Q. Long Beach, Calif. "How does an unbeliever become a believer? The only tools I have to work with are the brain and mind with which I was born. If God wants me to be a believer, should not He have giv en me a different brain and mind?” A. What God has given you, no matter who you are, is absolutely all you need to be saved. Our eter nal destiny is not determined upon how clever or brilliant we may be. It is totally what Christ has done for us, and our willingness to ac cept His free gift by personal faith! God has given you a free will to make whatever choice you may desire. You are not an automaton butare capable of coming to God, or rejecting His Son. Q. Fallbrook, Calif. "In Matthew 21:43, Christ is speaking to the Jews. He told them, 'The kingdom of God is taken from you, and giv en to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof.' What and where is this nation?” A. Some people would have us believe that there is not going to be any kingdom for Israel. That is entirely wrong. Again, consider the context. Christ has been speaking to the scribes and Pharisees. The kingdom of God in that sphere where genuine faith has been ex ercised. We see that in John 3. There is a sense in which the king dom of God includes all willing as well as unwilling beings. He is the universal Sovereign in the soteri- ological sense. One enters the kingdom of God only by being born again. The Pharisees were not in this kingdom. They had rejected Christ. The kingdom was now to be given to the godly in Israel and to godly Gentiles. Neither in the
Dr. Israel Carmona using overhead projector lor a class lecture.
present age nor in the future mil lennium is the Kingdom of God the exclusive possession of either Is rael or the Gentiles. Acts 1:6 clear ly shows that there will be a literal restoration of an earthly kingdom to Israel. It will be when the Son of man comes back and sits on the throne of His glory. Today, by faith in Christ, both Jew and Gentile are considered a spiritual nation (I Pet. 2:9). Page 29
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker