The current day nation of Israel was established in 1948, a place for many of the Jews who survived the holocaust to call home. Many Christians in Europe and North America consider this to be a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies to Abraham and his offspring that they would inherit the land on which Israel and Palestine now exist. One result of the establishment of political Israel has been the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, a geopolitical move which has been the primary cause of decades of violence from both sides toward each other. At the heart of this passionate fight for this particular bit of property is the belief–by many Jews on one hand–that the promises God made to Abraham are for his son Isaac’s offspring, and the corresponding belief–by many Muslims on the other hand–that the promises God made to Abraham are for his son Ishmael’s descendants. Many Christians, believing that Old Testament Israel and current-day national Israel are organically related, support without question any decisions national Israel make.

But the New Testament teaches that the offspring of Abraham who inherits the promises made to Abraham, including the promise of the land, is Abraham’s true Offspring, Jesus, who inherits the whole world as the Son of God who is the one true Jew. And Paul also insists that all those who have been baptized into Jesus are–by virtue of union with him–also the offspring of Abraham and thus heirs of the promises made to him. As a result, Christians do not need to unquestionably support either Israel or Palestine, because in Christ all those who believe in him are the true owners and inheritors of the land.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

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When the Athanasian Creed is read on Trinity Sunday every year, many Protestant Christians struggle with the last line, “Those who have done good will enter into eternal life, but those who have done evil will go into eternal fire.” This implication that salvation is by human works seems to conflict with the teaching that salvation is by grace through faith alone. But for a couple of reasons it’s safe to call this a misunderstanding.

First, this line from the Creed is almost a direct quote of Jesus’ own words in John 5:29: there is coming a day when the day will be raised, “those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” Unless we are prepared to say Jesus has bad theology, we’ll need to find a way to incorporate the Creed’s teaching into our theology. And this, as it turns out, is explained in many more places in Scripture. Paul teaches in Ephesians 2:8-9 that we are saved by grace through faith as a gift, but Ephesians 2:10 explains that this salvation is given to us because we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works.

In other words, we are saved by grace through faith alone, but that salvation will result in good works, which–on the last day–will be the evidence of whether or not we have been saved by grace.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

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In our cynical culture, doubting everything has become a default mode. For Christians who believe that being made right with God happens through trusting Jesus, these doubts can precipitate an existential crisis. Some Christians feel guilty for having doubts, but faith doesn’t negate the existence of doubts. In fact, the rhythm of trust and doubt is a regular part of any relationship, trust being the foundation of any good relationship, and doubts being the fuel for going back to the relationship to build up the trust in new and fresh ways. The same pattern holds for a human being’s relationship with God as well. No one - even the most devout religious person - completely believes in Jesus. Our prayer will always be, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.” And just as in the case with any human relationship, these doubts in God should drive us back to God’s presence in his word and sacraments to learn in new and fresh ways all different kinds of levels of trust in him.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

Subscribe to the show at https://cacg.saintjamesglencarbon.org.

To comment on this episode, visit https://saintjamesglencarbon.org/cacg-ep124.