Jews – Ministry of Grace Church

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Romans 9:4 – New Old Truths

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Will

Romans 9:4 – New Old Truths

who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises;

Truth to Learn

We can learn a lot about our faith from the Old Testament.

Behind the Words

The word translated “adoption” is huiothesia, which is composed of huios, meaning “a son” and a form of tithēmi, meaning “to place.” Thus we see that it is a reference to the placing of a person as a child, or “adoption.”

“Covenants” is translated from diathēkēs, which refers to “the disposition which a person makes of his property in the prospect of death.” The English word “dispensation” expresses the idea fairly closely. It is a reference here to the dispensations or covenants that God made with the patriarchs and the Jews.

Meaning Explained

Paul now continues on from the previous verse. He said that he almost wished that he was accursed for the sake of his kinsmen, the Jews. He is making a comparison between the things he has been teaching about the church (chosen by God, adopted by God, given promises by God, etc.) and the Jewish people. In doing so he will demonstrate to his Jewish brethren that God’s dealings with the church are very much the same as His past dealings with the Jews (until the time they rejected the Messiah). In the current verse Paul begins to detail some of the special privileges that the Jews had. Let’s look at each of them.

“Who are Israelites” – They are the descendents of Jacob (renamed Israel by God when Jacob wrestled with God at Penuel – See Genesis 32:28.) Jacob means “trickster” and Israel means “a prince of God.”

“To whom pertain the adoption” – This is probably a reference to Deuteronomy 7:6 where God chose them (the Israelites) as a special people to Him above all people that are on the face of the earth. Is it fair that God chose the descendants of Jacob (Israel) and excluded all others? This is an example of God’s election (choosing) just like His election of Christians.

“The glory” – probably a reference to the glory of God which led the Israelites through the wilderness.

“The covenants” – The various compacts or promises which had been made from time to time with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and with the nation of Israel.

“The giving of the Law” – On Mount Sinai – see Exodus 20.

“The service of God” – A reference to the temple service which was a point of pride for Israel, indicating that only they worshiped at the true temple of the true God.

“And the promises” – Most notably the promise of the coming Messiah from the seed of David.

In showing to his brethren in the flesh that theirs was a special relationship with God, Paul will soon show them that this relationship does not guarantee righteousness. That only comes from believing the promise of the Messiah and accepting the Messiah when he comes, which they didn’t do.

Application

There is much for the church to learn from studying God’s dealings with the Old Testament saints. We serve the same God, and He deals with us much the same as He did with them. For us, as well as them, it is a relationship built on faith.

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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Romans 3:29 – Non-Exclusive God

Posted on December 1, 2009 by admin

Romans 3:29

Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,

Truth to Learn

No group of people has exclusive rights to God and His truth.

Behind the Words

“Only” is translated from the Greek word monon. This is probably derived from the verb menō, meaning “to remain” or “to stay.” Hence, monon means “that which remains, alone, or only.”

The word “not” is translated from ouchi, which is derived from ou, the absolute “not” in Greek. However, ouchi is a stronger form meaning “not at all” or “no way!”

“Yes” is from the Greek word nai, which implies strong affirmation. We could reasonably translated this as “yes, certainly.”

The word “Gentiles” is from ethnos, meaning “a group of people belonging together and living together, a race, or a nation.” It has been used historically by Jewish writers (as it is here) as a reference to those people, or nations, who are not Jewish.

Meaning Explained

Paul has just stated in conclusion that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the Law. To a Jew this would imply that the Law is void, otherwise why have they been working so hard for all these centuries to satisfy the Law through works.

Paul is saying that if justification could come from the Law (and only from the Law, as the Jews thought) then He must only be the God of the Jews since they are the only ones who had the Law. That’s why Paul asks the question, “Or is He the God of the Jews only, and not also of the gentiles?” He then immediately answers the question, “Yes, He is the God of the Gentiles also.”

The apostle is not making a casual statement here. The use of ouchi and nai indicate that he is making a couple of very strong statements: “Is He not at all also the God of the Gentiles? He most certainly is also the God of the Gentiles!”

The Jews knew that Jehovah is the God of all mankind, but they also knew that only the Jews had the Law. This made them selfish about the Scriptures and their relationship with God. They began to believe that Jehovah was their God exclusively, but Paul is bursting that bubble. Not only is He the God of both the Jews and the Gentiles but, as he will state in the next verse, He justifies (declares as righteous) both the Jews and the Gentiles. That would have come as a shock to many Jewish Christians who believed that God only justifies those who keep the law. It also may come as a shock to Christians today who believe we have to keep a lot of “rules” to be saved or to stay saved.

Application

Once again, we can see a strong parallel between the attitude of the Jewish people at the time of Christ and the attitude of Christians today. The Jews believed they had exclusive rights to God and were unwilling to share Him with Gentiles, building a wall between Jews and Gentiles. Since Christians have been given the Great Commission, we are commanded to share the Gospel with the whole world. But many denominations believe only they have “the correct” truth, thus building walls between Christians.

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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Romans 3:9 – Sinners All

Posted on October 25, 2009 by admin

Romans 3:9

What then? Are we better than they? Not at all. For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.

Truth to Learn

None of us is better than any other sinner.

Behind the Words

“Are we better” is translated from a single Greek word, proechomai. This is a compound word made up of pro, meaning “before, or in front of”’ and a form of echo, meaning “to have, or to be.” Figuratively, this word means “to have preference or preeminence,” that is, “to be superior.” The difficulty with this word is that the way Paul wrote it, it could be interpreted as either in the passive voice or in the middle voice. So it could mean “are we excelled (by the Gentiles)” or “are we excelling ourselves (above the Gentiles).” Based on what Paul has said in the previous verses and what he will say in the following verses, the middle voice makes more sense. Hence, we could paraphrase this as “Do we (Jews) think that we are better than everyone else?”

The words “Not at all” are translated from ou pantōs. Ou means “no” or “not” and pantōs means “all the parts” or “entirely.” So we could translate this as “Entirely not.”

Meaning Explained

Paul now poses the final rhetorical question in this line of reasoning. You will recall that he is talking about the advantage of being a Jew, yet he is trying to point out to the Jewish Christians in Rome that not only is it not necessary to be a Jew to become a Christian, but being a direct descendent of Abraham has no bearing at all in whether a person is a Christian or not. Nonetheless, Paul demonstrated that the Jews were special because God entrusted them with the writings of the Old Testament.

Having argued that God will judge sin and will glorify Himself in doing so, and having shown that Christian doctrine does not teach that we should all sin greatly so that God will be greatly glorified when He either judges or pardons such sin, Paul now addresses the final objection: “Are Jews better than everyone else then?”

This is the root question that Paul has been trying to get to for this entire section of his argument. However, he could not have done so without guiding his readers along step by step. He then immediately answers this question, “Not at all.”

Now he says, “we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.” In fact, almost the entire first chapter of this epistle was dedicated to proving we’re all sinners and we have no excuse before God.

All of this groundwork has been laid so that Paul can make one of the most profound and revealing declarations in the entire Bible. He will do so by quoting the very “writings” that the Jews have been entrusted with, beginning in the next verse.

Application

Today, some Christians have the same attitude that the Jews of the first century had. Since Christians are saved, and we have the Holy Bible as our guide, we feel like we are just a little bit better than everyone else. However, we need to keep in mind that we are just sinners saved by the grace of God. And, without God’s grace we would be destined for the same lake of fire as every other sinner. That should not make us proud, it should make us humble!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –