The Christian's Greatest Discovery - Part 08

Guest (Female): Jesus said if we know the truth, the truth will make us free. On this edition of Messianic Perspectives, Dr. Gary Hedrick shows us one truth in particular that enables us to walk in real freedom. Stay with us as we discuss the Christian's greatest discovery.
Liz Aiello: Shalom and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctive first-century Jewish point of view. I'm Liz Aiello. Today, Dr. Gary Hedrick is discussing the Christian's greatest discovery. I'll be back at the close of the program to tell you about our special offer. And now, with today's installment, here's Gary Hedrick.
Gary Hedrick: We welcome you, listening friends. It's good to have you with us today as we continue our series of studies from the life of Abraham, a series we've entitled the Christian's Greatest Discovery. And of course, the discovery we've been talking about is the assurance of salvation. We've been noticing how patient God was with Abraham and how God gave him confirmation after confirmation that He would keep His word. That's one of the keys to developing a real sense of security and assurance as a child of God: understanding that salvation is based on God's word. It's not based on my emotions. It's not based on some sensational experience, or a dream or a vision. It's not based on my own accomplishments or achievements or anything I can do for myself. Salvation is based exclusively on God's promise to me, His word to me, and the fact that He offered salvation as a free gift and I accepted it. The Abrahamic covenant was the same way. It was an unconditional promise. It wasn't based on Abraham's accomplishments. It wasn't based on anything Abraham could do. God didn't say, "Abraham, I'll do this if you'll do that." The Abrahamic covenant was based solely and exclusively on God's word, God's promise. God said to Abraham, "Abraham, I will make of thee a great nation. I will bless thee. I will make thy name great. I will bless them that bless thee. I will curse them that curse thee," and all the other things that are involved in the Abrahamic covenant. You see, it's the determination of Almighty God that He will do it, no matter what. No conditions. So, we've been noticing the way God ministered to Abraham's doubts back in the book of Genesis. We've seen that God confirmed and reconfirmed His promise to Abraham, repeating it over and over again. We saw that these promises were made to Abraham and to his seed, or his descendants. When we finished up last time, we were talking about the fact that when it comes to the seed of Abraham, God makes a distinction between three different kinds of seed. For example, the Bible records, first of all, a physical seed, which God says will be as the sands of the seashore. Then secondly, there's a spiritual seed, which he calls the stars of heaven. And thirdly, there's yet another seed which shall be as the dust of the earth. So the seed of Abraham is portrayed in three different ways with three different symbols: sand, stars, and dust. Now don't miss this, because this is a tremendous truth. Remember, we said on the last program that one of the provisions of the Abrahamic covenant was that in Abraham's seed, all the nations of the earth would be blessed. That was provision number 10 out of the 13 we talked about last time. So the blessing of Abraham's seed is not just for the Jews, not just for the children of Israel, although that's certainly part of it, but the blessing of Abraham's seed is to be upon all nations and all the world. It includes all people. Follow me. There are only three kinds of people in the world today. I know we have many classifications that categorize people according to things like color, social standing, and nationality, just to name a few. We've got Irish, and Dutch, and Italian, and German, and English, and so on. We speak of rich and poor, white and black, Protestant and Catholic, and on and on it goes. But as far as God is concerned, everyone alive on planet Earth today falls into one of three categories. Whoever you are, listening to my voice today, you fall into one of these three categories. The three categories are outlined for us by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:32. Listen to what he says: "Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God." Did you get that? The Jews, the Gentiles, and the church. Those are the three categories dispensationally. Now, redemptively, there are only two categories of people: saved and lost. But we're talking about from a dispensational point of view here. You say, "Gary, are you a dispensationalist?" Well, yes, I am. Funny you should ask. I am a dispensationalist, and you may be something else and that's your business. But let me tell you something: you'll never understand Israel and you'll never understand God's prophetic plan until you learn to look at the Bible from a dispensational point of view. I know I'm going to get about 50 letters because I said that, but that's okay. I'll write back to you. What I'm saying is that dispensationally, there are three categories of people: the Jews, the Gentiles, and the church. Now let's define our terms. The Jews are the natural physical descendants of Abraham through the line of Isaac and Jacob. It's the line that goes through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That's Israel, or the Jews. And yes, those two terms were used interchangeably after the Babylonian captivity. Then the Gentiles are the non-Jewish races. The word "Gentile" in the Hebrew is *Goy*, or the plural *Goyim*, meaning people or nation. A Gentile is anyone, regardless of his race or color, who is not a Jew and not a descendant of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. The third category is the church. The church consists of those of us, whether Jew or Gentile, who by faith in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ have become members of the one true church, the body of Christ. So then, we have three kinds of people in the world today: the Jew, the Gentile, and the church. I said "today," but the fact is that there were three categories of people even as far back as before the flood, in the days of Noah. Remember in the 24th chapter of Matthew, our Lord said, "As it was in the days before the flood, so shall it also be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man." So it shouldn't surprise us that there are many similarities between our generation and the days before the flood. One of those similarities is that, just as there are three categories of people today, there were also three categories of people alive in the pre-flood days. In fact, when you study the people who lived before the flood, you find a beautiful prophetic picture of the coming of the Lord. Let me show you what I mean. First of all, there was one man who was raptured, or caught up to be with the Lord prior to the flood. Who was he? Well, he was God's first prophet, and his name was Enoch. So that's the first category. Then secondly, there were some who went through the flood and came out safely on a renewed earth. And of course, that was Noah and his family. And then thirdly, there was that vast host of humanity who perished in the flood. So what we've got are some who were taken out before, some who went through the flood, and some who perished in the flood. Just remember those three prepositions and you'll have it: before, through, and in. I said a moment ago that this is a prophetic picture of the second coming of Christ. This is what we call typology. Notice, Enoch was taken out before the flood. So there's a sense in which you could say that he's a type of the church, which God will remove from this world before His judgment falls during the tribulation period. Let's carry the typology another step. There's Noah and his family, eight people, who represent God's nation, Israel, faithfully brought through the flood and established on a renewed, restored, rejuvenated earth. And then thirdly, the great mass of humanity who heard the message of deliverance in the days of Noah and rejected it represents the nations of the world today who have turned their backs on Jesus Christ. So shall it be in the days of the coming of the Son of Man. That's the prophetic picture. And today we have these same three groups, and all three of them fall under the blessing of the Abrahamic covenant. That's why the seed of Abraham is portrayed in three different ways in the book of Genesis. First of all, Abraham's seed is compared to the sands of the seashore. You'll find the reference in Genesis 22:17, where they're called the sand upon the seashore. Then secondly, in the 15th chapter of Genesis, we have God saying to Abraham, "Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: so shall thy seed be." Genesis 15:5. Then there's a third reference, and I'm running out of time so we'll continue this next time. But the third reference is found in Genesis 22, where God says that the seed of Abraham would be as the dust of the earth. So those are the three categories of humanity and the three symbols of the blessing of Abraham: sand, stars, and dust. We'll stop there and continue next time.
Liz Aiello: Thank you, Gary. And thank you, listener friend, for tuning in today. It's always good to have you with us as we look into God's word together. Now, let me tell you about our special offer. It's the compact disc which includes all of the programs in this current series of studies on the Christian's Greatest Discovery. Of course, the discovery we're talking about is the truth of the believer's security. When we understand that salvation depends on Christ and His merits, rather than on ourselves and our merits, then we've taken the first step toward walking in true freedom. It's unfortunate that so many of us don't fully appreciate our security in Christ. We get bogged down in our spiritual lives because we never know from one minute to the next how we stand with God. That's why this teaching is so important. We need to know that our standing before God doesn't fluctuate depending on how well we perform. All of our sins—past, present, and future—have been forgiven through the shed blood of the Messiah. His righteousness has been imputed to us. So we can know that we're saved. And that's what this series is all about. The title once again is the Christian's Greatest Discovery, and it can be yours for a gift of just $6 or more to Messianic Perspectives. Just visit our secure online store at messianicspecialties.com to place your order. If you would prefer to order by mail, just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, PO Box 345, San Antonio, Texas, 78292. To order by phone, use our toll-free order line from the US. The number is 1-800-926-5397. Have you enjoyed this edition of Messianic Perspectives? Why not continue to learn about the Jewish roots of your Christian faith by inviting a speaker from CJF Ministries? Call our toll-free number, 1-800-926-5397, and we'll be happy to handle all of the details. And as always, when you're in touch with us, please mention the call letters of this station. If you're listening to our webcast or podcast, we need to know that too. I'm Liz Aiello. Join us next time, won't you, as Dr. Gary Hedrick continues our series of studies on the Christian's Greatest Discovery right here on Messianic Perspectives.