Messianic Perspectives

Liz Aiello: Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctive first-century Jewish point of view. This is Liz Aiello. Some of God's mysteries are meant to be understood and others are not. In this series of messages, our Bible teacher Pastor Al Rungie discusses the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. I'll be back a little later with information about a special offer, so have your pencil and paper ready. And now, with today's message, here's Pastor Al Rungie.

Al Rungie: Thank you for this opportunity to speak to you again from God's Word. I'm beginning a new series on the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Some mysteries of God can be understood, and some are meant to be not understood. Look with me at Deuteronomy 29:29. Moses wrote, "The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."

The Apostle Paul wrote in 1st Corinthians 4, verses 1-3: "Let a man so consider us as the servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards that one be found faithful." In each message on this series, I will explain a mystery of the Kingdom of God. Today I want to talk to you about the mystery of the nation of Israel and its spiritual remnant.

I am surprised that there are some evangelical pastors who do not understand God's plan for Israel. The Apostle Paul was very clear about Israel's past, present, and future in Romans 9, 10, and 11. In Romans 9, let me read to you just verses 1 through 5. It expresses God's love for Israel.

"I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and continual grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises, of whom are the fathers and from whom according to the flesh Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen."

Although many theologians seem to miss the point of this passage, it is not speaking, for example, of the church, which they claim is spiritual Israel, but it is speaking literally of the Jewish nation. God did fulfill His purpose through Israel in the giving of the worship, as well as providing salvation to the world through our Messiah and Savior, Jesus Christ. I want to look at three mysteries of Israel. First, let us look at the mystery of Israel's past.

Now, I want you to listen to this and pay attention. The nation of Israel was never, and I repeat never, fully committed to God. Israel has never had a nationwide spiritual awakening. Listen to what Moses said to his generation of Israelites in Deuteronomy 29, verse 4: "Yet the Lord has not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear to this very day."

The liberated children of Israel from slavery in Egypt experienced the miracles of God on their behalf in Egypt that set them free. And in the wilderness, they ate bread from heaven and drank water from a rock. They followed the presence of God manifested in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night, and yet they did not see or understand God's loving purpose for them.

Remember their complaint against Moses and God in Exodus 14, verse 11? And then they said to Moses, "Because there were no graves in Egypt, have you taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you so dealt with us to bring us up out of Egypt? Is it not the word that we told you in Egypt saying, 'Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians as slaves?' For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than that we should die in the wilderness." So Israel has never experienced a spiritual birth as yet.

Secondly, let's examine the mystery of Israel's present remnant. Although the nation rejected their Messiah, there was a remnant of Jews who did believe. Even to this day, there's a remnant. Look with me at Romans 11, verse 1 and 2: "I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew."

I took a class in theology as a young student, and my professor said, "In this church age, Jews cannot be saved." I raised my hand and informed the professor that I was a saved Jew. His reply: "Either you're not a Jew or you are not saved." Paul said that Israel was only blinded in part, not completely. Those who did not want to see the truth were blinded so they could not see. And those who wanted to see the truth saw it and understood that Jesus was the true promised Messiah.

There's another heresy in the church today that says a Jew can be saved without Jesus, that he could be saved under the Old Covenant. The fact is, no Jew has ever been saved by keeping the Sinai Covenant. Remember, only Moses, Joshua, and Caleb were saved, and they were saved by God's grace through their faith, not by the works of the law.

A Jew is saved on the same basis as the Gentile. Turn with me to Romans 11, verse 5: "Even so then at this present time there is a remnant according to the election of grace, and if by grace, then it is no longer of works." Paul was writing to warn the Gentile believers not to become conceited against the Jewish people who fell.

Look with me at Romans 11:25: "For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceit, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in." The Apostle Paul did not want the Gentile Christians to believe that God was finished with Israel as a nation and that Jews would never again be restored to the Kingdom of God. When the full number of Gentiles come into the Kingdom of God, Israel's blindness will be removed completely.

Thirdly, let us look at the mystery of Israel's future. And let us go to Romans 11, verse 25: "And so all Israel shall be saved, as it is written. The Deliverer shall come out of Zion, and He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins." I heard a pastor say from the pulpit that our Christian hope is sure because it is impossible for God to lie, and so we can be certain that our Lord will keep His promises.

Certainly he was right. But I knew that he believed that the church replaced Israel in God's Kingdom, and he taught there was no future for the nation of Israel. I challenged him in a friendly way: "What about God's promises to Israel?" "Oh, those promises," he said, "belong now to us because the church is spiritual Israel."

I quoted from Romans 11:25: "And He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob." The pastor identified himself with the name of Israel, but he did not want to identify himself with the name of Jacob. God, who cannot lie, will keep His promises to the descendants of Jacob. When our Messiah will return from heaven, He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob and fulfill His covenant with them by taking away their sins.

We should all be praying for Israel's salvation because that is important because of what it means for the world. Listen to Romans 11, verse 11: "I say then, have they, that is Israel, stumbled that they should fall forever? Certainly not! But through their fall to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Now if their fall is riches to the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness?"

Think of what will it mean to the world when Israel is restored and the King of kings and the Lord of lords shall rule the world in Jerusalem. The nation shall learn war no more. All their weapons will be turned into useful instruments to benefit mankind. Justice, righteousness, peace, and goodness will reign over the whole world.

Now, what is the responsibility of the church in the present towards the Jewish people? The Apostle Paul explained in Romans 10, verse 1 to 4: "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes."

The church is responsible to evangelize the Jewish people, to help them to understand that righteousness comes from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen, here's what God wants us to do, and it is found in Isaiah 52:7: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings and that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, 'Thy God reigneth.'"

We ought to publish salvation. Did you know that the Hebrew word for salvation is Yeshua, the very name of Jesus? We are to tell Zion, "Thy God liveth." Did you know that Jewish evangelism is a God-given priority for the church? Look at Romans 1:16. Paul said, "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

I know there are people who say that it was to the Jew first in the past, but they rejected the gospel, and now it is no longer to the Jew first. Did you know that this verse is in the present active tense and not in a past tense? God wants every Christian to make Jewish evangelism a priority. Putting Jewish evangelism first does not mean we should neglect the rest of the world because Paul said to the Roman church, "It's also to the Greeks." It's to the barbarians. It's to everyone. That's what the gospel of Jesus Christ is all about.

I challenge you to ask God for love for Israel, to pray for Israel, and to long for their salvation, and that will put you in the very center of God's heart. This is my prayer for you, and I pray this in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

Liz Aiello: Thank you, Pastor Rungie. And thank you, listening friend, for tuning in today. We've been listening to Pastor Al Rungie teach on the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God. If you would like to have your own copy of this series, or perhaps you'd like to share it with a friend, you'll be glad to know that it's available on convenient compact disc. Just ask for ART-24, The Mysteries of the Kingdom of God.

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And as always, when you're in touch, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. This is Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you, as Pastor Al Rungie continues our series on the Mysteries of the Kingdom of God, right here on Messianic Perspectives. Messianic Perspectives is sponsored by CJF Ministries of San Antonio, Texas, and is made possible on this station by the free-will contributions of our listeners in this area.