God’s people, as identified and characterized by the Lord Himself through His prophets and apostles, are members of His true church which He calls the “Church of God” (Acts 20:28) and the “Israel of God” (Gal. 6:16). His tiny world-wide congregation is comprised of spiritual Israelites whom He defines as those who obey His Word/Commandments/Law/Truth (1 Jn. 2:3-5/Mat. 19:17). This rejected and despised group (Mat. 7:13,14) know, believe and obey the Words Christ Himself wrote on stone with His finger. Read The God of the Old Testament. Key word–Old. We ended the first segment of this series by asking the questions: Who are God’s people and how does He identify them in His Holy Scriptures? Let us resume answering those questions using the Words of the Lord Himself.

We will do so by returning to Matthew’s letter to the true Church of God then and now where he informs us that Jesus came to earth to “RULE HIS PEOPLE ISRAEL.” A RULER RULES his people by RULES which he himself has created. In the case of the Biblical God, those rules are recorded in a Book known as the Holy Bible. Note that God RULES. He does not offer suggestions, nor does He provide options to His dictates. Man has two choices: GOD’S WAY OR THE HIGHWAY. As Jesus prophesied would be the case, the open, easily accessed and traveled highway is crowded while one must “find” His way (Mat. 7:13,14).

God’s RULES for living now and throughout eternity are called by several names, including “the Gospel.” People who reject the Old Testament Law are surprised to learn that the New Testament Gospel was also preached to God’s people in the Old Testament (Gal. 3;8/Heb. 4:2). In-depth study reveals that the Gospel (Word/Truth/Law) is called God’s “voice” dozens of times. In each case it refers to God’s WORD/TRUTH/ WILL/ LAW/COMMANDMENTS/GOSPEL/Light.

In Exodus 19:5,6 the Lord (Jesus) told the Old Testament Israelites that if they would obey His “voice” (commandments/Law) they would be unto Him “… a PECULIAR treasure, a kingdom of PRIESTS and a HOLY nation” Note in First Peter 2:9 where the apostle tells true saints in the New Testament Church (the “Israel of God” ) that they were “a CHOSEN generation, a royal PRIESTHOOD, a HOLY nation and a PECULIAR people.” Notice that God, through both Moses and Peter, characterized His obedient servants using some of the SAME TERMS because they believed and obeyed THE SAME LAW/GOSPEL/ COMMANDMENTS. That Moses and Peter were not referring to every Israelite and church member is revealed by Peter’s statement that judgment is on-going in the church and that only those (in the church) who are judged to be righteous will be (later) saved.

Those claiming to be God’s people are judged by the same Gospel regardless of when they lived. In Hebrews 4:2 the Apostle Paul told converted Israelites that the same Gospel that had been preached unto their ancient ancestors had been “preached unto US”–the New Testament Church. THE LAW OF GOD WAS, IS AND WILL FOREVER BE THE GOSPEL THAT WE ALL MUST OBEY IN ORDER TO INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE UPON CHRIST’S RETURN. Read Hope and Salvation. Key word–Hope.

Jesus makes it clear that “… WE (including Jesus) MUST FULFILL (manifest) ALL (MANIFESTATIONS OF) RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Mat. 4:4). In verse 10 He told Satan that even he (Satan) was required to “… worship the Lord your God and serve only Him.” Note that Satan has the same Lord as do all of us. If we obey Him we are in league with Jesus. If we disobey Him we are in league with Satan. Worshiping and serving are exhibited through our thoughts, words and deeds–obedience. If one does not obey the Lord in those three areas, religiously worshiping Him and serving Him are a waste of time and effort. Jesus confirmed this Truth in Mark 7:7 where He noted that certain people “… do WORSHIP ME (religiously), but their hearts are far from Me.” Their problem was that they did not obey His Words, but rather obeyed the “commandments of men”–a collection of beliefs today known as church doctrine. Church doctrine is an abomination unto God because it exists. Church doctrine consists of what God should have said, and what He would have said if He had been counseled by the founders of church denominations, each of whom had a “new and improved” version of the Holy Scriptures by which they drew church people to themselves. Following this, each false prophet’s followers declared their leader’s doctrines to be “the Gospel,” formed different groups, gave their group a name and called it “the church” and began to put forth its doctrines as “thus saith the Lord.” Jesus said that all people would be judged by the Words found within the Holy Bible (Jn. 12:48). This places church doctrine in the spiritual commode where it belongs. However, the people simply jump into the commode, believing that they are in the presence of God. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE SATAN’S POWER OF THE WHOLE OF WORLD RELIGION. Only God’s “remnant” remains free from its stench.

THE BIBLE IS THE ONLY DOCTRINE USED BY GOD’S TRUE SAINTS. The people Jesus came to save –GOD’S PEOPLE–worship and serve Him through obedience to the Words He arranged to be spoken and recorded by the prophets and apostles. Christ’s statement that man must live by the Word of God did not include a caveat–a excuse to change it. Church doctrines are based on man’s various interpretations of God’s Word, which He calls sin (2 Pet. 1:20). Church members hear those interpretations on Sunday morning. Refusing to study God’s Word (2 Tim. 2:15; 3:16) and to compare the teachings of their leaders to God’s Word (1 Jn. 4:1), church people remain ignorant of His Word. This ignorance has created a self-inflicted spiritual wound which only true conversion can heal. Read The Process of Salvation. Key word–Process.

In Matthew 5:14-18 Jesus answers the “how to” question relative to what one must do in order to be a child of God. In John 8:12 Jesus describes Himself as THE (singular) LIGHT of the world. In Matthew 5:14 He tells the disciples that they are THE (singular) LIGHT of the world. These were 13 different men who were ONE SINGULAR LIGHT. They obviously possessed ONE THING that made them all ONE LIGHT. That ONE THING WAS THE WORD OF GOD–His love letter to mankind which tells us that He loves us, that He wants us to join Him in paradise, and how to make that happen. In verse 16 Jesus equates one’s LIGHT to WORKS that glorify the heavenly Father. In verse 17 Jesus reveals that God’s LIGHT is His LAW by stating that He did not come to destroy the Law (put out His LIGHT), but rather to FULFILL IT–to live (“walk”) it through His thoughts, words and deeds.

In First John 2:6 the apostle tells us that if we are truly God’s people (His LIGHT) we will “walk” (shine) even as Jesus “walked” (shined) during His earthly life. Jesus “fulfilled all righteousness” by “walking (living) the Law (LIGHT)–God’s Truth. Jesus said of Himself: “I am the way, the Truth and the life (Jn. 14:6). In John 17:17 He said that God’s Word was His Truth. In Isaiah 42:41 we are told that the Messiah would come to earth to “magnify the Law and make it honorable (again).” In First John 3:4 God defines sin as breaking that Law. In Matthew 5:48 Jesus commands those who call themselves God’s People: “Be you Righteous even as your Father in heaven is righteous.” Righteousness is the absence of sin, therefore obeying the Law makes one righteous. In Isaiah 55:7 the prophet tells us that only those who “forsake their sins (stop breaking the Law) will receive mercy from God.” Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:18 that every letter, punctuation mark, etc. of the Law will remain as long as heaven and earth exist.

As is always the case, EVERYTHING COMES BACK TO THE WORD. Read Psalm 119 which was the chapter in His Holy word that God directed me to when He called me to this ministry. I was drawn to it like metal to a magnet. That Psalm told me how important His Word is to Him and that exalting His Word was the foundation of the ministry to which He was calling me. In retrospect, I have found that In every experience of my 82 years of life, whether positive or negative, I have found God’s Word to be true without exception. Truly, what we sow, we reap. His Word–His love letter to mankind–is a living entity that proves itself to be true without exception IF, AND ONLY IF, HIS CONDITIONS ARE MET. We find those “IFs” in His “fine print” which this ministry was created to do.

The Holy Scriptures answer the question found in the title to this series: Who Are God’s People? God’s people are Israelites and biological Gentiles who have become spiritual Israelites by obeying His Law/Commandments/Light/Truth/Gospel with faith that doing so will prompt the Lord to fulfill His God’s promises now and in the future. L.J.