Under Gods Command
Romans 11:11-12 Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.
Paul had a vision of a church where all Jewish and Gentile believers would be united in their love of God and in obedience to Christ. While respecting god’s law, this ideal church would look to Christ alone for salvation. A person’s ethnic background and social status would be irrelevant (see Galatians 3:28) what mattered would be his or her faith in Christ.
But Paul’s vision has not yet been realized. Many Jewish people rejected the gospel. They depended on their heritage for salvation, and they did not have the heart of obedience that was so important to the Old Testament prophets and to Paul. Once Gentiles became dominant in many of the Christian churches, they began rejecting Jews and even persecuting them. Unfortunately, this practice has recurred through the centuries.
True Christians should not persecute others. Bothe Gentiles and Jews have done so much to damage the cause of the God they claim to serve that Paul’s vision often seems impossible to fulfill. Yet God chose the Jews, just as he chose the Gentiles, and he is still working to unite Jew and Gentile in a new Israel, a new Jerusalem, ruled by his Son (Ephesians 2:11-22)
Lets Bring it home: Do we persecute others? That’s a white church, and that’s a black church. What do we say about the Jews, and about ourselves? Are we guilty of this also? How much bad luggage are we carrying from back in the day?
Under Gods command 