Romans: Israel and Church, Election and Apostasy

 “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.” 

When Paul asks this question in Romans 11:1-2, he has the Book of Lamentations specifically in mind:

“For the Lord will not cast off forever.

Though He causes grief,

Yet He will show compassion

According to the multitude of His mercies” (Lam. 3:31-32).

In Lamentations, the author is mourning over the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC, which he recognizes as deserved due to Judah and Israel’s repeated apostasy from Yahweh throughout the period of the Old Covenant, which continued up until the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. And yet even in the midst of this, he has hope in the nation’s forgiveness and restoration, in whatever form that may take.

It’s this question of form that Paul is addressing in Romans 9-11. Paul makes it clear that not every last Israelite will be saved, indicated by his repeated reference to “a remnant“ (9:27, 11:5). Both the discussion of election in Romans 9 and 11 (some are chosen, others are not), as well as Paul’s illustration of olive branches cut out and some grafted back in, demonstrate that he recognizes that only certain Israelite individuals will be saved. “For many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14). And this election, as he shows us, is of grace, not of works (Rom. 11:5-6). If it is of grace for the Israelites, how much more is it of grace to the Gentiles, who were not the beneficiaries of God’s grace to begin with (Rom. 11:11-24; Eph. 2)? 

The result, then, of Israel’s apostasy and return to Yahweh, is not a nation of Israel restored to its Old Covenant position in the end times, but an Israel, an ekklesia, of which Gentiles are as much a part as the physical sons of Abraham, from the first century into eternity (Isaiah 60).

Paul does not see the fact of election by grace to be in contradiction with the notion of apostasy, but rather a complementary truth. The discussion of election in Romans 9 itself contains within it the idea that some who, in one sense, are of the people of God, may not in another sense actually be of the people of God. The difference between the two groups according to the action of God depends upon His mercy and grace, Paul tells us. But here in Romans, as elsewhere in Scripture, Paul makes it clear that from the perspective of the individual man, continuance in salvation depends on his perseverance in both faith and obedience. Good works are essential to final salvation. Not only does he make this clear in Rom. 11:16-24, but it is emphasized throughout the book (2:5-29; 8:1-17). The mercy and grace that makes a man justified by faith puts him in such a state that while he may occasionally sin, sin does not dominate him. He becomes a man who reckons himself dead to sin through the finished work of Christ, and being in union with Christ through His death and resurrection, does not yield himself up to sin as its slave (Rom. 6).

The key question to it all is this - who does the saving? And Paul makes it clear that it is God, through election, through predestination, through calling, through justification, through perseverance, and through glorification (8:28-30). The warnings must be heeded. But the man who God has determined to save will heed those warnings and persevere until the end of his life.

And so perseverance in faith, a perseverance that Old Covenant Israel failed in, is required for final salvation. But the faith that is required is not a faith in one’s own works or obedience, but rather faith in the the One who promises to keep ahold of the man who trusts in Him, the kind of trust that perseveres in obedience.

Faith, Obedience, and Answered Prayer

If one is not a Calvinist and a Postmillennialist, then we should expect weak and ineffectual prayer to be the result. The condition for answered prayer that Scripture puts before us is that we must ask, and in asking we must believe that God will give us what we’re asking for. If we do not believe that He is willing or able, then our prayers will accomplish nothing, Scripture tells us. Unbelief receives what it expects.

But Scripture also tells us that a life of holiness is also required, and if there’s a place where the American Church fails, it’s there. But unbelief and a lack of holiness go hand in hand. We sin, because we do not trust God. We do not believe He is Who He says He is, that His way and character are right and good, or that there are consequences for our sins. Belief, faith, is the root of obedience, and where there is no obedience, there is no faith. And where there is no faith, prayers are not answered.

Boycotts of Madness

 Did you know that the upcoming Disney Marvel movie “Doctor Strange in the Multitude of Madness” will be available for viewing in India in Malayalam and Tamil? Did you know that there are languages called Malayalam and Tamil, or that they are spoken by over a hundred million people combined?

What are the chances of taking down a company as large as Disney simply with boycotts? It won’t happen.

Boycotts aren’t entirely fruitless. But I’ve been watching Evangelicals try this my whole life. All by themselves they have accomplished little, and the past few decades have proven that. If you are a believer seeking to live a holy life before God, then you have a duty to be careful about what you put before your own eyes, before the eyes of your children, and in what you recommend to others. But if you really want to change Disney, mere boycotts aren’t enough. There are three things that would do more. First, pray for change at Disney, believing that your prayer is good, and on that basis that God will answer it. Secondly, buy Disney stock, and attend shareholder meetings to make your voice heard where it counts. And beyond that, live a holy life before those around you, that the testimony of your life might demonstrate the truth of Scripture and influence others for good.

Apostate America

 Lgbtq ex-vangelicalism is what you get when you try to disciple people in a hazy, mystical, feelings-oriented, anti-intellectual and anti-dogmatic version of Christianity. When you focus on the self rather than on Christ and the facts of Holy Scripture, you are setting people up for apostasy, hardened atheism, and a ruined culture.

*************

The Parable of the Sower in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, John 15, Romans 9-11, Hebrews 6, Hebrews 10, and many other passages, testify to the fact that it is possible for a person to in some sense be joined to Christ, but later fall away, to his eternal perdition. Genuine salvation manifests in spiritual fruit, growth in grace, and holiness of life. Where such things in no way continue, we have no reason to believe that salvation exists. Any approach to the faith that excuses these things or ignores these passages in the name of eternal security fails to do justice to Scripture and does not teach the whole counsel of God. The possibility of apostasy is assumed throughout the Old and New Testaments. And one cannot rightly guide people in Biblical Christianity if he does not acknowledge this.

Moon Knight Episode Two

Marc Spector: “Where are we going?”

Khonshu: “Where the hell do you think?”

Moon Knight episode two is the Book of Genesis; Moon Knight episode three will be the Book of Exodus.

In Moon Knight episode two, our Adam, Steven Grant, meets his Eve, Layla. After they spend time becoming acquainted with each other, we then meet an elaborately constructed Garden of Eden scene in the form of Arthur Harrow’s commune. Plants are overflowing their planters in abundance; the followers of Ammit are watching nature documentaries. Everything appears to be untainted peace and harmony. As in the Garden of Eden, where no animal had yet to be slaughtered, the only food available is the fruit of the ground. In their conversation, Harrow notes that he knows Steven Grant is vegan, as he is. Harrow is the serpent, speaking lies and making accusations against Khonshu, having formerly been in service to him, as Lucifer was to Yahweh. “Hath Khonshu said?” Harrow gaslights Steven to weaken him and make him pliable, like all sociopathic leaders do, seeking to lead Steven to rebel against and disobey his master. Questions of judgment and death and innocence arise, as in Eden, along with the seed of women, children. But a Garden of Eden scene is incomplete without Eve showing up as well, which Layla does. As with Eve, she holds what the serpent really wants. But unlike in Eden, the man and the woman are both wise, and reject the lies of the serpent. Consequentially they’re driven out of the garden. A battle takes place, and just as Yahweh slew an animal to clothe Adam and Eve in Eden, blood must be shed, but in this case it’s that of a jackal. Where Adam and Eve fell in battle, Steven and Layla have victory, though one that is incomplete. The serpent still temporarily takes what the woman had.

The scene of Harrow and Steven eating lentil soup is key in and of itself, in that the soup itself refers to Esau selling his birthright to Jacob for what the King James Bible calls a “mess of pottage”, which is simply lentil stew. In that Biblical story is an undoing of Adam’s betrayal of Yahweh. Whereas the serpent used food with deception to take Adam’s birthright, Jacob merely uses food, refusing to use the enemy’s tactic of lying. Jacob, who God will later rename Israel, begins the path towards Christ, the path of undoing the Fall, and redeeming not only his own people, but saving the whole world.

In the end, we catch a brief glimpse of the seed of Israel, Steven Grant, in his slavery in Egypt, overlooking the pyramids that his ancestors built. His star of David is prominent around his neck.

Moon Knight Episode One

 So if you trace out the events of Moon Knight episode one chronologically, it begins on Thursday (Thor’s Day), and ends on Monday (Moon Day) night. And it is at the end, on Monday night, when we first see Marc Spector transform into Moon Knight.

This is significant, given that the show has at its center the relationship of Marc Spector and the god Khonshu, but further, the relationship among the ancient Egyptian gods. There is a leaving behind of the West and its gods, which formerly occupied the MCU, and moving East, which is taking place with Moon Knight, The Eternals, and Shang-Chi. And this is symbolized in the flow of days in this first episode. Marc himself is Ad Orientam; he moves from West to East.

Marc Spector’s alternate personality Steven Grant is a lowly museum gift shop employee, and neither he nor the Egyptian history represented in the museum (and by him) are taken seriously by his (largely white) co-workers. Western, post-Enlightenment peoples regard the gods as merely fiction and relics of an ignorant past - an odd thing to have in the show, given the context of the MCU. The results of skepticism of the transcendent are cynicism, hatred, and the abuse of others, all of which Steven suffers under. But the Transcendent always refuses ultimately to be ignored for long; the denial of its existence can’t last. It always finds a way to break through into the modern world. It may be represented in Moon Knight by false gods, but the principle is the same - the Enlightenment was and is a lie, and to adopt it is to deny the ultimate truth of Creation, the existence of a spiritual reality beyond Creation where the one all-controlling Creator God dwells.

Concerning Caitlyn Jenner at Fox News

 If anybody had any doubts about whether or not conservatism had lost its way, this should convince them. Too often, conservatism has proven to just be slow progressivism. Without Christianity at its heart, that’s always what it ends up being. And what I’ve seen online from people in the past couple of years has shown me that it has fueled the rise of nationalism on the right. I’m seeing, even among scholars, a lot of right wing rejection of the label and concept of conservatism, in favor of nationalism. And it is bringing with it elements of white supremacism and antisemitism. It all comes down to the question: what is the foundation of your beliefs about right and wrong? More specifically, what is the truth, and where does it come from? Conservatism, even as framed by Edmund Burke and Russell Kirk, is insufficient. Even Russell Kirk was such a naturalist that he left room for the idea that conservatism can function in an anti-Christian society, where another religion such as Hinduism lay at the heart. But Hinduism, like all false religions, merely leads to death, no matter whether or not you put a veneer of conservatism over top of it. Merely natural revelation, without the Bible, is insufficient to govern a people and form a culture rightly. All that is true, good, and beautiful, is rooted in the character of God, and is expressed in his Creation derived from Him. Post-Fall, it impossible to sufficiently attain the true, good, and beautiful apart from His written Word. And so any society and culture that rejects the Bible, attempting to govern itself some other way, is always destined to eventually fail.

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