Joel Zao

The Victory of the New Life, Part 1 A detailed discussion of Romans 9-11 Joel Zao

In this current era salvation is generally viewed as an individual experience of members of churches. Believers hear a version of the gospel presented by a spokesperson of God, primarily from evangelists and preachers. The principal goal of the message is to save the sinner from the prospect of an eternal hell and transfer the new believer into the future hope of heavenly everlasting, holy bliss. As for Israel, in this simplified version, salvation does not apply to the nation. After all, the common view is that Israelites forfeited their national future when they rejected the gospel and crucified the Lord of glory. If a Jewish believer is saved today, it is on the basis of acceptance of the common gospel message just like any other person. Accordingly, the common view is that the church is seen as replacing Israel in God's salvation plan by becoming the depository of the truth and the channel of God's grace to the world. This common view does not agree with the Paul's exposition concerning Israel penned in Romans 9, 10 and 11. Let us Chase Truth together and see what Paul does say about Israel, the nation of his heritage.