A gracEmail subscriber asks whether God's conditional promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14 to forgive his people and to heal their land applies today to Christians living in the United States of America. * * *In this passage King Solomon has just dedicated the Temple and God appears to the king at night to assure him that he will hear prayers offered from this place (2 Chron. 7:12-18). For example, suppose that God's covenant people Israel commit sin and God punishes them with drought, locust or disease. If they then repent, turn to God and reform their ways, God will forgive them … [Read more...]
Archives for November 2012
GENTILES
A gracEmail subscriber writes: "My husband and I were discussing that all persons are descendants of Adam and Eve. Since Isaac and Ishmael are the fathers of the Jews and the Arabs, we were curious as to what descendent of Adam and Eve was the father of the Gentiles?" * * * That would be Noah, who with his wife, their sons Shem, Ham and Japheth and the sons' three unnamed wives were the only humans who survived the Flood (Gen. 7:13, 23). Everyone born after the Flood descended from one of Noah's three sons (Gen. 9:18-19). In the Bible, the Gentiles (literally "the peoples" or "the nations") … [Read more...]
THE TRUE ISRAEL
A gracEmail subscriber asks whether "true Israel" today consists of both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews from all nations) who are part of Christ's kingdom and his spiritual body. * * * On this subject the Bible presents a variegated picture and we must include the complexity if we accurately describe that biblical picture. There is a larger sense in which Abraham is "father" of all believers, whether Jews or Gentiles (Rom. 4:11-12), and all believers are Abraham's spiritual "descendants" and "heirs" (Rom. 4:16-18; Gal. 3:29). All who trust in God as Abraham did are blessed … [Read more...]
JEWS STILL ‘CHOSEN PEOPLE’
A gracEmail reader in Eastern Europe asks, "Are the Jews still God's 'chosen people?' Why they did not receive the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ?" * * * The Apostle Paul struggles with the heart-wrenching situation of Israel's present rejection of Jesus in Romans chapters 9-11. Along the way, he notes three important points. First, not every descendant of Abraham is one of God's "chosen," as even the Old Testament story makes plain. God counted Abraham's offspring through Isaac, not through Ishmael (Gen. 21:12; Rom. 9:7). When Isaac's wife Rebekah had twin … [Read more...]
WHY MUSLIMS HATE THE WEST (2)
"So what if Muslims hate my country?" I ask myself. Should we do anything differently for that reason? As one Christian citizen of the U.S., desiring to think with "the mind of Christ" but not presumptuous enough to suppose that I always do, I raise some questions for further thought. For example, do we too easily go along with the immorality that characterizes contemporary American culture? Must Muslims be the voice of conscience for our country? I certainly do not want the Muslim (or non-Muslim) world to associate the media-promoted life of sex, drugs and booze -- or even of materialism, … [Read more...]
WHY MUSLIMS HATE THE WEST (1)
It is astounding to realize that millions of Middle-Eastern Muslims hate the West (and the USA in particular). I am not talking about the terrorists -- barbarian savages who launch suicidal attacks on innocent men, women and children. I am speaking of day laborers and artisans, mothers and school-children, regular people sometimes referred to as "the Arab street." Political correctness says they hate us because they disagree with our democracy, our capitalism, our cherished freedoms -- often summed up as our "way of life." That is a comfortable answer, to be sure, but it is also wrong. In … [Read more...]
MIDDLE EAST PERSPECTIVE
A gracEmail subscriber asks: "What is your biblical perspective on the Middle East situation -- the tension between Israel and the Palestinians, the militant Muslims?" * * * In general, I have the same biblical perspective regarding the Middle East that I have about any other part of the world. I do not believe that the modern political state of Israel has any special standing in God's eyes and I do not see it as the fulfillment of any particular biblical prophecy -- concerning either the restoration of the people of Israel and Judah to their ancient homeland or concerning … [Read more...]
TAX-TIME, GOD & CAESAR
"In view of governmental waste and funding of some projects which I consider immoral," someone asks, "can a Christian properly protest by refusing to pay income taxes on April 15?" (which is annual income tax day in the USA.) * * * Most thoughtful tax-payers probably share your frustration from time to time, but the biblical command is too clear to avoid. "Render to all what is due them," writes the Apostle Paul, "tax to whom tax is due" (Rom. 13:7). The Apostle Peter also instructs his readers to fulfil their civil duties (1 Pet. 2:13-17). The Roman government under which … [Read more...]
ON CRITICIZING CIVIL LEADERS
Somewhere over the past couple of decades, civility seems to have gone missing in much public discourse in the USA. Whether we listen to the political Right or Left, we hear shrill and intemperate voices charging national leaders with immorality, illegal actions, lying and cover-ups. Both sides have been represented in the melee and neither side has been spared from accusation. How ought Christian citizens to think, speak and react under such circumstances? Does Scripture provide applicable light? It is clear, of course, that no human being, regardless of worldly position, is exempt from … [Read more...]
VOTING ONE’S CONSCIENCE
An American husband and wife who are gracEmail subscribers ask if they must vote for a particular political candidate and his party in order to be "good" Christians. Another subscriber, who is a pastor, asks how morality should affect our voting as Christians. * * * Over the years, I have voted for Democrats, Independents, Republicans and Libertarians. That said, I must add that a Christian has no obligation to support any particular political candidate or party, since all parties and all candidates are human, fallible, morally mixed and at best align themselves only partially with God's … [Read more...]