Who Are God's Chosen People ~ And How Are We Saved

Several weeks ago,  I posted a blog titled "The Dangers Of Liberal Theology In America Today" - and I received an e-mail response from a long time Christian Friend, Norma, who has several very important questions for me, and for all Christians:

Very well written Bill, I agree with conservative Christianity - but did not understand the word "fundamentalism."  You are a very good writer.  I would like to ask you what I believe is a very important question.  "What do you, or the church you go to which is Baptist-based, believe is the outcome of the Jews?" 

As you know I am a very firm believer in Israel and that it is God's land, that the Jews are the apple of His eye.  Although, I do believe that each Jew will be judged individually just as Gentiles are to be judged.   Also the Bible says the scales in their eyes will come off in the end times.  Many churches (people) believe the Christian church has taken the place of Israel and the Jews. 

Also, there was a pastor I came across with the most ridiculous ideology I've ever heard.  He was claiming that you must be baptized in water to be saved.  Otherwise you are not saved.  But the most ridiculous part was it HAD to be done in his little church in Seattle.  I told him, "How can you even believe that so many people will come to your church?  That is making you the high priest and Savior!!"  He answered (with) the verse, "The road is narrow and the pathway slim and God will lead them there."  Oh my!

PS:  This is a pastor that someone had brought to the Senior Apartment where I was staying in for a short time.  My friend invited me to his service.  Needless to say, I walked out.

Wow, Norma, you have touched on several really important and major points of our Christian faith: 

(1) Is Israel still the chosen people of God? 

(2) Did God really give the Promised Land to the Israelites, perpetually?  

(3) Is salvation dependent upon Baptismal Regeneration, i.e., is salvation accomplished through baptism?   

(4) Is Baptism valid only in "my" local church - or even in "my" denomination?

So, let me take them one at a time.

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First, are the Jews, Israel, still the "chosen people of God" - or has the Christian church replaced Israel in the eternal plan of God?  By the way, the name for that erroneous teaching is "Replacement Theology" which teaches that Israel was initially the "physical" chosen people of God - but since they rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah - God has made the Christian church the "spiritual" chosen people of God. 

A number of Liberal churches, including several major denominations, believe and teach that erroneous theology.   To the best of my knowledge, and I feel comfortable saying, that the only Baptist associated denomination, or movement, which believes and teaches Replacement Theology is Jimmy Carter's Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (Movement) based in Decatur, Georgia.   About 20 years ago, Jimmy Carter left the Southern Baptist Convention and joined the Cooperative Baptists because he thought the Southern Baptists were too conservative.  I believe he was also influenced by his daughter, then a product of a liberal college education, who has since been active in pushing a Liberal Theology within their movement.

The Cooperative Baptist not only support Replacement Theology - they also ordain women pastors.  And, I believe they also will ordain gay and lesbian pastors.  On this latter point I may be wrong, but that is my understanding.

According to this web site:  https://www.christiantoday.com/article/lesbian.couple.to.lead.historic.us.baptist.church/103736.htm  -  Calvary Baptist Church of Washington DC is affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship - and has recently ordained two married lesbians to be their co-pastors.  This presents several problems:  Women pastors - Lesbian pastors - Same-Sex couple as co-pastors.

Calvary Baptist Church is a diverse and historic Baptist church in the Chinatown neighborhood in Washington, D.C. affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, the Alliance of Baptists, the District of Columbia Baptist Convention, and the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists.  It severed ties with the Southern Baptist Convention in July 2012.   Since 2017, Calvary's Senior Co-Pastors have been Rev. Sally Sarratt and Rev. Maria Swearingen.

Let's talk more about Replacement Theology:  According to the Bible God made a covenant with Abraham.   In the Bible, there are two basic types of a covenants between God and man.

• A Conditional Covenant is based upon certain obligations and prerequisites binding between and on two parties.  If the requirements are not fulfilled by both parties, the covenant is broken.  In other words, it is basically, "If you do what you promised me - then I will keep my promise to you."

• An Unconditional Covenant is made with no strings attached and will be kept regardless of the other party's fidelity or infidelity.  Basically one party promises to do something for the other party, regardless.  In other words, "I WILL do this for you."

The Abrahamic Covenant found in Genesis 12 is an Unconditional Covenant:

Genesis 12:1-3, "Now the LORD had said to Abram:  'Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you.  I will make you a great nation; I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'"

Notice that God said to Abram (Abraham), "I will make you a great nation;.  .  ."    God did not say, "I will make you a great nation - IF you do this."

Then, God promised Abraham, "And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.'"  That is an Unconditional Covenant, not only with Abraham but with all people.  The blessing He is promising Abraham is that He will send His Son into the world as Lord and Savior - through the seed of Abraham.  Notice that there are no conditions - just His "I will. . . " covenant.

Both statements are Unconditional Covenants made by God - with no conditions upon Abraham, nor upon mankind.   So, when the Israelites sinned against God (which they did often) - when they rejected their Messiah - none of that could break the Unconditional Covenant God had made with Abraham.  That is why the nation of Israel is still the Chosen People of God today and eternally.   And, that is why all the people on earth can have eternal life through Jesus Christ.

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Next,God has given the Promised Land to the Israelites - Why is the Holy Land being disputed today and who are the Palestinians?   There is no doubt from the Bible that God gave the land which is now Israel, plus a lot more, to the Jews:

According to Genesis 15:18 and Joshua 1:4, the land God gave to Israel included everything from the Nile River in Egypt to Lebanon (south to north) and everything from the Mediterranean Sea to the Euphrates River (west to east).  So, what land has God stated belongs to Israel?  All of the land modern Israel currently possesses, plus all of the land of the Palestinians (the West Bank and Gaza), plus some of Egypt and Syria, plus all of Jordan, plus some of Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Israel currently possesses only a fraction of the land God has promised.   (https://www.gotquestions.org/Israel-land.html)

Who are the Palestinians?  The best guess is that it refers to the extinct Philistinian people.  The name Palestine was given to the land comprised of Judea and Syria in the second century by the Romans - most likely to suppress any national patriotism among the Jews:

After crushing the Bar Kokhba revolt in 135 AD, the Roman Emperor Hadrian applied the name Syria Palestina to the entire region, that had formerly included Judea province.  Hadrian probably chose a name that revived the ancient name of Philistia (Palestine), combining it with that of the neighboring province of Syria, in an attempt to suppress Jewish connection to the land, although the actual Philistines from which the name derives had disappeared from history.  .  .  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syria_Palaestina)

After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in 1923, the Balfour Declaration defined the land of Israel (then called Palestine from the Roman heritage) as including all of current Israel plus the land which is now Jordan - which more closely reflects the larger land God actually promised to the Israelites.   God never promised any land to the Palestinians (extinct Philistines).  That is an act of man.   Israel, plus the land of Jordan and parts of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, etc. are His Promised Lands - and God does not break a covenant.

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So, what about Baptismal Regeneration, i.e., salvation through baptism - true or false?  -  If baptism were a condition of salvation, then Jesus Christ would be a liar.  For He told the unbaptized thief on the cross, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise"  (Luke 23:43).  The thief was not baptized - yet Jesus Christ promised him eternal life.

One of the favorite proof texts for those who teach Baptismal Regeneration, i.e., salvation through baptism, is Acts 2:38, "Then Peter said to them, "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Ephesians 1:13 tells us, "In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise."               

So, the moment we believe the Gospel and receive Christ (John 1:12) we are sealed, i.e., indwelled, by the Holy Spirit.  At that very moment, we are saved, we have eternal life in Christ.  That is what Peter meant when he told the people to "repent." 

"But, Bill, Acts 2:38 tells us we are 'baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins.'  That means we are saved when we are baptized."

Not really.  Pastor Chuck Smith tells us in his commentary on Acts 2:

Literally in the Greek he (Peter) said, "Repent and be baptized every one of you into the name of Jesus Christ," which is an interesting point to make - into a relationship with Jesus Christ. .  .  . But it's not actually in Jesus' name, but into Jesus' name; into the very relationship with Him, into the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. "And ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."

Also we should look at Ephesians 2:8-9, which tells us, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

This tells us that we are NOT saved by works.  To add to the confusion, our Christian churches seem to go from one extreme to another.  Some Christian churches tell us we are saved through baptism, i.e, baptismal regeneration - not saved unless baptized.   And others, such as our Christian brethren in the Free Grace Movement tell us that repentance is not a part of our salvation.  According to them, repentance plays no part in our salvation - for they view repentance as works. 

How should we look at repentance and baptism relating to works?   Repentance is an internal spiritual change, a change within your heart toward Jesus Christ.  It is not a physical action which one does.  On the other hand, Baptism is a physical action we must do - and according to Ephesians 2:8-9 it does not effect salvation.

Repentance is part of the spiritual change within us when we believe, receive Christ, and are indwelled with the Holy Spirit.  This is all Holy Spirit inspired and accomplished.

Baptism is the physical action which we must take to show, or evidence, that we have trusted Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins.  In other words, we believe that His death and resurrection offers eternal life to all who will believe and receive Him.  Our act of obedience is to step forward and through our act of being physically baptized - tell all the world that we have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  That is our physical, visible act of obedience.

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Then, how are people saved?  -  Now we are getting down to the real meat and potatoes of our Christian faith.  How are we saved and how can we be assured that we are saved?   How were the people of the Old Testament saved?

Is Jesus Christ really the only Way to eternal life?  YES!  For all people.  Starting from the Creation, until today, through the 1000 year Millennial Kingdom, and into the day Christ takes us into eternity ~ the ONLY Way for anyone to have eternal life is through Jesus Christ:

 "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  NO ONE comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).

From Adam to Abraham, Abraham to Moses, Moses to John the Baptist, from John the Baptist to us today, and throughout the Millennial Kingdom  -  NO ONE enters heaven except through believing and receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

"But, Bill, Jesus Christ was not born in the Old Testament - how could those people be saved through Him?"    Great question.  But, you are looking at only the human nature of Jesus Christ.  His divine nature, His deity, has always existed.

John 1:1-2. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God."

There was never a moment in eternity when He did not exist.  "In the beginning" is referring to the beginning of the creation, the beginning of our linear time which is a part of the creation - not the beginning of eternity.  For eternity had no beginning - and it will have no ending.

If we look in the Old Testament we will find Jesus Christ, the Messiah, all through those pages - starting in Genesis.  "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth"  (Genesis 1:1).  God in Genesis 1:1 is the Triune God - Father, Son, Holy Spirit.  See John 1:3, "All things came into being by Him (Jesus Christ)"   Then look at, "The Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the Waters" (Genesis 1:2).   Always it was the Triune God.  So, from the very first verse of the Bible - Jesus Christ, the Word, was there. 

And, in His omniscience, His omniscient knowledge that man would fall into sin, He was already laying the plan of salvation for all mankind, for all who "by grace through faith" (Ephesians 2:8)  will "believe and receive" (John 1:12) His "paid in full" gift of eternal salvation.

In Hebrews 11, we read: By faith Abel, By faith Enoch, By faith Noah, By faith Abraham, By faith Sarah, By faith Isaac, By faith Jacob, By faith Joseph, By faith Moses, etc.  This was sort of the "Hall of Fame of Believers" in the Old Testament - representing the many Israelites who "by grace through faith" in the Word of God, in their coming Messiah - followed those steps of faith and were believers. 

After death, all those people were residing in Hades/Paradise (Luke 16:19-31) until their Messiah was born incarnate, was crucified, and came into Hades/Paradise to personally lead them into heaven.  At Jesus' resurrection, Hades/Paradise was closed and moved to a new eternal location, i.e., it became Heaven/Paradise.   Jesus Christ and the thief on the cross (Luke 23:43) joined them in Hades/Paradise - and Jesus Christ led them into Heaven/Paradise (Ephesians 4:8).

Jesus Christ has been saving His faithful believers since Adam's disobedience brought sin and death into the creation.

If you will Google the phrase "Angel of the LORD" - you will find Him throughout the Old Testament.  These were theophanies, temporary appearances of Christ before His incarnation, i.e., His birth in His human body.  After His birth, we find the phrase  "Angel of the LORD" used only once in the New Testament.  It is found In Stephen's great sermon before the Sanhedrin, when he gave his history lesson of God's working in mankind - for which Stephen was put to death, the first Christian martyr.  In Acts 7:30, Stephen tells of how the Angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in the flaming bush.

All other mentions in the New Testament refer to the "angel of the Lord" - not the "Angel of the LORD."  These instances are showing the workings of the archangels Gabriel and Michael as they interact with mankind to bring God's messages.

For the thirty-three years He was actively living among mankind - there was no need for a theophany.  He was already there in human form for all to see and believe.  He will appear again, when He comes in the air and we will be "caught up, i.e., snatched out"  (1 Thessalonians 4:17).  In the English transliteration, He will Rapture His followers, the worldwide church.  

Seven years later, He will return to earth, His Second Coming In Glory to establish His 1000 year Millennial Kingdom on the throne of David in Jerusalem (Isaiah 9:7) - where He will rule all the nations of the world, the perfect theocracy, for 1000 years of peace on earth.

So, how are we saved today?  These two passages explain it well:

Ephesians 1:13, 4:30, In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, .  .  . by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
Ephesians 2:8-9, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast."

Jesus summarizes salvation this way:

John 1:12, "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name."

Okay, that is it for salvation - but what about the Jews, what about the nation Israel?  Are they still the chosen peopleof God?

Short answer:  YES!  But, just as not all Gentiles will be saved - Matthew 7:13-14 tells us that the gate, i.e., path, to eternal life is narrow and few will enter - not all Jews will be saved.  Only a remnant of Israel will be saved.  We read about God saving the remnant of Israel in Isaiah 10: 20-21.

In God's eternal plan, Israel is His main purpose for the seven year Tribulation.  That is His time set aside to bring the remnant of Israel into the fold, into God's family.   God's plan is always perfect.  In His omniscience, He knew that the nation of Israel would reject their Messiah.  And that rejection provided the avenue through which He would establish the Christian church and bring the Gentiles (everyone who is not Jewish) into His family.   That was the apostle Paul's main ministry - the Gentile nations.  But, keep in mind that almost all of the early Christian believers were Jews - as were all the apostles.  Of the forty Bible writers, the only Gentile is Luke.

But, today that leaves a large number of God's chosen people, Israel, standing outside.  How to bring them into the family of God?  First, God will take His church (all Gentile and Jewish believers), all who have by grace through faith have believed and received Christ as Lord and Savior - out of this fallen, mortal world.  That event is called the Rapture.  Then, He will allow Satan to appoint his messiah, the Antichrist, as the world leader aided by the Antichrist's number two man, the False Prophet, who will head up the apostate One World Church.

God will allow Satan to pour out his wrath upon the world, specifically on the people of Israel, for seven years.  And God will add His own wrath and punishment to all who follow this Antichrist during the Tribulation.  But, praise God, the folks who were left behind at the Rapture for not truly believing - will have 144,000 Jewish Billy Graham styled evangelists, appointed and protected by God, to share the true Word of God with them.  And, praise God, a great number of people, a number too great to count (Revelation 7:9), will be saved during the Tribulation.

Rev 7:9-10, 13-15, "After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!' .  .  .  Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, 'Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?'  And I said to him, 'Sir, you know.'  So he said to me, 'These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.  Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them.'"

God will protect His remnant of Israel throughout the horrible seven year Tribulation - and when Christ returns (His Glorious Second Coming) after the Tribulation, He will convene a judgment seat, the Sheep and Goat Judgment (Matthew 25:31-46), to address all mortals who have survived the Tribulation.  The Sheep, Jewish and Gentile surviving believers, will be on His right and will go into His 1000 year Millennial Kingdom in their mortal bodies - where they will continue to live in their mortal bodies, marrying and having children for 1000 years.

The Goats, Jewish and Gentile non-believers who survive the Tribulation, those who continue to reject Jesus Christ, those who take the Mark of the Beast - will be sent into the lake of fire, hell.

Jesus Christ will reign, the perfect theocracy, over all the nations of the earth for 1000 years,

Isaiah 9:6-7, "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever.  The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."

"And the government will be upon His shoulder"  -  This will be fulfilled in the Millennium, when Jesus Christ will rule the earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (Revelation 20:4-6, Psalm 72, Isaiah 2:1-4, Isaiah 11, Isaiah 65:17-25, Zechariah 14:6-21).

"Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end"  -   The reign of the Messiah will not last just the 1000 years of the millennium.  There will be no end to the reign of the Messiah.  He will rule for all eternity.

"Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom"  -   Jesus will rule on David's throne, ruling over His Millennial Kingdom.  This is a fulfillment of God's covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7:18-29.

Many thanks to my Christian sister and Friend, Norma, for raising these very important questions.  These questions have been debated for many years, and will continue to be debated until we believers rest in peace in His Millennial Kingdom. 

However, I believe that if we take His Bible as the Holy Spirit INSPIRED, Holy Spirit INERRANT, Holy Spirit LITERAL Written Word of God - if we take the Bible as His full revelation to mankind and as our full authority on God's Word to man - and if we do as the apostle Paul teaches us in Acts 17:11, testing all teachings and teachers against Scripture ~ we will not go wrong.

God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,

Bill