Filter #2... Who are the Commandments for, anyway?

Filter No. 2

from Tim Terry of

"Seeds Of Restoration"

The Commandments were given to Israel and do not apply to the modern day church.
Another “clogged filter” restricting the understanding of many of God’s people is basically this...God gave the Commandments to Israel, not the modern day church. Believe it or not...I agree!! Paul says in Romans 9:4-5 that Israel is “to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen”. As we can see from Scripture, God did give the law to Israel. However, He also gave the covenants, the promises, the adoption and the glory to Israel! So, where does that leave the so called “Gentile” Church? Let’s take a look at the “truth of the matter”.
Thankfully, God has always made provision for all who would want to follow after Him, but on His terms, not ours. Even in the Great Exodus it was a mixed multitude (Exodus 13:38) that came out of Egypt. Paul tells us in Romans 11 that Gentiles are grafted into the “Olive Tree” by faith and become one in Messiah. Paul makes it clear that by faith in Messiah we are children of the promise and are counted as the seed of Abraham. We must remember that the idea of the “church” (ecclesia—the assembly, the called out ones) being something other than God’s chosen people is a concept completely foreign to Scripture.
In Ephesians 2:8, Paul tells us an awesome thing. “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.” Praise the Lord for that verse… now notice verse 11. “Therefore remember that you once Gentiles in the flesh-who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands- that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” He then goes on to say that “we are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,” Praise God. Want some more? Consider this. Paul tells us in Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Praise the Lord!


Now, considering what we just learned from Scripture, let’s reexamine the question. Do we in the modern day church consider ourselves as part of the commonwealth of Israel to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants the giving of the law and so on? I believe the answer must be a resounding yes. If not, and the teachings of Moses are not meant for our instruction, which Scriptures do we use to live by? After all, in the Apostolic Scriptures we find the Book of James addressed… “To the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad”. The book of Hebrews is written to…well… the Hebrews! It becomes obvious that we as Christians must either accept the Bible in its entirety or throw it away and live each according to his own desires. It’s the same life defining choice Elijah gave to Israel years ago. “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him… I submit to you that we are God’s people, Israel. Not because of any bloodline, but by the blood of Yeshua, our Messiah. And, as His people, we are not to subtract from His Word. (Deut 4:2)
It comes down to this...we have rejected much of God’s Word just because we didn’t stand at the mountain. We should find that ironic and quite sad. After all, we made a deal with God at that mountain, promising to do all that Moses would tell us. We were scared of God’s voice and asked Moses to “hear all that the Lord our God may say, and tell us all that the Lord our God says to you, and we will hear and do it.” (Deuteronomy 5:27)