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First, let me calm your fears. God does not hate you. He loves you. Paul wrote that "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) All of us began our lives in the same way. We were dead in our sins. We followed the ways of this world. We obeyed Satan without even knowing it. We gratified the cravings of our sinful nature. We followed its desires and thoughts. We were all "by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:1-5) We do not have to belong to a special group or meet some qualifications to receive God's love and forgiveness. It's something He bestows freely on all who receive Christ "through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) If you have a desire to receive Christ into your life by faith, do it now. Nothing or no one will stop you.
Let's look at the passage you mentioned and see what's there for us.
Romans 9:13 quotes Malachi 1:2. The context of Malachi is God's anger with Israel's sins. Israel was a name God gave to Jacob while he was on his way to meet Esau. Jacob wrestled with a man all night and prevailed. "Then the man said, 'Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.'" (Genesis 32:28) Malachi quoted God as saying He loved Jacob but hated Esau. Why?
Isaac married Rebekah. She became pregnant with twins. The babies jostled each other within her womb, so Rebekah asked God why that was happening to her. God answered, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger." (Genesis 25:23) Esau was born first. Jacob came out right after by holding on to Esau's heel. Esau was older by seconds. Remember what God told Rebekah: "the older will serve the younger." Esau was Isaac's favorite. Jacob was Rebekah's.
Jacob always wanted to be the favored son and was deceitful in his attempt to accomplish his goal. Jacob tricked Esau into giving him his birthright. Esau traded it for bread and lentil stew. "So Esau despised his birthright." (Genesis 25:34) Jacob later tricked Isaac into giving him the blessings of the firstborn.
Jacob became the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. Esau became the father of the Edomites, one of the chief enemies of Israel. The Israelites defeated Edom in many battles. The Edomites disappeared from history after Rome destroyed Jerusalem in the first century AD.
The Edomites were still a people when Malachi prophesied to Israel. Look at God's words concerning his hate for Esau through the history we've just seen.
"Was not Esau Jacob's brother?' the Lord says. Yet I have loved Jacob, but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.' Edom may say, 'Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.' But this is what the Lord Almighty says: 'They may build, but I will demolish. they will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the Lord. You will see it with your own eyes and say, 'Great is the Lord--even beyond the borders of Israel.'"Malachi 1:2-5
The context of Romans 9 is Paul's love and concern for Israel, the importance of Israel in God's plan of salvation and how the "children of promise" are regarded as Abraham's offspring. Here's what Paul wrote about Israel: "Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen." (Romans 9:4-5)
We get an amazing insight into God's purposes in Romans 9:10-16: "...Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad--in order that God's purpose of election might stand: not by works but by him who calls--she was told, 'The older will serve the younger,' Just as it is written: 'Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.' What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! For he says to Moses, 'I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.' It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy."
We learn more a few verses later. Paul explains God's purpose in saving Gentiles and not Israel in the Dispensation of Grace.
"Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden. One of you will say to me: 'Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?' But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? Shall what is formed say to him who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?' does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use? What if God, choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath--prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory--even us, whom he also called; not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?" ... "What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the 'stumbling stone.' As it is written: 'See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.'"Romans 9:18-24, 30-33
Here's what we learn from the next verses in Romans 10.
This is important to understand. Salvation for you and me is not an issue of God loving some and hating others in this Age of His Grace and wondering which group we fall. It's a matter of "faith." Paul proclaimed a "word of faith," which is: "That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, 'Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.' For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.'" (Romans 10:9-13)
Paul makes some very definite statements here: "if you confess with your mouth, 'jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved" and "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Paul lists no qualifiers. If you believe, "you will be saved."
Paul continued to write in chapter 10 and chapter 11 about Israel's future. The day will come when Israel will be saved. Israel is God's chosen. "...salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious. But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring?" (Romans 11:11-12) When will this happen? When will God save Israel? "Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved ... As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies for your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs." (Romans 11:25-26, 28)
God "elected" (chose) Israel to be His special people on earth. He led them to a geographical location to set up a kingdom. They disobeyed God for centuries, but God continued to work with them. He set them aside for a season to reveal a "mystery" to the world. Paul was the revealer of that mystery: "that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 3:6) Paul also explained that God would "save" Israel in the future: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." (Romans 11:26)
Becoming a Christian, a member of the Body of Christ, is a matter of faith. "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved." (Acts 16:32) God loves you and will instantly save you. Living as a Christian is not easy. We all struggle with issues of faith. But becoming a Christian is not a struggle for us. Christ struggled with sin and died because of it on the Cross. Christ defeated sin and rose from the dead as a promise of our own eternal salvation. All we have to do is believe that.
God does not hate you. He loves you. Embrace Christ as He embraces you!
"I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."Ephesians 3:17-19
Paul uses the word diakriseis , in Romans 14:1 in the context a stronger Christian welcoming a Christian who had a weaker faith, "without passing judgment on disputable matters." The King James Version translates it, "but not to doubtful disputations." The literal is, "not to judgments of thoughts."
The writer to Hebrews uses the word diakriseis , in chapter 5:14 in the context of mature believers who use the Word of God constantly and have trained themselves "to distinguish good from evil." The KJV translates it "to discern both good and evil."
The important thing to note is that the use of the word in Romans 14 and Hebrews 5 is for strong and mature believers. It is called a "spiritual gift" only in 1 Corinthians 12. The goal of all believers should be to be strong and mature and able to discern. However, God has given some Christians a special ability to "discern, distinguish" between or among the "spirits."
We live in a world of many dimensions: physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual, etc. The "spirit" world is very active on several planes around us, under us, over us, beside us, in us and through us. "Spirits" influence everything. Paul told the Ephesians, "...our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12) Unfortunately, the majority of Christians (it would seem) are generally unaware of the influence of the spirit world on their lives and the lives of people around them. Paul told the Ephesians they had once been under the total influence "of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient." (Ephesians 2:1) The difference came when God "made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:5) We gained the spiritual ability to "discern spirits" when God made us "alive with Christ." It is spiritual life that enables us to discern, distinguish and judge spiritual things.
Discerning or distinguishing the various "spirits" involved in our world is a very important spiritual gift. The Christian community desperately needs people with that gift to help it distinguish between what's right and wrong, between what's of God and what's of Satan. If you have the gift, you should thank God for it, ask Him how you can use it for His Glory and spend hours each week developing the gift. Begin by studying "every" Scripture in the Bible that mentions the spirit world. Make notes about what God said about spirits and what God's people did when they faced the spirit world. Look at how the prophets of the Old Testament distinguished spirits. See how God spoke to spirits. Look at how Christ dealt with spirits when He ministered on earth. See what Christ's disciples did with spirits. Look at how Paul dealt with spirits. When you're finished with your observations, write out a basic interpretation of what someone with the gift of discernment should do in life. Do you know anyone who has the gift of discernment and is using it well? It doesn't matter whether they are near or far from you. If they are near, ask if they would become your mentor and show you how to use the gift wisely. If they are far away, write or call them. Share with them that you believe you have the gift of discernment and would appreciate their help in learning how to use the gift for the glory of God and the building up of the Body of Christ.
We aren't in this struggle alone. God has developed a wonderful system of mentoring within the Body, if we'll just avail ourselves of the opportunities.
It's important that we never become puffed up about our spiritual gifts. Paul begins the section on gifts in 1 Corinithians with these wonderful words:
"There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good."1 Corinthians 12:4-7
"The body that is sown is perishable, it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body ... As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven."1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 48-49
Our bodies and minds are "imperfect" now because we bear the likeness of the earthly man. Our bodies and minds are slowly dying because of sin. Our future, however, is bright! We will one day bear the likeness of the man from heaven. We will have bodies and minds that are "perfect" in every way. We will never die. We will never tire. We will never wear out. We will have great wisdom and understanding. We will not sin. We will be "perfect" just as Christ is perfect.
Paul wrote the Philippians that he wanted to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, becoming like him in His death. Paul told them he had not obtained that yet, he hadn't already been made perfect, but he pressed on to take hold of that for which Christ had taken hold of him. He pressed on toward the goal to win the prize for which God had called him heavenward in Christ. He wrote them:
"...our citizenship is in heaven. and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."Philippians 3:20-21
The body of Christ Jesus includes every part of Him, including His mind. Our future is one of perfection: in body, mind and spirit.
Things were different in the Apostle Paul's time. Denominations did not exist. Each city and town had just one church (ekklesia - "a calling out of," "a called-out assembly"). The people may have met in various places in a city, but Paul spoke to them and their leaders as one body of believers in each community. Christians had not yet become separated from each other. They were all part of the same "assembly" of believers. Paul often referred to "churches" (plural) when he spoke about several Christian assemblies in a large geographic region (i.e. Galatia, Asia), but he wrote to or about a "church" (singular) when he addressed Christians in a town. Here are several examples:
It appears that Christians were "one" in every town. That doesn't mean they agreed on everything. Paul's letters make it clear Christians had many disagreements and problems, but they were part of "one" church and came under the leadership of "one" group of leaders in each city.
Now we come to the question of "church membership." Paul wrote about being "members" of the "Body" of Christ. Here are several examples of that truth:
"Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others."Romans 12:4-5
"The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink ... Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it."1 Corinthians 12:12-13, 27
"For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility."Ephesians 2:14-16
"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."Ephesians 2:19-22
"This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus."Ephesians 3:6
"There is one body and one Spirit--just as you were called to one hope when you were called--one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."Ephesians 4:4-5
"Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body."Ephesians 4:25
"After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church--for we are members of his body.""Ephesians 5:29-30
"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace."Colossians 3:15
Every Christian is a member of the Body of Christ. That is a spiritual application that happens the instant we are saved. Christ has only "One Body." Every Christian, no matter which denomination or non-denomation, belongs to the One Body of Christ. Since Christians are members of the One Body of Christ, is it necessary to also get "membership" in local assemblies?
Paul does not address local church membership in his writings. It wasn't necessary during his time. Christians attended "the" local assembly in the town where they lived and were under the leadership and authority of the elders and deacons of that assembly. Paul was specific about the duties of each member, but he didn't address the issue of "membership." Every believer was already a "member" of the Body of Christ and thus a "member" of whichever local assembly they attended.
We have a different situation today. Christians separated themselves from fellowship and worship through centuries of wars, fights, arguments and disagreements. Some of the issues they fought and disagreed about were very important ones, but the fact remains that all Christians are members of the same Body. That can't change, no matter how much some people may want it to change. It's a Truth God made permanent and no human organization can uproot, change or delete it. Man-made labels are just that--man-made. Those labels will fall off us in the "twinkling of an eye" when we are "caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air." We won't be Baptist or Methodist or Presbyterian or Church of God or Assembly of God or Penticostal or Charismatic or Episcopalian or any other denomination or affiliation in Heaven. We'll be "The Church, The Body of Christ."
God is the only One Who can bring Christians back together in fellowship and worship. He may or may not do that before He catches us up to Heaven. We may have to deal with man-made separation among Christians the rest of our lives. That means each of us has to make decisions about where to fellowship, where to worship, where to serve. God apparently wants to work through local assemblies. He makes that clear in the letters He inspired Paul to write. God gave "spiritual gifts" to members of the Body of Christ for the building up of each believer. We can and should use our spiritual gifts in our family, our neighborhood, our job and our community, but we should also use our gifts to serve each other in local assemblies.
"Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. and in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues."1 Corinthians 12:27-28
"Just as each of us has one body with many members and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."Romans 12:4-8
I love the phrase "each member belongs to all the others." I think that is the heart of spiritual gifts. God gifted every Christian for the sake of others.
"Membership" in a local assembly is not a spiritual necessity or requirement, but many churches think it is and that may never change. Ask God to lead you to the local assembly where He wants you to serve. If you're where He wants you, the issue of membership will take care of itself.
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"Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers."
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Last Updated: 12/20/1999