What Did Paul Mean by All Israel being Saved?

I mentioned this briefly in a previous post but I feel I should explain it further. What God has always looked for is people who would trust and love him. He chose Abraham and made a nation from his offspring to be a light to the world. It was through them that Jesus was born. He also lived a perfect life, died to ransom those who believed in him and his father, then rose again.

In Romans Chapter nine, Paul explains that not all Israelites are of the ethnic nation. There's a spiritual Israel made up of all who are trusting in God. As he noted in Galatians 3:6 (KJV), "Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness."

Throughout the Old Testament, we can also find this truth. Habakkuk 2:4 (KJV) says, "Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith."

These just ones are in the Israel of God. As Paul wrote in Romans 9:6to 8 (BBE), "But it is not as if the word of God was without effect. For they are not all Israel, who are of Israel: And they are not all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but, 'In Isaac will your seed be named.' That is, it is not the children of the flesh, but the children of God's undertaking, who are named as the seed."

Paul used Isaac as a picture of the children of promise. Since Jesus came from that lineage, and since we are adopted into his family through our belief in him, we too are the children of promise.

And as Jesus said to the Pharisees in John 10:16 (KJV), "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."

So Christ is our good shepherd and we are included with the sheep he has from Israel's flock. As he said in Matthew 25:32 (KJV), "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:"

I could write so much more about the awesome promise of being the Lord's people. I'll save that instead for my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Whoever isn't following Christ is following the Devil, no matter how nice they might seem. People need to realize that and repent of their stubborn refusal of his magnanimous offer.

Mormonism Vs. Christianity on Humanity

Now that I've shown the differences between Mormon and Christian beliefs in the persons of God and Christ, I need to examine why we were created.

Firstly, God made this world for us to live on. Genesis 2:15  (KJV) reads, "And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it."

The answer for God creating us is to bring him glory. As 1 Chronicles 16:29 (KJV) says, "Give unto the LORD the glory due unto  his name: bring an offering, and come before him: worship the  LORD in the beauty of holiness."

Mormons, on the other hand, believe that we existed as spirit beings before our births and that Adam and Eve were immortal. So Satan lured the first two humans into sin so they would become mortal and be able to have flesh-and-blood children. Mormons claim that there are many "spirit children" birthed by Heavenly Father and Heavenly Mother but they needed bodies of flesh. Adam and Eve were allowed to sin and become mortal so many pre-existent spirits could start their journey toward godhood by being born into human bodies.

That's a far cry from the sentences God dished out to all sinners through our two founding parents, as well as to Satan, in Genesis 3:14-19. "And the LORD God said unto the serpent, 'Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.' Unto the woman he said, 'I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.' And unto Adam he said, 'Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, "Thou shalt not eat of it:" cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.'"

Adam and Eve could have had children before the fall but Satan lured them into committing sin against God. The Lord also gave humanity a huge privilege in choosing to follow or reject him. By doing this, the eventual result would be far better in the long run. Even so, Adam and Eve fell.

And as for planets upon which we'll raise future god children, Christ put an end to that Sadducee nonsense when he said in Matthew 22:30 (KJV)  "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven."

At the end of history, humanity will be separated into two groups, those bound for heaven and those bound for hell. Jesus explained in Matthew 25:32 (KJV), "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:"

Mormons and other deceived individuals must understand that Jesus is eternal and that the honorific "son" is meant to describe his special status with the Father, not his supposed condition as a procreated spirit being.

I'll be writing much more about the deity and eternality of Christ in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? Since eternity is endless and there's no "do overs," it's vital that all of us make the right choice here before we die.

Are You A Sheep or a Goat?

 Previously, I mentioned why it's important to have a personal relationship with Christ. This has relevance for our lives now but it also guarantees our place with Jesus when he makes a new heaven and earth.

Look at what the Lord said in Matthew 25:32 (KJV). "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and  he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth  his sheep from the goats:" On Judgement Day, everybody who has ever lived will stand before God, the judge of all peoples.

As John wrote in Revelation 11:18 (KJV), "And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is  come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and  that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets,  and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great;  and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth."

Only God has the right to destroy and create. In fact, The Apostle Peter wrote about how all matter will dissolve with a roar at the end of this age. It says in 2 Peter 3:11 (KJV), "Seeing then that all these things shall be  dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy  conversation and godliness... " This is why the material things of this world don't matter in light of eternity. It's our conduct and submission to Christ that counts.

My next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven? will deal in depth with this subject, as will my future blog posts. Watch this space.