“I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.” Romans 11:1
July 7, 2025
What is the place of Israel in the plan of God? The story of the Old Testament is the birth, growth, and impact of the nation of Israel on the world from Abraham to the prophet Malachi (four hundred years before Christ). Every book of the Old Testament has something to do with Israel. However, the Jewish people did not accept their Messiah (the Gospels). But does this mean God is through with the Jew? The rabbinically trained apostle Paul, converted to faith in Jesus Christ, addresses the problem of Israel’s unbelief. So, the question and answer to it, “has God rejected his people? By no means.” There is a believing remnant of Jews, of which Paul was one. What kind of Jew was Paul? He was a thoroughbred. Physical, national Israel matters. If God does not keep His Word/promises to Israel, then His glorious nature is called into question. God’s reputation is at stake. Paul was not the only Jew who was converted. The early days of the church was populated by thousands of born again Jews (Book of Acts). However, numbers are not important. The important thing is that those who are saved are so by grace alone- not on the basis of works (Rom. 11:6). Are you a grace-driven person? Do I think I deserve to go to heaven when I die? How we answer that determines our eternal destiny.
H
“The grace of God transcends all our feeble efforts to describe it. It cannot be poured into any of our mental receptacles without running over.”
Vance Havner