There was Korah and Dathan, for example.
They did not care for the leadership of Moses and Aaron, so they challenged Moses and Aaron. And God had the ground open up and swallowed them, and that was the end of Korah and Dathan. And yet, in the mercy of God, he uses the sons of Korah much later to write many of the Psalms that we have. The mercy of God.
Instead of wiping out the family, he leaves the descendants to figure it out, and many did. If you have your Bibles, please turn to Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 3, beginning in verse 3. For what if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?
Certainly not. Indeed, let God be true, but every man a liar, as it is written that you may be justified in your words and may overcome when you are judged. Well, he's actually quoting this from the Psalm 51. Well, he's anticipating objections to his remarks that we have been covering in chapters 1 and 2. In Romans 1, Paul served notice to the Gentiles. He indicted them for their sin, and then in chapter 2, it was the turn of the Jewish people.
Paul pointed out the sins that were dominant amongst them. And now he knows he's going to receive objections. There are going to be people who hear this letter read in the church in Rome, and they're going to scoff, and they're going to hem and haw, and they're going to be those in their families or acquaintances that will start objecting to what has been taught. And so we have him go into this third chapter, and I think it is very important to understand what he's dealing with.
Otherwise, a chapter can be very confusing. It is difficult, and it could be more difficult if we don't understand, well, why is he asking these questions? What's bringing this about? Well, you cannot attack someone's religious beliefs, rituals, especially when they're misguided without facing a fierce protest from them, and he has been going at the heathen and, of course, the Judaizers, as well as those who just would not receive from their own scriptures, the Messiah. So verse 1, we go right to, he says, what advantage then has the Jew, or what is the prophet of circumcision?
This is hypophora. It's a form of, or a method of speaking, asking a question, then answering the question. It is a very good way to instruct someone. And so he launches this Q&A.
Again, it's not out of thin air. It's because he knows what's going to happen. He knows there are going to be those that will come along with their philosophical gibberish and start going at the Christians.
We have to deal with this ourselves sometimes. Well, here he is in Corinth, writing to Rome. Well, Corinth is only about 40 miles from Athens, the home of the philosophical blowhards. We read about that in Acts chapter 17, when Paul tried to minister there amongst the Athenians. There was an infestation of idols there and also existentialism, philosophical gibberish. Acts chapter 17, for all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time and nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing.
So Luke, a physician, an educated man, understood the difference between education and arrogance, and he points these things out. Well, Paul understood too, and he is looking to protect the church, the believers. So what is the benefit and usefulness of the Old Testament Scriptures if Gentiles can be saved without becoming Jews? That's one of the questions that he is bringing up because he knows they're going to hear it. Well, God was teaching the Jews that advantages are not monopolies.
Just because you have an advantage doesn't mean that you're foolproof. It is a head start, though, and it is to be used as a tool to serve God. And many of the Jews did just that.
Many more did not. So God did not choose the Jews that he might reject the Gentiles. It is a very complicated thing, humanity, because of what sin has done to us all. But God lets us know he's in control of these things.
So the Jews were chosen to be agents of God through which he would reach all peoples. Well, it eventually worked. It started at Pentecost, but it was a bumpy ride.
It did not happen in the ideal way. He continues here in verse 1, or what is the prophet of circumcision? Now that encompasses the entire Judaism, the Sabbath, the Diets, but circumcision is a big part of that covenant system.
He's going to deal with this through chapter 4. So looking ahead to chapter 4 of Romans in verse 11, he says, And he, that is Abraham, patriarch of the Jews, and of those of the faithful also, he says, And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe. Though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also.
So you listen to that, you say, what is he saying? Well, in chapter 4, he's continuing to address primarily the Jews, but it will reach anybody who's guilty of the same attitude against faith. What he's saying, what I just read, he's saying Abraham was a man of faith, and God recognized that faith, and he took the circumcision as a symbol to distinguish the faithful people from everybody else.
It was part of the covenant, but it happened to Abraham before he was circumcised. It was his faith that mattered, not the ritual. And for this, Paul was chased around all of the Western civilization, wherever they could find him, because he was teaching these very things, that faith is more important than ritual. And he points out, Abraham, it was his faith, not his ritual, that God honored, because faith is a very big deal to God. He'll later write to the Hebrews, without faith, it's not possible to please God. You have to trust God to benefit from all that he wants to give.
Well, what profit is the circumcision is the question, and he's going to roll out the answer as we move on. Of course, it is an outward sign of the agreement that God has established with the Jewish people. There's a precursor to the baptism, you could say that, and however, how's he going to break it to them that it is secondary to faith?
They should have figured that out on their own, but they did not. Circumcision, baptism, whatever right that we engage in is secondary to faith, to believing what God has said. Not any old faith, but faith according to the Scriptures. As Jesus said, he who believes in me, as the Scriptures have said, out of his heart will flow torrents of living water.
So, that has to be qualified, and there it is. So, verse two now, much in every way. Now, he's answering, he makes the question in verse one, where he says, what advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision?
And verse two, well, a lot. That's his answer, much in every way, chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God. Well, the greatest advantage of being born a Jew was that you were exposed to earliest stages to the word of God.
Now, what they did with that was another story, and we've been covering that as we've been moving through Paul's letter to the Romans. Here's a few examples of those who were born into Israel, had the law of Moses, and then the life of Samuel, the great prophet, and eventually Jesus. There was Korah and Dathan, for example. They did not care for the leadership of Moses and Aaron, so they challenged Moses and Aaron, and God had the ground open up and swallow them, and that was the end of Korah and Dathan. And yet, in the mercy of God, he uses the sons of Korah, much later, to write many of the Psalms that we have.
The mercy of God. Instead of wiping out the family, he leaves the descendants to figure it out, and many did. Then there was King Saul.
Look at the benefits he had under the leadership of Samuel. Judas Iscariot. These are those who trampled the advantage of being born into a society where the word of God was to be upheld. They didn't do the right things with what they had. No, there were others, of course, that did do the right things.
Joshua, for just one, Isaiah, and we can just go on. They were, as a people, perfectly prepared for the work that they failed to do. That should hit us right between the eyes, because we are not saying, well, the Jews messed up, but we, the church, we got our act together. We are not saying that. What we are saying is if they can drop the ball, we can too. If some of those Jews could get it right, we can too. So this is very much relevant to all of us today. Again, I'm going to repeat that.
They were perfectly prepared for the work they failed to do. Isaiah the prophet, he is the one that says this, Isaiah 42, verse 19, who is blind but my servant? He's talking about Israel. Or death as my messenger, whom I sent. Who is blind as he who is perfect and blind as the Lord's servant?
It's not a compliment. He's saying right there, my servant Israel was to bring the light of my truths to all the peoples of the world, but they preferred idolatry. They preferred other things. They thought they were perfect, but they were blind. What's the New Testament, who's the New Testament example of that? Well, Saul of Tarsus. He thought he was perfect as he was persecuting those who loved the Messiah that he should have recognized according to the scriptures and he missed it. Of course, Saul of Tarsus became Paul the apostle.
He sort of detached himself from his past life and embraced his new life in Christ and took on the name Paul. There was no excuse for their failure, the Jewish people, because they had the word, they had the oracles of God. And as I mentioned, there's none for the church. Added to the list of things about Israel that are distinct, and there is a list, and not just one thing that made Israel the chosen people, is God's protection. Again, Isaiah 43 this time. For I am Yahweh your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place. Those nations did not receive the protection that Israel received.
That's the point. Deuteronomy 4. Did any people ever hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of fire as you have and lived? God early on is telling the Jewish people, you are in a privileged position. To whomsoever much is given, much is required.
What are you going to do with this? And again, many did the right thing. Daniel the prophet.
You get higher than that amongst men. You get Daniel the prophet and you have another prophet, Ezekiel, talking about how great Daniel was. It's exciting stuff if you are a believer of Jesus Christ and a lover of his word. If you're watching or you're here and you're not a believer, these scriptures are appealing to you. I don't mean appealing to you like I like them, but I mean they are talking to you. They're inviting you.
They're saying, come, let's reason. Your sins are read as scarlet, make no mistake about it. God wants to deal with it, but you will not dictate the terms of how God deals with this. He will do that and he will do it with blood and it will be his own blood.
Blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. So this should be a big deal. No nation has ever had so many prophecies and promises about its present and its future as Israel.
Not even close. Jesus said, by the mouth of his holy prophets, he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been since the world began. Actually, that's not Jesus speaking, but it's in the Gospel of Luke. So I should get some credit nonetheless.
Anyway, that is a fact. He spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been since the world began. Abel was considered a prophet. Enoch was a prophet. Noah, a prophet, is not only one who may be able to tell the future.
According to God's revelation, a prophet is one who speaks God's word, who walks with the Lord. And Enoch walked with God and he was no more, for God took him. So this should have given the Jews an assurance that God is with them, will be with them to the end, and it should have the same effect today, but it does not amongst many of them. Look at the ones that do come to Christ, however, they get it, or hopefully. And what is expected of them, of the Jewish people?
Well, that they would embrace and understand the scripture, the oracles that have been entrusted to them. Jesus, again, I've quoted this one several times, my last few times on Sunday teachings through Romans. Jesus speaking to the woman at the well, you worship what you do not know. We know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.
And as I've hopefully been consistent in making the comment, when he made that statement, he wiped out every other religion of man on earth. Salvation is of the Jews, it comes through our Old Testament into our New Testament. Jesus was a Jew, he came as a Jew, and the Christian faith was born out of the Jewish religion. And I don't know how you can be a Christian and be against the Jewish people. If you say you're a Christian and you've got problems with the Jewish people, you need to come talk to me after service so I can set you straight.
With love, I mean that. I've come across people who have claimed to be Christians and against Israel. I don't know how you can do that with a straight face, except Satan's messing with your head. Well, after Pentecost, God began to speak not through the Jew, but he began to speak through the Gentiles also. It was a slower process, but it happened. Imagine if the Messiah bypassed Israel in all her prophecies and went to the Eskimo people. It would have all been lost. It would have made no sense.
It would have just evaporated. But he did not do that. He went to the people who were prepared to receive him from centuries before, the Jewish people. It all made sense, it all connects to this very day.
It is systematic revelation. Just think about, you read Numbers, and when God was sending the spies into the Promised Land, their mission was to spy out the land, not to come back and give their opinion. And for that opinion that they did give, God judged them and they died.
I may get to that. But coming back to it, when God told Moses by name who to send into the Promised Land, he mentioned the men and their fathers. You see, the Jews were paying attention to their genealogy. Whether they knew it or not, the time would come when another Jew named Matthew would take this genealogy that they were careful to maintain and he would demonstrate that Jesus Christ has all the rights to the throne of David as the Messiah, as the Scriptures have taught. And that's Matthew chapter 1, the first 17 verses that you might want to skip over when you're reading, but if you don't and you look into it, you'll find it has a treasure of fulfilled prophecy within it.
These things are not by chance. Your Bible is absolutely trustworthy. I don't care what Satan says to you. You can trust God's Word, but it doesn't mean it's going to insulate you from suffering and unfairness and your own flesh in this life.
But in the next life, you won't have to put up with any of this junk. Anyway, for 2,000 years, for 2,000 years, if you wanted to know about God, the true God, the Messiah to come, you had to ask a Jew. But that, of course, Pentecost moved away from that.
Now, actually I said for 2,000, maybe I need another vacation. In the last 2,000 years, if you want to know about the Jewish Messiah, you usually have to ask a Gentile. Things have reversed. Prior to that, if you wanted to know about the God of creation, you had to ask a Jew. And so, you know, we see the work of the Lord taking place, and it has all been mapped out for us in God's Word. So, for me as a Christian, I can be educated in the Scripture and remain a fool, or I can be educated in the Scripture and become a tool. That is what was available to the Jew that was raised in a society where the Scripture was everywhere, where teachings on the Scripture were everywhere, but it was lost on some, but not all.
You take King Saul. He was educated in the Scripture, but he remained a fool. He even said, I have played the fool.
It was an understatement. Or you can be like David, who was also educated, but what a tool of God. We were just singing, again, a song that was penned by David after a catastrophe that he brought upon himself, the grace and the mercy of God.
Well, we still have a lot more to discuss here. He mentions oracles of God. That Greek word for oracles is from another Greek word that we all know, logos. It is the word of God, and that's what Paul is saying, because entrusted to them were God's words, and nobody else got it like them. Within those words, we find the only way to God, to salvation, and to purpose. I don't know if I got enough time to reference Romans 9, verses 4 and 5. Speaking of the Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises of whom are the fathers, and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who was over all the eternally blessed God. Amen. Tell the Jehovah Witnesses to stick that in their pipe and smoke it, because there it says Christ is God.
There's no way to undo that unless you lie. But there's more to that verse. He's bringing out, as he's preaching to the Jewish people, what he is saying to them. Don't go twisting my words to the Galatians against me, thinking that I am somehow against Abraham and the patriarchs and the law of God.
I have just understood who the Messiah is, and that he is more important than them all. And, again, hopefully I'll come to where they twist his words, using what had been in circulation a long time by now, as he writes this Roman letter from Corinth. Let's not forget what's going on here. Satan's war is against whoever God has chosen to do his work, to be his educated tool. God is against Satan, but Satan is against those who want to be used by God. Had God chosen, for example, the Peloponnesian people instead of the Jewish people, then the Hamas types would have attacked them. Satan will find someone to attack God's people, but God's people ought to be ready.
We ought to be prepared for these things. And we learn this from not only the Christ and the prophets before him, but also from the apostles and many in church history. So now, verse 3, he says, What if some did not believe?
So, again, the hypophora, he asks a question, he will answer it. Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Well, they were given the scriptures, but just because they did not believe the revelations doesn't make God somehow less God. Man's defects do not reveal any defects in God. What if some did not believe? Well, it's on them.
That's what he's going with this. Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? This shoots down that dominion theology that somehow God has done with the Jewish people as a race, he's never going to use them again, he's done with them.
Well, that's not true. That's not what the Bible teaches at all. God is faithful, and they cannot, as a people, break the covenant. As individuals, that's a different story, and this is what he's pointing out.
Israel failed to realize that built within their own sacred writings was a messianic expansion plan. Thanks for joining us for today's teaching on Cross-Reference Radio. This is the daily radio ministry of Pastor Rick Gaston of Calvary Chapel Mechanicsville in Virginia.
We're currently going through the book of Romans. If you're in need of hearing this message again or want to listen to others like it, head over to crossreferenceradio.com. We encourage you to subscribe to our podcast, too, so you'll never miss another edition. Just go to your favorite podcast app to subscribe. On our website, you'll be able to learn a little more about the ministry of Cross-Reference Radio, so make a note of it, crossreferenceradio.com. That's all we have time for today, but thanks so much for listening. Pastor Rick will be back next time in the book of Romans here on Cross-Reference Radio.
