Ethnic Advantages to Israel

The Apostles seem to be making the point that there never really was an ethnic advantage for Israel. In fact, if you take something too casually you tend to lose sight of what really matters. Jesus made the same point.

Luke 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of repentance, and begin not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to [our] father: for I say unto you, That God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.

And:

John 8:39-40 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

How many of the children in the church today take the Gospel the same way? They take for granted the grace under which they have been raised.

Along a similar line, on the influence of the Gospel in our broken world. It seems to me quite hard to make a judgment on the power (or lack of influence) of the Gospel ourselves in the midst of our culture. As fallen as it is, there’s still an incredible amount of persistent power.

I was watching a history channel on the ancient Celts this AM. Showed their human sacrifices (BC) which we tend to think of as not something our ancestors would have done. Pre-Gospel they were as fallen as the rest of the world.

Today, there is a restraint on evil even now that we can’t recognize because we have little to contrast it to. Perhaps spending some time in a pagan part of the world would do us all good?