To the Jew first and also to the greek

By Patrick on August 26, 2011 9:05 PM
In reply to Raymond from DC, I would like to say that the apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, says this in Romans 1:16: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek."
"For the Jew first" means that it is the Jews with whom God has an everlasting covenant, and therefore Jews have a special place in His heart for the sake of Himself being faithful to His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and for the sake of blessing their generations forever.
Raymond, you may not believe there is a fiery hell, but Christians are clearly told in the Bible that there is one. And this is NOT something targeted at Jews. This has nothing to do with personal merit, or how good Jews are as opposed to how evil Muslims are. From the time Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, we ALL are separated from God, you, me, everybody.
How can we enter God's holy presence after we leave this world if we are still in our sins? Your forefathers could not stand to hear the voice of God because they feared they would die. How then can anyone reasonably hope to live forever in His presence and not be destroyed by His sheer holiness, unless the proper blood atonement has been provided for them and they have received it? How could the angel of death pass over the houses of the Hebrews in Egypt, if the blood had not been placed on the lintel and the doorposts of the house?
You may not agree about Jesus being the Messiah, but Christians believe that He fulfilled the Passover, Himself offering His own sinless body as the sacrifice Lamb, the burnt offering, paying the penalty of sin in every human being's place. So you ask me: "Is that love?" and tell me to "let the Jews be."

If I believe that people go to hell because they have not received the blood atonement that Jesus provided, which is clearly what the Bible says, then I would ask you: "Is that love?" if I believe that you are going to hell, I know the way to help you escape it, and I do NOT tell you? You may think I'm wrong and that you are not going to hell, but I dont't want to be selfish enough to keep the possibility of salvation a secret from you or from anyone. You say "let the Jews be". From the Christian perspective, it sounds like: "No thanks, do not take us out of our comfort zone. Just let us go to what you call hell, we'll be just fine." And I tell you: "No Raymond you won't be just fine, unless you repent and turn to the true Messiah who laid down His life in order to save yours." Since when is warning someone of imminent danger a sign that you do not love them?