Were Gentiles Once Excluded From God's Promises?

Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick, an Oklahoma rancher and farmer. Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for over 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, good to see everybody in again this afternoon, and for those of you watching on television, I think most of you are aware now that we produce four programs in succession, and we just like to welcome every one of you in the studio here, as well as our television audience. And again, we always like to remind folks that all of our past programs are available on video and the printed page, audios, and if you're interested in any of these materials, we don't push them as a money-making scheme whatsoever, but if you're interested in any of this, you call us on our 800 number or drop us a note, and we'll get this information to you. We have a list that shows the subject matter of all the last eight years of television, is that what it is, honey? And it's gone so fast, but anyway, it is all available, and you call us and let us know if we can help you in any way. All right, I guess we're getting right back into the book where we left off in our last taping, or our last program. Now when these people see this daily, of course, it's not a month ago for them, but for those of you in the studio, it was a month ago when we left off in Ephesians chapter 2, and we're going to pick up, as Roy's already got it on the board, Ephesians 2 verse 11. And now again, Paul is going to use that word that is almost one of his favorites, and it's wherefore. And the first thing I always point out, that when Paul uses that word wherefore, it's a flashback of what he has just covered. And he repeats himself, not as much as I do, but just about. And so what he is referring to is what he has just covered in these earlier verses of chapter 2, which deals primarily with the whole concept that we become new persons in Christ. We become a new creation, not by virtue of anything we have done, but all by faith plus nothing. And I know that rankles a lot of people, because they still are under the impression, you've got to do this, you've got to do that. But if they would just study Paul's emphasis, is the word I want to use, if they would just look at Paul's emphasis of how we enter into that salvation experience, it's not by what we do. It's by believing what Christ has already done. And so in these previous verses, he says that by grace, dropping down just to take a quick review, verse 8, for by grace are you saved through faith. See, and there's nothing else listed in there. It's just our faith, and made possible by the grace of God, and that it's not of ourselves, it is the gift of God. And then he goes on to say why we are then as believers to serve, because after all God didn't just save us as a fire escape, as I've put it so often. He saved us to serve Him while we're here on earth, and in this earthly pilgrimage. All right, now then he comes into verse 11, and I imagine these are a couple of verses, unless they've heard me teach it, they're almost unknown to most church people, Bible students or whatever, and yet these are two verses or three that have made such an impact, at least on me, because I was just like everybody else. I just saw the whole thing thrown into a bucket, you know, and mixed up and parceled out, until I started teaching and began to realize that God was dealing with Israel on covenant ground, and then when Israel rejected the Messiah and everything, and He turned to the Gentiles, to the Apostle Paul, and then that's when these verses became so important to me, and I've used them a lot in the past programs. I'm sure a lot of people will recognize this, but since it's in the verse by verse now, why we're going to hit it again. And he says, verse 11, "...wherefore remember that ye being in times past, Gentiles in the flesh." Now immediately that reminds us then, to whom is the Apostle writing? Well he's writing to Gentiles, us. That's what I don't think we have any Jewish people in here that I'm aware of, but he's writing primarily to Gentile people. Now whenever I teach this fact of Gentiles, being so completely different than anything that had gone before, you want to remember that at the time that God called Abraham, and we'll probably refer to this before the afternoon is over again. Yet when God called Abraham, every last human being on the face of the earth was pagan idolaters, who knew nothing of the One True God, not a soul. And that's when God appeared to Abraham, and pulled out then the Jewish race, or the nation of Israel. But the rest of the world, we lump into the category of Gentiles. Now a lot of people I think got the idea that Gentiles are the Caucasians, and that the Orientals, and the blacks, and the various other races are something else. But scripturally you see, we now lump everyone who is not of the 12 tribes, and the beginning of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Anyone who is not in that category is a Gentile, whether they be black, or white, or whatever. Then the Scripture also refers to them, as we see here in verse 11, as the uncircumcision. And now let's read it. Ephesians 1.1 Now the only reason I'm going to take the time to do this, believe it or not, I've had people tell me, well I've mentioned some of this that you teach to my pastor, Sunday school teacher, and they'll just say, well circumcision doesn't mean anything so far as one group of people. It was just a matter of the surgical process of the flesh, and that doesn't mean anything. Well I beg to differ. Now come back with me if you will then, to Acts chapter 10, and I'm going to do this just to show that when the Bible refers to the uncircumcised, it's Gentiles. When it refers to the circumcision, it's Israel. And right here in a few verses I think I can prove my point, and as I tell my classes here in Oklahoma all the time, the main reason I teach is not just for you to learn, but for you to teach others. And we're finding that that is coming to fruition in so many areas of the country, where people are actually taking what they've learned, and using the Scriptures, and going out and teach others, because this is the way it has to work. Now in Acts chapter 10, and of course for background, this is when Peter went up to the house of Cornelius. First time that Gentiles have been approached at all, and we'll see in another program how even the Lord Himself went only to the lost sheep of Israel, but here Peter has miraculously been led by an act of God, up to Caesarea on the Mediterranean sea coast, to go to a house of Gentiles. And Peter had a lot of trepidations, and he didn't want to go any more than Jonah wanted to go to Nineveh. It's the same kind of a mindset. Well those are Gentiles, but God says, Peter get going. Now when he got there, here's where you see that the circumcision is Jewish, the uncircumcision are Gentiles. Acts chapter 10, and that's all I'm trying to show here, is the definition of these two words. And while Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on all them who heard the word, and they of the circumcision who believed. Now in order to find out who was in there of the circumcision other than Peter, you jump across the page, at least in my Bible, to chapter 11 verse 12, where it says, "...and the Spirit made me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren who accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house." Well who were the six brethren? Well they were Jews that had come with Peter from Joppa to Caesarea. I mean Peter was just in no mood to go to a house of a pagan Gentile by himself. So I guess for spiritual protection or whatever, he took these six Jewish believers with him, and so there were seven of course. Now back to chapter 10 verse 45. "...and so they of the circumcision who believed were astonished." In other words, Peter and these six other Jews. So what are they called? They of the circumcision were astonished. "...as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit." Now come all the way down to chapter 11 verse 1. Now this is after the fact. "...and the apostles and brethren that were in Judea." Now that means Jerusalem, where of course the core of the early church was located. "...and the apostles and brethren that were in Judea heard that the Gentiles had received the Word of God. And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they who were of the circumcision..." Who? Jews, see? "...and so they who were of the circumcision, the Jewish believers at Jerusalem, contended with him." Why? Next verse. "...and they said, You went into men..." What's the next word? Uncircumcised. What were they called up in chapter 10? Gentiles. Now that's all I'm trying to show. The Jew over and over in Scripture is referred to as the circumcision. The Gentile on the other hand, is referred to over and over as the uncircumcision. We refer to them as Jew and Gentile, but they're the same. Now if you'll come back to Ephesians chapter 2, I hope I've made my point. It's just a matter of definition that when we speak of the circumcision, it's the Jew, it's Israel. When we speak of uncircumcision, it's the non -Jew. And that's all I put on it. A non-Jew. Anyone who was not born out of the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the twelve tribes of Israel, regardless of whether they're Oriental, or whether they're African, or whether they're European, or American, or whatever. If they're a non-Jew, they're a Gentile. And they are referred to in Scripture then as the uncircumcision. Now back to Ephesians chapter 2, and we probably won't finish everything that's in verse 12 in this half hour, but that doesn't matter. Now verse 12. He writes to these Gentiles, He's writing to you and I to remember where we'd come from, and now He tells us what the situation was concerning our Gentile forefathers. Now of course we're another 2,000 years almost removed from when Paul wrote, but nevertheless as we look back through human history it's still the same. And so at that time, well what time? When God was only dealing with the covenant people of Israel. Now I guess maybe it's as good a time as any to put it on the board. I should have probably put my time line up and been more equipped to keep it straight, because usually I can't do it when I draw it without any help. But you want to remember that from the time of the call of Abram, and we've had this on the board over and over and over the years, 2,000 years B .C., when God pulled off of this mainstream of humanity, He pulled off what we now call the nation of Israel, by virtue of the Abrahamic covenant. We'll be looking at that probably in the next half hour again. And so we always refer to it as the period of time of Jew only, but of course there were exceptions. As I've already referred to Jonah went to the city of Nineveh, and Rahab on the wall of Jericho, and Ruth out of Moab, and so forth. But by and large all the way from Genesis 12, 2,000 B.C., it's all God dealing with Israel, and not a Gentile, with these exceptions. Now as we finally came to Christ's earthly ministry then, it really was pointed out that God was only dealing with the nation of Israel. Now if He is only dealing with Israel, where does that leave the Gentiles? Well read on, that at that time, from 2,000 B.C. until Paul is sent to the Gentiles, you as Gentiles were without Christ. Now we don't have the word Christ in the Old Testament, but what is it? Messiah, the Messiah. And so He says, you Gentiles for those 2,000 years that God was dealing only with Israel, you were without a Messiah. No hope of a Messiah. They were never promised a Messiah. All right, read on. You were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. Now if you're an alien, what are you? You're a non-citizen. You don't have any rights. Now you take today, even with the laxity that we're showing toward immigrants, basically according to our laws and our Constitution, how many rights does an alien have? None. He by right of law has no reason to expect governmental help. He can't vote. He's a non-citizen. Now this was the lot of the Gentile all during this 2,000 year period of time, with these exceptions. Now I don't want to have anybody come at me and say, well what about Nineveh? Well that was an exception. But the rest of the Gentile world were out there in their pagan darkness, worshiping all their idols of gold and silver and wood and what have you. And then of course came the mythological gods and goddesses of Egypt and Greece and Rome. But it was all tied to that same concept of many gods and goddesses, which began of course at the Tower of Babel. That was the lot of the Gentile world. Only Israel had a knowledge, and a contact with, and a belief in the one true God. And this is what we have to understand before the Scriptures open up and begin to make sense. Now read on in this verse 12. So not only were we without a Messiah, and when I say we I'm talking about our Gentile forefathers, not only were they aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, they were strangers to the covenants of promise. Now we always like to talk about the point that as soon as God began to deal with Abraham, in fact let's go look at it. We'll have to look at it again later anyway, but come back to Genesis chapter 12, and you'll see why Paul uses the word, the promises. That the Gentiles were outside the covenants of promise. Genesis chapter 12, starting at verse 2. I'll give you time to find it, because we know that people all over the country in their kitchens and in their living rooms are finding it while you are. Now just look at the promises, I will make of thee a great nation. God is speaking, what is it? A promise. No way that Abraham could see how, but God's going to make of him a great nation, that's a promise. Move on, I will bless thee. He didn't say, I'm blessing thee, he said, I will bless thee. Well if he hasn't got it in hand, then what is it? It's a promise. Somewhere down the road it's going to come to fruition. Read on, I'll make your name great. Hadn't yet, Abraham was no different than anyone else in Ur of the Chaldees, but the day would come when Abraham would be a name of renown. I will make your name great, thou shalt be a blessing. Future tense, hadn't happened yet. So then what is it? It's a promise. And then the greatest one of all is in verse 3. I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him who curseth thee. Why? Because through this man to whom all the promises were given, would come the Redeemer for the whole human race. Not just for Israel, although that will come first, but it's going to end up being the plan of salvation for the whole human race, but it began with Abraham. That's why I'm always reminding folks, you take our Bible from cover to cover. Who wrote it? The sons of Abraham wrote this book, to the last man, and I'm seeing more and more proof every day from various articles and writers, that even the one that a lot of people try to say is a Gentile, he was no Gentile at all, and that was Luke the physician. He was not a Gentile, he was a Jew, but although he had taken on a Gentile name, so did Saul of Tarsus. So that wasn't unusual. Saul was his Jewish name, but once he got out into the ministry, his name was changed to Paul, which was a Roman name. But he was a Jew, in the same way with Luke. So I still stand on the premise that this whole book came through the sons of Abraham, through Jews. Now then, the promises come back to Ephesians 2 once again, and so the Gentiles, during this 2,000 years before Christ, when God was dealing only with His covenant people, the non-Jewish world were strangers from the covenants of promise. Now this sounds awful. I mean this just sounds as though God was cruel and unforgiving. No, that wasn't the case at all, because you see for the first 2,000 years from out here at the creation of Adam, all the way past the flood, past the tower of Babel, and up until the call of Abraham, the whole human race had opportunity for salvation. The whole human race had access to God, it wasn't just one group of people. And what did the whole human race do with it? Well they rejected it. And if you don't believe me, you'll certainly all believe the account of the flood, and I think there were probably 4 or 5 billion people on the earth at the time of the flood, and how many were true believers? Eight! Now we think we're getting pretty small in percentage today, but listen we're not that far yet. It may get to that, but I hope not. But nevertheless, that's what happened that first 2 ,000 years of human history, when the whole human race had access to God and salvation, but they walked it underfoot. They didn't care, and it's getting to be the same way today. Most people don't care. They have absolutely no interest in the things of the Spirit. Why? Because it's always been that way. When people say, well things aren't much different, I agree. It has, it's always been this way. But all right, now they were without hope, and they were without God. They had no knowledge whatsoever of the One True Creator God. They had no concept of Him. All they had were their gods, and their goddesses, and their temples, and what have you. But so far as the true God of creation, there wasn't a Gentile that knew anything of Him whatsoever. And so this was the lot then of the whole non-Jewish world, up until we get into the book of Acts. Now let's go back and look at it, and that'll almost be an introduction then for our next half hour. Go to the book of Acts, and I guess I'm going to start first in chapter 11, because a lot of times I think people have a hard time believing me when I say that Christ in His earthly ministry had nothing to do with Gentiles, with two exceptions. The Canaanite woman and the Roman centurion, those are the only Gentiles in Scripture that Jesus had anything to do with, and that's all we can go by. I know a lot of people try to say that Galilee was Gentile, and since He performed so many of His miracles, He must have done it on behalf of Gentiles, but the book never says that. Our book says that they were only Jews that He dealt with. Now as you come into the book of Acts, and this is a recap of course of everything that took place when they were stoning Stephen, which I maintain is about seven years after Pentecost. Now in Acts chapter 11, verse 19. "...and they who were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen, traveled as far as Phenis, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word..." And you want to remember there's no New Testament yet, not a word of New Testament, so what are they preaching? The Old Testament. Now who in the world had the Old Testament? Not the Gentiles, but the Jews. Now read on. "...they went everywhere preaching the Old Testament to none but Jew only." See how plain that is? Well I know they do. I had a gentleman the other day who tried to show a friend of his something, and showed it to him in the Scripture, and the guy read it, looked him in the eye, and said, but I don't believe that. And he said, in other words you're calling God a liar. Well he said, I don't care, I don't believe that. Well isn't that sad? But see there's multitudes of men with boo -coo degrees behind their names that just literally would say, I don't believe that. Jesus ministered to Gentiles, and Peter ministered to Gentiles, but our Bible says that all the way up until the stoning of Stephen, they ministered to none but Jew only. And that's when I started using the term. When I saw this verse years and years ago, that it was Jew only. Alright now, how did that come about? That it changed. Now back up if you will, to Saul's conversion in chapter 9. We've got to do this quickly, the half hour is gone. Back to Acts chapter 9, and I'm not going to go through all the ramifications of Saul's conversion, I haven't got time for it, but I'll drop all the way down to verse 15, where it's a recap, written by Luke of course, of Saul's conversion and what happened. Now while Saul is meeting the Lord on the road outside Damascus, God of course is dealing with Ananias inside the city. And so to Ananias the Lord said in verse 15, Now go thy way, for he, this most feared Jew from Jerusalem, go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel. Now if you want to see what the Jews thought of Gentiles, turn over quickly to Acts chapter 22. And Paul has now been out amongst the Gentile world, establishing little congregations, he's back in Jerusalem, and he's trying to explain to his listeners what God had been doing through him. And he says in verse 18, that the Lord spoke to him while he was in a trance, and said, Make haste, get thee quickly out of Jerusalem. And then you come on over to verse 21, as he comes to the end of his dissertation, he says, And the Lord said to me, Depart, that is out of Jerusalem, for I will send thee far hence to what people? The Gentiles. And goodness sakes, what does the next verse say? They listened to him until that word, and then they lifted up their voice and said, Away with such a man. 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, Kenta, Oklahoma, 74552. That's Route 1, Box 760, Kenta, Oklahoma, 74552. Through the Bible with Les Feldick is viewer supported, and your gift is appreciated. Thank you, and be sure to tune in next time, for Through the Bible with Les Feldick.