The Service of God Explained: What Israel's Worship Meant — Romans 9:4

Hello and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Okay, ready to go? And we'll pick right up where we left off in chapter 9 of Romans. We're still in verse 4. And the next one we're going to be covering, of course, would be the services. Again, we like to welcome our television audience, and I haven't done it yet this afternoon, but we like to have our TV audience realize that all the past programs are available in the little book form. They should be throwing them on the screen here in a minute. And they're all available in video. And in order to keep the costs down where almost anybody can afford them, we put 12 half-hour programs on one 6-hour video, and we can send them anywhere for $30. And for people who come to the class, we just hand them out for $20, isn't it, honey? And little books the same way. If we mail them, we like to have around $6 to cover the postage and handling. But for those who can come and pick them up at the class, we just hand them out for our cost, which is about $5. But the little books, as I've said before, are really catching on. Folks are just using them all over the country. And I had a fellow call again yesterday, I think, and he said, all of a sudden, all of a sudden, he said, the book is opening up. Up until now, he said, I couldn't see the trees for the forest. Now that's just the opposite of what you usually hear. But that's just exactly true. So many people have read this book and read it, and in Sunday school and everything all their life, but they just don't understand it. And we trust that the Lord is using us at least a little bit to help that kind of a situation. All right, back to Romans chapter 9 and verse 4, and now let's read the whole verse so we can pick up the part we want to comment on. The kinsmen according to the flesh, verse 3, who are Israelites, Jews, to whom pertaineth the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises. Now I'd like to take a few minutes here to talk about the service of God, which of course began when God gave the tabernacle to Moses and then set up the priesthood with Aaron as the high priest and so forth. Now those are the services. Now that was all part and parcel of the system of law. As I said in the last program, we normally think of the law as the Ten Commandments. But the big picture of law was everything that pertained to the worship, the sacrifices, everything in the law. Now the services then were how the priests operated, how the tabernacle was set up, how later on the temple, and how the sacrifices were offered, the setting up of all the feast days throughout their religious calendar year, and then of course everything was indicative and was looking forward to our own plan of salvation. This was not all just a bunch of religion with nothing behind it, but all of the practice of the law and so forth that Israel enjoyed was a picture of the coming of the Redeemer, and the plan of salvation as we are experiencing it today. But I think we have to be made aware that for us now in the age of grace, we have no right whatsoever to bring any of the so called religious practices into our system of worship. In other words, there is no room in true Christianity for all of the robes and miters and so forth that the high priests used. There is no room under this age of grace for feast days and holy days and so forth. Now those of you who have heard me teach over the years, I don't make a big deal over the whole commotion of Christmas and Easter. All I tell people is that it's not biblical. There is nothing in this Book that gives us the right to celebrate certain high days of the year. There is nothing in this Book that tells us to celebrate the birth of Christ. There is nothing in this Book that gives us the right to make a special holy day of Easter. That all comes out of paganism. That comes out of Old Testament Judaism. Alright, now so far as Judaism is concerned, although that was certainly the system that God gave to Israel, yet so far as you and I are concerned, I'd like to have you turn to Colossians for a moment. That's Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, chapter 2, and another one of the precious verses that I just love to use over and over in my teaching. And this is a part of what we're talking about, that we are not to incorporate any of the so-called services of Judaism into the church age. There is absolutely no room for all of these special days and so forth. You got Colossians, chapter 2, verse 14. What a verse! "...blotting out the handwriting of ordinances..." Now where do you normally associate ordinances? With services, see? "...and this has all been blotted out, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and he took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross." Now if you'll just take a moment and make a mental picture of all this, that all of this ritual that Israel practiced in the keeping of the Law, all of the animal sacrifices, all of the robes of the priesthood, all of the washing, everything that you can think of that was associated with the ceremonial ritual, has been nailed to His cross. Now that was just a beautiful way of putting that when Christ died, when Christ finished the work of redemption, there was no longer any need for all of that Old Testament ritual. But you know it's so hard for mankind to lay aside things that appeal to the flesh, and that does. I remember years and years ago a dear lady, I never doubted her salvation. She had a beautiful testimony, but she was so tied to what we normally would think of as high church ritual, and I asked her one night, I said, Why? Oh she said, I know it has nothing to do with my salvation, but it just sort of makes me feel good that I'm worshiping, and it's sort of a help to my worship. Well bless her heart, I can understand her feeling up to a point, but on the other hand I have to come back and say, but listen the book doesn't teach that. The book says nothing about practicing a system of worship in this age of grace. Christ nailed all that to His cross, and we are now free. In fact what does Paul say in Romans 13? Don't regard one day higher than another, but what? Regard every day alike. And that's where we as believers are. Now I've got nothing against Sunday per say, but listen, even Sunday is not taught in the Scriptures as we understand Sunday. Paul merely said as you come together and bring your tithes and your offerings, no he doesn't use the word tithes, he says you bring your offerings. How and when are we to do it? On the first day of the week, on resurrection day, I'll take that. But so far as setting Sunday up as a special holy day, as a day that is above all the other six days of the week, the book doesn't teach that. Every day is alike for the believer. We are to serve God just as much on Monday through Friday as we would on Saturday and Sunday. And so this has all been nailed to His cross. Now I'd like to have you back up a few pages in your Bible to Galatians 4. Now this little letter of Galatians Paul of course wrote specifically because the Judaizers of Galatia were convincing the Gentiles that they had to keep the Law if they wanted to experience salvation. And when Paul got word of it, he had to hurriedly pen this little letter admonishing them not to fall under the temptation to become legalists. Oh, and it's no different today. Again legalism appears to the human race because everybody likes to satisfy their own ego with, well look what I've done, look what I do, and God will have none of it. It has to be all of grace, it has to be all of His finished work, or He cannot recognize it. Galatians 4 verse 8. Galatians 4 verse 8. Now what's the word that I'm looking at? Service, that's exactly what he used back here in Romans. The service of the sanctuary, well it was the system, it was their ritual, which of course was God given back for Israel. But what did the idolaters do? The same type of thing of service, and they went through their rituals, they offered their sacrifices, they went through all of their superstitious acts. In fact I would like to remind my classes, I can remember when I was a kid, and I'm not going to say when that was, but I can remember when our missionaries would come home from the foreign fields, and they would show some of those old movies at that time, not camcorders, but the old movies, and they would show the fear of their people, of the witch doctors. Well why were they so afraid of the witch doctors? Because they had power, see, they had power. And then our missionaries, I'll never forget one particular, said, you want to remember that these people who are in spiritual darkness, they know Satan, they know the powers of evil, but they know nothing of the power of God. And that's so true, that is so true. These people know how to fear the powerful works of the evil one. That's why they put throughout all of these fetishes and so forth, to ward off the evil powers. They know Him, but they know nothing of God. You remember when Paul got to Athens, and as he went down that row of idols on his way to Mars Hill, and they had one God that was titled to the unknown God, and then Paul said, I perceive that you're too superstitious, remember that word? Well, what did he mean? They were afraid of the powers of evil, and that's what superstition is. Superstition is never the other direction. Superstition is never a man somehow seeking God. Superstition is always man's fear and opposing the powers of evil. Remember that. Now here again, Paul is using the same analogy, the same word that Israel was steeped in with their system of worship, the pagans were doing much the same. Ritual, services. Now look what it says in Galatians 4 verse 9. But now, after that you have known God. Now you want to remember where did all of Paul's converts come from, religiously? Paganism! The whole world around Paul was steeped with paganism. Mythology and what have you. Idol worship. And so that's what he's referring to in verse 8. To these people who had recently been steeped in idolatry and paganism had now come out of the darkness and stepped into the light of Paul's gospel, and so now this is what he's telling them. When you knew not God, verse 8, you did service, you went through all the superstitious rituals unto them who by nature are no God. Why? They were nothing but wood and stone. They had no power except satanic power. Now then the next verse. But now. You ever notice how often Paul uses that? But now. That this side of the cross, how different everything is. But now, after that you have known God or rather, a better way of putting it, are known of God. Now what does that tell you? Oh, the unbeliever has no relationship with God. God doesn't even, for all practical purposes, I know He's in control. Don't get me wrong. But so far as a relationship is concerned, God doesn't know the unbeliever. But the believer, hey, it's just as if He knows us by our name. He knows all about us. Alright, this is what He's saying. But now, after you have known God, or rather are known of God, in other words, you're His. He knows us as if we were a born child. How turn you again to the what? The beggarly and weak elements, whereunto you desire again to be in bondage. What's He talking about? Religion. See? Religion. Ritual. Service. Somehow appeasing a holy God. And we're to have none of that. But Israel, Israel of course, going back now to Romans chapter 9, Romans, Israel, that was part of their heritage, was their tabernacle and later on their temple worship. It was the very center of Jewish life. They were constantly meeting there in the temple complex. They'd come from every nation under heaven to keep these Jewish feast days. Alright, back to Romans 9, verse 4. So Israelites, to whom pertaineth the service of God, in other words, the rituals, and now what's the next one? The promises. To Israel were given the promises. Now again, I don't like to take too much time and looking up too many, but all of our Old Testament is prophecy, prophecy, prophecy. And to whom is all that prophecy written? Israel. I've stressed on this program since the day we started. There is not a single prophecy given to the church. Not one. All the prophecies of God's Word are directed to the nation of Israel. And this is what Paul is talking about. Not only the covenant promises, but even the prophetic promises that everything God has promised the nation of Israel is still going to happen. And as you and I live in this age and time, we can see that it's getting closer and closer. You know I tell my classes almost every night of the week, all of this prophecy would still be hard to believe if it weren't for our present day technology. But see all of a sudden this all becomes so believable. It's not hard to believe that Revelation speaks of the two witnesses dead on the streets of Jerusalem, and then after three days they raise from the dead and they go up in a rapturous like experience, and what does the book say? The whole world will see them go. Well now until our satellite technology, that was a tough one to buy. Wasn't it? That was tough to buy. The whole world is going to see two men go up from Jerusalem? How in the world can it happen? Then all of a sudden, satellite and telstar and newscasts from all points of the earth, everyday occurrence. So now prophecy is believable. In the same way a lot of these other things, this so called mark of the beast where every individual will have to have it, or they can't buy and sell. Hey, it's getting so close, it's scary. Prophecy is now right out in front of us. We can see that it's going to be fulfilled because of the technology. Now it's not being fulfilled per se yet, but the stage is being set. Everything is coming together so that the promises that God made to this nation of Israel can certainly come to pass. Alright, I'm going to stop with that because we've covered a lot of this verse now. I don't want to be overbearing with it, but let's move into verse 5. Now along this same line that to these Israelites, to the nation of Israel, to whom the covenants were given, to whom the giving of the law and the promises, now verse 5, whose are the fathers? Well now, what's the first thing you think of when you speak of the fathers? Well yeah, the forefathers of the nation of Israel. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the twelve patriarchs. And then you come on up a little further and you come to a Joshua. And then you come a little further and you come to a Samuel. You come to the judges. Gideon, Samson, and then you come to King David, Solomon, the prophets, see? Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel. All of those things pertain to the forefathers of this little nation of Israel. But it all comes in this book, see? And so, whose are the fathers? That's who this little nation belongs to, these great men of Israel's history. Alright, that's the seventh one. Now like I said, you go to the eighth one and we go to that part that goes beyond the finished part, and all of this pertaining to the nation of Israel was leading up to what? The coming of the Messiah, the Christ. Alright, that's the eighth one now. In verse 5, Whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is overall blessed of God forever. The Messiah, the Christ, the one with whom we are intricately involved. Christ then as the all in all. Let's look at a few verses with regard to that. Turn to Colossians. Turn to Colossians. Because you see, we're living in a day and a time where especially the New Age people, and they're growing by leaps and bounds, they are reducing Christ to nothing else but just another prophet. He's just another name among the gods, and we have to be careful that we'll never be taken in by such theology or such teaching, but never lose sight of the fact that the Lord Jesus whom we serve, the Lord Jesus who is the very author and finisher of our faith, is the eternal creator God of the universe. And I'll never stop emphasizing that. Now here is one good one. In Colossians chapter 1, drop down to verse 15. Colossians 1, verse 15. The pronoun who, of course, is referring to the Son up in 13, whose blood was given for our redemption and our forgiveness in verse 14. Now look at this verse 15. Who is the image of the invisible God? What does that mean? Well, God is invisible. The Trinity, the Elohim of the Old Testament was that invisible Godhead, its spirit. But out of that invisible Trinity stepped one person of that Godhead, and He took on flesh and became visible. Now this is what Paul is talking about. That this God, the Son, Lord Jesus as we know Him, is the image or the visible appearance of the invisible God. The firstborn of every creature. In other words, He's before anything else has ever been. And now look at verse 16. For by Him, by God the Son, were all things created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether it be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, everything, everything was created by Him and for Him. Now when people have the audacity to take this person of the Godhead, God the Son, and bring Him down to the level of the various other gods of mankind's dreaming, what a blasphemy! He is the Creator, and one day every human being is going to know Him as such. The lost are going to meet Him at the great white throne, and they're not going to argue. Now I know there's a little bit of an animation of that when Jesus said in that day they shall say, but didn't we do this, and didn't we do that? So maybe there will be a little, but for the most part when that lost person is drawn up before the great white throne, they will be speechless. And I don't care how many other gods they've promoted, and I don't care how much religion they've practiced, they're going to come up before Him speechless, and they're going to be sent to their doom because they refuse to recognize who He really is. And oh listen, it's so sad when we have a world full of religion, and even in our own western cultures, basing a lot of it on this book, and yet they are totally ignorant of who Jesus Christ really is. And I've shared it with my other class, and I'll never forget years and years ago when I first started teaching in just a little home Bible class of people from various denominations, and I'll never forget when I made the statement that Jesus Christ was the creator of Genesis 1. And listen, mouths dropped all over the room. They'd never heard it before. And as we were having refreshments afterwards in that living room, I'll never forget, several came, are you sure of what you're saying? Well, it was almost so new to me, I probably wasn't either, but listen, the more you get into this book, the more convinced you are than ever that that one who hung on that Roman cross was the one who created the wood that it was made of. He was the one who created the mount on which that cross was planted. He is the creator of all the hosts of heaven. He's the creator of everything that has ever been created. And then they reduce him to nothing more than someone like one of the other gods of the planet. It's past understanding, but they're doing it every day. Now this is who Paul is referring to then as having come out of all of the things that Israel had enjoyed, and that was the covenants given to the patriarchs, but listen, it goes a lot further back. Now here's where I want to bring it in. I almost did three programs ago, and I'm glad now I didn't, because here's where it fits better. Go all the way back to Genesis chapter 3. Adam and Eve have just eaten of the forbidden fruit, they have fallen, they have sinned against their God, which of course God knew they would do. And so immediately, and we covered this a few weeks ago when we were in Romans chapter 8, and I had had an exciting letter on that program from Indiana. I won't quote her exactly, but she said, I turned on my television and there you were teaching on the redemption of creation in Romans chapter 8. Oh, she said it just blessed the socks off of me, and I just stopped and I let Iris read it, and we just both had a chuckle together. Now that's a unique way of putting it, I know, but listen, He is, He is the Christ of redemption, because just as soon as Adam and Eve fell and plunged everything under the curse, what did God immediately promise? A Redeemer, and here it is in Genesis 3 verse 15. My land, I only got a minute left, I thought I had half an hour left. Verse 15 of Genesis 3, "...and the Lord is conversing here with the devil, and he says, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, between thy seed and her..." What's the next word? Seed. Now remember I told you a couple of programs ago, put that in your computer, that word seed, and here it comes. The seed of the woman. Galatians tells us flat out, who is the seed of the woman? Christ, see? And here is where His promised coming is first voiced, right after Adam and Eve fell, and He has promised that the first thing He will do is set in motion the coming of the seed of the woman. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick, a weekly Bible study. If you would like more information about the Les Feldick Ministries, a Bible study in your area, or about this program, write to Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. That's Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. 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