According to Romans 11:13, Paul was commissioned to find and teach Gentiles the Way of the Lord. The assumption among Replacement Theologists has been that those Gentiles were non-Israelites. True? To answer the question we will determine where Paul went in search of “Gentiles.” A careful study of the Book of Acts reveals that he went to JEWISH SYNAGOGUES. Let us “Study to show yourself approved of God” in order to “Prove all things” relative to God, His Way and Will.

Following the martyrdom of Stephen, Paul went on a rampage in search of Christians. Before beginning his hunt for “… the disciples of the Lord,” he requested and received letters from the chief priest in Jerusalem which gave him authority to enter “… the SYNAGOGUES of Damascus” in search of Christians. If he found any he could “… bring them bound to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:1,2). Following his conversion he was told that he was being sent to the GENTILES in order to offer them salvation. Where did he go to find GENTILES? He went into “THE SYNAGOGUES OF DAMASCUS” (vs 20). Later, upon his arrival in Salamis in search of “Gentiles” he went immediately to the “SYNAGOGUES OF THE JEWS” (Acts 13:4). Then later he journeyed to Antioch where he “went into the SYNAGOGUE” and preached to his (Israelite) “brethren” (Acts 13:14-41). Arriving in Iconium Paul, in search of “Gentiles,” went to “THE SYNAGOGUE OF THE JEWS” and spoke to a great multitude there. Upon arriving in Thessalonica he preached in “THE SYNAGOGUE”  for three months (Acts 18:19;19:1-8). Understand that BIOLOGICAL GENTILES WERE NOT ALLOWED IN THE SYNAGOGUES under threat of death. In the synagogues Paul preached to Israelites, not Gentiles. Nearing the end of his life, Paul told King Agrippa that he was on trial for telling THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL about God’s promise to them. It was to Gentilized (heathenized) Israelites that Paul ministered in each town, village and city wherever he went. As he told King Agrippa in Acts 26:7,28:20, he was on trial for ministering to Israelites, not biological Gentiles. His and the other apostles’ commission was to reconcile the twelve Tribes of Israel to each other then back to God (2 Cor. 5:18,19). To do this they all–Jews and Gentilized Israelites–had to be grafted into God’s “good olive tree.” Romans 11:17-24 describes the process by which Israel had to be broken off from Gentile religions and grafted back into His religion–His New Covenant Church–the “Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16).

For the first 12 to 20 years the New Covenant Church was populated primarily by Israelites who had returned to God through the ministries of the 12 apostles and Paul. One such church was located in the city of Rome. In his letter to the church leader, Paul asked him what advantage did the Jews have when it came to salvation. He then answered the question: “Much in every way” in that they had the Word– the “oracles of God”–the Old Testament, specifically the Ten Commandments (Rom. 3:1,2). It had been the Jews, not the other tribes, that had maintained knowledge of and obedience to the Law. This had been to their advantage (Acts 7:36-38/Rom. 3:2/Heb. 5:12). Note in Acts 7:36-38 that Israel had been given  the “living oracles” … to give to US” (the New Covenant Church). Paul went on to tell the Jewish leader(s) of the Church of Rome that it was their responsibility to teach both Gentilized Israelites (called “Gentiles”) and biololgical Gentile proselytes the Ten Commandment Law and how to obey it (Rom. 2:231-24). Because Jews had held onto the Law, Jesus said that salvation is of the Jews (Jn. 4:22). Salvation results from obeying the Law in letter and spirit with faith in Him. Because they have the Law, the only thing separating Law-keeping Jews from salvation is faith in Jesus Christ. Because the Jews had been taught the Law from birth, they indeed had a distinct “advantage.”

In Romans 2:12-24 Paul pointed out a serious problem–church leaders were disobeying the very Law they were teaching new converts. He reminded them that it was not the hearers of the Law who were justified, but “… the DOERS OF THE LAW shall be (remain) justified” (2:13-15). Remember that Gentiles are defined by God as those who “… have not the Law” (Rom:2:14). For the first two decades of the church’s existence, Paul and the other apostles ministered to Israelites who knew or knew about the Law. It was to them that they preached and wrote. It was only later in their ministries that Gentiles in general were offered eternal life, and then only if they became spiritual Israelites.

In First Corinthians 12:2 and Ephesians 2:11 Paul said that many in those churches were “FORMER (SPIRITUAL) GENTILES, meaning that they were Israelites who had lived as heathen/Gentiles prior to returning to God spiritually, thereby becoming the New Covenant Church. If one is a biological Gentile one will always be a biological Gentile. A biological Israelite will always be a biological Israelite. The “former Gentiles” Paul was addressing were biological Israelites who had lived as spiritual Gentiles before returning to God.

In Romans 7:1 Paul reminded the Israelites who comprised the majority of the church in Rome: “Do you not know, brethren, that the Law has dominion over a man as long as he lives?” Paul was addressing his Israelite “brethren” in the NEW COVENANT CHURCH who had an advantage over Gentiles in that they had the “oracles of God”–His Word/Law (Rom. 3:1,2). Paul was a Benjamite–a “Jew.” When he used the word “we” he included himself among the Israelites. In Romans 8:28-39 he reminded them that they were the CALLED according to God’s purpose, that He FOREKNEW and PREDESTINED THEM to be conformed to Christ’s image so that they could qualify for salvation. Nowhere does God say this about biological Gentiles. However, they are not excluded from the promises of God. Along with Gentilized Israelites, they must meet God’s requirements in order to qualify for eternal life. To be continued. L.J.