Dale Partridge - Romans 15_8-13 Finding Unity Between Jews and Gentiles

00:00:00.000 Amen. Well, let's wake up and get in the Word, right? So this last week, I was able to deliver

00:00:15.640 a sermon on really the relationship between Christians and the Jewish people. I don't 1.00

00:00:26.840 think that I expected that sermon to be so perfectly timed with all the events of the past

00:00:33.920 week. I had been working in the weeks prior on that content, and it actually released this week

00:00:43.600 in a small little booklet. We will have these in about a week or two for our congregation for free.

00:00:51.580 And so if you want one of these, just come find me.

00:00:56.420 I talk about that because this is really part two of a part of the first part that we did last week.

00:01:04.380 The title of this little booklet is called The Israel Delusion, Challenging Christian Zionism and Reclaiming the Church as the True Israel.

00:01:12.840 now last week we learned that identity precedes unity identity precedes unity and for jews and

00:01:26.720 gentiles to be truly united as the scriptures call us to we must first understand who paul

00:01:32.800 is referring to when he says the term the jews is he talking about those jews who have rejected

00:01:41.040 Christ as the Messiah? Or is he talking about those believing Jews who came to him by faith?

00:01:49.360 Now, at first, the answer might seem obvious. You think, well, of course, he's talking about

00:01:52.920 the believing Jews. But in our day, with what we call Christian Zionism, or with what Corbin 0.80

00:02:00.900 had mentioned is dispensationalism, it's actually more complicated than that. Many believers,

00:02:08.380 shockingly will show more zeal in aligning with and supporting the nation of Israel who rejects

00:02:18.720 Christ than they will in supporting and aligning with other Christians and local churches in their 0.75

00:02:24.800 own hometown. Think about that for a second. We have been raised up in a generation that has

00:02:32.480 elevated the Jews who reject Christ, and we are more willing as a church in America to support 1.00

00:02:41.360 that nation than we are to support one another. Now, the real trouble with this doctrine 0.54

00:02:48.120 of dispensationalism, and these are real brothers and sisters in the Lord who hold these positions.

00:02:56.480 This position was really obviously, it came onto the scene in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

00:03:03.380 It was popularized by the Schofield Reference Bible.

00:03:06.440 But it is not the position of all of church history.

00:03:08.980 In fact, for about 1900 years, that was not the position of either the Protestants, the Orthodox Church, or the Roman Catholic Church.

00:03:16.680 Now, it's hard to come to that realization when you realize, wow, we believe something that 1900 years of Christians did not.

00:03:22.740 and what is the cost what is the cost of mixing up israel as the church the body of christ

00:03:34.400 and israel the nation that has rejected christ what is the cost now just for a second i'd like

00:03:41.440 you to imagine with me imagine all of the passion and the influence and the prayer and the finances

00:03:48.560 that America has directed toward the nation of Israel.

00:03:53.540 Imagine if all of that had been directed toward the church.

00:03:58.080 What would that do to the church in America?

00:04:02.000 We have many churches that are struggling to find a building.

00:04:04.800 We have many churches that are fighting political and legal battles in their own hometowns.

00:04:10.600 We have many churches that are persecuted in a variety of ways.

00:04:17.040 But imagine how much effort has been put into the focus on the Middle East.

00:04:23.760 Now imagine if we got that wrong.

00:04:27.280 Imagine for a second that the Israel that the Bible talks about is truly Christ and his body, the church. 0.70

00:04:38.620 Which includes believing Jews and believing Gentiles. 0.97

00:04:42.920 Just imagine. 0.90

00:04:44.700 And that is what we talked about last week.

00:04:50.000 We have believed that the nation of Israel is, quote, God's chosen people.

00:04:56.280 And I challenged that last week saying, what about the many Jews that have died rejecting Christ

00:05:03.040 and who are now, according to scripture, in hell?

00:05:06.980 Are we fair to say that God's chosen people are in hell?

00:05:11.340 What a strange thought.

00:05:12.680 And so, again, we find the systematic coherence of the true Israel being the body of Christ. 0.94

00:05:25.220 Now, I showed how Gentiles have been grafted in to a root that was ethnic and national and temporary. 0.86

00:05:36.420 But in Christ has now blossomed. 0.83

00:05:38.900 that vine has now blossomed into something that is spiritual global and eternal what started off

00:05:47.080 as a seed and in the cradle of national ethnic israel has now blossomed into an international

00:05:55.320 body of christ this is again why jesus says in the great commission go and get the nations

00:06:02.600 for they are mine. Ultimately, what I was communicating is that the church doesn't

00:06:11.320 replace Israel. This is the argument that dispensationalists will use against covenant

00:06:17.300 theologians. They will say, oh, you hold to replacement theology. No, I do not truly. In

00:06:24.240 fact, that term replacement theology is simply a straw man term that they use because they're not

00:06:30.280 willing to deal with the real debate around covenant theology. No, the reality is that the

00:06:36.140 church doesn't replace Israel. It is Israel. We know and we saw last week that Christ is the true

00:06:42.880 Israel. He is the true and better Jacob. He is the true and better Moses. He is the true and better 0.92

00:06:48.360 Joshua. He is the true and better Adam. Christ is the true Israel. And his body, the church, is the

00:06:55.800 true and better Israel. Now, when we look at Israel, the church, it is the matured form.

00:07:05.780 It is the blossomed form. It is the ultimate form. In a sense, any Gentile believer grafted

00:07:14.140 into the true Israel becomes a true Israelite. Think about that for a second. Spiritually, 0.99

00:07:20.540 we are Jews, a true Jew, according to scripture. There is actually a several passages of scripture

00:07:26.640 that says that there are true Jews and there are not true Jews. There are Jews who lie and 0.99

00:07:32.980 there are Jews who are truly circumcised of the heart. And so, when we come to Christ, 0.98

00:07:40.620 we actually become a true Israelite. And in fact, when a Jewish person rejects Jesus, 0.87

00:07:47.380 they become a true Gentile. It's very strange in the sense that they actually become someone who 0.99

00:07:54.500 rejects, a pagan, apostate, away, separated, unholy from the people of God. Now again, 0.51

00:08:04.100 all of this is meant to clarify exactly who Paul is referring to when he speaks of unity between

00:08:10.700 the Jews and the Gentiles. Now, in contrast to the confusion of the dispensationalism that's in

00:08:19.160 America, especially within, you know, maybe the more conservative church, biblical unity between 0.50

00:08:28.260 Christians and Christ-rejecting Jews is not what Christ wants. There's been a little bit of a

00:08:36.300 sentimentality, where we find this kind of desire to almost make Jews feel comfortable

00:08:45.440 in the presence of Christians, almost as if they are kind of like halfway Christians. 0.94

00:08:51.820 In fact, years ago, many years ago now, when I was a member at a church, I remember that they

00:08:58.560 brought in a Jewish rabbi to explain parts of the Old Testament to us. Now, this rabbi

00:09:06.340 was a Talmudic Jew who rejected Christ. And for a moment you sit there and you're almost 1.00

00:09:14.380 going, oh, well, this is really helpful. I'm appreciating this. But then you come to your

00:09:19.880 senses and you realize we are asking a man who does not understand to see Christ in all

00:09:26.600 of the Scriptures to help us interpret the Scriptures. And then, right after that, they ask

00:09:33.640 for an opportunity for us to give to his Hebrew Institute of Interpreting Old Testament Scriptures.

00:09:39.780 And then the entire church is now donating money to this man who rejects Christ, while not giving

00:09:48.240 it to the other churches in their own hometown that are desperate. It is a very strange thing

00:09:54.220 to be in the American church right now.

00:09:58.000 And according to Scripture,

00:10:01.760 neither Jesus nor Paul ever called for spiritual unity

00:10:04.920 with those who deny the Son. 0.99

00:10:07.400 In fact, it is our duty to make people feel uncomfortable

00:10:10.060 when they deny the Son.

00:10:13.240 It is never loving to make someone feel comfortable

00:10:15.440 on their way to hell.

00:10:16.420 It is never loving to make someone feel

00:10:19.500 as if they do not need to repent of their sin

00:10:22.040 and trust in Christ.

00:10:23.540 In fact, it is very anti-Semitic to make somebody feel that Jesus is not their Messiah.

00:10:30.140 You want to really hate a Jewish person?

00:10:32.020 Don't tell them about Jesus. 1.00

00:10:33.460 That's a great way to hate Jewish people. 1.00

00:10:36.580 You want to love someone? 1.00

00:10:37.900 You want to love the Jews? 1.00

00:10:39.060 Tell them of Christ. 1.00

00:10:40.900 Tell them to repent of their sin and to show them from the Old Testament that this is their Messiah.

00:10:48.420 It's a great way to love the nation who rejects Christ.

00:10:54.500 2 Corinthians 6, verses 14 through 15, it says, 0.92

00:10:58.040 Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers.

00:11:01.140 For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? 0.52

00:11:03.840 And what fellowship has light with darkness? 0.91

00:11:06.080 And what accord has Christ with Belial? 0.98

00:11:09.880 Belial, it's actually better. 0.99

00:11:12.100 Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? 0.86

00:11:17.620 1 John 2, 22-23 says, 0.80

00:11:22.280 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ?

00:11:27.860 That man who came into our church, we brought a liar into our church. 0.77

00:11:34.220 And we celebrated it. 0.92

00:11:36.220 And that happens all over America.

00:11:38.020 In fact, there's probably a few churches today that are having situations like that in their church this morning.

00:11:44.800 1 John 22-23 goes on to say

00:11:49.700 This is the Antichrist

00:11:51.280 He who denies the Father and the Son

00:11:53.580 No one who denies the Son has the Father

00:11:57.140 Jesus said last week that if you hate me

00:11:59.600 You hate the Father also

00:12:01.120 You start to see pretty quickly why Jesus was crucified 0.98

00:12:06.020 Imagine going up to a Jew and saying

00:12:09.800 If you hate the Son, you hate the Father 0.97

00:12:12.680 and they're going you telling me that i hate god and the christian response is yes yes i am telling

00:12:22.920 you that if you hate jesus christ that you do not love god the father

00:12:26.880 that is a shocking message for an american churchianity

00:12:32.960 philippians 3 2 through 3 it says look out for the dogs look out for the evildoers

00:12:41.720 Look out for those who mutilate the flesh 1.00

00:12:44.540 That's speaking of the Jews 0.99

00:12:45.500 For we are the circumcision

00:12:47.980 He's saying we truly we are the circumcision

00:12:50.740 Now what are we the circumcision of the heart

00:12:52.460 The true circumcision

00:12:54.280 And he says who worship by the spirit

00:12:56.820 Of God

00:12:57.920 Again 1.00

00:13:01.040 Any Christian 0.99

00:13:03.760 Should love to see Jews come to Christ

00:13:06.980 It should be a wonderful thing

00:13:10.140 to see those that are born of Jewish descent come and see Jesus as the Messiah.

00:13:17.640 We want that. We love that. We hope and pray for that.

00:13:21.620 In fact, Scripture commands it so.

00:13:24.400 And so now that we know that Paul's emphasis on unity is between believing Jews and believing Gentiles 0.59

00:13:31.060 and not that the American church should be out here uniting with Christ rejecting Israel in the Middle East.

00:13:37.080 and let me say something real quick because we are in the middle of this political conflict

00:13:43.140 i'm not saying that what happened yesterday was completely wrong

00:13:45.860 iran hates america iran hates christians it's an islamic nation it's ran by sharia law 0.95

00:13:54.700 it's not good in fact anytime i get an opportunity to be against the muslims i'm in 0.98

00:14:00.820 okay what i'm saying is that i want every possibility to fight against 0.93

00:14:08.940 lies and what happened yesterday is difficult to discern because you have two sides one

00:14:16.600 you go wow we have jumped into a war primarily seemingly because of the conflict between

00:14:23.240 Israel in this nation. On the other side, you also have a nation who hates us and has very likely

00:14:31.620 threatened our president and has also probably not a great reality of them having nuclear weapons.

00:14:38.440 So there is arguments on both sides, and I'm not saying that all of what happened yesterday is

00:14:44.460 because of dispensationalism. No, it's more complicated than that, certainly. What I am

00:14:49.760 saying is that dispensationalism certainly had some involvement in the position and the way that

00:14:55.860 we think about geopolitical realities in the Middle East. And I believe it is time for us to

00:15:02.740 be thinking Christianly. I saw actually a quote. It was a meme that showed a picture of Donald

00:15:10.940 Trump, and it said, America first, and then it said, Israel firstess. And that can seem truly 0.56

00:15:18.880 what it feels like. No, what we want is we want Christ first. We want our beliefs to inform our

00:15:25.360 behavior. And we want, really, the scriptures to inform how we ought to relate with these other

00:15:32.400 nations. Now, my hope is that through the power of Christ, that Christ conquers Iran. And how would

00:15:39.940 he conquer Iran? The same way he conquered you and me, through the gospel. Christ conquers his enemies 0.71

00:15:45.780 through conversion. That's what he does. He preaches the gospel through the body of Christ

00:15:49.940 and sends missionaries into a land that is hostile, and people

00:15:53.800 come to Christ. When it says faith by hearing and hearing by the word

00:15:57.780 of Christ, he means it. Now, in the early

00:16:01.840 years of the church, many believing Jews

00:16:05.820 struggled to let go of their ethnic, legalistic

00:16:08.880 traditionalism that was attached to Judaism.

00:16:12.960 And it led Gentile believers at that time to question the legitimacy of the Jews in receiving the gospel of grace.

00:16:24.600 Just imagine for a moment, you're surrounded by a society and there was a handful of Jews that were in our church

00:16:31.340 that were really struggling to grasp the gospel of grace. 0.98

00:16:38.260 All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful.

00:16:42.540 All things are lawful, but not all things build up. 0.89

00:16:46.400 The freedom that we have in the gospel was a stumbling block for many of the Jews.

00:16:51.480 We saw that in the previous sermons that I was delivering a few weeks ago. 0.85

00:16:56.740 At the same time, the struggle of a Gentile watching these Jews struggle with the externalism 0.92

00:17:03.780 and letting go of the legalistic reality and traditions of their past 0.81

00:17:08.620 in order to receive the gospel of grace in which they rest not on their works,

00:17:12.760 but they rest on the work and finished righteousness of Christ. 0.99

00:17:17.260 On the other side, you have Gentiles coming out of paganism 0.97

00:17:22.240 who were learning how to integrate into a covenant community

00:17:25.040 that is filled with these centuries of traditions from the Jews,

00:17:29.800 causing some Jews to question the legitimacy of the Gentiles conversion.

00:17:35.580 So you've got both sides.

00:17:36.960 and here's the apostle paul with a duty and mission to unite these two groups together

00:17:45.060 what a work what a work that would be in fact i struggle with unifying people that have

00:17:51.500 dispensationalism and or a legalistic background to unify into a body imagine taking two people

00:17:58.340 from two radically different cultures and working that together that is a work of the holy spirit

00:18:03.400 alone. Now, as we saw the tensions surrounding identity, tradition, spiritual maturity,

00:18:14.200 weak and strong Christians, the friction that was happening there, now we're seeing those

00:18:18.100 same tensions and those same conflicts between Jewish and Gentile believers. That's what

00:18:22.480 this text is talking about. Now, one of the more common tensions seen in the early church

00:18:30.820 was the Jewish doubts of the legitimacy of Gentile inclusion in the people of God.

00:18:39.100 Now, it's not so clear, maybe in the scriptures,

00:18:41.400 but when you start to read extra biblical literature around the first century,

00:18:45.220 you can start to see the conflict.

00:18:47.280 There was the Judaizers, there were Christians that were in the church

00:18:50.900 that struggled with the Jewish traditions.

00:18:53.020 And here's what I mean by that.

00:18:54.260 Some of these Jews were likely pointing out to Paul and even to Gentiles and to their Jewish friends that Christ's earthly ministry was primarily and almost exclusively to the Jews.

00:19:10.240 Using that as an argument against Paul's ministry to the Gentiles.

00:19:15.980 Think about that for a second.

00:19:17.540 But Jesus spent 99% of his ministry talking to the Jews. 0.88

00:19:27.240 It's pretty quick and short jump to the idea that, 0.50

00:19:31.800 well, look, even Jesus didn't go after the Gentiles.

00:19:35.440 Are you sure that it was really God's will that the Gentiles be saved?

00:19:39.620 If it was, why didn't Jesus go and seek the Gentiles?

00:19:43.680 It's a pretty strong argument, actually, in the first century.

00:19:47.540 Now, in response, we're going to see Paul turn to the Old Testament

00:19:51.920 to show that the inclusion of the Gentiles was always part of God's plan

00:19:57.360 and that God calls both groups to humility and to unity,

00:20:02.100 not as two separate peoples, but as one new humanity,

00:20:07.540 as Christ is the head and we are the body.

00:20:10.920 Now, before I begin with our first verse,

00:20:15.780 Let's just back up a few verses, and you can follow along in Romans chapter 15, verses 5 through 7.

00:20:24.200 It's kind of a prayer in verse 5.

00:20:28.040 It's almost like a prayer praise.

00:20:31.920 He says,

00:20:32.340 It says,

00:21:02.340 8 through 13. He says, Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a minister to the circumcision 0.93

00:21:08.140 for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, and that the Gentiles

00:21:17.380 might glorify God for His mercy. Now we're grammarians in this church, right? We like

00:21:23.720 grammar because we're not going to be those people that don't know how to interpret the

00:21:26.920 scriptures after being in the church for 20 years. So just look for a second. I mean,

00:21:31.960 there's a variety of translations that are in our

00:21:33.960 congregation, but he says, now

00:21:35.900 I say that Jesus Christ

00:21:37.900 has become a minister to the circumcision. 1.00

00:21:40.840 Your Bible might 0.95

00:21:41.860 say that he might confirm, but

00:21:43.940 there's a purpose clause right there.

00:21:45.580 And he gives two reasons.

00:21:48.240 One, that he might confirm the promises

00:21:50.060 made to the fathers, and two,

00:21:52.180 that the Gentiles might glorify God

00:21:53.900 for his mercy. 0.96

00:21:55.520 Two things. Separated

00:21:58.040 by a coordinating conjunction, the word and.

00:22:00.580 Equal value.

00:22:01.960 So this passage we're going to see has somewhat of a rotating focus.

00:22:09.480 It's got a rotating focus affirming the legitimacy of the Jews in God's people 0.52

00:22:15.580 and the legitimacy of the Gentiles in God's people. 0.72

00:22:18.660 It kind of goes back and forth affirming both of them. 0.89

00:22:22.520 And in the first sentence, Paul is affirming the legitimacy of the Jews 0.85

00:22:26.920 in that Jesus was born a Jew. 0.66

00:22:30.080 and two, that he ministered primarily to the Jews.

00:22:35.380 That is what Paul is saying.

00:22:37.000 Now, I want to just jot off a few scriptures right now.

00:22:40.520 It says Matthew 15, 24.

00:22:42.560 Jesus says, quote,

00:22:44.660 I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 0.92

00:22:49.700 That's a real strong passage of scripture to use against the Gentile inclusion. 0.88

00:22:54.060 If Paul had not came out with his doctrine, 0.60

00:22:56.860 clarifying many of these things,

00:22:58.800 You use that passage of scripture.

00:23:01.180 I was only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

00:23:05.440 You go, wow, that's a pretty strong statement.

00:23:08.960 The term house of Israel refers more to the bloodline or the ethnic reality of Israel.

00:23:17.560 Jesus uses that phrase again, Matthew 10, 5, saying these 12.

00:23:22.120 Well, I guess this is Matthew speaking. 0.60

00:23:23.780 These twelve Jesus sent out instructing them, quote, go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 0.86

00:23:39.700 Interesting.

00:23:41.140 Here he narrows it down a little bit more, not just the house of Israel, but now to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,

00:23:49.900 which again in my opinion shows that there was a remnant within the group just as Romans chapter

00:23:57.240 9 verse 6 says not all who are descended from Israel are Israel and not all who are born of

00:24:06.180 Abraham are truly the sons of Abraham but it is those who are of faith that show the same faith

00:24:13.040 of Abraham and so there is a group within a group again we understand this right not all Israel is

00:24:19.160 Israel. When Jesus says that, or when the Old Testament says to bless Israel, he's not speaking

00:24:26.280 of the nation of Israel. He's speaking of the elect within Israel. He's speaking of the true

00:24:30.740 seed that's inside of the covenant of Israel. You have people that are in the covenant and you have

00:24:36.660 people that are of the covenant. You have people who have been circumcised of the flesh and then

00:24:41.700 you have people who are circumcised of the heart. There is a group within the group.

00:24:46.040 in the new testament you see this reality that jesus says that we have wheat and we have tares

00:24:53.480 in fact jesus says don't uproot the tares because they look so much like the wheat that you might

00:24:59.280 actually uproot one of the wheat on accident let me do it he says at the end of time we still have

00:25:07.460 it the israel the church there is a group within a group some people are actually born again

00:25:15.780 Some people are merely moralists.

00:25:19.240 Some people have come to Christ.

00:25:22.160 Some people have just come to church.

00:25:24.540 Some people have been baptized, but some people have not been baptized at the heart.

00:25:32.700 You have to learn to be able to see the visible and the invisible church.

00:25:38.140 36% of the world population claims to be Christian right now. 0.96

00:25:41.680 Do we believe that 36% of the world is regenerate? 0.61

00:25:46.660 I don't think so.

00:25:48.940 No, the reality is there is always a group within a group.

00:25:54.280 Now, here he narrows this focus down to the lost sheep of Israel.

00:26:04.180 Now, this actually really aligns with John 1, verse 11.

00:26:07.540 And it says, he came to his own and his own people did not receive him.

00:26:14.440 Well, that's pretty clear that the vast majority of his people rejected him.

00:26:19.380 There was a remnant, a remnant of his people received him.

00:26:25.580 That's the teaching of Romans chapter 11, 9, 10 and 11.

00:26:29.940 but there was a purpose

00:26:38.400 there was a purpose

00:26:40.040 there's a purpose and a reason

00:26:42.860 for the approach that Jesus took

00:26:44.680 because you might be asking

00:26:46.660 yeah why didn't Jesus

00:26:47.940 preach to the Gentiles 0.98

00:26:50.660 well Paul gives us the answer

00:26:53.680 Jesus didn't limit his earthly ministry

00:26:57.080 to the Jews because the Gentiles

00:26:58.860 were excluded from salvation. That's not the reason.

00:27:02.980 But because his primary mission was, according to verse 8,

00:27:07.500 to confirm the promises made to the fathers.

00:27:11.080 To confirm the promises that were made to the patriarchs.

00:27:15.420 2 Corinthians, this verse is very important.

00:27:20.360 It's the kind of verse that you could put in your house.

00:27:23.300 2 Corinthians 1, verse 20, it says,

00:27:25.560 For all the promises of God find their yes in Christ.

00:27:32.760 Just let that sit in your mind just for a second.

00:27:35.940 All the promises of God find their yes in Christ.

00:27:41.120 It goes on to say that is why it is through him that we utter our amen to God for his glory.

00:27:49.840 Think about the weight of that statement for a second.

00:27:52.880 Just think about it.

00:27:53.680 Every single promise, every promise from God, from Adam to David, from Abraham to Israel,

00:28:00.540 every single promise finds their yes and amen in Jesus. 0.92

00:28:05.740 So who is the true Israel? 0.96

00:28:09.820 Jesus. 0.84

00:28:11.340 Jesus is the true Israel.

00:28:16.840 Christ coming only to the Jews was not to limit the gospel to the Jews.

00:28:21.660 And we'll see that in just a second.

00:28:23.680 But it was to fulfill the covenant promise that was made to the patriarchs promising that in God's timing, the gospel would extend to the Gentiles.

00:28:36.200 It's again why Jesus goes, by the way, if you don't know, the Greek word for nations is Gentile. 0.84

00:28:44.580 Okay, so when Jesus says, go therefore and get the nations in the Great Commission, he's saying, go therefore and get the Gentiles. 0.65

00:28:53.680 and so why well twofold one is to confirm the promises made to the patriarchs and two 0.88

00:29:04.960 that the gentiles would glory in the undeserved mercy of the ministry of christ so although many

00:29:15.740 jews denied christ and persecuted many early christians and even those who believed still 0.92

00:29:22.800 wrestled with understanding grace, Paul affirms their legitimacy by reminding the Gentiles 0.97

00:29:29.800 that Christ came first to minister to the Jews, and then secondarily that the mercy

00:29:38.600 of the Gentiles would be experienced.

00:29:41.520 But then Paul shifts his focus to the legitimacy of God's plan to save the Gentiles, which 0.97

00:29:46.880 is comforting for us who are not born of Jewish descent. 0.86

00:29:50.280 He does this by quoting four different passages from the Old Testament.

00:29:55.780 He quotes from, so in Hebrew, you have the Torah, which is the law.

00:30:01.960 You have the Nevaim, which is the prophets.

00:30:05.880 And then you have the Ketavim, which is the writings or the Psalms, the Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the poetry books.

00:30:14.860 And whenever somebody shows a passage from each one of those catalogs of scriptures, it's basically a way to communicate that the entire scripture testifies of this particular point.

00:30:30.980 Now, Paul just grabs a handful of these verses, four of them, and he says, as it is written, therefore, I will praise you among the Gentiles and sing to your name.

00:30:43.840 In verse 10, he says, and again, it is said, rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people.

00:30:49.880 And verse 11, and again, praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and let all the peoples extol him.

00:30:57.720 And then verse 12, he says, and again, Isaiah says, the root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles. 0.70

00:31:07.860 In him will the Gentiles find hope.

00:31:13.840 So in these verses, Paul does a few things.

00:31:17.780 One, he shows the Jewish certitude that they are included in the new covenant people of God.

00:31:28.320 And two, he's provoking Gentile believers to humility.

00:31:33.440 To humility.

00:31:37.300 Now this is a common work of Paul, to provoke the Gentiles to humility.

00:31:44.200 He's a Jewish man called to deliver the gospel to a Gentile people. 0.58

00:31:50.080 Now, he was constantly concerned with three things.

00:31:53.800 Jewish clarity, Gentile humility, and Christian unity.

00:32:00.880 Over and over.

00:32:02.100 When you start to read the corpus of Paul's writings, you can see that pretty clear.

00:32:06.740 Jewish clarity, Gentile humility, and Christian unity.

00:32:11.500 I'm going to give you a few examples on Jewish clarity.

00:32:13.840 He says in Ephesians 3.6, he says,

00:32:17.700 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs of the covenant.

00:32:22.160 What? 0.99

00:32:23.340 That's a mystery to Paul and to fellow Jews. 1.00

00:32:26.220 They're fellow heirs. 1.00

00:32:28.640 Now, if you understood Jewish culture, 1.00

00:32:30.260 and you realize the hostility between Jews and Gentiles, 0.97

00:32:33.800 you would realize what a mystery that is.

00:32:36.640 He goes on to say,

00:32:37.960 Members of the same body.

00:32:39.940 Wait.

00:32:40.540 we're members of the same body with the jews oh yeah you know why because we are one we are

00:32:47.660 members of what the true israel the body of christ it goes on to say in ephesians 3 6 and

00:32:56.900 partakers of the promise in christ jesus through the gospel i'm going to read it just one more time

00:33:03.360 because it's an amazing passage of scripture this mystery is that the gentiles are the fellow heirs

00:33:08.300 members of the same body

00:33:09.900 and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus

00:33:12.100 through the gospel

00:33:12.760 Jewish clarity

00:33:16.300 Romans 9

00:33:20.000 24 to 26 he says

00:33:21.300 of election he says even us

00:33:23.900 whom he has called not

00:33:26.060 from the Jews only but also from

00:33:28.100 the Gentiles whoa 0.99

00:33:29.320 God is electing Gentiles 0.96

00:33:32.280 he goes on to say 0.99

00:33:36.060 as indeed he says in Hosea

00:33:39.040 those who were not my people

00:33:40.920 I will call my people.

00:33:44.420 So Jewish clarity. 0.88

00:33:45.880 Bringing clarity to the Jews about the Gentiles. 0.51

00:33:49.180 The second thing is Gentile humility.

00:33:53.740 Paul says in Ephesians 2

00:33:55.420 11 through 13

00:33:57.560 it says therefore remember 0.96

00:33:58.680 that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh 0.71

00:34:01.620 were separated from Christ 0.94

00:34:02.840 having no hope

00:34:04.060 and without God in the world.

00:34:06.060 But now in Christ Jesus, you who were once a far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

00:34:16.140 That should humble any Gentile believer.

00:34:20.600 In Romans 11, 17 through 21, he says, 0.95

00:34:27.560 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among those,

00:34:34.020 and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree.

00:34:38.520 Do not be arrogant toward the branches.

00:34:42.200 So first,

00:34:43.980 do not be arrogant toward the branches

00:34:47.160 that are still connected.

00:34:48.660 That's what that means. 1.00

00:34:50.220 Don't be a fool. 1.00

00:34:53.260 Now I have no... 1.00

00:34:54.160 You give me a Jewish believing brother,

00:34:57.820 man, I love it. 1.00

00:34:59.920 In fact, when a Jewish man 1.00

00:35:03.660 or woman comes to

00:35:05.680 Christ 0.95

00:35:06.020 the vast majority of them don't

00:35:09.640 call themselves messianic Jews.

00:35:12.600 They actually call 1.00

00:35:13.580 themselves Christians and I think that's a better

00:35:15.440 term. And the reason 0.99

00:35:17.700 is because

00:35:18.420 Paul says, which we'll see later, there is

00:35:21.540 neither Jew nor Greek but all

00:35:23.560 are one in Christ. We lose 0.80

00:35:25.660 a little bit of our primary identity.

00:35:27.940 I'm getting ahead of myself but

00:35:29.060 I want to keep reading here in Romans chapter

00:35:31.520 11. I'm going to go back to 17 through 21. It says

00:35:33.440 But if some of you, but if some of the branches were broken off and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches.

00:35:44.320 If you are, remember, it is not you who support the root, but the root who supports you.

00:35:50.980 Then you will say, branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.

00:35:55.740 That is true.

00:35:57.460 They were broken off because of their unbelief.

00:35:59.760 But you stand fast through faith.

00:36:02.480 So do not become proud, but fear.

00:36:05.960 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.

00:36:09.760 Now, I did an entire exegetical breakdown of Romans chapter 11 about four months ago.

00:36:18.400 Preached through the entire chapter.

00:36:22.140 And so if you want to go back and listen to those and how we balance that out.

00:36:26.600 you you have covenant theology you have dispensationalism you have

00:36:31.460 romans chapter 11 where does all of that connect together

00:36:35.000 and as much as i would love to reteach it again i'm going to keep moving on

00:36:39.500 now peter adds in this kind of section of gentile humility he says once you were not a people

00:36:50.160 but now you are God's people.

00:36:53.920 Once you had not received mercy

00:36:55.880 but now you have received mercy.

00:36:59.500 Then on unity

00:37:00.500 so we have Jewish clarity

00:37:03.640 Gentile humility

00:37:04.940 Christian unity.

00:37:06.980 On unity Paul says Galatians 3.28

00:37:08.920 he says there is neither Jew nor Greek

00:37:10.720 there is neither slave nor free

00:37:11.880 there is neither male nor female

00:37:13.300 for all are one in Christ Jesus 0.89

00:37:15.000 and if you are Christ 0.84

00:37:16.660 then you are Abraham's offspring

00:37:18.640 heirs according to the promise.

00:37:23.140 Who else was Abraham's offspring?

00:37:25.240 Jacob.

00:37:26.660 What was Jacob's name?

00:37:28.900 Israel.

00:37:32.960 And in Colossians 3.11,

00:37:35.040 he says the same thing another way.

00:37:37.140 He says,

00:37:37.540 There is not Greek and Jew,

00:37:39.060 circumcised and uncircumcised,

00:37:40.540 but Christ is all and in all.

00:37:44.060 Now to be clear,

00:37:44.980 it's not that unity in christ erases all other metrics of identity all right

00:37:52.900 it's that being in christ supersedes all metrics of identity it becomes the primary

00:38:02.060 identity doesn't mean that you don't become i'm in christ now i'm not a woman now i'm not a man

00:38:07.680 no you are just because it says there is neither male nor female no you're still a male and you're

00:38:12.660 still a female. It's just the primary identity is not that you're male or female. It's actually

00:38:17.860 that you're in Christ. It's not that you're Greek or American or Jewish. It doesn't mean that you

00:38:25.920 lose your Americanness. I'm an American. And that is a part of my identity. And there's nothing

00:38:32.180 wrong with identifying and being proud of the fact that I'm an American. But that identity

00:38:38.560 is not to supersede the identity that we have in Christ.

00:38:44.240 I believe it's in Philippians that Paul says

00:38:46.720 that our citizenship is in heaven.

00:38:49.720 The word citizenship in the Greek is actually the Greek word politouma.

00:38:53.020 It's the word that we get for police and for politics.

00:38:56.980 And the reality is that our citizenship is there.

00:39:01.140 Yes, we are living in this world.

00:39:03.300 And yes, God loves the nations.

00:39:05.980 They are His.

00:39:07.540 But our primary identity is in Christ.

00:39:13.560 Now, for believing Jews and Gentiles, Christ becomes the marrow of their unity.

00:39:23.820 It is pretty amazing when you meet somebody that you might not even speak their own language,

00:39:27.860 but if you have Christ in common, how much you have in common.

00:39:32.740 And so there is something beautiful in that.

00:39:35.640 Now, it's not to say that we don't appreciate that we have much in common with just those people that live next door.

00:39:44.320 No, but the reality is, is that we have a beautiful, deep marrow of unity in Christ.

00:39:52.200 And this should inform how we relate to those Christians of Jewish descent.

00:39:57.940 I actually have a few friends that grew up in Jewish households that have come to Christ.

00:40:03.620 One of them write me a message last night.

00:40:06.400 And by the way, he was commenting on this book.

00:40:11.620 He was saying, hey man, I got the e-book version of your book.

00:40:15.060 Excellent.

00:40:16.880 And I thought, what an amazing thing to hear a Jewish man who came to Christ 0.95

00:40:21.760 understand that the true Israel is not the nation in the Middle East,

00:40:26.660 but the people of God, the true offspring of Abraham by faith. 0.67

00:40:31.820 He gets that.

00:40:33.620 And the vast majority of Jews that understand systematic theology understand that.

00:40:40.640 Now, does it mean that he doesn't care what happens in Israel?

00:40:44.320 No.

00:40:45.220 He is actually Jewish, and he actually has family members that live in that country.

00:40:51.000 And so there is some degree of care that he ought to have for those people.

00:40:58.460 What does Paul say?

00:41:01.300 Chapter 10, I believe.

00:41:04.240 I would give myself up for my people that have denied Christ, my people of the flesh. 1.00

00:41:09.640 He's talking about the Jews.

00:41:11.660 He cares about them.

00:41:13.660 In the same way that I would care about Americans.

00:41:17.480 In the same way that somebody else might care about the Japanese.

00:41:25.060 No, but it should change how we relate to those who are Christians in Jewish descent.

00:41:29.300 We should seek that unity.

00:41:31.640 In fact, this gentleman who is a Jew and came to Christ, who was raised learning and speaking Hebrew,

00:41:40.180 he is actually a really great resource to understand Hebrew.

00:41:43.440 And I trust his interpretation because he understands how it is all fulfilled in Christ.

00:41:51.760 It also is helpful how Jewish believers are to relate with us as Gentiles.

00:41:58.640 okay

00:42:01.520 last verse

00:42:03.660 and we're getting ready to wrap it up here

00:42:05.220 verse 13

00:42:06.560 Paul closes with a prayer

00:42:08.560 Paul closes with a prayer he says

00:42:10.820 may the God of hope

00:42:12.240 fill you with all joy and peace

00:42:15.320 in believing

00:42:15.860 so that by the power of the Holy Spirit

00:42:19.060 you may abound in hope

00:42:20.520 now this took me a bit

00:42:25.080 on the scripture because I was like

00:42:26.740 how'd you get here?

00:42:30.220 Like, where's the practical application, Paul?

00:42:33.580 Tell me how to unite with my brothers and sisters

00:42:35.900 that I don't get along with.

00:42:37.460 He just like ends in a prayer.

00:42:41.060 And this prayer doesn't give instruction for unity.

00:42:45.860 Instead, it prays for the substance

00:42:48.060 that overcomes all division.

00:42:51.380 I need you to hear that

00:42:52.680 because it's very helpful for your life.

00:42:57.520 It doesn't give instruction on how to be unified.

00:43:02.840 It prays for the substance that overcomes all division.

00:43:07.520 It prays for peace.

00:43:09.460 And it prays for unity.

00:43:11.180 It prays for hope and joy.

00:43:15.300 Alexander McLaren said on this verse,

00:43:17.160 He says,

00:43:18.040 Paul is asking that God would fill the contending parties with more fruits of the spirit and the ground of their differences will begin to dwindle.

00:43:28.800 When the tide rises, the little pools on the rocks are all merged into one.

00:43:36.580 That's what's being said.

00:43:37.560 In other words, sometimes the best remedy for division.

00:43:42.320 Think about this.

00:43:43.080 Sometimes the best remedy for division isn't addressing every complaint individually.

00:43:52.640 But asking God to increase your love and peace and joy and hope for one another.

00:44:03.380 Now this wisdom isn't limited to the relationship between the Jews and the Gentiles.

00:44:08.680 It's applicable between husbands and wives.

00:44:11.100 it's applicable between

00:44:13.720 brothers and sisters

00:44:15.220 and parents and children

00:44:17.000 and church members

00:44:18.620 I don't know if you've ever been in such a difficult conflict

00:44:21.440 before that you feel like you are

00:44:23.560 at a place that is irreconcilable

00:44:25.520 I've been there

00:44:27.260 I've been there

00:44:29.180 and

00:44:33.180 what's even more shocking is when it happens

00:44:35.280 between two believers

00:44:36.140 sometimes 0.94

00:44:38.780 the solution

00:44:39.980 is not trying to deal with every particular complaint and frustration.

00:44:46.600 We know the scriptures say that what covers a multitude of sins?

00:44:49.640 Love.

00:44:51.140 Do you know why I don't divide against my children,

00:44:53.260 even though they sin against me many times per week?

00:44:57.900 Love.

00:45:00.100 Love.

00:45:02.480 Joy.

00:45:03.800 Hope.

00:45:04.840 Peace.

00:45:06.140 The fruits of the Spirit.

00:45:08.260 Do you want to overcome some sort of division in your life?

00:45:12.120 With a relationship, with a friend, with a family member, with your parents,

00:45:16.200 with your husband or with your wife, with your children.

00:45:19.740 Sometimes the solution is not just going and attacking every particular point.

00:45:26.620 It's sitting before the Lord and going, give me more love for this person.

00:45:30.460 Give me more joy.

00:45:32.740 Let me see the hope of salvation that I might look upon these small things

00:45:37.020 and not see them as giant things any longer.

00:45:43.200 It's difficult.

00:45:46.320 It reminds me of the parable of the debtor.

00:45:51.780 When you realize how much you've been forgiven,

00:45:54.480 you will forgive others.

00:45:59.720 And so the answer to unity,

00:46:02.460 and it will be for this church,

00:46:04.100 because we have different theologies

00:46:07.320 on some secondary and tertiary matters.

00:46:10.860 We have different positions

00:46:12.320 and some of you homeschool

00:46:14.160 and some of you don't.

00:46:16.100 And some of you have different,

00:46:17.620 some of you wear head coverings

00:46:18.720 and some don't.

00:46:21.820 Some of you are weaker in some areas

00:46:23.460 and some are stronger.

00:46:25.360 And some of you have different backgrounds

00:46:26.700 than others.

00:46:28.300 And some of you have said offensive things

00:46:30.260 to other people.

00:46:30.900 sometimes the best way for unity and in this church is to go back and pray that you might

00:46:39.980 have love and peace and joy and hope in christ and when that comes in i think we're going to see

00:46:48.520 a very united church amen amen let's pray father we thank you lord for the work that you're doing

00:46:57.380 And we pray, Lord, that this message of unity would extend not just in our walls,

00:47:02.160 but beyond, between churches, between churches across different states and nations.

00:47:12.340 Lord, we want unity because you want unity.

00:47:16.580 We know that there is one Lord and one faith, one baptism, one gospel, one people.

00:47:24.800 Lord we ask that you would help us

00:47:27.000 that we would apply these things

00:47:28.680 not just in the church

00:47:29.640 but in our households

00:47:30.640 in our marriages

00:47:32.720 in our parenting Lord

00:47:35.160 we thank you for this message of unity

00:47:37.840 as it blesses us in Jesus name

00:47:40.160 Amen

Dale Partridge - June 24, 2025

Romans 15_8-13 Finding Unity Between Jews and Gentiles

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