Grace Bible Church
Basic Training in Doctrine
Guest Speaker: Pastor Joe Sugrue
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
“Abraham’s seed” – emphasis on physical birth. In the self-consciousness of these people was a tremendous pride in their race.
The Jews emphasised the physical seed of Abraham and they are relying upon physical birth rather than regeneration for relationship with God.
The Jews thought that they were the only ones free to serve God and that they received this through physical birth, through the rite of circumcision, followed by the system of works which they had developed.
They are in bondage to the Mosaic Law plus the hundreds of commandments that have been added to the Mosaic Law. Had Jesus made an issue of this He would have obscured the true spiritual issue.
The true issue: Every one of them there was in bondage to his old sin nature.
Christ is offering the solutions to all our true bondage, but like many in the world, these religious Jews have their eyes only on the earthly where everything is temporary and there are no real solutions.
ROM 7:7
What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! On the contrary, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “You shall not covet.”
Jesus is saying to the religious people that if they ever want to get into this house called heaven, if they ever want to enter the kingdom of God, if they want eternal life, there is only one way they will ever get it: through the Son.
“If” is a 3rd class condition. It all depends on volition, you can change your mind for Christ and move from a slave to a son.
“the Son shall make you free” – aorist active subjunctive of eleutheroo.
“the Son” [emphasizing humility] is the only one who can change your position through His own spiritual death. The aorist tense refers to the point of the cross, the point of redemption.
Active voice: only Jesus Christ can redeem. Subjunctive mood: redemption is potential based on faith in Christ – John 3:36.
The Greek says, “being free, you shall be … [free]. The future tense of eimi is “you shall be” and inferred is freedom. Christ leaves it open ended so that you can explore your own freedom.
Abraham’s seeds fall basically into two areas: a) several of the Arabic groups are descended from Abraham through two sources – Hagar and Keturah; b) the Jews through Isaac and Jacob.
But being physically born with the genes of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob does not provide salvation.
ROM 9:6 – 8.
ROM 9:6-7
For they are not all Israel who are descended from Israel; neither are they all children because they are Abraham’s descendants,
ROM 9:8
That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants.
Abraham is not the founder of the Jewish race, Jesus Christ was the founder of the Jewish race.
Religion is such a power deceiver that the people of Israel desired and were motivated to kill their given Messiah.
Religion is so powerful a deceiver because the devil is its author, John 8:44, “You are of your father the devil and you want to do the desires of your father.