Vol.XIV No.IV Pg.5
June 1977

-Continuation Of A Digest Of "Romans"

Robert F. Turner

(Continued from previous page)

of our life (for Deity dwells only in those who love Him and keep His commandments with perfect intent). Our true and sincere desires will be compatible with the leading of His Spirit (expressed in His word), and we will fight against sinful inclinations of the flesh. Our spirits will cry, "Father! Father!" and God will recognize us as His children. Eventually God will change our mortal bodies, so that, that which now wars against our spirit will be resurrected in glory to the praise of God.

Because God sees deep into our spirit, He understands our innermost groanings. He reads our hearts, and hears prayers we do not even know how to utter. In fact, the knowledge, and planning, and calling, and justifying and glorifying, in God's eternal purposes, are all mustered on behalf of those who love and trust him. We are brethren of God's Son, who died for us, and who intercedes for us. We are beloved of Go-! in Christ Jesus, and !note than conquerors in Him.

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I am concerned for my Jewish brethren. They have been highly favored in the past, and I want then to be saved. But God's people are not chosen by accident of birth. In building the nation through which Christ would come, not all of the descendents of Abraham were selected. Isaac was chosen; Ishmael was not. Jacob was sleeted to be in that lineage: Esau was not. Then, as now, God's blessings were by promise. We must not think that an accident of birth gives us the right to argue with God. God sometimes uses even the rebellion of people and nations to accomplish His purposes. Respecting salvation from sin, there are two classes of people: "vessels of wrath" and "vessels of mercy." The "vessel, of mercy" includes Gentiles as well as Jews, as Indicated by prophets of long ago. Jesus Christ is the testing stone. Gentiles who seek rightstanding with God on the basis of trust in Christ, are accepted. But Jews, who refuse Christ and seek rightstanding on the basis of perfect works or physical lineage, are rejected.

Both the Old and New Covenants have this in common: they must be understood through an objective approach to, and faith in, testimony clearly given. Just as God made His commands clear to the Jews, so that they could do them; so also has He made the word which produces faith in Christ. God sent His proclaimers to Gentiles as well as Jews (as predicted by Moses and Isaiah) so that whosoever will may hear, believe, and call upon the Lord, and be saved. But much of Israel, as prophesied, has rejected God's word.

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This takes us through Romans 10. To conserve space we have not identified chapters as we go along, but we hope you well be interested enough to use your text side by side with this digest. Following the last section, next issue, we will give some word studies that help to show why we have adopted certain conclusions. This is an abbreviated commentary, not a translation or "version" in any sense. We hope it will be helpful, but it is no substitute for detailed, painstaking study of the complete word of God.