We are not Under the Law BUT Read the Verses You Didn't Underline

 

We are not Under the Law BUT
Read the Verses You Didn't Underline
by Donna Diorio
June 25,2021

I remember when I was first introduced to Francis Frangipane, he was talking about us taking a look at our Bibles to see what we had underlined, and then to focus our meditating on the Word to what we had NOT underlined. What I am going to say is a thought much like that.

For one, I believe there is a defensiveness that a huge swath of Christianity has against accepting the true role that God has for the Jewish people even in the plan of the salvation of mankind and the revival of the last major spiritual harvest. I say that because instead of seeing that the Bible is full of promises to Israel by God, and laying out the plan by biblical prophetic and apostolic voices, many Christians only underline the "setting aside" part of the Chosen People, blind to the purpose of God in doing so.

When I left the Messianic congregation I was going to in order to go into churches to try to spread the understanding of God's One New Man plan, in one of the churches I found all the classic distancing maneuvers Christians use to deny the significance of the Jewish people and especially of the Israeli Messianic body of Messiah, in operation.

#1. Denial that the Jewish people, as a people, are still significant to God's plan in light of the new covenant in Jesus Christ that opened the Door of salvation to the Gentiles (nations). Some of the top level Christian ministers hold this idea to be true - I am talking about ministers who have lead in healing miracles, prophetic ministry - the top rung of Christian leadership. Yet when it comes to the place of the Jews in God's plans, they underlined the "setting aside" and "we are not under the Law" verses, instead of the scriptures that lay out God's plan for mankind's salvation developed over thousands of years, or how the Law (the teaching) of God is not evil, but is the stated Word of God on the level of righteousness He desires to see developed in us.

As Romans 2:13-15 - NEW COVENANT - says is:

13 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but it is the doers of the law who will be declared righteous. 14 ***Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law*** 15 So ***they show that the work of the law is written on their hearts,*** their consciences also bearing witness,*** and their thoughts either accusing or defending them…***

It's a perfect example of the scriptures that are not underlined by many Christians, even the current top echelon of Christian leaders. At that church referred to earlier, I ran across so many instances - like the instance where as soon as one mentions having a heart for Israel, the default distancing maneuver is to put up the unnecessary shield of having a heart for the Palestinians.

Reality on the ground: there is NO group of believers with a truer heart for the Christian Arabs ministering the Gospel among the Palestinian people and the neighboring Muslim Arab nations as the Israeli Messianic Jews. The reason most Christians don't know that FACT is because they listen to Israel-hating Arabs (both Christian and Muslim - and yes, there are Jew-hating Christian Arabs too who have not been delivered of the extreme indoctrination against Israel and the Jews they have been raised in.

Almost ALL of the Israeli Messianic Jewish ministries I know of are in relationship with their Palestinian Christian Arab brothers and many of them donate funds to help their brothers spread the Gospel among Arabs. But unknowing Christian who don't know God's plan for using the Israeli Messianic Jews in the last days, use their concern for Palestinians as cudgel to beat off any advocate of them having a heart for Israeli Jews.

Another perfect example, and it would be the straw that broke the camel's back for me remaining in that congregation, was when they had a well known teacher in for an extended weekly series on the book of Romans...and the man just completely skipped over the Apostle Paul's most extensive exposition of God's plan in the Jews that is given in Romans 9-11. Not only did he not underline those passages of scripture, he skipped them altogether. I could not bear to sit in a place that was so headed in a direction the opposite of what I knew God wanted me to travel.

None of the leaders or followers described above are beyond coming to the knowledge of the truth in the matter of Israel and the Jews. But one thing they must do is recognize that even as they accuse the Jewish people of spiritual blindness in part through arrogance, the same can be rightly said of much of Christianity through history and to this day.