What happened to Israel?

In this post, originally published at growingatvalley.blogspot.com, I look at Romans 9-10 and Paul's lament for Israel.

Romans 9-10

Paul begins Romans 10 with this lament, "Brothers and sisters, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved" (Romans 10:1). In Genesis 17, though, God establishes His covenant with Abram. So what happened to Israel? The Old Testament is rife with examples of Israel's disobedience to God, but would their inability to observe the Law really keep them out of heaven?

The problem is that in a post-resurrection world, obedience to the Law isn't enough to get us into heaven in the first place. John the Baptist warns about the danger of complacent confidence in birthright salvation (Matthew 3: 7-10), too, but even that isn't the real issue at hand. Sin is the real issue. So great is the gulf between man and God, so stark the contrast between our wretched sin state and God's perfect holiness, that reconciliation is only possible through the atoning blood of Jesus (John 14:6, Romans 10: 9-10).

Our own efforts and works will always fall far short of what is required of us. That is why we cannot keep the law, why we cannot construct our own road to heaven. In Jesus, though, the work has been done that we could never do; the price has been paid that we could never pay (Matthew 5:17, Romans 10:6, 2 Cor 1:20). What an encouraging thought, that when we stand before the holy Judge--as we all will--sentence will be passed not according to our own righteousness but according to Jesus'.

If you want eternal life with God, you can have it. Hear the Gospel, repent of your sin, and put your trust in Jesus.