@StevenErtelt A Christian CAN do anything they want. The question we should probably be asking is: does this get me closer to God and is this pleasing to Him. We were created for God’s good pleasure, not our own.
Romans 11 makes it very difficult to argue that the Church has simply replaced Israel in God’s purposes. Paul actually anticipates that conclusion and rejects it directly:
“Has God rejected his people? By no means!” — Romans 11:1
Paul then describes Israel as the natural branches of an olive tree. Because of unbelief, some of those branches were broken off, while believing Gentiles—wild olive shoots—were grafted in among them (Romans 11:17). Notice what Paul does not say: God cut down Israel’s tree and planted a new tree called the Church. Instead, Gentile believers are graciously grafted into what God was already doing through His covenant promises.
That is why Paul specifically warns Gentile Christians:
“Do not be arrogant toward the branches.” — Romans 11:18
And again:
“Do not become proud, but fear.” — Romans 11:20
Replacement theology risks reversing Paul’s warning. The Gentile believer does not replace the natural branches and become the new exclusive recipient of God’s promises. Rather, through Christ, Gentiles are brought into the blessings of salvation that flow from God’s redemptive plan begun through Israel.
Paul then explains Israel’s present condition:
“A partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” — Romans 11:25
The words “partial” and “until” are critical. Israel’s unbelief is neither total nor presented as permanent. Paul continues:
“And in this way all Israel will be saved.” — Romans 11:26
Whatever interpretive questions surround the precise meaning and timing of that statement, Paul clearly sees a continuing role for ethnic Israel in God’s redemptive purposes. He reinforces that conclusion by saying:
“As regards election, they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” — Romans 11:28–29
The Church therefore does not replace Israel. Jewish and Gentile believers are united in salvation through faith in Jesus Christ—there is only one gospel and one means of salvation. But that does not require us to conclude that God has cancelled His purposes concerning ethnic Israel.
Romans 11 teaches something much more remarkable: Gentiles have been graciously grafted in, Israel has experienced a partial hardening because of unbelief, and God is not finished with Israel
@SKokenos@RevivedThoughts Why, yes. I have. Perhaps I’m getting the wrong message from your “divorce” scripture. It came sorta without context .. but with all the replacement theology folks, it looked conspicuously like one of those. If you’re quoting Romans 11, that’s even more confusing.
@SKokenos@RevivedThoughts Have you read the Book of Hosea?
Details the prophet's tragic marriage to an unfaithful wife as a vivid picture of God's unyielding love for an idolatrous Israel, demonstrating that despite their spiritual betrayal, God promises ultimately to forgive and restore His people.
@RevivedThoughts Genesis. Hands down. From the garden, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob … Joseph, Noah, Tower of Babel … all the NT cross references. Awesome Book!
@RobbBrunansky “Reverend”?
You mean, like, “Reverend”?
Or, like, “Reverend” Al Sharpton?
Okay - Reverend.
I prefer “Pastor”
Like “Pastor” @howertonjosh
@DavidLimbaugh Once again, Satan takes the truth and twists just enough to make it a lie. And the story is much more palatable, and less offensive … so the unregenerate swallow it. This man will suffer a greater condemnation.
And it changes nothing. Right on.
Jesus railed against the religious Jews counting out Cumin seeds but complete disregard for Justice, Mercy and Faithfulness.
Stop arguing about OSAS, Protestant vs Catholics, Armenians vs Calvinists … biblical Israel ..
Try praying, fasting, searching the scriptures, learning to love God and each other.
Thought it’s often stated as such, Jesus never directly quotes the book of Enoch. What we do find though is an apparent critique of Enochic traditions rather than quotations of them. In John’s Gospel, Jesus seems to speak against claims that Enoch ascended to heaven and descended again as the Son of Man to bring knowledge to the elect on earth. A claim within Enoch which ascribes the Son of Man from Daniel 7 to Enoch, and therefore not Jesus. John 3:13–15 presents Jesus stating, “No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man;” a formulation that directly challenges the Enoch narrative where the patriarch fulfills this role.
The broader picture shows that Enoch exercised significant influence on early Christianity, with the theory of demons in Luke 11:24–26 finding parallels in inter-testimonial literature like Enoch’s teachings, and the judgment scene in Matthew 25:31 presupposing the corresponding scene in Enoch. Yet this influence appears to be implicit rather than explicit. The relevance of such Pseudopigraphical literature on the Gospel authors has them draw on these commonly known Jewish concepts and imagery without attributing content eventually written down in Enochic texts directly to Jesus as quotations.
The absence of direct quotation is telling. Jude explicitly quotes Enoch by name as prophecy (though Enoch never prophesied in the section quoted from 1 Enoch 1), demonstrating that early Christians could cite Enoch formally when they chose to do so. That the Gospels do not employ this same method suggests Jesus’s sayings were not presented as Enochic citations, even where conceptual overlap existed.
I’ve heard the saying that “God gives his toughest battles to his toughest soldiers.” But when I see the disciples that Jesus chose and suffered for His name sake, I don’t see Him choosing the “toughest soldiers”, as I learn about men and women in the past and even today who have laid down their lives for Jesus, once again I don’t see God choosing His “toughest soldiers.” But I see a strong and mighty God choosing weak men and woman, and empowering them by His Holy Spirit to face some of the toughest battles and be used for His glory.
I once thought I was a “tough soldier” until I met Jesus, I then realized that I’m so weak without Him, and apart from Jesus I can’t do anything. I need Jesus daily. The only way that I can truly become who God wants me to be and truly do what God wants me to do, is not by my power not by my might, but only by The Spirit of The Living God. Thank you Jesus.