Hi Nancy,
I had to run before and couldn't give your post the time it deserved and I didn't want to leave this with just the hurried post I already did. I think one problem for me here is that I am addressing the word only but am repeatedly dragged into the hostility that exists and has been here for a while. Alans posts to me are filled with accusations addressed to me that I am innocent of. I have been stepping over that garbage to get to the real issues. I have not addressed anything with Emile that I don't agree with. What I did see from Emiles posts is that the Old testament Jewish religion has been used by the devil to prevent salvation just as the catholic religion was for so many centuries which I already knew about. And that is as far as I go with it. The end! As far as the hostility goes please take that up with him. Jesus will bring an end to hate and in His own time.
I would like to talk about the Word and what you brought up. It is easier sometimes to say what a scripture doesn't mean that what it does. Like I said a scripture can't contradict a whole body of accepted truth. The doctrine that we must all be born again is so well established that I think it is OK to not quote scriptures to prove it. The one with Nickodemus and Jesus is the most obvious as Nick* is a Jew. Jesus did not say, Be cool, Nick. You're in! He did say, "You must be born again."
The passage before the scripture you quoted, Romans 11:22-23 emphasis on 23 "And they (Jews) also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in; for God is able to graft them in again." Paul says the door is not closed to any Jews who accept Jesus, of course they are grafted back in. But Paul qualifies it with, "if they do not continue in their unbelief". They still must believe and accept the New Covenant salvation provided by God through Jesus His Son. In verse 20 it says, "Quite right, they (Jews) were broken off for their unbelief, and you (gentiles) stand only by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; 21 for if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. So Jews were broken off for unbelief, but not all because the Christian church started in Israel, the first believers Jews who believed. They were not cut off. So these preceding passages to verse 26 Paul spells out the principle that faith and unbelief are still the deciding factor, I can't see then he would completely depart from those principles in verse 26 with a blanket amnesty outside of being born again.
Could all Israel turn to Jesus to the last man, woman, child after they realize they have been decieved by the anti-christ and signed a covenant with him? That is what will have to happen for all Israel to be saved. It could happen, too. I would be looking for some answers about then.
Have a good evening,
Bob
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