The following is an informal writing, or a heart cry. It is not intended to be a lesson or Biblical discourse.
Denominations teach their members that they are spiritual Israel. Christians want to pick up their cross and follow Jesus. Non-Jewish believers start to speak and write using the Hebrew terminology and the names of God, believing that it makes their speech and writing more holy. Certain churches practice Jewish ordinances and adopt Jewish customs, and many denominational churches believe in baptisms and communion, and place themselves under various laws and gospel orientated traditions. It is sad to see how many Christians try to make themselves more Jewish, for the sake of the Jewish scriptures and for religious appearance?
Why do I say this? Well, when one weighs up the doctrine of Israel, who are under law and works, with the doctrine of the Body of Christ, who are free from both law and works, who are under the absolute and wonderous grace of God because of the cross of Christ, one must scratch the head and wonder how people can be so misled.
Don’t get me wrong. Israel is the special nation of God. They will be the preeminent, both priests and kings in the earth during the Millennial Kingdom. But this program, which is not even active today, due to its suspension at the conversion of Paul, is steeped in trials and hardships, works of performance, endurance, and tribulation. It makes no sense, barring ignorance of the Word, to willingly place oneself under this program, thinking it is full of blessing, rewards, power, and spiritual gifts, but completely disregarding the bondage of law and the weightiness of sacrifice and suffering under the required performance and perseverance it demands.
Peter verbalized the yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither their fathers nor they were able to bear. The Jews were burdened by the multitude of laws, ceremonies, washings, sacrifices, and traditions to maintain. James writes about the need for works of proof to constantly complement their faith. The prophets warn their countrymen of terrible trials and suffering that they will be required to endure as retribution to God for their sins and unbelief. All this is contrasted by Paul who writes to all humanity today saying, we are freed from all this weight by simply believing in Christ. God freely justifies us when we trust in Jesus, because Jesus fulfilled the law completely on our behalf. We are imputed the righteousness of Christ and are saved to the uttermost because God determined His Son to be the propitiation for our sin and unrighteousness. Moreover, God provides us His written Word so that by study, and gaining knowledge in it, we can walk in the spirit, overcome the flesh, and grow in spiritual maturity, becoming conformed to the likeness of His Son, escape His wrath and look forward to a glorious and great inheritance in the heavenly places.
Jesus Christ has done EVERYTHING on our behalf. God has made a way out for us through His Son. All we need to do is believe in the gospel of Christ and all His blessings are poured out upon us. So why does any person who can hear or read the Word of God even consider going back to the weak and beggarly elements of practice under the law? Why would any sane person willingly place themselves under a program that demands suffering and tribulation in order to save oneself? The root of this problem is lack of Bible knowledge. The Bible instructs us to study it, to show ourselves approved unto God, to become workmen who rightly divide the Word, and who have no need to be ashamed. The answers lie in the education of Paul’s epistles. In it are the instructions of truth that we are to live and practice in this day and age, and in the one to come.
We are living in the dispensation of the grace of God today, through faith in Jesus Christ. Cast off the blinders that false teachers have placed over your eyes. Open your heart to the free gift of God’s grace, lay down the traditions and bondages that weigh you down, and lift up your eyes to Christ who has taken away your guilt and liberated you into the love and acceptance of God.
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