ADDRESSES ON ROMANS
and His oath), in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor of the soul" (Heb. 6: 17~19). Thus Paul wrote to the Hebrew Christians concerning the promises God made to Abraham; and the yet unfulfilled promises of God are just as certain of accomplishment as if they were already facts of history. Israel's God can not lie! 2. ALL ISRAEL ARE NoT ISRAEL. Whom does God call Israel? Those who are entitled to these promises must be more than merely natural descendants of Israel. Who, then, are Israel? That is the question with which Paul is concerned here. and one which the Jews needed to have answered. According to the mind of God, whom did He mean when He promised blessing to His chosen people? The unbelieving Jews would say that the natural descendants of Abraham are Israel. They said that in the days of Christ, and on that fact they set their hope for salvation. But they did not have Abraham's faith; therefore, they were not real sons of Abraham. When the Jews boasted of the fact that they were of the flesh of Abraham, the Lord Jesus replied, "If ye were Abra~ ham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham" (John 8: 39). Yet, in spite of this warning, the Jews expected salva~ tion because Abraham was their father. They thought this made them heirs of all the promises given to Israel. However, John the Baptist disillusioned them in that respect when He said, "Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham" (Matt. 3:9). And the Lord Himself said also to the unbelieving Jews, "I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins : whither I go, ye cannot come" (John 8 :21 ). He made known to them that, apart from faith, being in the fleshly line of Abraham meant nothing. \.['he real sons of this great man had his faith. And that is what Paul means when he says in verse 6: "They are not all Israel. which are of Israel." Page 180]
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