Bible Voyagers: Disciple's Journey

Paul writes that Jews who reject Jesus are being preserved as a "remnant" by God's grace as an act of His divine mercy in order to fulfill the promises He made in the holy Jewish scriptures (Old Testament). God has allowed Jesus to be a "stumbling block" to the people of Israel so that their transgressions will allow the Gentiles to be "grafted in" to fully participate in the benefits of the covenant salvation promised to God's "chosen people"...His elect, who are the Jews. The hearts of the Israelites will remain hardened until "the full number of Gentiles comes in" and then *all* of Israel will be saved by God's endless mercy! Christians...rather than being the enemies of the Jews...instead draw nourishing "sap" from the covenant relationship established between God and the Israelite nation.

Paul said that his "heart's desire" was for his fellow Israelites to believe the "good news" that Jesus Christ was indeed the long-awaited Messiah. But ultimately, many Jews of the First Century rejected Jesus and refused to accept that God would extend His salvation to Gentiles (non-Jews) even though this -- and their rejection of the Messiah -- was clearly predicted in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). Although religiously zealous, Paul stated that his fellow Israelites failed to submit to God's righteousness in their hearts and accept Christ as the culmination of the Hebrew covenants and Mosaic laws. The path to salvation is not impossible and not based on lineage, but rather "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved!" 

"I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers [the Jews], my kinsmen according to the flesh. They are Israelites, and to them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises. To them belong the patriarchs, and from their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ, who is God over all, blessed forever. Amen." - The Apostle Paul. 

Paul makes the argument that God's Elect ("chosen people") are not just the Israelites who were descendants of Abraham and followed the Mosaic Laws...they are ALL people (Gentiles included) who are spiritually adopted ("grafted-in") through faith in Jesus Christ. 

The are several controversial (and often misunderstood) topics in the Bible including God's "calling", His "elect", God's “hardening of hearts”, human faith, and predestination. We present an empirical, evidence-based approach to elucidate truth from the Bible and separate fact from fiction for these important topics. In summary, you must choose to accept God’s gift of salvation, but the power to save is completely in His hands. 

We highly recommend you download the study guide: https://files.captivate.fm/library/ecdb2639-f498-42db-856c-f857a5edb5b5/separating-biblical-fact-from-fiction.pdf

Our attempts to follow religious laws and "be good people" paradoxically result in our moral decay as we strive to serve the law and not God. The very laws that promise life tragically result in our spiritual death. By accepting Jesus as our personal savior, we die to sin (and the law) and are reborn into a new covenant relationship with God - akin to marriage - where we can experience God's full grace, mercy, peace, love, trust and freedom. 

Christian water baptism is a physical act that mimics the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. But true baptism occurs inwardly when the believer gives his or her life to Christ and is “baptized” by God's Holy Spirit in a magnificent spiritual resurrection. However, baptism is not a "free pass" to engage in sinful behavior, and Paul emphasizes a continual effort to focus on obedience and righteousness rather than being a slave to sin. 

Sin (and death) entered the world when God's created "son" Adam rebelled against his creator. God's moral and Biblical laws weren't meant to provide us with a check-list path to salvation...but rather a check-list of crimes and sins which further condemn us all. God's true son Jesus gave his life as a willing sacrifice to provide all of humanity with a path to the free gift of salvation through earnest faith in Jesus Christ the Messiah. 

If salvation is based on works, then we have the power to save our own souls: grace and faith have no purpose, Jesus' ministry was pointless, the New Testament irrelevant, and God is a powerless bystander. Paul refutes these ideas by revealing that salvation is based solely on the gift, grace and power of God...and that no human being is capable of saving themselves. 

"Once I'm baptized, I can continue sinning freely because I'm already saved, right?!" Paul refutes this concept of "cheap grace" by emphasizing that Christians still have a responsibility to live according to God's moral standards.