THE TRUE ISRAELITE III
(Romans Bible Study Series Tape Twenty-Seven)
Recommended reading - Romans Chapters 9,10,11 and
Galatians 4:28-31
God has promised that the Spiritual descendants of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will be saved. The Spiritual descendants of
these three fathers represent the true Spiritual Israel. In this study we
will focus on Isaac who represents a new birth. Isaac was not special
because of something he did or performed, he was special because of the
manner in which he was born. God has a special lesson for us in the story
of the birth of Isaac.
I. A special nation.
· In Romans
9:6-7, Paul explains that God's elect are not necessarily physical
descendants of Abraham.
· Abraham, the
father of Isaac, was 75 years old when he was called by God and was
promised that he would be the father of a special nation; we read this
account in Genesis 12:4.
· God promised
that in Abraham all of the families of the earth would be blessed.
Abraham had no children at the time of the promise from God. The promise
would ultimately be fulfilled through Abraham's son Isaac, who was yet
to be born.
· The promise was
fulfilled and Isaac was born when Abraham was 100 years old, as we read
in Genesis 21:5. God waited to fulfill the promise to Abraham.
Abraham was totally exhausted as he tried to fulfill the promise through
any means, other than total reliance and trust in God.
· Isaac
represents something very special in the plan of God; he represents
those who are born from above. Isaac's birth was a miracle and a gift
from God. His parents were long past childbearing years, and without the
miraculous intervention of God, he would not have been conceived or
born.
II. A special birth.
· Jesus explained
the special birth to Nicodemus in John 3:3-6.
· Jesus taught
that you cannot belong to God from a natural birth; you must be born
from above.
· The natural
life must go and a new life must begin. Our old life must die, and we
must then have a new birth in the Spirit. The miraculous birth of Isaac
pictures this very special Spiritual birth. We must have this Spiritual
birth to belong to God.
III. The Law is Spiritual.
· Paul explains
in Romans 7:14, that the Law is Spiritual and we are carnal sold
to sin. Our natural life does not have the capacity to keep the law of
God, as we read in Romans 8:7.
· Christ has
given us a new hope and an opportunity to have a new birth. The new
birth becomes a reality, when we have experienced a proper conversion.
· The new birth
is a process that begins upon begettal of the Holy Spirit.
· Christ took our
condemned life and gave us His life so that we could rise in newness of
life.
IV. The children of promise.
· We have an
incorruptible inheritance in this new life. Salvation is ours, as we are
Isaac's children through the promise.
· We are the
children of the promise of God. The reality of this promise will take
place at the second coming of Christ.
· In II Peter
1:2-4, we read that grace and peace is multiplied through the
knowledge of God and Christ. The truth will set us free!
V. Reflecting the character of God.
· The new life,
that we have, gives us two wonderful blessings. First, we are given
eternal life; secondly we are given Godliness.
· The new life
enables us to reflect the character of God.
· The knowledge
and acceptance of Christ gives us an exceedingly great and precious
promise that allows us to partake in the very divine nature of God.
VI. A confusion in Galatia that still permeates to this day.
· In Galatians
4:21, Paul addresses the confusion that those in Galatia had
concerning being under the Law.
· A teaching had
been introduced stressing that one could be saved by the works, which
they performed. A confusion of understanding occurred, when many
believed that they could earn their salvation. Paul explained to the
listeners that they were no longer under the rulership of the law.
· The Law is a
standard of living for the true Christian; however, we cannot earn our
salvation, it is a free gift. The Law no longer condemns us, if we are
in Christ.
VII. A crucial difference between the two mother's and the two
son's.
· Paul discusses
the sons of Abraham in Galatians 4:23-28. In these verses we read
about the difference between the sons of Abraham, the mothers of those
sons, and their representation of the Law and the covenant.
· Hagar and
Ishmael represent bondage and being under the Law. Sarah and Isaac
represent the freedom in Christ.
· When you accept
Christ by faith, then the Holy Spirit dwells in you. You become a child
of Isaac and experience the new birth. A birth that changes your life
from the understanding of who you are to the understanding of true
obedience to God and to His loving Law.
· The natural
life, in which we were originally born, does not disappear when this
beggetal occurs. We will still live the different lives of flesh and
Spirit. We will continue to struggle all of our lives with the carnality
that is in us.
· The struggle,
that we will experience, is addressed in Galatians 4:29-30. The
struggle, that we will experience between the flesh and the spirit, is
the parallel of the struggle between Isaac and Ishmael in Genesis
21:8-12.
· The scriptures
tell us to cast out the flesh, as Abraham cast out the bondwomen and the
child. Paul concludes that we are not the children of the bondwoman,
rather of the free woman in Galatians 4:31.
We need to review our life and be determined to properly
look at the blessing of conversion. Are we a Christian who has been born
from above and received the Holy Spirit? Only the children of Isaac, those
born from above, will have a right to the Kingdom of God. We have been
blessed with a new life that is in Christ. We need to thank God for this
special understanding of Isaac and of his special birth, to properly
understand that we are the very children of promise. |
The True Israelite - Part
III 