Hi brother ironwood,
I've been enjoying your posts, so please receive the following thought within the context of previous discussions of which you have not been a part. Your comment provides a springboard for slightly deeper examination of scripture, when you said
I could ask if you intended this to sound as passive as it does, and you are welcome to answer that question if you reply, but I would draw attention to two verses * and ** which militate against it, in the sense that the vail has already been removed for those who received the word mixed with faith.
In Isaiah 59, the onus is on the individual to turn away from ungodliness. I'm going to quote the context using Young, who preseves the tenses of the verbs accurately.
17 For He put on righteousness as a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing,
And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
18 According to [i]their[/i] deeds, accordingly He will repay,
Fury to His adversaries,
Recompense to His enemies;
The coastlands He will fully repay.
19 So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west,
And His glory from the rising of the sun;
When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.
20* " The Redeemer will come to Zion,
And to those who turn from transgression in Jacob," Says the LORD.
21 "As for Me," says the LORD, "this [i]is[/i] My covenant with them:
My Spirit who [i]is[/i] upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth, nor from the mouth of your descendants, nor from the mouth of your descendants' descendants," says the LORD, "from this time and forevermore."
In verse 20 (above), we find the same emphasis on the individual's turning, as Paul gives in 2 Corinthians 3:
15 but till to-day, when Moses is read, a vail upon their heart doth lie,
16** and whenever [u]they may turn unto the Lord[/u], the vail is taken away.
17 And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord [i]is[/i], there [i]is[/i] liberty;
The reason I draw this out, is that Paul had taken Isaiah 59:20 to show that the Redeemer has already come to Israel, in Romans 11:26b
"The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;"
Thinking about this in the context of another current discussion in the S + D forum, I realised it may look as if I'm saying people save themselves, but that is not what I mean. The force of Paul's reversing the verb in Romans 11 is to say that God knew He had to come and open the way for the return to Him. It is an acknowledgement of the limitations of the Law as well. Nevertheless, faced with Jesus Christ, those who [i]see[/i] who He is (John 1:11 - 14: 'we beheld His glory') and believe, are saved.
This was Paul's word to Jews first, and also to 'Greeks':
Romans 10:8 (KJV)
But what saith it?
The word is nigh thee, [i]even[/i] in thy mouth, and in thy heart:
that is, the word of faith, which we preach...
This was not a new thought to Jews, as Moses had said:
Deuteronomy 30:14
But the word [i]is[/i] very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.
I continue to resist the rumour that God is going to take away the vail from all Jews in a supernaturally sovereign act, before the Lord returns, as Israel's blindness has always been partial only, and as Jews received Him in person when He walked on earth, the way [u]is open still[/u].
No-one (Jew or Greek) is exempt from making a response to that revelation, and Paul makes it clear that the person receiving the revelation of Christ, may turn to Him. Immediately. AMEN!
This is GOOD NEWS.
- when all Israel has been saved. :-) Amen.
