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From this lesson we can draw certain conclusions. First, we must let the truth of God rewrite any misconceptions we have about Him. As we search through scripture, we must pay close attention to the words of Jesus as he was sent to reveal God to us ( John 1:17-18, Colossians 1:15, Hebrews 1:1-3 ).

Secondly, we must pay attention to what the Holy Spirit reveals to our spirits. Jesus said in John that one of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to remind us of everything Jesus told us. “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ( John 14:26 ). He will point out the thoughts that hinder us and confirm the truth to us rewriting the thoughts and attitudes of our heart. He will enlighten our minds and bring understanding of God and His ways.

Third, we must understand that God wants to bring us into a deep and intimate relationship with Himself and reveal His fullness to us. Unlike the Israelites who were 100% flesh and blood and not born again with the Spirit of God, we must understand that we have the Holy Spirit living inside us to reveal God’s will to us. Paul told us in Corinthians, “However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him"— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit” ( I Corinthians 2:9-10a ). At the time of salvation God puts His Spirit into us so that we can fellowship with Him on a different level, a spiritual level. Part of this is to rewrite misconceptions we have about God. Paul went on to say, “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us” ( I Corinthians 2:10b-12 ). When we listen to the Holy Spirit and understand God’s true nature we will not be like the Israelites whose hard heart shut them out of the promise land, we will walk in the abundant life Jesus offered to his followers ( John 10:10 ).

Tomorrow we look at Part 3: Sanctification is a Process

Abraham was the patriarch of the Jewish race. As patriarch, he played an important role in establishing the nation of Israel. The Jews clung to the covenant that God had established with Abraham, relying on it to be justified. Since everything could be traced back to Abraham, Paul is using him as evidence to support his amazing claim of faith in the previous verses.

The questions hanging in the air is, what good was Abrahams works? The Jews claimed that to be in right standing with God, you must be circumcised and adhere to the Law. They were relying on the token of their covenant with God as the means for salvation. However Paul just declared in Romans 3:28, that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. Paul is stating that Abraham had nothing to boast about before God. So in fact, the answer to this question is, that Abraham's works were not good enough to grant him justification in His God's sight.

If Abraham's works weren't good enough, how was Abraham justified? The same way we are, by faith. Abraham is called the Father of Many Nations because he believed God and had faith in His promises. Because of it, He had glimpses into the extent of the fulfillment of that promise. This is a simple truth but one the Jews had exchanged for a complicated system of works. Paul is reminding them that faith has always been the means of salvation. It is nothing we have done or can ever do to obtain it.

Why is this important to know? This is important because everything rests on Faith. We must know, that that it is our faith that credits righteousness to us. Otherwise, trying to obtain justification by works has the potential to launch you into a life of doing and performing with a hope that will never be realized. It won't benefit you, it will only wear you out. Faith in God's promise to you, only brings about hope and rest. Today, may you rely in what our father Abraham discovered about faith, that it is all it takes and that it pleases God in every way!

God looked ahead and saw the corruption that would befall mankind. Each generation gets more wicked and more evil. Even among Israel, sin's stronghold grew and they turned away from God every chance they got. Isaiah spoke that unless God left them descendants they would have faired like Sodom and Gomorrah and be completely destroy by that corruption. Fortunately for us, we are the descendants that Isaiah spoke about. The true children of God are born again believers who have put their trust in Jesus as their savior. God was not satisfied in letting His descents struggle under the power of sin any longer. So he provided a way for his children to be living children, born again with His spirit sustaining life on the inside. This can only be accomplished through Christ Jesus.

This is an amazing truth, because Paul has been teaching that not all of Israel is truly of the promise spoken to Abraham, only those who are born out of faith belong to it ( Romans 9:8 ). This was the way God provided for us to escape from the corruption in the world. He has given everyone a choice, even the natural line of Abraham which is the nation of Israel. They too have to come into faith and trust in Jesus as their savior, not relying on the Law of Moses and their works to accomplish their justification. Paul is quoting from Isaiah when he said that only the remnant will be saved. "Though your people, O Israel, be like the sand by the sea, only a remnant will return. Destruction has been decreed, The Lord, the LORD Almighty, will carry out the destruction decreed upon the whole land" ( Isaiah 10:22-23 ). Although they number as great as the sands of the sea only a small number will be saved from perdition. This is a sobering realization, especially since the Jews have a wonderful heritage. However, God calls us by name and has chosen us to be his children. It is a matter of the heart and not a matter of belonging to a natural line. He calls and invites and we have to respond in faith, nothing more and nothing less.

Right now this call is open but eventually God will conclude his accounts with men completely. At that time, the only thing that will matter is what we have done with Jesus. Do we accept him as our savior and our propitiation for sin? Or do we reject him and rely on our own works to obtain reconciliation with God. Paul is pleading grace with his own people even though most have rejected Jesus. Isaiah prophesied it and Paul is reminding this nation that Jesus is the only way. We too have to accept this message and understand this grace. Once we do this, we are counted among the true children of Israel, God's chosen people on earth through faith in Jesus' atoning blood. We are the descendants that Isaiah looked forward to so that God's people would survive and flourish on the earth.

Today, if you believe in Jesus you have been joined to the remnant of Jews that have been saved. God has called for himself a people that were previously not a people and has called us beloved where previously we were not loved ( Romans 9:24-26 ). All of this is by his grace. Today, it is my prayer that you understand this grace and let it be the foundation of every truth that God leads you into, amen.

What a marvelous thing to operate in God's timing, because it is always perfect. Abraham and Sarah were well beyond the childbearing years when the promise first came to Abraham. He was in his eighties and Sarah in her seventies. At this time Abraham believed what God said and God credited his faith as righteousness, or right standing with him ( Genesis 15:6 ). However, he did not see this promise fulfilled through Isaac for another 13 plus years, but he stood on the promise of the Lord during this time because he knew that God was faithful. It was not until after he was circumcised along with his entire household that the Lord gave him a time frame for the promise. The Bible records that Ishmael was thirteen years old when they were circumcised ( Genesis 17:25 ). Genesis records shortly after, "Then the LORD said, "I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife will have a son." Now Sarah was listening at the entrance to the tent, which was behind him. Abraham and Sarah were already old and well advanced in years, and Sarah was past the age of childbearing" ( Genesis 18:10-11 ). When this happened Abraham was one hundred years old and Sarah was ninety, there was no doubt to anyone who witness this miracle that Isaac was the son promised by God because naturally speaking, conceiving a child was impossible at their age.

What is amazing about God's timing in this situation is that it removes any argument that Abraham had anything to do with it's fulfillment. They never had children and they were advanced in years. God had promised them more descents than they could count and it was only through Him that this came to be ( Genesis 15:5 ). God told Abraham that he was his shield and great reward and that he would not leave him without descends ( Genesis 15:1-5 ). Part of the promise to Abraham was that the Messiah would come through his line, so this promise of descents carried the weight of the world upon it ( Galatians 3:16 ). And fulfillment of it blessed the entire world, just as God said it would.

Isn't it great that God does everything in his timing? At the right time he provide Abraham with an heir and at the right time he introduced the Messiah to the world. Romans 5 says "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly" ( Romans 5:6 ). We were held captive under sin and the power of darkness and we were completely incapable of saving ourselves, so at the precise moment, Christ came and die for us so that we could be reconciled to the Father. The amazing thing about what Christ did for us, he did when we were enemies of God. We were opposed and against him because of our sin nature, "but God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" ( Romans 5:8 ). Just like in our example of Abraham, his timing was perfect and no one can argue that what he did for us we could have done for ourselves.

Today, I am so blessed by the promises that have been fulfilled in Christ. I am glad that he did what I could not do and in doing so, reconciled me unto himself. I am thankful for Abraham's faith and obedience and I look forward to seeing God's perfecting timing work in my life in all circumstances. Today, may this revelation of God's faithfulness bless you, amen.

There is no argument that Israel has blessed the world immensely. They have been on the forefront of the worlds stage since the earliest of days. This is because there is something special about them. Throughout their history God has moved on their account is unusual and wonderful ways. Throughout the Old Testament, accounts of his mighty provision and demonstration of power proceeded the Israelites where ever they went. No one could deny that they had the power of God on their side.

In today's passage Paul mentioned a few of the things that were special unto them alone. First of all Israel was considered Gods children. They were God's chosen people on this earth. The people of the earth quaked with fear concerning them because they knew that the one true God moved on their behalf. His divine presence or Shekinah glory went before them in the desert and fighting in battles. His presence was always with them as a people. God also made special covenants with them. It started with Abraham and he was promised that the entire world would be blessed through him. The covenants were initiated, ratified and upheld by God. Next to the Israelites the law was given. He revealed to them the righteousness that he ascribed to and spoke to them the Holy commandments so that they would have a bases to live by and be different from the nations surrounding them. All of it of course pointed to Christ so he also revealed to them the temple worship. He revealed the sacrificial system which were types and shadows of the promised Messiah. Looking forward to the time of Christ which he had promised them as far back as the garden. To Israel belonged the long line of patriarchs. Their ancestry was great indeed and through the natural lineage came Christ fulfilling the promise to Abraham that the entire world would be blessed by him.

Israel indeed has blessed the world. However, they took what was meant to be a close relationship of trust and turned it into ritual and obligation. They were meant to be the vehicle in which the Messiah would come to the world and instead their hardness of heart caused them to missed him when He was here. The Savior of the world was promised to them and they got so wrapped up in religion that they didn't even recognize him when he came to them. Paul said in the previous verses that he had unceasing anguish in heart on account of his fellow brothers. He expressed that he himself wished that he could be cursed and cut off so they would believe in Christ. All of these things that were theirs by God's grace were nullified by their unbelief in Jesus.

This is a great lesson for us today. It is easy to get wrapped up in going to church and being involved in Bible Studies and church organizations and miss the point. It has always been about relationship and that relationship has to start with recognizing Jesus as the Savior. It doesn't matter if you come from a long line of Christians or if you have gone to church your entire life. What matters is that you don't miss Him in life. He is the pinnacle of history and recognizing that He is the Messiah is fulfillment of the covenant that Abraham had with God. Take this lesson from the Israelites who were the beneficiaries of all these blessing through God, don't let ritual and tradition disqualify you from true riches and blessings. It is only through faith in Christ that the promise is fulfilled in your heart.

Today, I am blessed to be a child of God. I am blessed to know that I too, belong to the promise and I am part of God's chosen people in the world today. By faith in Christ, you also are "built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone ( Ephesians 2:20 ). May you rejoice in the wonderful blessing that is in Christ Jesus, amen!

What an amazing thing to have a heart for the lost. Paul had the most revelation of his peers and just wrote an amazing account of grace in the first eight chapters of Romans. Then as chapter nine begins he reveal his heart for the lost children of Israel. His sorrow at their dismissal of Jesus was unbearable to him, for he maintained a close and intimate walk with the Lord. Knowing God so well and the depth of his love for mankind, he was broken hearted by those who wanted to remain under the law wrapped up in religion, instead of having this relationship with God.

He writes to us that his consciences confirms in the Holy Spirit his anguish at their obstinacy. The Holy Spirit was bearing witness with his spirit this fact. Not only is this so but it prompted and enlightened him to this truth of how their denial of the Messiah brought the Lord increasing sorrow. Peter said, God is "not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance" ( II Peter 3:9 ). His hearts desire is for us to chose him seeing how he has chosen us. For Israel, the chosen race of God, this rejection was doubly painful.

Paul went onto say, "For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race..." ( Romans 9:3 ). As a shepherd and leader called to minister the gospel, his grief at their rejection must have cut deep. It is the same intense revelation that caused Moses to say something similar on Israel's behalf. "But now, please forgive their sin-but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written" ( Exodus 32:32 ). They both knew the intensity of God's love and couldn't bear for their people not to experience it as well. Jesus was driven by this same desire to save His people. So he had come to died in their behalf so the entire would could be reconciled to him and blessed through them as a nation. The Holy Spirit revealed to Paul how this rejection grieved the Lord as well.

No doubt that Paul's desire to see his brothers and sisters come to the Lord sparked an interest among the Jews. Although he was the apostle to the gentiles, he said in Romans 11, "...Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?" ( Romans 11:13-15 ). What a marvelous perspective to have, he knew that the Jews rejection of Jesus blessed the entire world because Salvation first came to the Jew and then overflowed to the Gentiles. So if their rejection meant blessings for the world, what will their acceptance bring?

Today, like Paul I have a heart for the lost. It is my prayer that the world know Jesus in a personal way. No longer through ritual and religion, but tossing that aside to really know him in a life changing way. Today, my spirit bears witness with the Holy Spirit to his incredible love for mankind. May you also understand how he loves you and how you were set apart to bless the world through Jesus, Amen.

Understanding the message of Christ is the next step after hearing it. So Paul's logical question concerning Israel was; did they not understand this message? Israel was given the law and had the prophets and patriarchs as their guide. Israel had understanding of these things and lived daily by them. However they were so indoctrinated by the letter of the law they missed the fact that this was a type or shadow of Jesus ( Hebrews 10:1 ). (Meaning that the law only resembled the foreshadowed Messiah.)

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees in Matthew for this very thing, he said, "you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: " 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' " ( Matthew 15:6-9 ). When we only have head knowledge about God then we take what he said and become legalistic about it. Israel was so wrapped up in their doctrine of the law that they made the word of God of no effect in their lives and in the lives of those around them.

Because they nullified the word of God by the letter of the law rather than the intent of the law and worshipped other Gods, Moses prophesied that God would make them angry by nations that did not have understanding. "They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding" ( Deuteronomy 32:21 ). People who are not instructed in religion and grow up having no preconceived notions about God will accept the gospel message with gladness. It is far easier to comprehend and accept at face value when religion isn't in the way telling you, you must participate in your redemption. The biggest lie we believe is that we must do something to be right with God, instead of accepting the fact that Jesus already did something.

Isaiah foretold this. He saw that Gentiles would come to Jesus and accept the gospel message and Israel would reject it. "I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, 'Here am I, here am I.' "All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations" ( Isaiah 65:1-2 ). The difference between the two is that the Gentiles know they will never be good enough for God on their own, but Israel has not understood this yet. All they see is the literal letter of the law and not the embodiment of law which is Jesus who fulfilled the letter. . Patiently God waits and calls for them to understand his message. Jesus is the promised Messiah who gives us the righteousness of the Law by grace .

This has implications for us today. We can start out through faith in Jesus only to be yoked once again to the rules (or "law"). It is important to understand the truth of Jesus and what he did for you as a basis of how to live. We have died to the law through faith in Christ so we are free to live by the Spirit. Paul said in Galatians, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" ( Galatians 2:20-21 ). If we go back to religion, to the rules and doctrines of men, after we accept this marvelous grace then Christ died for nothing.  We can nullify the word of God in our hearts by living according to man's rules and regulations. What a harsh reality.

This is why Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit to live by, to protect us from going back to the old way. We do not need the law because we have a perfect guide living inside us directing and steering us in the way of God. He has written himself upon our hearts so that we do not have to live by the letter, for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (II Corinthians 3:6). Paul has written extensively throughout the New Testament, that living by the Spirit will not gratify the flesh. But, in living by the Spirit we will experience the freedom which Christ purchased for us and God desires us to have,  for "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom" ( II Corinthians 3:17 ).

Today, it is my prayer that you are free. Free from religion, free from the law, free from the doctrines of men and free to live for Jesus. I pray that you will understand this freedom and shake off everything that keeps you in chains. You were called to walk in this glorious liberty in Christ, may you understand this calling and fulfill it according to his riches and grace, amen.

It would be easy to look upon Israel and condemn them for rejecting Jesus, but Paul said they have experienced an insensibility to the gospel on our account until the full number of Gentiles come to the Lord. Does this mean that the Jews are not saved? Paul did not want us to be unaware of this truth and although it seems difficult to understand we have been advised in the revelation of this mystery so that we will not become conceited in our position of grace.

As a whole, Israel has experienced a hardness of heart concerning Jesus. They do not see him as the promised Messiah. They are relying on the Law and what they do for God to be right with Him instead of relying on His grace. It appears that for the most part they have missed out on the long awaited Messiah. However Paul explained earlier in this passage that there was currently a remnant of Jews saved by grace ( Romans 11:5 ). Jews, who saw Jesus as the Messiah, and have put their trust solely in him.

Paul went on to explain that their rejection of Jesus blessed the entire world, because salvation was then opened up to the Gentiles where previously, they were excluded and outside the promises of God ( Romans 11:11, Romans 11:15 ). He encouraged us by telling that if their transgressions meant riches for the world, their final acceptance of the Christ would bring about a greater blessing for us ( Romans 11:12, Romans 11:15 ). Now we can understand that Israel is experiencing a temporary hardening to the truth of Christ until the full number and last ingathering of the Gentiles come in. Then, all Israel will be saved.

Does this mean the entire nation of Israel will be saved whether or not they believe in Jesus? No, it means that the temporary blindness that they are experiencing as a nation will be removed and we will see God moving mightily among them as they turn to him and put their trust in him.  He will reveal to them the truth of Christ and reconcile the reality of the scriptures to them. Paul quoted from the Old Testament scripture when he said, "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins" ( Romans 11:27, Isaiah 59:20-21 ). He will remove godlessness from among them by revealing himself to them. No longer will they need to adhere to the law, they will have the perfect law of Christ written on their hearts. Jeremiah said, "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel  after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,'  because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." ( Jeremiah 31:33-34, Hebrews 8:8-12 ). When Israel finally understands Jesus is the Christ, then we will see a great movement within this nation to return to the Lord and the result will bless the entire world by their faith.

Israel must come the Jesus the same way we do, by faith; by placing our entire hope in him to save us. They are loved on account of the patriarchs and they are chosen and called out from the world, but the truth is in Christ alone. Even now there is a remnant of Jews chosen by grace. God promised, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart" ( Jeremiah 29:13 ). For those who are looking to God in the right motive of the heart he will reveal himself to them and what he reveals is always Jesus. Hebrews says, "that he rewards those who earnestly seek him" ( Hebrews 11:6 ). He is speaking of faith and we know that "And without faith it is impossible to please God" ( Hebrews 11:6 ). And so Israel must come to God through faith in Jesus alone.

Today, I am blessed to understand this truth. I am excited to see the nation of Israel returning to the Lord and finding salvation in Jesus. "For there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." ( Acts 4:12 ). Amen!

What a miracle it was that God took wild branches and grafted them into a cultivated olive tree to grow together as one. This transformation is what happens when we come to Christ. II Corinthians says, "if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" ( II Corinthians 5:17 ). What we were previously is gone and what we are now is what Christ is. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" ( II Corinthians 5:21 ). Our new identity is the same as Christ's identity, God looks and sees us as holy, righteousness and free because that is what Christ is.

This is the miracle of salvation. If we who were Gentiles by birth can experience this miraculous thing, then it only makes sense that Israel can also experience this new birth. Right now Israel as a whole has not accepted Jesus as their Messiah. However, Paul said that if they do not persist in clinging to their unbelief concerning him, they too will be grafted into the vine. Once they realize that Jesus is the savior then God is able to include them once again into the promise spoken to Abraham ( Romans 4:16, Romans 9:8 ). They too will be counted as children of God through faith in Christ.

What a marvelous message of grace this is. The main underlying point is that God loves us and hopes that we will accept him by faith. He knew we were incapable of coming to him of our own accord and so he reconciled the world to himself through Christ Jesus ( II Corinthians 5:19 ). This gospel message has been proclaimed unto the ends of the earth and the promise remains that, "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved" ( Romans 10:13 ).

Through faith in Christ both Jews and Gentiles now become the church. Paul encourages us that now "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" ( Galatians 3:28-29 ). What a powerful truth to know that through Christ we are in one accord, clothed in Christ, and belonging to God. He has joined us into the vine granting life sustaining nourishment.

Today, I am thankful for God's mercy and grace. I am thankful for his enduring patience and forbearance while he waits for everyone to come to him. Today, may you praise God with a thankful heart for his miracle of salvation freely given to us in Christ Jesus, amen.

Paul made every opportunity to share the Gospel when he was around the Israelites even though he was an apostle to the Gentiles. God specifically commissioned him to spread the good news to the rest of the world. Paul understood that the Gentiles readily accepted Jesus and he anticipated both envy and curiosity among his own people in hopes that they too would accept his gospel message. Throughout his travels he encountered many of his kin and he saw them both reject Jesus and accept him as their Messiah.

In today's passage, Paul is stressing the importance that we who are outside of the natural line of Israel understand that Israel is still part of the plan.  Since their rejection and exclusion from the benefits of salvation meant the reconciliation of the world to God, can you imagine what their acceptance and admission will mean? When they finally understand as a whole that Jesus is their promised Messiah this revelation will bless the entire world by their obedience to this message of grace.

Paul is a great example of this. According to Philippians 3, he was the ideal example of Israel. "If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless" ( Philippians 3:4-6 ). According to their laws, customs and traditions Paul was the perfect example of who Israel was. He was zealous for God and a leader among his people. However, after he meant Jesus on the road to Damascus and saw the gloried savior he could never go back to his life before Christ. He went on to say in Philippians, "But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith" ( Philippians 3:7-9 ). He considered all things as rubbish compared to knowing Christ. This revelation of Jesus changed and blessed the entire world.

Paul started out as a Pharisee; he knew the law and studied under Gamaliel, who was a well known and well educated Rabbi of the time. Paul understood the fine points of the law, and was well ahead of his peers in this knowledge. The amazing thing is that once Paul accepted Christ he brought all of this knowledge with him and the Lord revealed to him what it all meant. It went from head knowledge to heart knowledge. He connected all the dots between the law and the savior. After his conversion, he spent over fourteen years in seclusion understanding the fullness of the gospel of Christ in regard to the law. In Galatians he said, "I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not something that man made up. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ" ( Galatians 1:11-12 ). This revelation of Christ as told by Paul changed the known world.

Out of this experience, all of mankind has been blessed by Paul's revelation of grace.  What he has shared through the epistles changed the church and by default has changed the world. Wonderful books like Romans and Hebrews came from understanding the entire law and then seeing it's fulfillment through Christ Jesus.  These are books that were written to show how complete our redemption has been; books that show how Jesus fulfilled the entire law and was our substitution for the punishment for sin. Amazing books full of the promises of God. Just the acceptance of this one Jew brought amazing benefits to the world over the past two thousand years. Imagine what the entire nation's acceptance of Jesus will bring. It will be nothing short of life from death. Like Paul they are zealous for God, but their knowledge is not based upon the truth of Christ ( Romans 10:2 ). When they understand Jesus is their Messiah, this truth will change and bless humanity and we will see amazing things happen.

Today, I am thankful that Paul was sent to the Gentiles to reveal to us the Christ. I am excited to see the days unfold when Israel returns to the Lord and sees Jesus for who he is. May you understand this grace to which you were called and live a life worthy of your calling, amen!