By Doug Bell
We have the story of the centurion who comes to Jesus in faith;
Matthew 8:10 ”Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following,“Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel. 11 “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven; 12 but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
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We have a group of Christians today, who call themselves “Dispensationalist”. The main feature of this theory is that God has ”two agendas of salvation” that are going on simultaneously In history. One, for the Jews and a second, for the Church. Basically, (they think) the Jews were the people of God, but when they rejected the Messiah Jesus; their national salvation was put on hold until the end of time. When, during the 7 years of tribulation their eyes will be open and 144,000 Jewish evangelist will win back all the Nation of Israel to believe in Jesus (Romans 11; I’m not claiming that this is a complete explanation and I know there are variations of this, but I do believe these are the basics). So, In the meantime, God has made a fallback plan, He has a parenthesis, ie., the Church. Since God’s real plan is with Israel, He will Work and save people in this intermittent time (Church Age) until he can get back to His Main plan with Israel.
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The Dispensational Theory is wrong. God has but one way of salvation and He is working only through his Church. We see in the OT God gave Israel a “certificate of divorce” (Jeremiah 3:8). They are NO longer the special people of God. And the only hope of salvation for any Jewish person, until Jesus comes again, is if they repent and believe in the finished work of Christ! If they do, then they become part of Christ’s Church. All the promises to the nation of Israel are fulfilled in the Church.
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Ephesians 2:11 ”Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility 15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, 16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. 17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.”
Jew and Gentiles come together to make up the entire world. And it is the same way that both are saved; “repentance of sin and faith in the finished work of Christ”. It no longer matters then, if you are far away in idolatry or close in religious exercise. Any and all that come in faith, who submit theirselves to the Lordship of Christ are welcomed and accepted in the beloved!
if you know you are a long way from Jesus
or unsatisfied, because you’ve only been playing at Church. Come today, and don’t waste any more time. Repent and believe and start living a completely new life as a new creature in Christ!
(Continued?)
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