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Regardless of what anyone says to the contrary, God cannot be put in a box; He is not owned by anyone or by any group of persons. God is God! He transcends all creation. He was before all things and all things that exist were created by Him. It would be the height of arrogance to think that I had any type of monopoly on Him. Yet, that was essentially the attitude of the Jews when it came to Jehovah God and their relationship with Him.

Hear Paul’s words regarding this erroneous attitude: “Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.” (Romans 3.29-31).

It is significant that Paul used the same words to describe the relationship of believers to the Law as Jesus used regarding His actions concerning the Law. He said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. (Matthew 5.17). Believers do not “make void” the Law; Jesus did not come to “destroy” the Law. “Make void” and “destroy” are the same Greek expression. In the same way, establish and fulfill are identical expressions in the Greek. So we understand that believers (i.e. those that have saving faith in Jesus) extend the purposes of Christ as regards the Law.

That being said, if Jesus came to bring salvation to all humanity, then that was also the purpose of the Law. The Law was never intended to be a permanent constitution for the Hebrew nation; it was a means to an end and Jesus was that end! He did not destroy; He brought the Law to its completion. Likewise, believers must recognize that Jesus extends salvation to each and every person who responds in faith to Him. There is simply no limitation which God placed upon those who would be accepted, that is, no limitation based on material things. Color of skin, age, ethnicity, and nationality – none of these are of any consequence concerning God and the means by which salvation is extended to mankind. God is God and will not be owned by any man or nation. His will is sovereign and man has but to recognize Him for who He is.

A few years ago a young lad of about age six was told that his mommy was going to be bringing home a baby sister. At first he was happy, but that feeling was soon replaced by sadness. When asked what was wrong, He said, “I’m afraid there won’t e enough love to go around when my baby sister comes home!” This true event was traumatic for the youngster due to his limited understanding of love. The same holds true with how believers see God. Some see Him as a family God, others see Him as a national God; still others see Him as the God of a particular race of people. The clear point of fact is this: God is not a God of any one group of people; He is Lord of all who will obey Him! He has unlimited love sufficient to guarantee that any and all who obey Him will be blessed eternally.

Those who believe the Scriptures know that these things are true. They believe that they have a God given obligation to take the gospel to every creature (Mark 16.15). Furthermore they believe that the next verse is true – NO EXCEPTIONS. “He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. He isn’t merely God of the Jews! (Mark 16.16).

Questions:

1. In today’s text from Romans, how did Paul say both Jew and Gentile are justified?

2. Jesus did not come to destroy the Law. Yet, when He died on the Cross, the Law became inoperative. How do you explain this seeming contradiction?

3. For whom did Jesus die (see John 3.16)?

4. According to Mark 16.16, who can shall saved?

"Inspiration For You" from Randy Mitchell

Watching Your Dollars Fly Away