{"id":320,"date":"2022-01-12T00:58:06","date_gmt":"2022-01-12T00:58:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/deadmannotwalking.org\/?p=320"},"modified":"2022-01-12T00:58:13","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T00:58:13","slug":"spiritually-jewish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deadmannotwalking.org\/?p=320","title":{"rendered":"Spiritually Jewish"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh.  But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.Then what advantage has the Jew?  Or what is the benefit of circumcision?  Great in every respect.  First of all, that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.  (Romans 2:28-3:2, NASB)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love the book of Romans.  In it the Apostle Paul, writing to the church at Rome, describes in great detail the human condition; how we are ALL sinners, and as a consequence, fall short of God’s glory; and that the only chance of redemption is through the blood of His Son, Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paul was, in his previous life, a pharisee of the Pharisees.  He was so convinced of the righteousness of the Jewish cause that he was a chief persecutor of Jesus’ early church:  Present at the stoning of Stephen, and seeing to the imprisonment and torture of many other Christians.  On a mission to Damascus to round up other followers, he met Jesus, and his life was changed.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n


“Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ . . .\u00a0 ”\u00a0 Found at Tony–Antonakis Maritis,\u00a0https:\/\/tonymaritis.medium.com\/the-book-of-romans-6b2c414bce0e<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the text above, we see Paul’s heart for his people, the Jews.\u00a0 Elsewhere he writes that he would gladly trade places with them if only they would acknowledge Jesus as Messiah.\u00a0 One of the messages of this text is that the church of Jesus, and the Jewish faith, are one.\u00a0 He says that to be a Jew is to be “one inwardly”; circumcised of the heart by the Holy Spirit; and he seeks his praise from God, not from men.\u00a0 I read this passage once years ago, and I thought, “I’m a spiritual Jew!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the next paragraph, Paul writes of the special responsibility of the Jewish people.\u00a0 He says “that they were entrusted with the oracles of God.”\u00a0 God established Israel with the intent that they would spread God’s laws throughout the earth.\u00a0 God spoke this idea to Moses on Mount Sinai just before He gave him the Ten Commandments:\u00a0 “Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”\u00a0 (Exodus 19:5-6)\u00a0 The Ten Commandments, as well as the 603 other commandments in the Torah, were given specifically for the Jews to send to the rest of the world.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if you’re a follower of Jesus, you’re also spiritually Jewish.\u00a0 Why not?\u00a0 The Savior was born and raised a Jew.\u00a0\u00a0Jesus practiced the Laws of Moses, and observed the feasts and festivals ordained by His Heavenly Father.\u00a0\u00a0Christianity is fundamentally a Jewish faith.\u00a0 Gordon Robertson, President and CEO of the Christian Broadcasting Network, recently said on “The 700 Club,” “The longer I’m a Christian, the more Jewish I become.”\u00a0 I\u00a0 couldn’t agree more.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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