the Israelites were under contract with the Lord their God, not born of the Holy Spirit because they were Jews.
that's not to say there wasn't those who walked with the Lord who were through the grace of God, faithful. they are those who Jesus went to wherever to get as Paul describes. guys like Jerimiah or King David so on and so forth. the salvation they received in Christ can't be removed because of the sins they may have committed in the flesh, King David for example.
the faithful before Christ came into the world awaited the fulfillment of the coming of Christ, those after are received in that same fulfillment. the faithful walk was completed in their day and the faithful walk of those yet in the flesh is yet to be completed.
Jews are specifically descendants of Jacob's son Judah and the tribes that remained loyal to Solomon's son Rehoboam when God stripped the northern 10 tribes from him. Most Israelites are not Jews in the same way most Americans aren't New Yorkers.
The History and Truth about Works!
You can look this up for yourself…there are two Greek words in the New Testament that are mostly interchangeable for the words works or deeds.
έργα
πράξεις
But neither of these words apply to salvation, nor do they apply to the actions of salvation, in other words baptism, is never referred to as a work or a deed in the New Testament.
The only time that the word works is seen in a religious context is when the scriptures are discussing works of the Law, in other words, the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law does not pertain to Christians, so it is irrelevant. The Apostle Paul argued this point against the Judaizers throughout his ministry and it is reflected in several scriptures, and this includes the first Christian council in Jerusalem in 50 ad where Paul argued the point and James affirmed the fact that Christians were not required to observe the Mosaic Law. The whole works of the Law thing came to head, in Galatians 5:4 he stated that You have been severed from Christ, you who are seeking to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.
Paul does not always reference the Law as a whole when he mentions "law". Sometimes it was
-an ordinance or ritual in the Law
-a Pharisaical tradition that was enforced by tradition as if it came from the Law
-the 10 commandments
-civil laws
- the sin nature
A perfect example of this is Gal. 2 where he talks about law, but it was the Pharisees' law and the ritual concerning animal sacrifices being discussed. In fact, nowhere in the entire book of Galatians does Paul ever directly discuss the Law as a whole or the 10 commandments.
One obvious inconsistency with your theology is that
all of the prohibitions James mentioned in the Acts 15 council comes straight from the Law, and he clearly goes on to mention that Moses was read to Christian converts in the synagogues every Sabbath. Acts 15:1 clearly shows the issue the apostles addressed in the council: "And certain
men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, "
Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved".”
Later in Acts 21:21, some of the Christian elders in Jerusalem asked Paul about that situation: “but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses,
saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs." It is 100% clear from the narrative that the elders were asking solely about the matter of converts being physically circumcised and the Pharisaical traditions the Orthodox Jews attached to that ritual.
In verse 25, Paul confirmed that
this was the issue that was addressed in Acts 15, not the Law as a whole: " “But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written
and decided that
they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from
things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.” Another thing that needs to be pointed out is that Paul reinforced what the Law says about idolatry, consuming blood, eating things that were strangled, and sexual immorality instead of saying "we forbade the Gentiles from keeping the entire Law".
Further evidence lies in what Paul wrote to the Corinthians(1 Cor. 7:19) that this was the issue: "
Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God
is what matters." It makes no sense to believe the apostles taught against the Law as a whole when their own writings consistently reinforced, quoted, and referenced what was written in it.
Another obvious whole in your theology is that the "law" Paul spoke in Gal. 5:4 of was again, the Pharisaical traditions. The context of verse 6 makes this obvious: "For in Christ Jesus neither
circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love." The clear takeaway is that
1. the Galatians were deceived into trying to earn their salvation through being physically circumcised. It is illogical to claim Paul was referring to the Law when he goes on to quote Lev. 19:18 in Gal. 5:14 where he says "For all the law is fulfilled in one word,
even in this:
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
2. Paul agrees with John's statement 1 Jhn 5:3 where the former says " faith working through love". The brand of love Paul is talking about is the agape love that comes from keeping God's commandments, not the human emotion that is frequently characterized by this world as love.
The popular idea that Paul taught against keeping the Law has absolutely no biblical basis, considering
1. The list Paul calls the "works of the flesh" in verses 19-21 are all violations of the Law
2. Paul stated in no uncertain terms that all of the apostles were upholding the authority of God's commandments in Rom. 3:31
3. This idea is completely inconsistent with Paul teaching against witchcraft, idolatry, homosexuality, and everything else the Law categorizes as moral offenses against God or other people
4. Acts consistently shows Paul's Jewish enemies falsely accusing him of teaching against the Law
You can't even sneak works into the back door. We are reconciled to God fully apart from our works either good or bad.
At the end of the day, God knows each one of His children, and we don't need works to prove ourselves to Him.
Much love!
Au contraire, the Bible begs to differ:
"But do you want to know, O foolish man, that
faith without works is dead?" - Jas. 2:21
"(for not the hearers of the law
are just in the sight of God, but the
doers of the law will be justified;"- Rom. 2:13
"but showing mercy to thousands, to
those who love Me and keep My commandments." - Exo. 20:6
“
If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." - Jhn 15:10
"Now by this we know that we know Him,
if we keep His commandments." - 1 Jhn 2:3
"
They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work." - Tit. 1:16
"Here is the patience of the saints; here
are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus." - Rev. 14:12
"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!" - 2 Tim. 3:1-5
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad;
for a tree is known by its fruit." - Matt. 12:33
Your theology is an obvious perversion of Paul's words in Rom. 3:28. Just becaue Paul said a person is forgiven by faith apart from the deeds of the law, it certainly doesn't mean they aren't required to prove their faith to Him after repenting by obeying Him from that point on. The Most High certainly knows who His children are because they obey His commandments like Abraham did.
