I want to also welcome everybody
here. It's a blessing for us who deliver
messages to be able to look out over the audience and see individuals
here, that you all take the time out of the week to come here
in God's house to listen to God's word and listen to his gospel. and to identify with the other
believers that are here. And we thank you so much for
being here this morning. This morning, I got a message.
The title is the Israel of God. There's so much confusion and
has been over the years concerning the old covenant, new covenant,
the nation Israel, And the confusion is not only outside of Christianity,
but within so-called Christianity today, only in name only. But there's so much confusion
concerning this nation of Israel. But this morning, we're going
to talk about the Israel of God, the true Israel of God. Just to give you a little background,
and bear with me this morning, I got a lot of scripture, a lot
of notes, so give you a little background. Before we begin the
message, the Apostle Paul made it clear back in chapter 7 that
the ground and assurance of a Christian's hope is the righteousness of
Christ wrought out by his suffering and death on the cross. This
is the righteousness of God that the scripture talks about. That
righteousness that's charged and imputed to the account of
each and every one of God's elect. This is the righteousness whereby
God justifies his elect. Salvation is by grace, not by
sinners' efforts in keeping the law Paul closes out chapter eight
in stating that nothing can be laid to the charge of God's elect
because it's God that justifies. He goes on to state that nothing
can separate us, his elect, nothing can separate us from the love
of God that's entirely in the person and work of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Then he opens up in chapter nine
with his sorrow, as Mark read, for the Jews, the nation Israel,
his kinsmen according to the flesh. The Apostle Paul in these
first four verses here in chapter nine, or Romans, speaks of his
feelings toward his kinsmen, the nation Israel. He makes these
statements in verse two, I have a great heaviness and continual
sorrow in my heart. Verse three said, for I could
wish myself a curse for Christ, for my brethren. Then in verse
four, he identifies, he says, who are Israelites. Then Paul
goes on to talk about all of those advantages that the nation
Israel had under the old covenant. As we look, at the first part
of Romans 4 here, Romans 9 verse 4, that begins with the phrase,
who are Israelites? Not asking a question, but making
a statement that the Apostle Paul's kinsmen, according to
the flesh, they were Israelites. There are a lot of scripture
that distinguishes between physical Israel and spiritual Israel. And what scripture means when
it says, all Israel shall be saved. by which is meant all
of spiritual Israel, all who are in Christ, God's elect, God's
sheep, God's adopted children, those he chose before the foundation
of this earth, those that God the Father give him, give to
Christ in that everlasting covenant. Christ himself says, all that
the Father giveth me shall come to me. Now, all Israel shall
be saved, but first we need to understand that the true Israel
of God are not the natural descendants of Abraham. The true Israel of
God are the spiritual descendants of Abraham. Abraham was the father
of the nation from whom Christ sprang, who is the author and
the finisher of our faith. And all of God's children are
children of faith. As the Holy Spirit puts it in
Philippians 3.3, we are the circumcision which worship God in the spirit
and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.
The word of God shows this to us with much clarity. The natural
physical seed of Abraham, Jews or Israelites, after the flesh
are not the people of God by right of their physical birth.
It is true that God made definite promises to the physical seed
of Abraham, which were all physically fulfilled in the days of Joshua. Look at Joshua 21, beginning
with verse 43. And the Lord gave unto Israel
all the land which he swore to give unto their fathers, and
they possessed it and dwelt therein. And the Lord gave them rest about,
round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers.
And there stood not a man of all their enemies before them.
The Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. There
fell not aught of any good which the Lord had spoken unto the
house of Israel. All came to pass. All of these
promises made by God to the physical nation of Israel was fulfilled
upon condition of their obedience. But scripture's clear that the
majority of this nation Israel, after the flesh, has denied Christ
and has been judged by God for having done so. Look at what
our Lord says in Matthew 23. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou
that killest the prophets and stonest them which are sent unto
thee, How often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and you would
not. Behold, your houses lift unto
you desolate. For I say unto you, you shall
not see me henceforth till you shall say, blessed is he that
cometh in the name of the Lord. This is Christ speaking. Now
we'll pick up with verse four of Roman nine as Paul continues
to talk about this nation Israel and all of those advantages that
they had and that they were the nation that God had chosen to
reveal himself to at that time. Now Romans nine four, like I
said, it starts out with who are Israelites. which were Paul's
kindling according to the flesh, to whom pertain or who have a
connection with or relation to, then it says that relation is,
and then it says the adoption. Of course, this wouldn't refer
to Israel. This is referring to Israel's
national adoption and not an eternal adoption. Then it says,
and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and
the service of God, and the promises. We'll go over each one of these
that Paul mentions here in verse four, that describes all of these
advantages that the nation Israel had. Now, beginning with there
in Romans four, it talks about the adoption. This was their
national adoption. God chose the nation to be an
instrument of his purpose and will to receive his special calling,
covenants, and temporal blessings, and to serve as his witness to
a godless world, as emphasized by God's charge to Moses on Mount
Sinai in Exodus 19, 6, where it says, and you shall be unto
me a kingdom of priests and a holy That is a dedicated set apart
for a specific purpose, a holy nation. These are the words which
thou shall speak unto the children of Israel, God telling Moses. National Israel was chosen by
God to be separate from all those other nations of the earth at
that time. And devoted to the worship and
service of God, having holy laws and holy ordinances and holy
service and a holy place to perform it. Israel as a nation failed
in this charge, but God preserved them under that old covenant
to accomplish his will and to bring Christ into the world to
save his people from their sins, Jew and Gentile. We must understand
that this national adoption was not a national salvation in an
eternal sense. God doesn't save nations eternally.
He saves individuals, sinners, and he saves them by his grace
in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul later shows how that those
who were children in a national sense are not the children of
God in a spiritual sense. Romans 9 beginning verse 7 says,
neither because they are the seed of Abraham, that is the
physical seed, are they all children. But in Isaac shall thy seed be
called, that is, they which are the children of the flesh, that
is the physical children of Abraham. These are not the children of
God, but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.
Scripture's clear. that just because you're a physical
descendant of Abraham and an Israelite by birth, this doesn't
make you a child of God. The children of promise are spiritual
Israel, God's elect from every kindred, tongue, and nation. These are the true Israel of
God. The question is then asked, who
are the children of the promise? Who are the children of the promise?
Well, they're those whom God promises to save out of Adam's
fallen race, Jew and Gentile, not based on their works, but
based entirely on Christ and his righteousness alone. The
children of the promise are all those that come to believe the
gospel in time. This gospel of God's grace, the
gospel which is a product of an eternal covenant of grace,
which is a covenant of promise made before the world was ever
created. In Galatians 3, beginning at
verse 28, it says, there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither
bond nor free, there is neither male or female, for you are all
one in Christ Jesus. And if you be Christ, then you're
Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. So the priest,
The gospel is to preach the terms of that covenant, the promise.
God's gospel of grace is God's eternal salvation and final glory,
conditioned on the Lord Jesus Christ alone. It proclaims to
helpless, depraved sinners that God will save sinners for Christ's
sake alone. Now we'll pick back up at Romans
9-4. It says, and the glory. I'm talking about
the advantages that the nation Israel had under that old covenant. It says, and the glory. The glory
here describes the abiding presence of God in the tabernacle, the
ark, the pillar of cloud and fire, and the rock that Moses
struck, as well as other instances of God's Shekinah glory, or the
glory of redemption. Israel was very privileged to
have the glory, but the majority of them did not see that spiritual
glory as all these things were in types and pictures, the glory
of redemption, all which pictured Christ and his obedience unto
death. True believers see the glory
of God, and they see it in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Corinthians
4 verse 6 says, for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness
has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of
the glory of God in the face and the person and the word of
Jesus Christ. This glory is hidden from unbelievers.
According to 2 Corinthians 3 verse 14, it says, but their minds
were blinded. For until this day remaineth
the same veil untaken away in the reading of the Old Testament. Which veil is done away in Christ?
But even unto this day when Moses is read, the veil is upon their
heart. Nevertheless, when it shall turn
to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away. Now verse 16 here
is referring to when they shall turn or be turned. by the Spirit
and power and grace of God, and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ,
whether they be Jew or Gentile, for they shall look upon Christ,
whom they have pierced, and they shall embrace him as the true
Messiah and only Savior. There is a remnant, according
to the election of grace, from all these nations also, whether
it be Israel, whether it be Jew and Gentile. The veil of blindness,
the blindness of ignorance, and the way of salvation by Christ
alone, that veil of unbelief shall be taken away, that they
shall see the glory of God, and they shall see it in the face
of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is applied not only to Jews,
as I said, but also to Gentiles. 2 Corinthians 4, beginning at
verse 3. says, but if thy gospel be hid,
it's hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world
hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light
of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should
shine unto them. The gospel of Christ, excuse
me, the gospel of Christ is glorious because it reveals Christ and
his work of redemption. Let's look at the conversation
that Moses had with God as he stood on Mount Sinai. Exodus
33, beginning at verse 18. And he said, I beseech thee,
show me thy glory. This is Moses speaking. And God
said, I will make my goodness pass before thee, and I will
proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. and be gracious
to whom I will be gracious, and will show mercy on whom I will
show mercy. And he said, thou canst not see
my face, for there shall no man see me and live. Continuing here
in verse 21, and the Lord said, behold, there is a place by me,
and thou shalt stand upon a rock, and it shall come to pass while
my glory passes by, that I will put thee in the cliff of the
rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by. And I will take away mine hand,
and thou shalt see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen. God's glory is in Christ alone,
salvation by him. God hides us in the cliff of
the rock, which is Christ, and in these cliffs, of the rock,
the saints of God dwell by faith, as they look to Christ alone
for all their salvation and final glory. Then it says here, going
on here, it talks about in verse four, and the covenants and the
giving of the law. Now, this is not speaking of
the two testaments, old and new, but the covenant of circumcision
made with Abraham, their father, and the giving of the law at
Sinai. And they entered in too with
the Lord. The Lord raised up that nation
of Israel above all the nations of the earth and committed to
them the law and the prophets. And God told them in Deuteronomy
7-7, the Lord did not set, speaking of Israel, that nation, the Lord
did not set his love upon you, Of course, this is not a redemptive
love that we're talking about here. Then it says, he didn't
choose you because you were more in number than any other people,
for you were the fewest of all people. Now, Young's literal
translation does not use the word love, but rather says this,
because of your being more numerous than any of the peoples, hath
Yahweh delighted in you. Now, concerning the advantages
that the physical nation had, the Apostle Paul says here in
Romans 3, beginning at verse 1, what advantage then hath the
Jew, if they had all these advantages? Or what profit is there in circumcision?
much every way, chiefly because unto them were committed the
oracles of God. That's what Paul is responding
here. God made a conditional covenant
with them which required their strict obedience. God gave them
instructions on what to do in every phase of life. He also
gave them the sacrificial system with all of its laws in order
to give them relief temporal relief whenever they disobey
his law. All of these things were in place
to point sinners to Christ for salvation. God's purpose in raising
the Jewish nation up was twofold. First of all, is that he would
demonstrate in all those pictures and all those types that he'd
given He was to demonstrate in all these pictures and types
to men his sovereign prerogative to love and to cherish a people
of his choice. Even as he said in Romans 9.13,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Secondly, he would
expose the impotence and inability of men, all men, to obey the
law and to keep that covenant, thereby demonstrating the natural
unrighteousness of any who should be called the sons of God and
the absolute necessity of an imputed righteousness by which
they might be able to stand before God at judgment. All these things
pictured in typified Christ. But the majority of the nation
Israel missed it, they missed Christ, and they only saw their
participation in these things as recommending them to God.
Those who were Jews or Israelites by natural birth have for the
most part stumbled at the revelation of Jesus Christ as their righteousness. Because they have continued to
seek to establish their own righteousness in the sight of God by an outward
conformity to the letter of Moses, letter of the law, or at least
by an adherence to the moral code. Look at Romans 9.31. But Israel, which followed after
the law of righteousness, hath not obtained to the law of righteousness,
wherefore, or why? because they sought it not by
faith, but as it were by deed, by the works of the law. For
they stumbled at that stumbling stone. As it is written, behold,
I lay inside a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whosoever
believeth on him shall not be ashamed. Also look at Romans
10, verse 3. It says, Paul here speaking of
his kinsmen, according to the flesh, nation Israel, for they
being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish
their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God. What is being said of the Jews
here can also be said to the Gentile. In fact, the vast majority
of the Gentiles have adopted the same notion and do indeed
perish in their supposed righteousness and confidence in their acts
of religion and faith. By nature, we are no different
than those Jews that rejected Christ, by nature. We all rejected
Christ when we were sitting in a religious assembly going about
to establish a righteousness of our own, totally ignorant
of Christ's righteousness alone as being the only ground and
basis of a sinner's salvation. We can't look back and say, oh,
what an awful people they were when we all, by nature, did the
same thing, when God brought us out of false religion and
revealed to us the truth of the gospel. Thank God. for his great love and mercy,
that he did one day bring us out of false
religion. Now, also, then it talks about
the service of God. This refers to the tabernacle,
temple, and the priestly service, which showed the one and only
way of acceptance with and worship to God. Again, this service was
given to him to point him to Christ. but the majority refused
to believe. Consider the awful state that
that priestly office was in at the time of our Lord's incarnation
and ministry on this earth. Matthew 21 verse 15 says, and
when the chief priests and scribes, we're talking about the religious
leaders of that day, those were given this service of God, they
should have presented it a right to the people, but instead it
says, and when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful
things that Christ did, and the children crying in the temple
and saying hosanna to the son of David, they were so displeased. That is those chief priests and
scribes, religious leaders, also in Matthew 26 beginning verse
three. Then assembled together the chief
priest and the scribes and the elders of the people unto the
place of the high priest who was called Caiaphas and consulted
that they might take Jesus and subtly and kill him. As you can see, the priestly
office had totally forsaken the true God. And lastly, There in
four, verse four, it says they were also given the promises.
Then it says here about the promises that they were given. These were
covenant promises given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and their descendants. God gave the nation many promises
of temporal deliverance, guidance, protection, and provision. But
the main promise was to send the Messiah into the world to
save his people from their sin. That's the main promise. The
majority of the nation of Israel down through the time of the
old covenant refused to believe God's promise of eternal salvation
based on the blood and the righteousness of Christ alone. Hebrews 4 beginning at verse
1 says, let us therefore fear. lest a promise being left us
of entering into his rest, the rest of Christ. Any of you should
seem to come short of it, for unto us was the gospel preached
as well as unto them. But the word preached did not
profit them, not mixed with faith in them that heard it. Even though
national Israel had the promises of God preached to them, it didn't
profit them due to their unbelief. We preach the gospel all over
the world today. We preach it here in Albany.
We have it on television, on the airwaves, all over southwest
Georgia. We also have it on our internet
website, which carries it all over the world. But the vast
majority rejected. And why do they reject it? Well,
it's because of their self-righteous unbelief, which is the same reason
the Jewish nation rejected Christ. They hate the truth of free salvation,
a salvation that's not based on the sinner's works, but based
on the person and the work of Christ alone. And they love a
lie. The lie that God will accept
them based on their works and their law keeping. We've all
heard that lie. And so many of us, we hear it
from our parents, and they mean well when they tell you these
things concerning salvation. They mean well. But we've heard
it from religious leaders, all of them. And by nature, we kind
of like it like that. We like to believe it, too. See, we want to have a part in
our salvation in some way, even though it might be, well, you've
got to believe. You've got to have that faith.
In other words, Christ died for everybody. He died for the whole
world, universal atonement. But yet and still, his death
did not accomplish salvation because, no, he died, but you
got to believe to make it effectual. You got to put your stamp on
it. Somehow or another, you got to take part in it in some way. And we'll go as far as we can
trying to hold on to something that we can do to effect that
salvation. nature that we're born with.
Thank God that He came to us by His Spirit, opened our eyes
and our ears, caused us to not have any hope in anything that
we do or are unable to do, but entirely trust Christ for salvation. Now, let's look also At this
next part, it says, speaking of Israel and advantages, whose
are the fathers? This refers to their physical
connection to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were the patriarchs
of Israel. This connection was a great privilege,
but the problem was that the vast majority of the nation assumed
that their physical connection with the patriarchs ensured their
eternal salvation and acceptance before God. Had they believed
what Abraham believed, which was salvation by God's grace
in and by the promised Messiah, they would have benefited from
this privilege. Let's look at the conversation
Jesus had with a group of Jews in John 8, beginning at verse
32. And you shall know the truth,
and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, we be
Abraham's seed. And we're never in bondage to
any man. How sayest thou, you shall be
made free? Jesus answered them, verily,
verily, I say unto you, whosoever committed sin is a servant of
sin. Also in John 8, 35. And the servant
abideth not in the house forever, but the son abideth ever. If
the son, therefore, shall make you free, you shall be free indeed. I know that you are Abraham's
seed, but you seek to kill me because my word have no place
in you. Again, begin at verse 38. I speak that which I've seen
with my father, Christ said, and you do that which you've
seen with your father. They answered and said to him,
Abraham's our father. Abraham's our father. Jesus said
unto them, if you were Abraham's children, you would do the works
of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me,
a man that hath told you the truth which I have heard of God.
This did not Abraham. Abraham's our father, spiritual
father. He's the father of the faith.
You see, you can see by this conversation that the Jews were
looking at their pedigree and their physical connection with
Abraham to in some way recommend them to God. They were physical
Israelites, but they were not spiritual Israelites. Once again,
they stumble at the stumbling stone, which is Christ. Also
in verse five here, It says, concerning the flesh, Christ
came. This was the greatest of all
privileges God had given this nation. Jesus Christ, the Messiah,
was a direct descendant of David, according to Romans 1, 3, concerning
his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, which was made of the seed of
David, according to the flesh. The Messiah Christ that Israel
as a nation rejected was a Jew in his humanity. The Jews felt
that Jesus should have felt honored by being a Jew. The reality is
that the Son of God honored humanity when he became incarnate. But
he especially honored the Jews when he was born among them in his humanity. Now, Romans
9.5 once again, who is over all, God bless forever. Amen. Paul
makes it clear that Jesus, who was born of the Jews in his humanity,
he is God himself, Emmanuel, God with us. Jesus Christ is
truly one person who has two natures. Some preachers today say that
the believers have two natures. No, the only one ever had those
two natures was Christ. He was divine and he was human. The Jewish religious leaders
would not have him to be God according to John 8 beginning
verse 56, where Christ says, your father Abraham rejoiced
to see my day and he saw it and he was glad. Then said the Jews
unto him, Thou art yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen
Abraham? Jesus said unto them, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was I am. Then they took up stone to cast
at him. But Jesus hid himself and went
out into the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed
by. All true believers bowed to him,
as God incarnate. He had to be God in human flesh
yet without sin. Christ had to be as that sacrificial
lamb in that old covenant which pictured and typified Christ.
He had to be without spot or blemish in order to be able to
take our sins and die on the cross. The perfect lamb of God
without spot or blemish died in the stead of those that the
Father give him from all eternity. And he accomplished his work
in order to save us from our sins. He has to be God in human
flesh to be raised from the dead as the first fruits of his people.
He has to be God in human flesh in order to work out a perfect
righteousness by which God could justify an ungodly sinner. He has to be God in human flesh
in order to intercede for us, and to plead the merits of his
obedience unto death for our salvation. 1 Timothy 3, 16 says,
and without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness.
God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen
of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the
world, and received up in the glory. In closing, all of these
particular privileges given to the nation Israel, which are
mentioned in these verses by the Apostle Paul, all of this
is what heightened Paul's concern for his people, his kinsmen,
according to the flesh. All of this gave him much sorrow
in heart when he considered that the people who had been partakers
of so many privileges, and especially that the Messiah should spring
from them and be born of them and yet they should be given
up to ruin and destruction. Let's read again in closing.
Hebrews 4, beginning verse 1. This is Paul, I believe, here
in the book of Hebrews. Let us therefore fear, lest the
promise being left to us of entering into his rest. Any of you should
seem to come short of it. For unto us was the gospel preached
as well as to them, but the word preached did not profit them,
not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. I hope that this message is made
a little clearer, that salvation is not obtained by your works,
the will of man, and it's not obtained by where you're born,
whether it be a nation or a family, God's salvation has been obtained
and accomplished only by the merits and the completed work
of Christ and his shed blood. The Israel of God is God's elect
people out of every kindred, tribe, and nation. Amen.