Great Sermon! Hello Brother Oshman, I just heard your little sermon on "Sermon Audio" on Pauls Sermon at Pisidian Antioch. I loved it and thank you. I am a Christian Palestinian. I would love to hear more of your sermons, and would love to see more people of the Jewish faith embrace the Lord Jesus the Christ as their Savior, and with sermons like yours more of them will be turning around. I love your people.
Thank you
Samih Rafeedie
Be one who puts out fires. Overview: ¶ Dr. Showers starts off in pointing out an Internet search of "Luther Hitler" will bring up many interesting articles. ¶ Replacement theology had tragic consequences in World War II. Anti-Semitism is alive and well in Western Europe countries such as France, and there is a group of "Christians" and Islamists that is developing in Great Britain. There are neo-Nazis and White Supremacists in the USA. They use the Internet to spread their hatred of the Jews.PCUSA and the Methodists have pushed resolutions to cripple Israeli trade. ¶ Renald when a 9th-grader was given a job in clothing store ran by gracious and kind Jew. Renald worked for him until he graduated from high school. The store owner had one son, who Renald hadn't seen since 1953. Renald kept correspondence with the store owner through the years. The son contacted Renald in 2007 to tell him; his father had died. Renald continued to correspond with the son, and last year he told Renald what some "Christian" children did to him when he was a boy of five, some of his playmates asked to come out and play, they tied him to a post, started a fire at his feet, and called him "Christ Killer" A passing lady came along, rebuked the children and stamped out the flames. Anti-Semitism still exists!
Killed in Christ's Name! Overview ¶ One of the ideas that the Church was "New Israel" is that a church had to ape the Jewish priesthood, so a prelacy was established. Bishops of churches had to have oversight to make sure they did theirs jobs, monarchial bishops, oversaw them, Metropolitans oversaw them, Metropolitans were usually bishops of the largest church in an area, It was then decided that someone had to check on the Metropolitans, the archbishop was invented, then some needed to see the archbishops were toeing the party line, so cardinals were invented to fill this spot in the hierarchy, but of course someone had to keep the cardinals in line and one man filled that role, the Pope. ¶ Ethnic Israel had continuing blood sacrifices, and so the mass finally came about so Christ was continually blood sacrifice. This flies in the face of God, ¶ Romans 6:10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God--ESV ¶ The Apostolic church believed in Chiliasm or millennialism. This was a Jewish view, so it had to be rejected! Augustine was the most famous rejecter of the physical Kingdom. ¶ He approved allegory. He developed Amillinnialism. He's the first who taught the error that the Church was the Kingdom of God. Jews were killed by the thousands.
The Mistaken Idea of 'New Israel' Informal Overview: ¶ Some people even reject the idea that in 1947 the United Nations actually passed a resolution that the land called Palestine was supposed to be divided between the resident Arabs and Jews to form their own countries! Renald had several men come up to him during a Bible Conference he was at and rejected this truth! These people are of part of Replacement theology. They mistakenly think the Christian Church has replaced the Jews, because they rejected Christ at his first coming. They lost their mandate from God for Israel [according to them -- not God!] and should be scattered among the nations. ¶ Replacement theology started just a 100 years after the start of the Christian Church. By the end of the first century the majority of the Church wasn't made up of Jewish believers. Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Origin were famous anti-Semitic theologians. Origin is infamous for injecting allegory into Biblical interpretation. [See http://tinyurl.com/zelu4um for various quotations from these "church fathers"] Two areas where replacement had a tragic effect on the Church. Ecclesiology and Eschatology, Since the old Israel had a structured priesthood, God must have wanted the "New Israel" to have a multilayered priesthood, from which a Pope mushroomed out.
Two Gospels -- One way to Salvation! Informal Look ¶ Exodus 19:6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.'... ---ESV ¶ As Renald points out. Gentiles are blind and death in not worshiping the only true and living God. The Jews will reign over the world during the Millennium -- but only after they have repented of their rebellion. Jesus told his Apostles not to go to the Samaritans and Gentiles with the message about the Kingdom but only the Jews. They had to meet the spiritual requirement before the Kingdom of Heaven would come. ¶ This is completely different from the Gospel given in 1 Cor. 15:3-4 ¶ No Kingdom mentioned here! In Matthew 16, A new Gospel is being given and this was a Gospel for everyone was going to be preached not one just for the Jews. Covenant theologians deny that! Covenant types believe only of individual salvation on from Abraham on, They deny the distinction of the two Gospels. ¶ Convenant theology teaches all covenants are just phases Covenant of Grace. No new conditions can be added to a Covenant! See Gal. 3:15 Covenant theology employs a double hermaneutic Literal and allegorical. [This like mixing oil and water!]. It's an anchorless hermaneutic! This is a very serious problem with Covenant Theology. ¶ Many are amillinnial, but the Kingdom will be physical.
Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! Informal Overview: ¶ People saved in Old Testament times were not a part of the Church--in spite of what Covenant theologians say! The Church didn't come into existence until Acts Chapter 2, which was confirmed in Acts 11:15. Spirit baptism is what build the church, which didn't take place until the Pentecost after Christ's resurrection. Spirit baptism never happened before this! The permanent indwelling of the Spirit didn't happen until after the Pentecost. Covenant theologians deny the distinction between the Israel and the Church. ¶ They don't have the Kingdom of God correct either. The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Jesus told his apostles to go only to Jews with the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven. (Matthew 10:5-6) Kingdom of God won't take place until the nation of Israel (the Jews) repents and accepts Jesus as their Messiah. Israel is a distinct, unique, physical nation. God appointed Israel to be priests to the world. See Isaiah 43. ¶ The physical nation of Israel has to accept Christ as their Messiah. They have to repent before the Kingdom will come. ¶ See Scofield notes for Matthew 3:2 and Zechariah 12:8.
Great Introduction to Covenant Theology! Informal Overview ¶ Covenantal theologians believe there are three Covenants, God in eternity past, Redemption, Works and Grace. But the primary goal God of history is not the salvation of man, as the Covenant theologians would have it even though it one of the important aspects of God's plan is the salvation of sinners. But God has several programs, e.g., for sinners, rulers over nations, nations and nature. So, there has to be an overall plan for all these subordinate plans. ¶ The ultimate plan for history if for God to glorify Himself! The ultimate Bible plan is for God is to demonstrate He is the only God of the Universe. God shows this by carrying out all these various programs through the course of world history. ¶ The Covenantal idea of God's plan is too limited and narrow. It is more than just the salvation of the Elect. Covenantal theology weakens or denies some of the distinctions given the Bible. The Mosaic and Abrahamic Covenants are not the same, as the Covenant theologians claim! The Apostle Paul points out there is a great distinction between the Mosaic and Abrahamic covenants. Grace doesn't give death which the Mosaic Law can! ¶ Covenant theology denies that the Church and Israel are different! The Church didn't come into existence until Acts 2. (See Acts 15:1