"I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace."
The vast majority of today's "Christians" maintain that the Jews, still today, enjoy a "chosen" status with God and that we are to, by all means, support them in everything they do.
Paul began today's lesson by asking, "Hath God cast away his people?" The answer to that specific question, as Paul explains, is a definite no. However, the special, or "chosen" status of the Jews has certainly been replaced, or at least greatly diminished after the coming of Christ and salvation by grace.
There were many of the Jews who lived during Paul's time and after who believed in Jesus and were saved by the grace of God through that faith. Those Jews, along with all the Gentiles who believed, now make up God's "chosen" people. That status no longer uniquely belongs to the Jews.
In today's quote Paul, quoting Elias said, "they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life. But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace."
Just as were Elias and those "seven thousand" saved by the grace of God, the Jews of today are still a remnant of God's chosen.
The great majority of today's Jews still maintain the same religious practices they adhered to before the coming of Christ. Therefore, they are among those whom Elias said had, "killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars" and are certainly not among God's "chosen".
The next few lessons will further confirm the status of today's Jews.~
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