The Biblical Doctrine of Love

[jeremiah1five]

The Scripture declares "God is love."

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 1 John 4:8.

16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
1 John 4:16.

Love is not God.

In 1 John 4:16, John writes, "the love that God hath to us" means only one thing: Thye "to us" refers to the children of Israel and only them.

6 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
Deuteronomy 7:6–9.

The people whom the LORD loves are the children of Israel and only the children of Israel. God loves no one else and this love He set upon the children of Israel is founded upon the covenant God made with this people, specifically, the covenant promises God made to the "fathers of Israel" or, more succinctly, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And this covenant is a betrothal, a marriage compact God established with the children of Israel. God loves no other people. Only the children of Israel. They are the seed of the woman, an obedient seed, a seed diametrically opposed to the seed of the serpent and those born to this group of unloved disobedient, uncalled, unchosen and unsaved.

God is love. Any teaching on the biblical definition and meaning of love among the children of Israel begins and ends with God. And in-between God and His love are the children of Israel. The Scripture reveals no other love God has placed upon any other people. Non-Hebrew Gentiles are the seed of the serpent and God has placed no love upon this group for God has no covenant made with this group and thus no love given to this group of people. God has only ONE Bride and that Bride are the children of Israel. God is a Faithful Husbandman and loves only one Bride. He loves no other woman, no other bride in Scripture but the One Bride identified as the children of Israel.

God is love and He has not only set His love upon the children of Israel, but He has given instruction and command in this love and it is described in the 'book' of Leviticus. It is placed in Leviticus which is a 'book' describing not only Holy Love, but Holiness in general and it is fitting for God's love is Holy, it is pure, and kind, and merciful and lovely. God is love and He teaches His special, holy people on love, and they and only they are recipients of His love described in Scripture. Pay attention. The Lord is speaking to the children of Israel of twelve tribes through Moses:

17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother [member of the same tribe] in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour [member of any other tribe], and not suffer sin upon him.
18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people [member of any tribe], but thou shalt love thy neighbour [member of any other tribe] as thyself: I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:17–18.

God's Holy love is commanded to be shared between all members of all twelve tribes. God never commands that His Holy love be given to anyone other than a fellow tribal member. It is a love God commands to be given to only fellow covenant brethren in this, the family of God. Holy love for a holy people, and God will make this people holy through the giving of love in the Person of the Holy Spirit of Promise PROMISED TO ISRAEL - and only Israel. God never instructed nor commanded that His love be given to non-Hebrew Gentiles who are outside the covenants of God. God seals this covenant love by saying, "I am the LORD" thus establishing His love for this people and their instruction on who to love in accordance with His commands. God has given no love to non-Hebrew Gentiles because God has NO COVENANT with non-Hebrew Gentiles. God's Holy love is wrapped up in one people and one people only: the children of Israel in covenant with God. And this is a love that saves, delivers, redeems, protects, provides for and prospers. They are all the seed of the woman and God as Savior of this people shall save this people. Beginning with the Abraham covenant

This is the biblical doctrine on God is love.

 

[TibiasDad]

God is love. Any teaching on the biblical definition and meaning of love among the children of Israel begins and ends with God. And in-between God and His love are the children of Israel. The Scripture reveals no other love God has placed upon any other people. Non-Hebrew Gentiles are the seed of the serpent and God has placed no love upon this group for God has no covenant made with this group and thus no love given to this group of people. God has only ONE Bride and that Bride are the children of Israel. God is a Faithful Husbandman and loves only one Bride. He loves no other woman, no other bride in Scripture but the One Bride identified as the children of Israel.

God is love and He has not only set His love upon the children of Israel, but He has given instruction and command in this love and it is described in the 'book' of Leviticus. It is placed in Leviticus which is a 'book' describing not only Holy Love, but Holiness in general and it is fitting for God's love is Holy, it is pure, and kind, and merciful and lovely. God is love and He teaches His special, holy people on love, and they and only they are recipients of His love described in Scripture. Pay attention. The Lord is speaking to the children of Israel of twelve tribes through Moses:

17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother [member of the same tribe] in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour [member of any other tribe], and not suffer sin upon him.
18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people [member of any tribe], but thou shalt love thy neighbour [member of any other tribe] as thyself: I am the LORD. Leviticus 19:17–18.

God's Holy love is commanded to be shared between all members of all twelve tribes. God never commands that His Holy love be given to anyone other than a fellow tribal member. It is a love God commands to be given to only fellow covenant brethren in this, the family of God. Holy love for a holy people, and God will make this people holy through the giving of love in the Person of the Holy Spirit of Promise PROMISED TO ISRAEL - and only Israel. God never instructed nor commanded that His love be given to non-Hebrew Gentiles who are outside the covenants of God. God seals this covenant love by saying, "I am the LORD" thus establishing His love for this people and their instruction on who to love in accordance with His commands. God has given no love to non-Hebrew Gentiles because God has NO COVENANT with non-Hebrew Gentiles. God's Holy love is wrapped up in one people and one people only: the children of Israel in covenant with God. And this is a love that saves, delivers, redeems, protects, provides for and prospers. They are all the seed of the woman and God as Savior of this people shall save this people. Beginning with the Abraham covenant

Pure heresy!

Did God send Paul to the Gentiles to tell them God doesn’t love you?

Doug

 

[jeremiah1five]

Pure heresy!

Did God send Paul to the Gentiles to tell them God doesn’t love you?

Doug

Saul was a rabbi and a Pharisee. He remained a rabbi and a Pharisee even after he met Jesus on the road. He and the rest of the Jewish men (and woman) who became born-again remained zealous and faithful to the Law of Moses including Saul.

The Abraham, Mosaic, and New Covenants are between God, Abraham, and Abraham's seed, a people known as the children of Israel (Jacob.)

Just as half-Jew/half-Assyrian Gentiles are still Abraham's seed as a mixed heritage people they remain Abraham's seed just as the Samaritan woman was of the seed of Abraham and Jesus saved her, or at least she was in the lambs book of life and when the Holy Spirit came in Acts two was among those three thousand JEWS that were born-again that day. It also says Christ added to His Jewish Church daily in the thousands such as should be saved. Saul was sent to the mixed heritage Hebrews who lived in Gentile lands heavily influenced and grew up in Greek culture. Many were uncircumcised which is why the Jerusalem Council was held in Acts 15. These "Gentiles" were of mixed heritage and were called "Gentile" and not Jew the same attitude of the Jews that called mixed heritage Samaritans, Samaritan and not called Jews. They were of mixed heritage.

It was a remnant (10%) of all Hebrews living at the time that returned to the Holy Land in 522BC while the majority (90%) of Hebrews remained living in Gentile lands like Asia Minor, what used to be Assyria, in Babylon and in non-Jewish Gentile lands in between. From 522BC to the first century when Christ arrived about 15-20 generations of Jews that married only Jews and Jews that for various reasons married non-Hebrew Gentiles and they did all this living in a heavily influenced Greek culture. Jesus sent His disciples after He ascended to them in Gentile lands (Acts 1: 8) to herald that their long-awaited Mesiah had come. God didn't forget them but they received the news of Messiah's arrival from those who travelled to Jerusalem for the Feast of Harvest, the day the Holy Spirit of Promise PROMISED TO ISRAEL arrived in Acts 2 and baptized three thousand Jews into the body of Christ and they were saved according to the Scripture. And I say "according to the Scripture" because the animal sacrifice that was offered yearly under the Law of Moses was to atone (yearly) the sins of the children of Israel, and if Jesus fulfilled the Law, then He fulfilled His purpose as lamb of God to atone for the sins of the children of Israel finally and eternally. This is why Saul says:

4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Gal. 4:4–5.

Saul as rabbi and Pharisee greatly esteemed by his peers knew the three Hebrew covenants (Abraham, Mosaic, and New) ere covenants between God, Abraham, and Abraham's seed, a [people known as the children of Israel] and that he was sent to the Jews and then to the Jews of mixed heritage like the Samaritans to tell them that their Messiah had come. The whole issue of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 had to do with whether or not to circumcise the mixed heritage Hebrews who became born-again and were not circumcised. The leadership in Jerusalem discussed whether these half-Jew/half-Gentile Hebrews who grew up in Gentile lands heavily influenced by Greek culture (Hellenized) should be circumcised since they were never circumcised and became born again, born-again because the Holy Spirit of Promise mentioned by Peter in Acts 2 is a promise God gave to Israel. God never promised His Spirit to non-Hebrew Gentiles. He promised His Spirit to Israel. And God would not break Scripture or His Word by giving the Holy Spirit of Promise to non-Hebrew Gentiles. The Holy Spirit of Promise was promised by God to Israel. And there is Scripture to back this up. But there is no Scripture that says God promised His Holy Spirit to Gentiles. That and other false teaching is only more false teaching by Gentiles.

The Abraham Covenant is between God, Abraham, and Abraham's seed.
The Mosaic Covenant is between God and the children of Jacob/Israel.
The New Covenant is between God and the House of Israel and Judah.
There are NO GENTILES in any of these three Hebrew covenants.
None.

 

[TibiasDad]

Saul was a rabbi and a Pharisee. He remained a rabbi and a Pharisee even after he met Jesus on the road. He and the rest of the Jewish men (and woman) who became born-again remained zealous and faithful to the Law of Moses including Saul.

The Abraham, Mosaic, and New Covenants are between God, Abraham, and Abraham's seed, a people known as the children of Israel (Jacob.)

Just as half-Jew/half-Assyrian Gentiles are still Abraham's seed as a mixed heritage people they remain Abraham's seed just as the Samaritan woman was of the seed of Abraham and Jesus saved her, or at least she was in the lambs book of life and when the Holy Spirit came in Acts two was among those three thousand JEWS that were born-again that day. It also says Christ added to His Jewish Church daily in the thousands such as should be saved. Saul was sent to the mixed heritage Hebrews who lived in Gentile lands heavily influenced and grew up in Greek culture. Many were uncircumcised which is why the Jerusalem Council was held in Acts 15. These "Gentiles" were of mixed heritage and were called "Gentile" and not Jew the same attitude of the Jews that called mixed heritage Samaritans, Samaritan and not called Jews. They were of mixed heritage.

It was a remnant (10%) of all Hebrews living at the time that returned to the Holy Land in 522BC while the majority (90%) of Hebrews remained living in Gentile lands like Asia Minor, what used to be Assyria, in Babylon and in non-Jewish Gentile lands in between. From 522BC to the first century when Christ arrived about 15-20 generations of Jews that married only Jews and Jews that for various reasons married non-Hebrew Gentiles and they did all this living in a heavily influenced Greek culture. Jesus sent His disciples after He ascended to them in Gentile lands (Acts 1: 8) to herald that their long-awaited Mesiah had come. God didn't forget them but they received the news of Messiah's arrival from those who travelled to Jerusalem for the Feast of Harvest, the day the Holy Spirit of Promise PROMISED TO ISRAEL arrived in Acts 2 and baptized three thousand Jews into the body of Christ and they were saved according to the Scripture. And I say "according to the Scripture" because the animal sacrifice that was offered yearly under the Law of Moses was to atone (yearly) the sins of the children of Israel, and if Jesus fulfilled the Law, then He fulfilled His purpose as lamb of God to atone for the sins of the children of Israel finally and eternally. This is why Saul says:

4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. Gal. 4:4–5.

Saul as rabbi and Pharisee greatly esteemed by his peers knew the three Hebrew covenants (Abraham, Mosaic, and New) ere covenants between God, Abraham, and Abraham's seed, a [people known as the children of Israel] and that he was sent to the Jews and then to the Jews of mixed heritage like the Samaritans to tell them that their Messiah had come. The whole issue of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 had to do with whether or not to circumcise the mixed heritage Hebrews who became born-again and were not circumcised. The leadership in Jerusalem discussed whether these half-Jew/half-Gentile Hebrews who grew up in Gentile lands heavily influenced by Greek culture (Hellenized) should be circumcised since they were never circumcised and became born again, born-again because the Holy Spirit of Promise mentioned by Peter in Acts 2 is a promise God gave to Israel. God never promised His Spirit to non-Hebrew Gentiles. He promised His Spirit to Israel. And God would not break Scripture or His Word by giving the Holy Spirit of Promise to non-Hebrew Gentiles. The Holy Spirit of Promise was promised by God to Israel. And there is Scripture to back this up. But there is no Scripture that says God promised His Holy Spirit to Gentiles. That and other false teaching is only more false teaching by Gentiles.

The Abraham Covenant is between God, Abraham, and Abraham's seed.
The Mosaic Covenant is between God and the children of Jacob/Israel.
The New Covenant is between God and the House of Israel and Judah.
There are NO GENTILES in any of these three Hebrew covenants.
None.

So God sent Paul to the Gentiles to preach that they are all doomed! You just threw out most of the NT.

Doug

 

[jeremiah1five]

So God sent Paul to the Gentiles to preach that they are all doomed! You just threw out most of the NT.

Doug

Saul as rabbi and Pharisee knows the covenants are between God and the seed of Abraham and would not teach or preach that non-Hebrews are in any of the three Hebrew Covenants of he would be excommunicated and possibly attacked or killed. Nor would Saul attempt to circumcise any non-Hebrew Gentile or bring any into the covenants. It is the false Constantinian Gentile theology that is in error for not understanding the end of the second Temple era and who these "Gentiles" being referred to in the New Covenant writings were. They were mixed heritage Hebrews who for 15-20 generations since 522 BC grew up in Gentile lands heavily influenced by Greek culture. While a remnant of all Hebrews alive at the time (10%) returned with Nehemiah back to the Holy Land to rebuild the wall while the majority of Hebrews (90%) remained in exile and living in Gentile lands intermixing with non-Hebrews and offspring intermixing with non-Hebrews again and again. If the father was an Assyrian or Babylonian or some other non-Hebrew stock it is most likely the children grew up Gentile. If the father was Hebrew who intermarried with non-Hebrew Gentile women, the children would have some information of their Hebrew heritage. Then there are children from rape, concubinage, and slavery. The bottom line is that the conquest and exile of the Hebrew people by first Assyria and then Babylon and also other non-Hebrew people in the lands in-between had a very profound effect upon the seed of Abraham, but it must also be understood that this was an act of God.

The bottom line being that in the Hebrew Scripture it is recorded by the prophets of Israel that God made covenant with Abram the Hebrew and commanded circumcision be the sign of this covenant. It is also recorded that Isaac would be the inheritor of this covenant known as the Abraham Covenant and from Scripture the inheritance passed over Esau and into Jacob's lap. All the while the Hebrew men were marrying Hebrew women, and the seed of Abraham took on a strictly Hebrew ethnicity - including the twelve sons of Jacob who went into captivity. Scripture records God delivering Hebrews from their bondage - not Egyptians - as prophesied by God in Genesis 15.

All in all, the delivered children of Jacob/Israel (70 souls went in and millions came out (of Egypt) - Moses prophesied that God would raise up a prophet like him and He would have the people's obedience. God led this 3-4 million Hebrews into the desert and at Mount Sinai made covenant with this people with God giving them His Law, a Law that prefigured a sacrificial system that God's own Son - also prophesied - would die to deliver this people from their sin and in the process of time another covenant was prophesied by Jeremiah between God and both Houses of Israel and Judah in which God would deliver this people from their sin and death and into a marvelous eternity with Him.

It was after their Promised Messiah and King had come that Israel found herself in a new era in which the Promised Kinsman-Redeemer had come as well as the Holy Spirit of Promise PROMISED TO ISRAEL had come and the things taking place among the Hebrew people (the Jews) required someone, anyone, to bring understanding as to the things taking place among Jewry everywhere. People like Aquila, Priscilla, Apollos, and later, Saul, all made attempts to search the Hebrew Scripture to make sense of the New Covenant era Israel found herself in. But from Ascension to Assyrian and Babylonian conquest and exile it was totally a Hebrew phenomenon that was taking place with God's Spirit prophesied and promised to Israel was being poured out upon Israel just as God had promised Israel in Joel.

God's Promise established one thing among others and that was that the Holy Spirit of Promise - without which no Hebrew could be saved - was a promise given to Israel and not to non-Hebrew Gentiles. The prophesy in Joel makes this abundantly clear. So, where is all this Gentile theology of Gentile inclusion into the Hebrew covenants coming from? It comes from nearly 2000 years of misinterpretation of Hebrew Scripture and misunderstanding of Hebrew history. Once mixed heritage Gentiles who were ignorant of their Hebrew heritage and history survived the Roman destruction of all things Israel remained and they - through ignorance - unmoored true, biblical Christianity from its Hebrew roots then the beginning of a new religion was born and has continued up until this day.

Well into the fourth century the New Testament canon was being put together by non-Hebrew Gentiles who again, through ignorance, made decisions as to what was 'bible' and what wasn't and no doubt the choices of what was included and what was excluded and the "rules" made up by men to establish the authenticity of the New Testament canon was born. What we have today is the result of non-Hebrew Gentile judgments upon the Hebrew heritage and history. One question must be answered, and this goes to the heart of the Gentile "Christianity" phenomenon that exists worldwide today, and it is a simple question to answer if one is honest with the bible.

Where in the Hebrew Scripture does God promise the Holy Spirit to non-Hebrew Gentiles?

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

Where in the Hebrew Scripture does God promise the Holy Spirit to non-Hebrew Gentiles?

Nowhere.
Which doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit has worked in people from all nations and times.
The Hebrew Scripture is just a pearl within the long necklace of God's revelation.

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

Saul as rabbi and Pharisee knows the covenants are between God and the seed of Abraham and would not teach or preach that non-Hebrews are in any of the three Hebrew Covenants of he would be excommunicated and possibly attacked or killed.

The covenants between God and Israel were of little or no relevance when Paul addressed the Greeks (not hybrid Hellenized Hebrews, but Greeks) in the Areopagus in Athens.

Why did Paul bother to preach to them?
In preaching to them, Paul made clear

• That God has appointed the times and geography so that all nations could seek God and find Him (v. 26,27)
• That God was not far from those polytheistic Greeks just as He was not far from Paul (v. 27)
• That Paul considered himself, along with those Greeks, living, moving and having their being in God. (v 28)
• That Paul considered himself, along with those Greeks, as offspring of God. (v 28)
• That God called all men (yes, even those polytheistic Greeks) to repent. (v.30)
• That God would judge the world (not just the House of Israel) (v.31)

24 “God who made the world and all things in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by hands. 25 Nor is He served by men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives all men life and breath and all things. 26 He has made from one blood every nation of men to live on the entire face of the earth, having appointed fixed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they should seek the Lord so perhaps they might reach for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. 28 ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’​

​

29 “Therefore since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to suppose that the Deity is like gold or silver or stone or an engraved work of art or an image of the reflection of man. 30 God overlooked the times of ignorance, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent. 31 For He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed, having given assurance of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.​

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

God's Promise established one thing among others and that was that the Holy Spirit of Promise - without which no Hebrew could be saved - was a promise given to Israel and not to non-Hebrew Gentiles.

God sent Jonah to Nineveh with a purpose in mind: call those people to repentance so that He could save them.
Jonah preached. Nineveh repented. God saved them.

To this end, God did not ask them to learn and obey the Law of Moses.
He didn't require them to build a tabernacle and offer animal sacrifices.
He wanted them to repent from their "evil ways", particularly their violence. The same He would have asked from any descendant of Noah.


This was the proclamation of the king:

No man or animal, no herd or flock, shall taste anything. They shall not eat or drink water. 8 Both man and animals shall cover themselves with sackcloth and cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. 9 Who knows? God may relent and change His mind. He may turn from His fierce anger, so that we will not perish.”​

And this was the reason God saved them

10 When God saw their actions, that they turned from their evil ways, He changed His mind about the disaster that He had said He would bring upon them, and He did not do it.​

 

[jeremiah1five]

Nowhere.
Which doesn't mean that the Holy Spirit has worked in people from all nations and times.
The Hebrew Scripture is just a pearl within the long necklace of God's revelation.

If you can't prove a statement you make with Scripture, then you're adding to the bible things not written there.
If it's not chapter and verse, then it's chatter and worse.

Yes, a Pearl God gave to Israel.
God does not cast His Pearls to swine (Gentiles.)
Nor does He give that which is Holy to dogs (Gentiles.)

This is what God thinks of Gentiles:

17 All nations before him are as nothing;
And they are counted to him less than nothing, and vanity.
Isaiah 40:17.

Gentiles got nothing coming to them from God.

 

[jeremiah1five]

The covenants between God and Israel were of little or no relevance when Paul addressed the Greeks (not hybrid Hellenized Hebrews, but Greeks) in the Areopagus in Athens.

Why did Paul bother to preach to them?
In preaching to them, Paul made clear

• That God has appointed the times and geography so that all nations could seek God and find Him (v. 26,27)
• That God was not far from those polytheistic Greeks just as He was not far from Paul (v. 27)
• That Paul considered himself, along with those Greeks, living, moving and having their being in God. (v 28)
• That Paul considered himself, along with those Greeks, as offspring of God. (v 28)
• That God called all men (yes, even those polytheistic Greeks) to repent. (v.30)
• That God would judge the world (not just the House of Israel) (v.31)

24 “God who made the world and all things in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by hands. 25 Nor is He served by men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives all men life and breath and all things. 26 He has made from one blood every nation of men to live on the entire face of the earth, having appointed fixed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they should seek the Lord so perhaps they might reach for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us. 28 ‘For in Him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are His offspring.’​

​

29 “Therefore since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to suppose that the Deity is like gold or silver or stone or an engraved work of art or an image of the reflection of man. 30 God overlooked the times of ignorance, but now He commands all men everywhere to repent. 31 For He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a Man whom He has appointed, having given assurance of this to all men by raising Him from the dead.​

Saul uses the word "Greek" and NOT "Gentile" because he was addressing mixed heritage Hebrews just as the word is defined and what history describes.

Greek Word: Ἕλλην
Transliteration: Hellēn

from [G#1671] (Hellas); a Hellen (Grecian) or inhabitant of Hellas; by extension a Greek-speaking person, especially a mixed heritage Jew.

Saul writes to his brethren in the Galatian region, both Hebrews and Hebrews of mixed heritage (Jew-Gentile) and there were millions of them living in Gentile lands for about 15-20 generations of mixed heritage Hebrews who didn't return with Hezekiah when Cyrus gave him and the Jews permission to return to their land Israel. That's 15-20 generations of Hebrews of mixed heritage that were heavily influenced by Greek culture in which they lived. Someone had to go and reach these mixed heritage Hebrews because God has covenant with Abraham and his seed and these Hebrews although of mixed heritage were still Abraham's seed. God is keeping His Promise to them. God never promised anything to non-Hebrew Gentiles. So, if you're going to post Scripture be honest with God and don't take things out of context to fit your pet theories. Saul is writing to his Hebrew brethren. Saul is not writing to Jews in Jerusalem, he is writing to Jews of mixed heritage in Galatia which is Gentile land where Jews of mixed heritage livce. ALL Asia Minor and beyond where God scattered His people through the Assyrian and Babylonian conquest and exile remained where they were scattered and for 15-20 generations they intermingled with Gentiles and learned their ways. Now pay attention and look at the context. Gentiles were NEVER under the Law.

23 But before faith came, we (JEWS) were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us (JEWS) unto Christ, that we (JEWS) might be justified by faith.
25 But after that faith is come, we (JEWS) are no longer under a schoolmaster (or the Law..
26 For ye (JEWS) are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
27 For as many of you (JEWS) as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye (JEWS) are all one in Christ Jesus.
29 And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye (STILL JEWS AND) Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.
Gal. 3:23–29.

I see your picture and notice you are not a young man and should already know these things about context and paying attention to the Script. But as a Gentile you cannot interpret Saul who as a rabbi and Pharisee who writes as a rabbi and Pharisee using rabbinical arguments and thought which originates from a Hebrew mind and ventures to translate Hebrew thought to a Greek-speaking mindset and audience.

These Jews who became born-again, and followers of Christ were concerned with their standing in the Abraham and Mosaic Covenant. Saul tells them in verse 29: "And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye (STILL JEWS AND) Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise" and he is referring to the Abrahamic promises.
Saul is writing to his brethren - mixed or otherwise - Jews, and Jews of mixed heritage by his use of the word "Hellen" and not "Gentile" in this context of the letter he writes. You need to look at Scripture and realize the context. Don't let commentaries tell you what to believe. Look at the text of Scripture as I have pointed out above and show your interpretation as false. And if you knew anything about Hebrew culture you would be able to understand what Saul is saying about "bond or free " and "male nor female."
I think you have that wrong, too.
You make mistakes as though you're a neophyte. You can't interpret Hebrew Scripture - and that's what the New Testament is - with a Gentile mindset.

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

Saul uses the word "Greek" and NOT "Gentile" because he was addressing mixed heritage Hebrews just as the word is defined and what history describes.

There is no evidence at all that Saul chose to preach in the Areopagus to "mixed heritage Hebrews".
In contrast, the story shows that

• He was invited to preach in the Areopagus by Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, not by the Jews he was debating with in the marketplace.
• Luke's text refers to all people in Athens as curious to hear what Paul could say: For all the Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent their time in nothing else, but either telling or hearing something new".
• Paul didn't appeal to the religion of the supposedly Jewish ancestors of his audience, but to their Greek idol-worshiping religion.
• Paul didn't appeal to the Hebrew literature of the supposedly Jewish ancestors of his audience, but to the Greek poets.
• Paul explained from scratch that there was only One God as Creator. So he assumed his audience didn't know about monotheism.

So, your claim that Paul was addressing "mixed heritage Jews" in the Areopagus is unsupported.

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

If you can't prove a statement you make with Scripture, then you're adding to the bible things not written there.

There are thousands of things about the interaction of God and men that are not written in Hebrew Scripture, precisaley because... it is Hebrew Scripture. Isn't it?
That's why nobody should take the collection of inspired books that we know as "The Bible" as the only and exclusive source of revelation.
We have science, history, archeology, other sacred texts, and reason, illuminated by the Holy Spirit. Do you agree with me on this?

God revealed Peter that He had persons in all nations who were righteous and whom God accepted. Where in the Bible we find the narrative of such relationship between God and people from other nations?

 

[jeremiah1five]

There is no evidence at all that Saul chose to preach in the Areopagus to "mixed heritage Hebrews".
In contrast, the story shows that

• He was invited to preach in the Areopagus by Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, not by the Jews he was debating with in the marketplace.
• Luke's text refers to all people in Athens as curious to hear what Paul could say: For all the Athenians and foreigners who lived there spent their time in nothing else, but either telling or hearing something new".
• Paul didn't appeal to the religion of the supposedly Jewish ancestors of his audience, but to their Greek idol-worshiping religion.
• Paul didn't appeal to the Hebrew literature of the supposedly Jewish ancestors of his audience, but to the Greek poets.
• Paul explained from scratch that there was only One God as Creator. So he assumed his audience didn't know about monotheism.

So, your claim that Paul was addressing "mixed heritage Jews" in the Areopagus is unsupported.

As a rabbi and a Pharisee Saul remained a rabbi and a Pharisee throughout his life and one thing he knew was that God had covenant with the Hebrew people through Abraham. Saul would not preach to anyone unless they were the seed of Abraham. The covenant process had to go through the Law of Moses and that covenant. Salvation from Mosaic Covenant to the New Covenant was a passing from one to the other and one could not have the New Covenant without first being in the Mosaic Covenant for the New Covenant was the Mosaic Covenant fulfilled by the Christ, Israel's Messiah, Lord, and King. The placard on Jesus' cross said, "King of the JEWS." It said nothing about being King of the Gentiles for Gentiles are nothing to God and God has no obligation to save non-Hebrew Gentiles. None at all. And He doesn't. In order to be loved by God one had to be born into a people with whom God had made a covenant with their forefathers. It is a natural passing from the Abrahamic Covenant to the Mosaic Covenant to the New Covenant because God was in the process of saving a people He could not save in eternity before heaven, earth, and man. It could not be done. Impossible. In order to have a people He can have for His own it was necessary to created heaven, earth, and then man, and from man take out a people for Himself. He could not do it any other way. So, another thing that was impossible for God to do besides lie was to have a people for Himself but necessary to create the universe and time as a by-product and natural course towards that goal.
There could be no people for God to have without creating creation.

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

As a rabbi and a Pharisee Saul remained a rabbi and a Pharisee throughout his life and one thing he knew was that God had covenant with the Hebrew people through Abraham. Saul would not preach to anyone unless they were the seed of Abraham.

Well, you are facing the evidence that Paul did it in Athens.
You have not presented any counterargument to that fact. No evidence that Paul was addressing only hybridized Hebrews.
You are just repeating "Saul wouldn't do it, Saul woudn't do it!"
Well, Saul did it, regardless of how many times you tell yourself that's impossible.

Saul, the Pharisee, preached YHWH and His Messiah to polytheist Gentiles.
He told those polytheist Gentiles that they were as well "God's offspring." (Acts 17:28)
He told those polytheist Gentiles that God had arranged times and geographies for people of "every nation" to come and seek Him, and perhaps find Him. (Acts 17:26)
He told those polytheist Gentiles that God was calling them... indeed, "all men" , to repentance. (Acts 17:30)


God loves the Chinese. God wants them to repent from their bad actions and come back to Him... and his plan will not be frustrated.
I invite you to pray to God, open your eyes and peer into his Ocean of Mercy.

 

[jeremiah1five]

There are thousands of things about the interaction of God and men that are not written in Hebrew Scripture, precisaley because... it is Hebrew Scripture. Isn't it?
That's why nobody should take the collection of inspired books that we know as "The Bible" as the only and exclusive source of revelation.
We have science, history, archeology, other sacred texts, and reason, illuminated by the Holy Spirit. Do you agree with me on this?

Nope.
One teaches there is a God and the other teaches a God to know.
But it doesn't begin and end with men. It begins and ends with God.
In other words, "Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" Rom. 9:21.
And that is what God did. He orchestrated a people to Himself and the rest He discarded. Burned up, actually.

God revealed Peter that He had persons in all nations who were righteous and whom God accepted. Where in the Bible we find the narrative of such relationship between God and people from other nations?

The term "nation" has a history, and its context is found in what Scripture says that it is. And its use and meaning is consistent throughout Scripture. It doesn't mean "Gentiles" for non-Hebrew Gentiles do not come from two Hebrew parents. You're interpreting the term from the perspective of being outside the Scripture and using it like it those of the United Nations uses it.

God identifies Abram as a Hebrew which means he comes from the family of Eber.

13 And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; Gen. 14:13.

God is establishing a family line. He is distinguishing an ethnicity apart from all the other ethnicities (family lines) in existence at the time He made this distinction. Everyone was a Adamite. They were not 'humans' or 'mankind.' They were all Adamites. And among all the Adamites was a people designated as the "seed of the woman" as OPPOSED to the "seed of the serpent." The seed of the woman follows the lineage of Seth.

26 And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD. Gen. 4:26.

The term "call upon the Name of the Lord" refers to worship, not that men open their mouths and call out God's Name. That's NOT what it means "to call upon the Name of the Lord." And to "call upon the Name of the Lord" indicates relationship. Later, we learn that no man can approach the Lord unless God wills it and causes the person to approach and ultimately worship the Lord.

After Adam there has always been two groups of people on the planet: those that obey and those that do not.

The Sethian family line of obedient people are the "sons of God" in Genesis 6. Contrary to Gentile theology they are not angels that marry women and have hybrid children. That's another false teaching among Gentiles. After the flood Noah's kids branch off into a more definite separation between the "seeds" until we come to Salah, who took his family in obedience to God away from the rest of the descendants of Ham and Japheth. To commemorate this separation from the rest of the "seed of the serpent" in which Salah took his family and "crossed over" (some say the Jordan, some say the Euphrates) river he names one of his kids, "Eber" which means "crossed over." His name is also understood by Jews as the beginning of the Hebrew people based upon the other meaning of his name: Eber = Hebrew.

The word "nation/nations" did not mean "Gentile" at this time for in Gen. 12 God says He is going to make Abraham a great "nation" which cannot mean "Gentile" or "non-Hebrew" because in Gen. 14:13 God describes Abram as Hebrew.

2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
Gen. 12:2.

The word "nation" is the Hebrew word "goy", and it merely means "massing" [as in a mass of people.] Here is the first parts of a covenant of promises God gives to Abram. Genesis 14:13 God calls Abram [a] Hebrew. Soon after this God calls out Abram and adds to His covenant promises by giving him land (Gen. 15.)
Genesis 17 God concludes the covenant promises He made to Abram after Abram complains he has no heir of all the promises God makes to Abram and so God promises an heir to Abram.

4 As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Gen. 17:4.

Nations do not mean "Gentile" or "non-Hebrew." it is still understood at the time Abram lived as merely a "mass[ing] of people." In verse 5 God speaks of "nations" in the past tense as if they already happened. Now, think a moment. What God is saying is that He will make Abram's name great, and he will have a great number of descendants as numerous as the stars and the sand on the seashore. And it is all in context of Abram having many, many descendants from his loins.

5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. (past-tense. The implications goes towards God's promise of many descendants from his loins.)
Gen. 17:5.

And here is the correlation between promise and descendants:

6 And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.
Gen. 17:6.

This means Abram the Hebrew will have Hebrew descendants from his loins - out of thee. This was accomplished through his union with a Hebrew woman (descendants of Eber) for Abram married his uncles' daughter who was also from Eber. Hebrew marrying Hebrew. By making this covenant with Abram the Hebrew and making circumcision as a sign of the covenant God effectively handmade/handpicked a people and separated them as His own and possessing this people to be His own above all the fathers of men and above all the families on the face of the earth. And for Sarai God makes similar promise of "nations" [of people that] "shall be of her."

15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. 16 And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her. Gen. 17:15–16.

The descendants of Esau shall be "of her" while "nations" shall come out of thee (Abram) through Hagar. And then there is also a people that shall come out of Sarah and Abraham together through Isaac and also of Jacob. The "nations" and "kings" that shall come from each and the "nations" and "kings" that shall come out of both of them together make up a large family of descendants that are NOT "Gentile" nor are they "non-Hebrew." The word "goy" used here and throughout the bible merely means [a] "mass" of people born from Abraham and Hagar and Abraham and Sarah. The word "nations" never came to be understood biblically as "Gentiles" or "non-Hebrews." It only meant a great number of descendants/people to be born of Abraham's seed and later God makes distinction again but this time between Ishmael and Isaac, and Esau and Jacob. One big happy Hebrew family of "massing" proportions.

Two Hebrew parents (Abraham and Sarah) and two Hebrew parents (Jacob and Rachel) and (Jacob and Leah) and (Jacob and Bilhah) and (Jacob and Zilpah.) Hebrews marrying in the family of Hebrews to make a great "nation" (massing) of people just as God promised. A great "nation" of people. Here and throughout the New Testament "nations" does not mean "Gentile" or "non-Hebrew" because it never meant "Gentile" or non-Hebrew" as God fulfilled His promises over the decades and centuries. Then there is distinction/separation between one just being seed of Abraham through Hagar and being blessed with Abraham and the other the seed of Abraham through Sarah and the true inheritor of the covenant promises.

YOU SAID:

God revealed Peter that He had persons in all nations who were righteous and whom God accepted. Where in the Bible we find the narrative of such relationship between God and people from other nations?

Given what I said above as recorded in Scripture, I think you should re-interpret what you say here against the record of "nations" in Genesis and the words' use and meaning as described in Genesis. It does not mean "Gentiles" and it doesn't mean "non-Hebrew" so Peter's words need to be reconsidered as to what he is saying and who he is saying it about.
Don't forget there is such a "thing" as the "nation" of Israel and Israel is not "Gentile" or "non-Hebrew."
Ya falla?

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

The term "nation" has a history, and its context is found in what Scripture says that it is. And its use and meaning is consistent throughout Scripture. It doesn't mean "Gentiles" for non-Hebrew Gentiles do not come from two Hebrew parents. You're interpreting the term from the perspective of being outside the Scripture and using it like it those of the United Nations uses it…

The word "nation/nations" did not mean "Gentile" at this time…

…The word "nation" is the Hebrew word "goy", and it merely means "massing" [as in a mass of people.] Here is the first parts of a covenant of promises God gives to Abram. Genesis 14:13 God calls Abram [a] Hebrew. Soon after this God calls out Abram and adds to His covenant promises by giving him land (Gen. 15.)
…Nations do not mean "Gentile" or "non-Hebrew."" of Israel and Israel is not "Gentile" or "non-Hebrew."

The meaning that the term "goy" could have had in Genesis, where it designated human "masses", did not remain stagnant. It evolved to mean the nations of the Gentiles. Between the writing of Genesis and the days of Jesus we have between five and nine centuries!! During Greek and then Roman domination it came to denote nations in general but more specifically the non Jews.

In addition, the book of Acts, written in Greek, uses the term "ἔθνει" (ethnei) which means peoples in general, and it is never used to denote in a particular or exclusive way communities of Hebrew descent.

Cornelius was a Gentile. Otherwise Peter would not have considered him unclean, the sight of the linen with impure animals would have made no sense, nor would Peter's hesitance and astonishment nor the scandal upon his return to Jerusalem.
So, in the context of the story of Cornelius, ethnie means peoples, and therefore, we can say with all confidence that God revealed Peter that He has in each nation (people, tribe, race, ethnic group) people accepted by God.
in addition, the story says that the Holy Spirit was poured over the Gentiles.

Your argument on the use of “goy” to downplay the story of Cornelius is therefore unsupported.
Your claims on both the Aeropagus and Cornelius have been refuted.

 

[jeremiah1five]

Well, you are facing the evidence that Paul did it in Athens.
You have not presented any counterargument to that fact. No evidence that Paul was addressing only hybridized Hebrews.
You are just repeating "Saul wouldn't do it, Saul woudn't do it!"
Well, Saul did it, regardless of how many times you tell yourself that's impossible.

No Jew or Jewish Christian would break Scripture or contradict God and His Word that clearly says in Jeremiah 31:31-34 that the New Covenant is between God and the House of Israel (ten northern kingdom tribes) and the House of Judah (two southern kingdom tribes.) Saul was a practicing Jew. He continued to obey and observe the Law of Moses as all of them did after they became born-again. Saul, as a rabbi and Pharisee would never try to bring any non-Hebrew Gentile into the Hebrew covenants. Any attempt by any Jew or Jewish Christian to do so would be met with violent hostility and even death by the Jews.
Saul didn't "do it." That's your erroneous interpretation of God's Word.
All you need to do is look at Jeremiah's prophecy and tell me which tribe does a non-Hebrew Gentile belong to because that non-Hebrew Gentile would have to be in one of the twelve tribes in order to participate in the New Covenant.
While you're at answering that question I want you to post the Scripture that shows God promising His Spirit to non-Hebrew Gentiles. Tell me, where does Joel say non-Hebrew Gentiles will receive God's Holy Spirit of Promise PROMISED TO ISRAEL?
Please, provide your proof. Show me the Scripture then show me the money!

Saul, the Pharisee, preached YHWH and His Messiah to polytheist Gentiles.
He told those polytheist Gentiles that they were as well "God's offspring." (Acts 17:28)

I see Saul witnessing to Hellenized Hebrews who grew up in a heavily influenced Greek culture in Gentile land. They weren't even circumcised because in 15-20 generations of mixed heritage unions these who were still Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise knew nothing of the prophets or the Law or the Psalms and I read Saul in these passages educating these mixed heritage Hebrews:

28 For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, (the seed of Abraham) we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. (thanks to their worship of Greek and Gentile goods of wood and stone.)
30 And the times of this ignorance (Grew up Gentile in Greek culture) God winked at; but now commandeth all men (who are in the Hebrew covenants with God) every where to repent: (Prodigal sons - all of them.)
31 Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (sounds like Saul is educating these mixed heritage Hebrews some of the things in their Scripture) Acts 17:28–31.

I can tell, these are mixed heritage Hebrews who know nothing of their Hebrew heritage that Saul has to educate them.

He told those polytheist Gentiles that God had arranged times and geographies for people of "every nation" to come and seek Him, and perhaps find Him. (Acts 17:26)

"Nation" does not mean "Gentile" nor does it mean "non-Hebrew."
It refers to the descendants of Ishmael and Esau. Just as it refers to the NATION of Israel (and Israel is not "Gentile,") so go back to Genesis 12 where the meaning of "nation" is found because the meaning doesn't change when Saul uses the word "goy" here in his witness to mixed heritage Hebrews.

He told those polytheist Gentiles that God was calling them... indeed, "all men" , to repentance. (Acts 17:30)

No, they were 'polytheist' Hebrews who grew up in Gentile lands heavily influenced by Greek culture. Mixed heritage Hebrews like these were called "Gentile" with the same prejudice that mixed heritage Jew-Assyrian Hebrews were called "Samaritan" and not "Jew" by the Jews.

God loves the Chinese. God wants them to repent from their bad actions and come back to Him... and his plan will not be frustrated.
I invite you to pray to God, open your eyes and peer into his Ocean of Mercy.

The ONLY people God loves are the Hebrew people. Do you know where God says this specifically about the Hebrews? I do. Do you? So, since you don't, I'm going to teach you something you don't know about God's love for the Hebrews and why He loves them and ONLY them. Ready?

6 For thou art an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth.
7 The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people:
8 But because the LORD loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the LORD brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
9 Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations;
Deuteronomy 7:6–9.

In other word, the Hebrew people because of the promises God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob - the "fathers" of the Hebrew people. And God's love is predicated upon ONE THING: Covenant. That's something the non-Hebrew Gentiles DO NOT HAVE. And there is NO SCRIPTURE in the Hebrew bible that says God has covenant between Himself and non-Hebrew Gentiles.

That should settle the question about God's love and not only WHO He loves, but why He loves them.

It's because of the covenant promises He made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

God doesn't love non-Hebrew Gentiles. And since God has no covenant with non-Hebrews it is IMPOSSIBLE for any non-Hebrew Gentile to be [born-again and] saved in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.
Ever.

 

[jeremiah1five]

The meaning that the term "goy" could have had in Genesis, where it designated human "masses", did not remain stagnant. It evolved to mean the nations of the Gentiles. Between the writing of Genesis and the days of Jesus we have between five and nine centuries!! During Greek and then Roman domination it came to denote nations in general but more specifically the non Jews.

That's exactly what I said it didn't do, but then again, non-Hebrew Gentiles have the commanding authority to change Hebrew words in a Hebrew Scripture to fit their own non-Hebrew Gentile narrative.

In addition, the book of Acts, written in Greek, uses the term "ἔθνει" (ethnei) which means peoples in general, and it is never used to denote in a particular or exclusive way communities of Hebrew descent.

Hebrews are an ethnicity. As a matter of fact the only ethnicity that has a covenant with God and the Scripture history to prove it. What do the non-Hebrew Gentiles have? Do they have their own "pillars in the "Gentile Church" and their own non-Hebrew Gentile Scripture and prophets and apostles like Israel did?

Cornelius was a Gentile. Otherwise Peter would not have considered him unclean, the sight of the linen with impure animals would have made no sense, nor would Peter's hesitance and astonishment nor the scandal upon his return to Jerusalem.

As it says, there were those of the circumcision there with Peter to witness God pouring out His Spirit to mixed heritage Hebrews that the Jews refer to as "Gentile" because of their deeply influenced Greek culture which raised them in Gentile lands for 15-20 generations of mixed unions between Hebrews and Gentiles. You can't discount what happened to those Hebrews that remained in Gentile lands heavily influenced in each generation by Greek culture that there were thousands of males that were never circumcised.

The Jews saw that Cornelius was "devout" and "prayed always to God" and also "gave alms to the poor" which if he were a non-Hebrew Gentile, he would have been rejected by the Jews in same fashion that the Jews rejected many times the many males of their time claiming to be someone and even Messiah. But not Cornelius with a Greek name who grew up in Greek culture but was one of the few mixed heritage Hebrews who was able to maintain some semblance of his Hebrew heritage, to practice it as a Hebrew and be respected for it. If he was a non-Hebrew Gentile, the Jews would not even go into his house.

So, in the context of the story of Cornelius, ethnie means peoples, and therefore, we can say with all confidence that God revealed Peter that He has in each nation (people, tribe, race, ethnic group) people accepted by God.
in addition, the story says that the Holy Spirit was poured over the Gentiles.

The Jews saw the mixed heritage Hebrews as "Gentile" and not as "Jews" the same way the Jews saw the mixed heritage Hebrews of Assyrian descent as "Samaritan." Jesus received the Samaritan woman as the "other flock" He spoke of in John 10.

Your argument on the use of “goy” to downplay the story of Cornelius is therefore unsupported.
Your claims on both the Aeropagus and Cornelius have been refuted.

Cornelius, as a mixed heritage Hebrew practiced the Mosaic Law which if he were non-Hebrew the Jews would not have accepted his being devout for the things of God as a Hebrew who grew up in Gentile lands influenced by Greek culture.

16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. Jn 10:15–16.

Just as there is nothing in the Hebrew Scripture of God calling non-Hebrew Gentiles an Olive tree, neither does Scripture refer to non-Hebrew Gentiles as "sheep." Olive tree and sheep are particular to Israel, not to non-Hebrew Gentiles. Just more of the same interpretation errors with the same spirit of claiming non-Hebrew Gentiles are in the Abraham Covenant by their misinterpretation of Galatians 3:28-29.

Jesus said, [the Hebrew] Scripture cannot be broken or added to or subtracted from. Your interpretation is guilty of doing exactly that. Jesus, as King of the Jews and with His sermon on the mount made attempt to unify both kingdom tribes when He said:

43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?
48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
Matt. 5:43–48.

This is the same love God commanded the children of Israel of twelve tribes in the desert when the Tabernacle was standing, and the tribes were unified under Moses to have for each other when the only people in the desert was the children of Israel of over 3 million souls whom God placed around the Tabernacle and said:

17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother (member of the same tribe) in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour (member of the tribe living next to them), and not suffer sin upon him.
18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people (member of any tribe in the camp), but thou shalt love thy neighbour (member of the tribe living next to them) as thyself: I am the LORD.
Leviticus 19:17–18.

THIS IS the biblical definition and command of God on love.

 

[Pancho Frijoles]

THIS IS the biblical definition and command of God on love.

Good morning Jeremiah

I will reply to your comments in regard to the audience at the Areopagus and to Cornelius.
However, there is a much more important question I would like to make to you

I you are so convinced that the Scriptures teach that God loves only certain ethnic group, and that the command of loving our neighbors only applies to a certain ethnic group... why do you want to believe in such Scriptures? why do you want to follow such religion?

 

[Studyman]

As a rabbi and a Pharisee Saul remained a rabbi and a Pharisee throughout his life and one thing he knew was that God had covenant with the Hebrew people through Abraham. Saul would not preach to anyone unless they were the seed of Abraham.

Jesus said the "Seed of Abraham" were men who did the "Works" of Abraham. John the Baptist said God could raise up stones to be the seed of Abraham. God said His Law was created for the Homeborn, and the Stranger who adopts their ways. God, though His messenger Isaiah, said:

Is. 56: 6 Also the "sons of the stranger", that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;

7 Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.

This is why Paul taught both Jew and Gentile:

Acts 26: 19 Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:

20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they "ALL" should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

You promote a god who judges people according to the DNA they were born with. Paul promoted a God who is no respecter of persons, "Who will render to every man according to his deeds".

You are free to adopt the religious philosophies or as Paul says: "Yield yourselves servants to obey" any religion you choose. I would advise my brothers to follow Paul's instruction, both Jew and Gentile, to repent, turn to God and bring forth works worthy of repentance, as these are the works we are to be judged by, according to the Holy scriptures.