The Advantage of Being Jewish

When was the last time you faced derision is the result of your Christian faith.

Can you imagine doing anything in her life as a Christian knowing it's going to invite open derision and hatred and mockery.

The moment you arrive on campus will be marked the moment you leave.

Up until that moment to be mocked will be found in derision will be scorned will be mistreated and misunderstood. Is there anything in our Christian experience that invites that, would we be willing to do it.

I fear that the church today doesn't invite derision does tell us that when we are identified as belonging to God the enemies of God will take out their hatred of him on us. That was certainly true for the Jews as God's chosen people. They were constantly under persecution, but in the New Testament.

The Jews also needed to be provoked because they rested on their lineage for salvation instead of on the work of Jesus Christ. Welcome to wisdom for the heart. Today Stephen Devi has a lesson for you called the advantage of being Jewish. Thus far in our study through the first two chapters of Romans, the apostle Paul has played the role that unpretentious messenger he has revealed the nakedness of the unbeliever. He has also revealed at the hands of the man cannot fashion clothing that will ever be able to cover the barrenness of the human heart, in spite of its ritual. In spite of all of its parading and ceremony the looms of religion throughout the world. RMC, they cannot weave cloth to cover guilt and sin. In reality, those that cover themselves with that which religion produces leaves a person exposed and naked before the one true God with whom they will have the deal chapter 1 Paul is expose the nakedness of the immoral man who is ignored creation in chapter 2 he has exposed the nakedness of the moral man who is ignored his conscience. Both categories are found without excuse.

Romans chapter 1 verse 20, so they are without excuse. Romans chapter 2 verse one therefore you are without excuse and now in the latter part of chapter 2 Paul is exposing the guilt of the religious man who has spoken the truth but has ignored the reality of it has taught morality, but has chosen to cover over to hide the immorality of his own heart and mind. Paul has begun. As you remember, perhaps from chapter 2, the latter part. He's begun addressing specifically the Jew, the Jew was the epitome of morality Jew was the epitome of one who follow the truth, the Jew was the one who, above all others had a relationship with the one true living God. Surely the day were all right before his holy days we have discovered that indeed was not true. The last paragraph of chapter 2 Paul is expose them as being as much in need of true spiritual clothing is the unbelieving Gentiles, and I would have been as shocking to the Jew as it was to the Emperor to discover from the lips of an honest child that he was in fact naked when he thought he was parading about in finery, so the Jew would have been shocked to discover that he was in fact spiritually unclothed uncovered exposed before God.

If anybody felt that a right to heaven. It was the Jew if if anybody felt they had a right to the kingdom.

It was the son of Abraham. They were God's covenant people.

They were the sons of Abraham and those who would follow the law of God deposited them in effect wasn't good enough to clothe their hearts.

They were inside guilty and in need. The writer of Hebrews said there is no creature hidden from God's sight, but all things are open and naked before the eyes of God's 413 so in effect for discovering that there is no race of men anywhere that has an advantage before God, son of Abraham are not there is nobody that has the edge. There is it anybody that can pull strings before God and say why you remember me.

I knew it I knew this and I did that and will matter. No one has an advantage when it comes to gaining entrance into heaven. No Gentile, and he declares here, not even the Jew now for the past 43 versus Paul has been delivering truth and then assuming anticipating the objection and answering the objection is been fascinating how God is use this brilliant lawyer to form this treatise of grand theology.

He is now under the superintendence of the Holy Spirit, anticipating the very next objection that will come from the lips of the Jew, chapter 3, verse one.

He speaks for them and he says then what advantage has the Jew, or what is the benefit of circumcision. In other words, Paul. If you're saying to me, Jew. The truth then who cares about the temple who cares about the sacrificial system Judaism enlargement.

Why bother with a right of circumcision, why bother keeping our bloodline distinct from the rest of the world. Why put up with isolation from the worldwide bother with all of the Sabbath observances.

Why go through the pain of being different than being misunderstood. Give us one good reason. In other words why we should remain Jews, why not give it all away matter.

Evidently live like the rest of the pagan world.

Why not. That was the next objection that would come and he knew it would, they would say to him what advantages has the Jew, what benefit is there to be circumcised.

You need to understand a little bit of Jewish history to understand the implication of this one phrase the Jew could look back over his shoulder and see nothing but years of suffering and difficulty and hardship. I felt that it would be worth it because they were going to go to heaven because of just as many people think that they abstain from this and they don't do that and it's worth it because that'll get me in heaven, so that you look back over his shoulder and saw nothing but the difficulty that he is experienced in why his nation had centuries of persecution and humiliation, and division slavery even after they enter the promised land. They had to fight for every square inch of land and then they had to fight to protect it still could harass several hundred years after they were there they were now divided by their own Civil War the country and that the nation of people divided into the southern and northern kingdom both having become Adolphus northern kingdom was decimated by the Assyrians in the southern kingdom by the Babylonians and the Babylonians swept in and took away their choice ones young men we remember with names like Daniel and me shack in Shadrach, Bendigo decimated thinking they would never see the land again, but eventually they were allowed to return and under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah. They rebuilt their little city and they rebuilt.

Eventually, the temple, but even when they did that they had to have one hand on the trowel with the bricks and in the stone and the other hand on the sword because they were under constant threat of war and potential extinction, but they rebuilt wasn't long before Greece conquered them and Antiochus epiphanies, foreshadowing of the coming Antichrist went into their temple and sacrifice the pig on their holy altar killed their priests decimated them once again. Later under Roman rule. They had barely scrapped things together again. They continued their journey of hardship, pain and suffering tens of thousands of Jews who over the course of the next few decades would rebel against Rome would be slaughtered, usually by crucifixion, in the year of our Lord's own crucifixion, Jewish historians tell us the 2000 other Jewish men were crucified.

The difference with our Lord was that he was the God made it come to be crucified on purpose. Save us from our sin, but this popular means of of death was exercised against several thousand Jewish men under Herod the great. Remember that he had slaughtered all of the babies two years of age and under because he had heard that wanted been born could be the king of the Jews in this paranoid man desiring to protect his throne created such a disaster and heart ache that the Bible reads that the weeping of the Jewish people is heard throughout the land. Finally, in A.D. 70, the Roman general Titus, Vespasian marched against Jerusalem came under Caesar's orders. Roman had enough of the Jew by this time the Jewish origins and religion was twisted with unnatural malicious. It was said that the Jews had originated from a company of lepers who'd been sent by the king of Egypt to work in the sand, quarries, and that a man named Moses had gone to the sand quarries and rescued and banded together the lepers in the escape to Palestine.

It was said that they worship the head of a donkey because it was while making their way to Palestine that a herd of wild donkeys led them the water when they were about to die first. By this time the Jewish customs were not only marked but they were also misunderstood and they were even hated nothing for a moment before we continue this history lesson that eventually up to the world. Can you imagine doing anything in her life as a Christian knowing it's going to invite open derision and hatred and mockery. The moment you arrive on that campus will be marked the moment you leave. Up until that moment to be mocked will be found in derision will be scorned will be mistreated and misunderstood. Is there anything in our Christian experience that invites that, would we be willing to do it. I fear that the church today doesn't buy derision from the world simply because it's so much like according to Josephus more than a million Jews of all ages were butchered by Titus someone hundred thousand of those who survived were sold in the slavery, or sent to Rome to die in the gladiatorial games around the same time other Gentiles to courage by the actions of Rome and they rose up in Caesarea and killed 20,000 Jews and sold many more of them in the slavery Gentile residence in Damascus literally cut the throats of 10,000 Jews in one single day ladies and gentlemen. Anti-Semitism can only be explained in light of Satan's hatred for this people. Satan hates Jesus Christ the son of God, the God man he chose to be born of Jewish blood. Satan knows the covenant, the God has with Israel and so Satan is launched. His most diabolical schemes and murderous attacks against the Jews because of Satan can get rid of the Jew that he can make null and void the covenant of God with the Jew for that coming day we read of in Revelation and so by making that null and void. Satan can then make God a liar unable to keep his word. That's why he has so horrifically attacked the people from beginning of time. Satan also knows that 144,000 Jews will become evangelists during the great tribulation will bring millions of people to faith in Christ. Revelation 70 knows the covenant with the Jews will involve restoration of their land in the city of Jerusalem is the centerpiece of God's kingdom on earth with Christ ruling on the throne. Revelation 21 so we hates that. Of course, since the establishment of this nation.

Satan is launched. His hatred is bloodlust against the Jew and will continue until he makes one final attempt to wipe Israel off the face of the earth were told in Revelation chapter 20, but he will be defeated and thrown in the lake of fire. You cannot explain the hatred of the Jew without understanding Satan and his hatred for the Jew.

Often times the Jews suffered because of their own desire for independence and 8115. The Jews rebelled against Rome when they failed Emperor Hadrian destroyed nearly a thousand Palestinian towns and killed at least 600,000 Jewish men. So many Jews were sold in the slavery of that time that the price of a Jewish slave was the same as the price of a horse, 200 years later, the Roman Emperor formulated a legal code that declared Jews to be an inferior race of human beings. That of course is a demonic idea for any race to be lesser than or greater than another, that would permeate Europe for more than a thousand years, not 50 years. Not 100 years. About a thousand the 13th century they were banished from France in the 15th century there were exiled from Spain. I stood on a hillside in southern France in The little pebble from a the location of Jewish believers were exiled would follow the one true living God. France kick them out so did Spain in 1818. Tens of thousands of Jews were massacred in the Ukraine, were more familiar with the 1900s the 1940s, specifically out of Hitler and just one more chapter in anti-Semitism. One more chapter of Satan's attempt to wipe the Jew off the face of the earth his regime would kill 6 million Jews. One historian records for us. That is, Hitler's troops march together they would often sing this marching tune sharpen the knives on the pavement stone sink. The knives in the Jewish flesh and bone.

Let the blood flow freely at the blood flow freely. To this day in our generation, for the Jews that a return to the land of their forefathers.

They are in the newspapers nearly every day and they are on the newscast nearly every day and are doing what they're fighting to keep one little inch of land and is not to stop by the way, according to the Bible that will never be the peace that they want the book of Revelation. From a purely historical perspective, ladies and gentlemen, the Jews have been treated more ruthlessly and more mercilessly than any other people of all time. The pages of history are staying with the blood of the Jews. Now here's the purpose of the lesson. Thanks for staying with me, go back and read Romans 31 now with a history as your backdrop. Even though the Jews of Romans three don't know the sufferings of the future. They certainly know the sufferings of their past. No wonder they will say now to Paul listen with what we know is gone on with being a Jew what it says that you want benefit has circumcision. If you told us that being a son of Abraham will not get us into heaven. Why bother if you told us the following dietary laws and all of the regulations of the Mosaic law keeping our blood unspotted from Gentile races that doesn't matter for heaven. Why do it. We don't have security. Socially, we don't have security politically. We don't have security physically and now Paul, you are telling us we do not have security spiritual by the way, if you give the gospel of Christ to a good person to live the good life you tell them it's not by works, lest any man should boast. These 289. José will was the benefit of good works. When I sin you give the gospel to someone who has an upstanding reputation that his reputation means nothing to God. In terms of getting to heaven he will most likely say will than what benefit is there to keeping a good reputation tell someone who is avoided the sins of the flesh that they cannot get into heaven simply because they are chaste and they will say to me, knives, stained, nothing. Why not sin you need to understand the gospel.

My friends you'll do good works in order to get into heaven. There's nothing you can do. You don't do good works to get in.

You do good works because you are what is your going you'll try to live a holy life so that you will be accepted by God to strive to live a holy life out of gratitude because you have been accepted by God already getting into heaven is not a matter what you've done it to matter what Christ has done. Act is not a matter of you to matter of who Christ is in you right, you didn't get saved by being good is good news.

I mean you can't be un-saved by being bad. Someone might say, well, why bother being good are you just telling us was go and sin.

Paul will deal with at a later time here let me at least say that being godly is an evidence of belonging to God, while he enfolds for the Jew, the fact that spiritual security is not in being related.

Abraham is going to continue to work through this chapter and develop the truth of being related to Christ brings the only spiritual security then what advantage has the Jew, or what is the benefit of circumcision now. Paul's answer here would surprise them and and frankly surprises me because I would think he would say absolutely nothing is no benefit to being a Jew is no benefit to circumcision was he say he says in verse two grades in every respect you want to know what the benefit of being a Jew is always great in every respect. First of all, he says the Jew was entrusted with the oracles of God.

That is, the Jew was given the low G the words the oracles the very revelation of God, the Jew was given the holy Scriptures and one of the Scriptures are the greatest thing ever given the reveal the nature and character of God. They tell us who he is. The tell us what he demands and expects.

They tell us things that he's done.

They reveal the creative acts of his power. The tell us of a coming Redeemer.

They also tell us who we are to give us our purpose in life.

They tell us our nature. They tell us what we must do to be pleasing to God to be accepted before God. They tell us the way of salvation is by Christ alone explain the path of those who would live godly lives, having been accepted by God. The Jewish nation. Paul says listen, you have an incredible benefit.

You were given the inspired and infallible record of the nature and purpose of God and all of mankind. What an incredible blessing from Moses on Mount Sinai onto the prophets through Jesus Christ and the apostles you will have been given the word entrusted with word entrusted by the way is a wonderful Greek word root word that gives us the same word steward. They were given the stewardship of the word of God means it wasn't theirs. I just took care of it for the rest of the world and my have a Jew took care of it with great care, Paul has already stated in chapter 2 that having a copy of the law isn't good enough. Explain that even teaching the law was not good enough. However, he would say that in chapter 3 verse two that having a copy of it is an undeniable blessing and a great privilege and for the Jew to have been the early recipient of this. What a great privilege. It was so he says, in effect, don't forget God chose to give his revelation to and through you the Jewish nation entrusted with anybody ever in trust you with anything you watch over care for. I performed the wedding several years ago for young lady who was a missionary kid parents serve in the Philippines. She met a guy in Bible college and they were getting married and I chose to use a Philippine custom and they had silk ribbons tied across the front row the aisle and tied in a beautiful blow in a time of the ceremony were the right of course comes marching down to the tomb were all familiar with them.

My two girls are not a player piano coming down here and then eventually I say who gives this woman to be married to this man.

He said mother night, and then the father unwrapped that Bo and then let the silk fall in the hand of his daughter over to this unworthy young man entrusted her to him. I remember reading the story of Thomas Edison who was working on improving his first lightbulb he had spent days and how many of you lived in the Michigan area were able to visit his shop very intriguing. After they had fashioned that lightbulb. It was supposed be taken up some stairs to a vacuum chamber and Edison to the surprise of the staff handed it to young attendant young boy to hear you take it up young boy of course was very nervous and he took that lightbulb and he walked up the stairs as carefully as he could, but at the last step. He stumbled tell drop the lightbulb and it shattered into a thousand pieces took the staff nearly 2 days to fashion another one and when they finished. Edison took that lightbulb and handed it back to that same boy you can take it up, which he did successfully have been entrusted with something special to Paul is saying to the 20 I said all of that the didn't get you in heaven. Let me tell you how special you are. You have been entrusted with holy Scripture.

Imagine that kind of grace and kindness and patience to give frail man is infallible word you want a copy of the Bible. Do you know what a privilege that is easy to take for granted because we probably have three or four copies with their millions of people in our world today do not have one verse in their language. Whether you're a believer or not. I want you to know you are privileged to have a copy. The apostle Paul would write later in another letter to his son in the faith. In second Timothy three that all Scripture is God breathed and is profitable for several things. For teaching, for reproving, correcting and training in righteousness. The Bible is good. He said for teaching. That's the word doctrine or the body of faith that tells you what is true. That tells you what you are to believe you find out what you are to believe in this book and if you know what to believe, you will know how to behave. You cannot behave right unless you believe rightly. The Bible also he says gives you proof that tells you where you are all it sort of shouts at you if you are in it. What you're doing is wrong.

Don't go there, come back word of God is also good for correction.

That sounds like a negative word, but in the Greek text. It's a positive word literally means to stand somebody up on their feet to stand them up right so they can face life but as you pack your things away. Let me redo this quote from Amanda wrote a few years ago of our great privilege and having the word of God.

He wrote this. This book contains the mind of God, the state of man the way of salvation, the doom of sinners and the happiness of believers.

Its doctrines are holy, its precepts binding, its histories are true and its decisions are unchangeable.

Read it to be wise, believe it to be safe practice. It to be holy. It contains light to direct you food to support you and comfort to cheer you. It is the travelers map the Pilgrim's staff, the pilot's compass and the soldiers sword.

It should fill the memory test. The heart guide the feet. Read it slowly, frequently prayerful is a mine of wealth, a paradise of glory.

It is a river of pleasure. It involves the highest responsibility, it rewards the greatest labor and condemn all who trifle with its sacred Christ is its grand subject, our good is its design and the glory of God is that is the Bible you own and hopefully that you read and cherish this is lesson one in Stephen Davies three part series called how we got our Bible come back and listen for the next two days as Stephen fleshes out this truth even more since were on the theme of God's word. I want to make sure you know about the wisdom international daily Bible reading plan people who love and cherish God's word will demonstrate that by reading it. In fact, you can't honestly claim to love the Bible without reading it. We've develop a plan that takes you through God's word in one year with six readings per week.

We don't have a reading for Sunday so you can use Sunday to get caught up if you missed a day. It's posted to the wisdom international app. When you install our app you can easily follow along and we also have a printed brochure that you can keep tucked in your Bible. Download the app in the iTunes or Google play stores or call us for a printed copy. Her number is 86 648 Bible or 866-482-4253 will be happy to drop a copy in the mail to you.

Have a great day and please join us again tomorrow for our next lesson here on wisdom