Saturday June 19 730pm William Bell A Servant To The Circumcision Part 3

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the All Things Feel broadcast. This is William Bell, minister of the Reigns Royal Church of Christ, and we're looking forward to another great study. Thank you for tuning in, and I trust that you will mark this time down from 6.30 to 7 p.m. Central, 7.30 to 8 p.m. Eastern Time, so that you can join us every week. Also, tell your family and your friends about us, so that they will be able to sit down and study another portion of the Word of God together. We are going to continue a study that we began on a servant to the circumcision. Jesus Christ, a servant to the circumcision from Romans chapter 15, verses 8 through 12, and we'll be underway with that study in just a few minutes. We have a few announcements to get out of the way, but before we do that, we're going to have a word from our sponsor, KTA Mobile. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, and I'm sure that you can see the quality behind the KTA Mobile phones. I hope that you will take advantage of them. We are great to have them as our sponsor. Now, we have been talking about the subject of Jesus Christ, a servant to the circumcision, and when we left off in our previous lesson, we had touched slightly on the concept of the Gentiles being necessary in order for Israel to receive their promise. So, let's go back to the original text. Let's get that in front of you, and then we're going to pick up on that thought as we move toward a conclusion, hopefully, as we will be wrapping up today. Now, in Romans 15 and verse 8, the Bible says, Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy as it is written. For this reason, I will confess to you among the Gentiles and sing to your name. And again, he says, Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people. And again, Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles. Laud him, all you peoples. And again, Isaiah says, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he who shall rise to reign over the Gentiles. In him the Gentiles shall hope. Now, we have discussed the fact that Jesus was sent by God to Israel so that he could confirm the promises made to the fathers. We established that the promise was the promise made to Abraham. It was the promise of life from the dead. In other words, turning Israel away from their iniquities, as the promise was to them first. But also, and that entailed resurrection, but also that promise was designed for the Gentiles to glorify God for His mercy upon them. And that it was not an exclusive promise to Israel, but a promise that extended beyond the twelve tribes to all the nations. And this is what we have spoken of in Romans, chapter 16, verses 25 and 26. Notice what the scripture says. Now to him who is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery kept secret since the world began, or since the age began, but now made manifest and by the prophetic scriptures made known to all nations according to the commandment of the everlasting God for obedience to the faith. And this promise that the gospel had to be made known to all nations takes up the command that Jesus gave in Matthew chapter 24 and verse 14 to his apostles prior to his death when he says in this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the inhabited earth as a witness to all the nations and then the end will come. So Paul is reiterating that point. He also said it in the beginning of the book of Romans that it was the gospel that was made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. And that is Romans chapter one and the verse is five through him. We have received apostleship grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for his name. All right. And so here we are, but remember there were those who had come down from Antioch and had begun to trouble the disciples in Jerusalem by saying that unless they were circumcised according to the custom of Moses, they could not be saved. And so they created quite a bit of dissension over this. And so Paul and Barnabas had to decided they would go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders and to speak to them about that question. So they being sent on their way by the church, the Bible says they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria describing the conversion of the Gentiles and they cause great joy. And so when they got there, they had this discussion and Peter talked to them about what had transpired among the Gentiles as he carried the gospel to them, to the household of Cornelius and Acts chapter 10. And as it is recounted in Acts chapter 11 around verses 17 through 19. But the point is this or 15 through 19, the point is this in verse seven, he says, and when there had been much dispute, Peter rose up and said to them, men and brethren, you know how that a good while ago, God chose among us that by my mouth, the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel and believe. So God who knows the heart acknowledged them by giving them the Holy spirit, just as he did to us and made no distinction between us and them purifying their hearts by faith. So what's the answer to that question? Did the Gentiles have to be circumcised and keep the law after the manner of Moses? The Bible says that God made no distinction between us Jews and them Gentiles purifying their hearts through faith. Now, therefore, why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the He says, look, we didn't do so well under the yoke of the law. It was bondage. It was a yoke of bondage. And it was a burden that they carried that they could not fulfill. And as a result, God was going to do away with it. So why bring the Gentiles into what Israel couldn't handle themselves? So he says in verse 11, but we believe that through the grace of the Lord, Jesus Christ, through his grace, we shall be saved in the same manner as they. So grace, they were saved by grace through faith. That's Ephesians two eight. And he says, we are going to be saved in the same manner as they now remember the Gentiles were the uncircumcised. They did not have to get circumcised after the custom of Moses. They did not have to keep the law. And yet the Bible says that Israel was going to be saved in the same manner as they what manner the manner of coming to God like Abraham did before he was circumcised. Romans chapter four, starting at verse nine through 16, in the same way they would be justified by faith apart from circumcision without circumcision. So this is where we continue and we take up the message in terms of Jesus Christ being a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God in order that he would also confirm the promises to the Gentiles so that they could glorify God for his mercy, the depths of the mercy of God and his ways are past finding out. And this is what we are learning about in this study. Now, as we go further, let's see the focus, the scope of the message that God gave regarding the seed promise regarding the promise that was made to Abraham, because this is precisely what we're focused on. So in Galatians chapter three, verses 16 and following Galatians chapter three, verse 16 and following, let's notice what the Bible says now to Abraham and his seed. That's without an S on the end, not to seeds, which is but seed singular now to Abraham and his seed. So this is a messianic promise. It is a promise relating to Jesus Christ. Now to Abraham and his seed, where the promise is made, he does not say and to seeds as of many, but as of one and to your seed, who is Christ. So the seed of Abraham through whom the promise would be fulfilled was through the Lord Jesus Christ. That is so very, very important. It was not coming through the nation as if it was going to be genetically passed down through blood. This is not about DNA. This is about the faith of God that is given to people through Jesus Christ. And so he says, and to your seed, who is Christ. And this, I say that the law, which was 430 years later, cannot know the covenant confirmed by God, which was confirmed by God before in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. So even though the law was added later, 430 years later, it could not obviate. It could not mitigate. It could not or mitigate against. It could not destroy the promise that God had already made 430 years earlier with Abraham before Israel was ever given the law of circumcision. He says that it should make the promise of no effect. So the law could not negate the promise. And a lot of people think that today, but it could not. The promise is primary over the law. It superseded the law. It was before the law. And so what came after could not annul the promise. Then he says, for if the inheritance now, what was that promise all about? It was the promise of the eternal inheritance, not a temporal inheritance in the land, which they no longer occupy because Israel was cast out of that land in 70 AD. And the 12 tribes have never inherited it again or never inhabited it again. And what we see there today is not the fulfillment of the scriptures. The Bible says, for if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of premise, but God gave it to Abraham by promise. So you can see, therefore, that there is a contrast between the law and the promise of God. The promise of God runs in one direction, the law in another direction. They are not the same. And so he says, what purpose then does the law serve? Does that mean the law had no significance whatsoever that the law was not that which God had given to Israel to follow? No, it doesn't mean that, but he says it was added because of transgressions till the seed same singular seed till the seed should come to whom the promise was made. And it was appointed by angels or through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now a mediator does not mediate for only one or one only, but God is one is the law then against the promises of God. So since the law and the promises are different, is the law against the promises of God? No, absolutely not. And he's going to tell you later that it was the law that would lead them to the promise, which was by faith in Jesus Christ. But he says, for if there had been a law, which could have given life truly righteousness would have been by the law. Did you notice that subtle change there from the word life to the word righteousness? So what he's telling us is that life is righteousness and righteousness is life. For if there had been a law, which could have given life truly righteousness would have been by the law. And so the Bible says, but the scripture has confined all under sin that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Do you see how he said all were under sin, but the promise is given only to those who believe only to those who walk in the steps of the faith of Abraham, which he had while he was yet uncircumcised. Now, what does that mean? What is the expression of the promise? How is the promise appropriated? How do we receive the promise? How does that promise bless us? How does it bless you? How do you come under the blessing and the protection of the promise of God? This is the promise of eternal life. This is the promise of everlasting life in an age that has no end. The promise that allows you to live with God forever, forgiven of all your sins. Remember turning us away from iniquity. Here's what the Bible says concerning it. Verse 26, for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. Look, you don't have to be of the lineage of Abraham. You don't have to be of the lineage of David or Solomon or any of the rest. He says what you need is faith. Can you believe in Jesus Christ? Can you trust in him? Can you give him your heart in allegiance to his will and to his word? Can you humble yourself as the Bible spoke of Christ? Can you humble yourself to be obedient to him? That's what receiving the promise is all about. So he says, for you are all the sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ, if you have been submerged in water for the remission of sins, and if you've not, then you should be running toward this opportunity to be immersed as a result of your faith in Christ so that your sins can be removed. The Bible says as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. You put on the blessing of the promise. And you see Paul said in Acts 22 and verse 16, when he saw the meaning of being baptized into Christ and understood that it was all about receiving the promise, this is what the scripture says, which Ananias was saying to him. He says, and now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the call on him by arising and being baptized and washing away your sins. And that's what he was saying in Galatians. You're all the sons of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There is neither male nor female. Now he's not getting rid of gender distinctions or social classes when he talks about, uh, or even ethnic distinctions. When he talks about there is neither June or Greek, there's neither a slave nor free. There's neither male nor female. At the time Paul wrote this, there were Jews that were Gentiles. And of course, even to this day, they're male and female. People are trying to get rid of it wrongly, but they're still male and female. And the Bible says there's neither slave nor free because we all become one in Christ Jesus. Now here's the point. A Greek or a Gentile had no inheritance in Israel. A woman, a female had no inheritance in Israel and a slave had no inheritance in Israel. But in Christ, we all are one, which means we all have a right to the inheritance. We all have a right to the promise and therefore all can have their sins removed and be saved. And so he says, and if you are Christ, if you belong to Christ, remember it was that one seed that God had made as a promise to Abraham and to your seed singular, but the scripture shows us how we can become a part of that one seed. He says, and if you are Christ, if you belong to Christ, then are you Abraham seed and heirs according to the promise. In other words, you inherit the promise of Abraham through the one seed, which is Jesus Christ. And so that's very, very important for us to understand as we talk about the blessing. Now, let's see what that's all about. Notice in Galatians 3.21, once again, he says, for if there had been a law, which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. So the scripture is telling us that what life is all about is righteousness. It is how God makes man righteous. It is how he restores man to a relationship with him through the new covenant. And this is what is very important. This is what David saw in the 17th Psalm, Psalm 17 and verse 15. And here are his words. The Bible says, as for me, I will see your face in righteousness. Now, David wasn't expecting to look at God with his eyeballs. He wasn't expecting to see God as though we're looking at ourselves in the mirror. No, that's not the way he intended to see God. He says, I will see your face in righteousness. So the manner in which God's face is revealed to us is in righteousness. And that's what he wanted to do. Remember we said in a previous lesson that sin turns his face from us. Iniquities turned his face from us that he will not see us. He will not hear us. But in righteousness, God's face is turned to us. That means we're blessed. That means we can live in his presence. That means we are accepted by him and we are loved by him. And so David said, as for me, I will see your face in righteousness. I shall be satisfied when I awake in your likeness. So the likeness of God is righteousness. The likeness of God is separation from sin, holy, separate from sin, undefiled. And when Jesus washes you clean through the waters of baptism, by your contacting the blood, in other words, it is the blood that the water gives you access to through your faith. The Bible says that's how you become righteous. And that's how you awake in the likeness of God. It's not going to change anything physical about your body, but it will change your status and your state before God so that instead of standing before him in shame as a sinner, humiliated and separate from him, and one upon whom judgment has been marked as condemnation for death for all eternity, to the extent that you cease to be, the Bible says you awaken in the likeness of Christ. And see, that's what Romans six, three and four says. He says, what? No, you're not. That's so many of us, as we're baptized into Jesus Christ, we're baptized into his death. Therefore we were with him through baptism into death, that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together in the likeness of his death, we certainly also shall be in the likeness of his resurrection. So that's the likeness of Christ. And that's why Daniel said in Daniel 12 too, that many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake some to everlasting life and some to everlasting shame and contempt. Now, before we get to the final passages, we're going to have another word from our sponsor and stay tuned and we'll be right back. All right, here we are about to conclude our study on Jesus Christ, a servant to the circumcision so that he might confirm the promises made to the fathers and give the Gentiles a reason to glorify God for his mercy. The last text that we want to look at is first Corinthians chapter 15 and the verse is 34. First Corinthians 15 and verse 34. Now this is so important because remember, we pointed out from Acts chapter three, verses 25 and 26, that the promise that God made to Abraham was the, when he said rather, in you shall all families of the earth be blessed. That promise was the turning away of Israel from their iniquities. And that turning away is described in Acts four verses one and two as the resurrection out from among the dead. So the promise of Abraham, the blessing of turning one away from their sins is the resurrection from the dead. That is what David meant by awakening in righteousness, by being in the likeness of God, in the likeness of his resurrection. So he says in first Corinthians 15 awake to righteousness and do not sin for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame. What that means is first Corinthians 15 is speaking of the same turning away from iniquity that we find in Acts three, 25 and 26. Well, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, it's been a pleasure being with you today. Always an honor to share with you the word of God. I want to invite you to be back on next week for another edition of All Things Fulfilled right here on the NOW Network. And so we want to thank you for watching today. I'm William Bell with the Rainsboro Church of Christ. Tune in every Saturday from 630 until 7 p.m. Central Time from 730 until 8 p.m. Eastern Time for another edition of All Things Fulfilled. We're going to have another exciting study, so be sure and tell your family and your friends and join us.