance of any speculations I may hold, yet not one single gospel act, commandment or promise will I surrender for the world. One faith, one God, one baptism, one book, one name, one brotherhood! By this shall all men know that we are His disciples, that we have love one to the other.
“Let us then, my brethren, be no longer Campbellites or Stoneites, Old Lights or New Lights, or any other kind of lights. But let us come to the Bible and the Bible alone, as the only book in creation which can give us all the Light we need! Let us stand together united in the church of Christ as His disciples and as Christians only!”
Unfortunately, many in the so-called “restoration movement” have earned for themselves the reputation of preaching unity and practicing division. Our influence for the Lord will never e what it should be and what it could be until we learn to apply to ourselves the time-worn slogan, “In matters of faith, unity; in matters of opinion, liberty; in all things, charity.”
--CRJ