spiritual Jews

In some church circles, there is a popular supposition that (non-Jewish) Gentiles were engrafted into Israel. The phrase often heard is, "We are now engrafted Jews." This idea can leave people with the wrongful impression that Gentiles would be brought under Jewish laws and customs that were from the Old Covenant, exclusively meant for Israel before Jesus fulfilled the law.

This is usually taken from a passage in Romans 11, but the theory is a misleading one that doesn't consider the bigger context of what else Paul said in his Romans letter regarding Jew and Gentile. And another explanation he gives is in Ephesians chapter 2 ... where both Jew and Gentile were reconciled together into one body—the body of Christ—giving both groups access to the Father by one Spirit. In other words, we Gentiles weren't merged into Israel. Both which had been separated were brought together and joined in Christ himself.

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When mixed covenant teaching attempts to suggest Christians should follow the Mosaic Law from the Old Covenant, a concept or phrase has been known to be used to build their case as they refer to “the spirit of the law.” They will complicate the simple gospel by convincing people of the differences between what they call the spirit of the law and the letter of the law. As is typically the case, people will be begin to believe the phrase actually appears in Scripture (it doesn’t). Bible “verses” get used out of context from various passages and the message of the good news becomes confusing as the waters get muddied with misleading theories which lack clarity, while leading people into a type of spiritual bondage. If you find yourself traveling on the road of lifeless religion, watch for the warning signs: “Dead End Ahead.”

EXTRAS: On this week's podcast we mentioned Kap's 'preaching' at Heartland Vineyard Church. Here is his 40 minute message on YouTube.

We also mentioned Ralph Harris and his new book "Life According to Perfect," as well as Joel's past interviews of Ralph. Check out the book here, as well as Part 1 and Part 2 of the interview.

906. False Assumptions: Gentiles Grafted Into Israel?

671. Theological Gibberish: “The Spirit of the Law”

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