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Soli Deo Gloria is the writing and teaching ministry of Baruch Maoz for Israel. Baruch is engaged in writing original commentaries on the Bible, and theological and practical works in Hebrew. Some of his books are available in English. His Critique of the Messianic Movement, Come Let Us Reason Together: The Unity of Jews and Gentiles in the Church, has been published by P&R, and his Devotional Commentary, Malachi: A Prophet in Times of Distress, Colossians: The All-Sufficient Christ, Galatians: It is Finished by Founders Press. Shepherd Press produced his Devotional Commentary Jonah: A Prophet on the Run. All are available from Barnes and Noble and Amazon.
Baruch has written a series of commentaries in Hebrew on all of the Minor prophets (but -- so far- Zachariah) Matthew, Romans. Galatians and Colossians. He has written devotional commentaries on Genesis - Judges, I Timothy - Jude., an Introduction to the Life and Epistles of Paul, an Introduction to Systematic Theology, and edited a modern translation of the Old Testament into spoken Hebrew. He is presently translating the New Testament into Modern Hebrew and engaged in other writing projects, including a book on how to understand the Bible, with an emphasis on the OT. His book on church life and structure is being prepared for the press. Meanwhile, he is engaged in translating and writing Bible study notes on the Bible. To date, Baruch is the only author writing Christian theological and exegetical literature n Hebrew.
Baruch and Bracha are Israeli Jewish Christians who have served in Israel for 5 decades now. Between April 1974 and December 2006 Baruch served with Christian Witness to Israel, most of that time as Israel Field Leader. Between May 1975 and December 2008 he served as Pastor of Grace and Truth Christian Congregation in Rishon LeTsion, Israel. Our website reflects the experiences gained in the course of that time. In March 2020 he and his wife relocated to the Seattle WA area, where he continues to write for the Hebrew reading public.
Our quarterly newsletter, MaozNews, is available for the asking, with back-issues to be found on this website (Baruch's Writings/News From Israel). To subscribe, click the address at bottom of this page. His faceBook and Linkedin pages serve as blogs and provide almost daily information on the scene in Israel. His postings are also available via Twitter: @BaruchMaoz
Al Mohler and the Present Uproar in Israel
Israel is Experiencing the Tyranny of the Majority
What Is Happening in Israel https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ecbexolj1p8alu3b1oq8x/What-is-Happeneing-in-Israel.pdf?rlkey=webly2hs3339tr0mu5nhi9m53&dl=0
A Crown of Righteousness
A Message preached at the 2023 International Pastors's Conference
https://www.dropbox.com/s/1ssaad6fnkn78rs/Crown of Righteousness.docx?dl=0
We've A Message to the Nation
Baruch's address at the 2021 RBNet Annual Conference
To read, click on the following link. To download, go to Articles on this website
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q2qnn1bla5t4bff/RBNet%20Address%20copy.docx?dl=0
Torah, Law, Justification and Sanctification in the Letter to the Romans
https://www.dropbox.com/s/mqbnscp34e7mpjw/The%20Law%20and%20law%20in%20Romans.docx?dl=0
Soli Deo Gloria (Baruch Maoz)
11821 52nd Ave SE, Everett WA 98208
Cell 216.288.1375
bmaoz@themaozweb.com, bmaoz@gmx.com
MaozNews No. 160
May 2023 Published every quarter or so
© 2023 Baruch Maoz
The Tumultuous Scene in Israel, pg. 1
Findings Related to Biblical Kings of Israel and Judah, pg. 1 Ministry News, pg. 4
Family News, pg. 4
The Tumultuous Scene in Israel
The Government’s efforts to free itself of any form of oversight by rendering the Court, the only effective means of overseeing Governmental initiatives has caused widespread and continuing protest. The personalities that make up Netanyahu’s present Government, the conduct of the Government and additional proposed legislation has added fuel to the fire of the national protests.
Rendering the Judicial system beholden to the Government; freeing the growing sector of Orthodox young men, now in the tens of thousands, from the duty of national service while funding their decades-long religious studies at the expense of the rest of society and requiring the rest of the population to enlist and serve for decades; reducing taxation on commodities primarily used by the Orthodox and increasing subsidies to Orthodox families at a time when the price of other foods increases exponentially; the diversion of funds from Israel proper to the West Bank settlements; the constant provocation of Palestinians; the Minister of Homeland Security’s intervention in the day-to- day running of the police and the creation of a National Guard under his control; the consistent denial of economic realities; Netanyahu’s attempt to fire a popular Defense Minster simply because he called for a stall in the legislative process and for a national conversation – these are but some of the issues that have added fuel to the fire of protests by hundreds of thousands throughout the country, at the time of writing into their 16th week
Time will tell, but it is unlikely that the present Government will last.
Meanwhile, Israel’s enemies – Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas – mistakenly sense a weakening of Israel national resolve and are ramping up efforts to promote unrest between Israel and the Palestinians, to kill or capture Israelis abroad and to encroach on Israel’s borders. There should be no room for doubt: if Israel is threatened form without, the nation will set aside its differences, come together and drive off any meaningful threats.
Findings Related to Biblical Kings of Israel and Judah
Based on an article by Judy Siegel-Itzkovitch, Ha’Arets, December 12, 2022
What has been described as “one of the most important archaeological discoveries in Israel of all time” consists of five monumental, royal inscriptions of King Hezekiah of Judah, recently found. The process still continues but dozens of lines and hundreds of letters have been already deciphered. The inscriptions mention the name of Hezekiah, and summarize the king’s major activities in the first 17 years of his reign, including the water project (the cutting of the Siloam Tunnel and the pool – II Kings 20:20), the ritual reform he initiated II Kings 18:4), the conquest of Philistia (II Kings 18:8) and the accumulation of property.
Professor Gershon Galil, formerly Chairman of the Haifa University’s department of Jewish History, says that the inscriptions indicate the exact date on which the water project was completed – 2 Tammuz in the 17th year of the reign of Hezekiah, that is to say, 709 B. “It is now the higher chronology that precedes the reign of Hezekiah in 726 BCE is to be preferred, as I emphasize in my book on chronology published in 1996. These are the most complete royal inscriptions we have", Galil said. Galil earned his doctorate from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He wrote The Chronology of the Kings of Israel and Judah, suggesting a new chronology for the kings of ancient Israel and ancient Judah.
One of the inscriptions was carved into the rock to the right of the entrance to tunnel #4 in the round room of the Canaanite pool next to them Gihon spring. Exactly 48 centimeters wide and 38 cm long, it is located 140 cm above the floor. The frame of the inscription was discovered in 1909 by Louis-Hugues Vincent, who believed there was no inscription, but only a frame and a leveled surface prepared for an unwritten text, Galil explains. “This is what all the other researchers claimed for the past 113 years. But recently, an extremely impressive inscription is to be found within the frame. Although eroded by time, the vast majority of the letters are legible," he explained. What does the ancient biblical inscription say? Following is a verbatim quote of the inscription that includes 11 lines, 64 words, and 243 letters:
This “summary inscription,” Galil continued, “is arranged in literary order, not chronologically, and divided into five components: title, the water project, the wars against Philistia, the reform and the accumulation of property. It includes scriptures that appear verbatim or with slight changes in the Bible, such as: ‘Hezekiah son of Ahaz, king of Judah,’ ‘Made the pool and the conduit,’ ‘brought ... the water into the city,’ ‘smote the Philistines ... as far as Gaza,’ ‘broke the images and broke in pieces the ... Nehushtan and he removed the high places and cut down the Asherah... in all his treasure houses and in the house of YHWH, silver ... and gold, perfumes and good ointment’ (see 2 Kings 18: 1, 4, 8; 20: 13, 20).
“These are actually the earliest manuscripts of the Bible. They predate the Ketef
Hinnom silver amulets by about 100 years and the Dead Sea Scrolls by hundreds of years. They also support the claim that scriptures in the Book of Kings are based on texts originating from chronicles and royal inscriptions, and that the Bible reflects historical reality, not imagination” (The Ketef Hinnom scrolls were discovered near the Old City of Jerusalem in 1979 and – until now – were believed to be the oldest surviving texts of the Bible, dating back to about 600 BC, the First Temple period).
The new inscription he deciphered does not mention the relations with Assyria, the Chaldeans, Egypt, the kingdoms of Transjordan, the activity in Samaria, Hezekiah’s war with the nomads or the fact that the conquests in Philistia were lost in 712 BCE . The reason for that is that royal inscriptions refer exclusively successes and serve are summary commendatory inscriptions, not full descriptions of the kings’ deeds, Galil noted.
“These new inscriptions provide answers to many issues debated by scholars over the years. They prove Hezekiah carried out a comprehensive reform (before 709 BCE, and he conquered Philistia and stationed soldiers there (in 712 BCE), as I argued in my book, and as pointed out in the ‘Azekah inscription.’ Moreover, Hezekiah is without question the king who built the pool and the Siloam Tunnel. The term ‘Oreb’ is mentioned here for the first time, which until now was known only in its Akkadian form: Urbi, clearly is derived, as Tadmor claims, from the Hebrew term oreb.”High quality photographs of other inscriptions, presently house in Istanbul’s Archeological Museum, provided further exciting discoveries.
Further examination of the Siloam inscription led to the discovery of additional texts which included a repeats of Hezekiah’s name and of his main deeds, similar to summary inscription #3. “It turns out that two more lines are written on the stone found in Istanbul. Moreover, inside the Siloam Tunnel, another five lines survived, below the place where the inscription was carved by robbers and later transported to Istanbul in a clear frame; the bottom line is 70 cm above the tunnel floor, that is, very close to the water. It now becomes clear that the Siloam inscription included 13 lines and 428 letters, and not (as previously thought) six lines and some 200 letters."
The discovery is dramatic, Galil declared. “Parts of the Siloam inscription are found today in the City of David in Jerusalem, inside the Siloam Tunnel; they have remained there since the inscription was composed—2,731 years ago. The inscriptions will soon be published in Hebrew and English, accompanied by high-quality photographs, detailed linguistic, historical and paleographical discussions, in the forthcoming book by Gershon Galil and Eli
Ministry News
Bible study notes: I have completed notes on of all of the New Testament up to Peter’s letters. I will then need to go over the project as a whole insert improvements alighted upon in the course of the work and correct mistakes. I aim to complete the project by October of this year, if not sooner – the sooner I can do so, the fewer the expenses to the project itself. As to the impact of this, see below.
The translation of the New Testament has been completed, leading to a happy end of a project commenced 27 years ago, with our five-volume translation of the Old Testament. The New Testament is to be published in one volume. I’ve also completed writing a book (in Hebrew and in English) on the doctrine of God – much needed in Israel because there is no other book on the subject.
I completed editing my book on church life and structure, incorporating my publisher’ comments. It is now being editied. I continue to make good progress with my book on hermeneutics. Once I have completed this project, I need to focus on writing the last of my Minor Prophet commentaries – the one on Zachariah. Other commentaries are in view, particularly on the Ephesians and on Ezekiel.
God willing I will be in Israel from mid-October to early December. If Bracha finally receives her Green card, she will come with me and remain for another month. So far, all but one of my weekends in the country are booked by various churches, as are a growing number of mid-weekdays. The Reformed churches have asked me to teach a seminar on the Christian view of authority. I am preparing a four- lecture series, first laying down the grounds of authority (the Trinity), its purpose (to glorify God by the holy welfare of God’s people), and its use (with humility and caution, loving courage, gentle firmness and holy kindness). The following lectures will discuss the Christian view of authority in society, the church and the family. I am finding prepatory work on the seminar to be enlightening.
I resigned my post as an Elder of King’s Cross’ having agreed to serve for an interim period to assist the church get over the hump our of Pastor’s departure, and while the church sought a new Pastor. God kindly blessed the church in the period following the Pastor’s departure, among other ways by guiding our search for a Pastor, who was installed past January and has fitted into the life and ministry of the church very well. I did not deem it necessary for me to continue to serve as an Elder and therefore tendered my resignation. As of June of this year, I hope to revert to my previous workload, somewhat reducing the hours I spend at my computer and devoting a bit more time to my family.
Family News
Avital and Eran visited Israel recently, primarily to spend time with Maya, their daughter, who completed her term of military service and is preparing to take up her studies in Industrial Psychology. Eran’s employer, Texas Instruments, has been taken hostage by hackers who demand a ransom. In consequence, the company’s activity has been paused and many are likely to lose their jobs. Noam in now living and working in the emergency ward of San Diego Children’s Hospital and enjoying it immensely. Nadav continues his active interest in football.
Keith’s health is reasonably stable. He has just commenced a full-time job and seems to be doing well. Shlomit continues to teach the local classical Christian school, where her and Keith’s children study. She enjoys the work very much. Marcus, Tamar and their children are well: Yotam is attending a Christian school, reading voraciously and developing an eager Christian attitude. He is soon to travel to Israel, where he is to spend a month with family friends. Shai is doing well, as is Didi.
Bracha and I are well. We eagerly await what we hope will be the issuance of her Green Card enabling her, as noted above, to travel with me to Israel. The completion of the Bible notes project will result in the loss of some 40% of our annual income. We have a reserve that, hopefully, will make up for the loss for a period, but will be seeking to supplement our income by broadening the basis of our support. It is our hope that I will be able to be gainfully employed five more years from now, until December 31st, 2028, when income from our annuities will kick in, and then at a reduced rate until mid-2030, when we will be entitled to Medicare and to Social Security. Of course, our times are in God’s good hands, but there is so much that needs to be done for the church in Israel, so much that needs to be written, that I hope in the Lord to continue to write so long as I have clarity of mind. I shall be 80 years old at the end of this year, 85 in 2028 and 87 in 2030 so, that is a lot for which to hope, but no one has ever been faulted for hoping. I am grateful beyond words to those churches and individuals who support our labors in prayer and financial support, especially to Faith Reformed Baptist Church in Media PA, for their oversight and for their very generous financial support, harking all the way back to 1976 (or is it 1974?). Few churches maintain such long-term faithful support.
Thank you for your prayers and for your fellowship in the Gospel, Yours in the sweet bonds of Christ and all the joys of the Gospel, Baruch for the two Maozes
Support for our ministry should be sent to Reformed Baptist Network, 860 Peachcrest Ct. NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505 USA. Bank details for direct transfers are Chase Bank, Plainfield Four Mile 3539 Plainfield Ave. NE Grand Rapids, MI 49525, Account Number: 236738891. The routing number for domestic wire transfers is 021000021. The Swiftcode for international transfers is CHASUS33. Kindly indicate: For Baruch Maoz’ ministry. All contributions are tax deductable. Please do not send contributions directly to us.
Witnessing to Jews about Jesus
(A Series of Questions to which I was asked to respond)
Q. Do you believe that JESUS (YESHUA) is the Messiah?
A. I do, most decidedly.
Q.Do you believe in the gospel?
A. By the grace of God, I do.
Q. What is the gospel?
A. The message by which God has chosen to glorify himself by calling sinners to be born again, believe, repent – that is, turn from their sin, including their sinful self-centered lives – put their trust in Jesus and his finished work, and live in loving obedience in fellowship with God and for the glory of God.
Q. Do you believe the New Testament completes the Tanakh (Old Testament)?
A. I would prefer to say that the Old Testament leads us to the New and the New Testament sends us back to the Old. The Old Testament is complete in itself, sufficient to equip the man of God for every good work.
Q. What is/are your primary way(s) of witnessing?
A. Seeking to live in practical ways for the glory of God and in obedience to his word, speaking up where and when both possible and appropriate. I believe that the church is the instrument God established for evangelism and that most true conversions occur through the faithful, consistent preaching ministry of the church.
Q. Which is a better way to witness to Jews: deeds of love, words of the Tanakh, music, a social movement, combination, something more relevant, attention-getting, edgy?
A. The real barrier is not cultural; it is that shared by all humanity: sinful self-assertion, a claim of autonomy, the love of pleasure. So-called cultural barriers are merely a smoke-screen, a convenient argument.
Q. What kinds of cultural differences are barriers to Jews coming to faith?
A. None, except the culture of sin.
Q. Have you ever worried about your safety for your beliefs or witnessing to Jews about the Messiah? Have you worried about your safety when discussing the Tanakh with religious Jews?
A. “Worried” would not be the best term to employ – we trust in God. The church I served in Israel, my family and I did experience some attempts to harass us. There was at least one attempt on my life.
Q. Do you use the Bible or Bible passages to witness?
A. I abhor proof-texting and wresting texts out of their contexts. I prefer to focus on the principle concepts (the theology) of the Bible.
Q. Do you use the New Testament (Berit Hahadasha) to witness about the Messiah?
A. To a limited extent, when I deem it appropriate. But the New Testament is not considered by Jews in any way reliable or authoritative.
Q. Which is your favorite Old Testament passage to bring up to Jews? Why is this your favorite?
A. I have none such. I believe it is wrong to latch on to formulas. People are individuals and should be loved and respected and treated as such. That is how God made them.
Q. Do you use eschatological texts or arguments to bring the gospel to Jews?
A. Eschatology is a tangent, a diversion from the real issues. Eschatology is more a fundamentalist Evangelical preoccupation. It does not play a significant role in Jewish thinking. It plays no real role in Jewish lives – except for the buttressing of territorial demands made by some Israelis.
Q. Which kinds of literature in the Tanakh are best for witnessing to Jews about Yeshua? Prophecy: Specific prophecies (ex. Isaiah 53)? Prophetic poetry (ex. Ps 22)?
A. Only when interpreted in context, both historical’ literary and textual context.
Q. Law: Ceremonial law governing sacrifices and offerings? Civil justice system and penal code? Moral law?
A. The issue here is the principles enunciated by the details, not the details themselves. God’s terrible, beautiful holiness, the perfection of his demands and our failure to meet them.
Q. Typology: Typological foreshadowing in history (ex. David’s greater Son)? Typological poetry (ex. typology in Song of Songs)?
A. Never – the rabbis interpreted the typology in directly obverse directions. Typology has no objective force.
Q. Covenant: Adamic, Noaic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, New Covenant, God’s “forever” promises?
A. Only to indicate the point to the fact that Jews are doubly obliged to the Gospel.
Q. Do you find yourself using debate in your witness? Which debates about the Tanakh are most interesting to Jews? Theology? Dietary law? Sacrifices? Typologies? Afterlife?
A. One cannot argue anyone into the kingdom. Saving faith is the product of God’s Spirit applying God’s word. To argue is to rationalize, subjecting the word of God to human reason. I prefer to declare, authoritatively. The rest is between the hearer and God.
Q. What are the most common debates or discussions about? Are there less popular issues that are more important?
A. The relativity of sin, man’s ability or inability to earn merit before God, the divine claims of Christ, the very idea of atonement.
Q. Does your witness tend to focus on a personal relationship with JESUS? His atonement? His righteousness? His sonship? His deity? His guiding Spirit? Pentecost and ecclesiology?
A. Among the topics you mentioned – the atonement Jesus achieved. But that is not where I would begin. Before a person recognizes the existence of God, he or she can know nothing of God’s holiness. Before they recognize God’s awesome holiness, they can know nothing of sin. Before they recognize sin, they can know nothing of their sinfulness, its paralyzing impact and their need of a savior. Only then can they recognize their need for atonement.
Q. How do Jews understand and apply biblical law in their lives?
A. They do not understand God's Law and certainly do not apply – they do not live by the laws of the Bible but by rabbinic interpretations and distortions.
Q. How can Christians use this as a witness to the gospel?
A. By indicating the sinfulness of those who accord those traditional interpretations any form of validity and by affirming the duty of every man to stand before God without the intervention of an authoritative interpreter.
Q. How do Jews understand and apply history and eschatology in their lives?
A. History is largely viewed as the story of Jewish suffering and of Gentile persecution. It is largely viewed in terms of "us" and "them".
Q. How can Christians use this as a witness to the gospel?
A. By accepting responsibility for a shameful past, disowning the principles that shaped that past and avoid so-called “loving” Jews for the sake of evangelism or because they hope we Jews will fulfill their eschatological expectations.
You can help by purchasing copies of Baruch’s books from Barnes & Noble or from Amazon, by asking for them at your local bookstore and by posting reviews of these books on Barnes & Noble or Amazon websites. Positive reviews help us sell. Details below:
Come Let Us Reason Together (On the Unity of Jews and Gentiles in the Church). Christ as the fullness of divine revelation and his work as sufficient for our whole salvation,
Presbyterian and Reformed.
Jonah: A Prophet on the Run a devotional commentary on the book of Jonah,
Shepherd Press.
Malachi: A Prophet in Times of Distress a devotional commentary on the book of Malachi. Founders Press.
Colossians: The All-Sufficient Savior a devotional commentary on the book of Colossians.
Founders Press.
Soon to be available: Galatians: He Did it All a devotional commentary on the book of Galatians. Founders Press.
The commentaries are suited for personal devotions and group studies
Baruch’s sermons may be heard on Sermon Audio
To remain abreast of developing circumstances in Israel, visit the MaozWeb
or “follow” Baruch on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (@BaruchMaoz)
Support for our ministry should no longer be sent to Berean Baptist Church. All support should be sent to Reformed Baptist Network, 860 Peachcrest Ct. NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505 USA. Bank details for direct transfers are Chase Bank, Plainfield Four Mile 3539 Plainfield Ave. NE Grand Rapids, MI 49525, Account Number: 236738891. The routing number for domestic wire transfers is 021000021. The Swiftcode for international transfers is CHASUS33. Please indicate: For Baruch Maoz’ ministry
All contributions are tax deductable. Please do not send contributions directly to us.
Dear XXXX,
I cannot and dare not presume to be able to indicate the reasons for your own personal conflict -- all too many factors are beyond my reach. We all have our background experiences, are well as our social and emotional baggage, and we often function on differing sets of expectations and assumptions. I do hope in the Lord that my following response will be helpful top you, but must restrict myself to generalities. To the extent that these touch upon your conflict, you will be able to apply them more wisely than I would.
Rather than address each of the issues you raise, allow me to focus on what I think is the main one,namely then sense of estrangement due to the apparent conflict between your faith in Christ and your Jewish ethnic and cultural identity.
That such a conflict exists in fact is undeniable. Two thousand years of conflict have made that to be the case. Both church and synagogue worked hard at estranging their respective members from each other. Initially, it was not so. Fatih in Jesus is as Jewish as kosher food, Matsa balls and Sabbath candles -- no! It is far more authentically Jewish because those customs came later and are in no sense the product of God's revelation to our fathers through the prophets, whereas faith in Jesus is the inevitable, natural consequence of faith in the truths God taught our people from the first day of Abraham's calling, through Moses and the giving of the Law, by means of the prophets and in the course of our scripturally recorded history.
The synagogue has with determination to create a distance between Jewish fealty to God and to inspired faith and custom on the one hand and a living faith in Jesus on the other. The church followed with its own version of disenfranchisement, buttressed by an anti-Semitism that paralleled Jewish disparagement of Gentiles.
A dark hue of anti-Semitism invaded the life of the church and has, to a meaningful extent, colored its view of scripture, determined its reading of scripture and crystalized, on the one hand, a largely unconscious suspicion of anything Jewish and, on the other, a fascination with Jewish matters as if they were playthings or relics of a long-gone past that shed light on presently cherished truths. That has become part of the church's culture.
The parallel you draw with blacks may be intuitive, but I believe it to be correct. Much of modern evangelical Christian culture is the product of snow-white American engagement with the Gospel. It is a culture, and cultures incorporate those who belong by excluding those who do not (be they black, Jewish, Hispanic or something else).
You and I, and others like us, are born into such a reality.
The solution many have sought is to accept such a reality and chose between denying their giftings as back, Jews, hispanic or whatever and seek to submerge themselves into a foreign Christian culture. Such a choice inevitably creates the kind of conflict you describe experiencing. Although self-denial is to be preferred to self-assertion, and is unquestionably a biblical, Christian virtue, I believe it to be less than biblical.
Others opt for what I believe is a far less biblical option, yet is is the one chosen by the majority, and that is to create their own distinctly separate cultural Christian ghettos in which their culture -- their language, customs and preferences -- become pre-eminent and the major source of shared coherence. Thus Christ is shunted to the sidelines to varying but generally unintended degrees, whereas he should be at the center of all true Christian life, thought, hope, aspiration worship and service.
Your reference to Ephesians Chapter two is apropos. Paul speaks of the One New Man formed in Christ. THAT is what we should reflect.
To that end I believe we Jewish Christians should hesitate to be openly Christian among our people and openly Jewish among our fellow believers, without parading our differences, without making an issue of them. There is no room for Jewishness, blackness or anything else of the sort in the church. God is to be worshiped only as he has commanded. But each of these and others can make a valid contribution to what should become over the course of time a unifying Christian culture, with differing hues naturally imbibed from the context in which any church might find itself.
Such is not the reality today. We have black and white churches, redneck and white collar churches, Korean, Hispanic and Russian churches -- and Messianic Assemblies. None of the4se should exist as such. They are all in need of reformation, attuning themselves to God's word and daring to challenge the world's narcissistic, selfish, exclusivistic preoccupation with itself rather with our glorious God and the majesty of his amazing grace in Christ.
Some of us find living in the context of present reality oppressing. But it can and should become an opportunity to grow. To love patiently and with gentle understanding, to reach out of ourselves and touch others with the grace of the Gospel. To grow to be more like him who, for the joy that was st before him, endured the cross, despised the shame, took on himself the form of a servant and gave himself for many.
For myself, I hope and intend to initiate an effort to encourage Jewish Christians to join themselves without reserve to the church at large while, at the same time and with equal abandon, retain their circumcision rather than deny it, practicing Jewish custom at home and being faithful Christians at home, in church and in the world.
Yours in the grace of the Gospel,
Baruch
Israel, Eschatology and the Church
I was recently asked:
Do you believe that the Church is the New or True Israel however?
Many Reformed folks say Christ constituted a New Israel around Himself and His apostles. Can one hold this view AND believe in a future for ethnic, national Israel per Romans 11?
And where do you stand eschatologically?
Thank you!
I responded:
Dear XXXX,
In response top your inquiries.
I frankly am hard-preesed to find scriptural warrant for the term “spiritual Israel” as I do for “a new Israel”. Both seem to me to smack of the kind of discontinuity between Old and New Covenants against which Calvin and the Puritans protested so firmly. So far as I understand, the “church in the wilderness” is finds its' continuation in the New Testament church, composed of natural branches who have entered their inheritance, and those grafted in contrary to nature, both equal objects of the same grace and sharing in the same hope.
I desire to stand eschatologically where the Bible stands, and am convinced that we have not been well served by the pre- post and a- positions that have been imposed upon the church since John Darby’s days. The real issue in eschatology is not whether we are pre or post the Millenium, or if there is to be one. The real eschatological issue is the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. That is where i stand most firmly.
As to your latter questions, I know of those who affirm that the church has replaced Israel and yet believe that there is biblical promise of (spiritual) hope for ethnic Israel. This seems to be somewhat contradictory, but I may not be understanding their position as carefully as it deserves.
In Chris by grace,
Baruch
A Sermon on the Love of God
http://cpcissaquah.org/sermons/behold-how-great-the-fathers-love/
The Church or Organizations?
I have a growing concern that is in no way unrelated to the scene in Israel and which I believe is relevant in a much wider sphere. My concern has to do with the role of organizations, by which I do not mean inter- or intra-congregational bodies established and meaningfully overseen by churches but those many Christian impressive organizations with which we are all well acquainted.
It is not without wisdom, nor by oversight that our Lord established his church rather than organizations. The truth of the matter is that there is no biblical justification for the existence of such. Some organization pay lip-service to the role that the church ought to play in the lives of those they employ or service and whose work they guide. But the perceived needs and initiatives of the organization always have priority. For example, those who work with or for Christian organizations are often absent from the worship and ongoing activity of the churches to which they belong due to their duties toward the organizations under whose aegis they labor.
In some cases, workers are not accepted accept they come with a recommendation from a church. But such recommendation is more often than not sought after the candidate has been cultivated to some extent by the organization, facing his church with the painful option of either losing him or her altogether, or acceding to their request for a recommendation. In not a few cases, individuals are absorbed into organizations in spite of the lack of such recommendations, sometimes in spite of their unsuitability.
Churches are best equipped by the Lord to measure, recognize, correct and cultivate Christians’ spiritual and moral lives. That is one of the main purposes for which the church was established. Churches are also best equipped by the Lord to exercise spiritual and moral oversight and, when necessary, spiritual and moral discipline. It will not do to simply dismiss someone from an organization without there being meaningful, biblically-authorized pastoral ministration. At times, such ministrations might mean excommunication – all steps which no organization is authorized by God’s word to take, all the more so when the biblical goal of such action is the restoration of the erring brother or sister, not merely getting rid of a troublesome individual or ensuring the good reputation of the organization.
What is more, Christians taken up with the activities of organizations, however valid and important, invest their time, talents and other resources in the context of their organizational callings instead of investing them in the life of their churches. They thereby deplete their churches of gifts the Lord has given to his church, to which church they rightfully belong.
As much is true of the considerable financial resources organizations and volunteeristic (do forgive the invention of a new word) energies organizations take up, sapping the church still further of her strength and vigor.
It is true: in many cases, organizations came into being because the church was not fulfilling its’ duty. But the biblical solution is not to supplant the church, but to reform it.
There are many activities to which the church is called and for which no single church is able to shoulder on its’ own. That is one of the many areas in which churches should recognize they belong one to another, and find ways to work together as the body of Christ. Inner and intra-congregational organizations should be the norm, not modern practice.
In Israel, some excellent organizations are doing a very fine work in the sphere of their perceived callings. For that they are to be commended. But they are doing so at the expense of the church. Not a few of them, awash with financial resources, attract the finest of our talents away from their churches. Local church membership is maintained, but practical engagement in the life of the church is sparse except where they manage to enlist the church in support of their organization’s efforts.
O for the day when Pastors will begin cultivating in the churches they serve a high, biblical, view of the body of Christ! O for the day when Israeli Christians will be taught that the way to belong to the body of Christ is to enlist one’s heart and soul in the life of the church! O for the day when Israeli Christians will be granted a truly biblical view of Christian service and will live out the Gospel in the context of their church life!
*
As regular readers of MaozNews will know, issue 113 carried indication of my concern over the way many organizations replace the church in various spheres. A summary of my argument follows, with responses from well-respected brethren.
According to scripture, our Lord established the church, not organizations. The church is to be a central factor in all shared Christian activity. Organizations often usurp the role of churches as well as the role of the church in individual lives. Lip service I paid to the authority of the church, but often in such a way as to secure the interests of organizations at the expense of the church, sapping her energies and resources.
Churches are best equipped to nurture Christians and to guide them in their endeavors. It is true: in many cases, organizations came into being because the church was not fulfilling its’ duty. But the biblical solution is not to supplant the church, but to reform it.
There are many activities to which the church is called and for which no single church is able to shoulder on its’ own. That is when inter-church cooperation is called for.
Responses received:
Dear Baruch,
I do assent to all that you have said. You described the 'ideal' church in this fallen world. But as I move amongst different kinds of evangelical churches, I am sadly seeing more and more, that the Bride of Christ is like 'Cinderella with Amnesia' - to quote a book title.
How you describe things IS how it SHOULD be. But I am finding that fine young people are not being challenged by their churches to 'look unto the fields'. When they are challenged by others to look (perhaps through their University CU's or by reading good books) and then go back to their churches, they find little enthusiasm there, and sometimes get the "sit down young man" treatment which Carey allegedly received. The churches themselves are failing.
I know our great need is to pray for revival, but the Great Commission is too great to wait for that. I know what you might say - 'let those young people go and find solid outward-looking Reformed churches'. But such churches are few and far between.
Warmly in the Lord,
XXXX
Dear XXXX
I think the problem is that, instead of reforming the church and getting her to do what she should be doing, we set up organizations that, as a result, further weaken her. I’m not calling for an immediate dismantling of all non-church organizations, but I do believe that such bodies should work for their own demise by seeking to challenge, equip and motivate the church.
In Christ by grace,
Baruch
Another brother insisted that Paul’s activity was, in essence, identical to that of a modern Mission organization, with various of his helpers being funded by various churches.
I question that on a number of grounds. First, Paul was sent out by a church, to which he repeatedly returned to report. Second, there is no biblical evidence to the claim that any one of his various helpers were supported by various churches. Third, there is no evidence of and individual church supporting individuals that were not sent out from that church. An important exception is, of course, the church in Philippi, to which Paul was careful to send formal confirmation of receipt. There was nothing of the “golden handshake” with bills being discretely passed from donor to recipient.
The same brother rightly insists on sending churches playing a large role in the oversight of those sent out by them. However, when the interest or considerations of the local church run contrary to those of the organization, it has almost always been the case that the concerns of the sending church were over-ridden by the organization.
This is not to say that I believe missionary organizations should be dismantled at once. Many such organizations are doing a valuable work! But I do believe they should be working toward their own dismantlement by gradually reverting to biblical principles, handing over more and more of their endeavors to churches and subjecting themselves in increasingly meaningful ways to the oversight of churches.
Further reflection from friends, foes and readers is welcome.
(to be continued)
We Need a Reformation
Baruch Maoz 2017
We’re never satisfied unless we’ve made our mark, justified our presence, proven our worth, earned some accolade, gained recognition, been noticed. If someone says something, we have to add our two bits. If anything goes on, we have to be involved – or at the very least appear to be in the know. We do not like to be obligated and would much rather have others obligated to us. “Freedom” is understood as the liberty to do all we want, when we want and as much as we want. “Do your own thing”, “be your own person”, and “be yourself” have become watchwords for a truly successful life. “Be your own boss” is a goal we pursue in all walks of life. That’s why we have so many divorces, church splits and broken friendships: we love ourselves too much, and others merely for our sake.
So, we climb the Everest or win a race, are nice to neighbors, buy the newest gadget and aspire to the most prominent position to have a sense of value. When we see a TV camera, we put on a childish smile, poke our mugs into the frame and wave like idiots and call our girlfriend to have her tune to the right station. We love to drop names of well-known people we’ve met, as if that will add to our importance. We rush a hundred times a day to see how many likes we received on FaceBook, or note there that we’re drinking coffee in the Asinine Motel on top on Mount Boorishness.
We love ourselves too much. We love ourselves so much, and are so insecure that it is too painful for us to apologize or admit failure. We prefer to lay the burden of responsibility for our actions on the others, who purportedly provoked us; on circumstances that imposed upon us and justify our actions; on our education, our parents, our culture or lack thereof and so on. Moral failure – the worse kind of failures – is all the more difficult for us to admit.
Man has created an endless stream of religions, all of which share a common characteristic: he becomes his own savior by way of “good works”, sacrifice, meditation, ritual or prayer. He may serve a Buddha, kiss a scroll, bow before an idol or minister to the needy. He may evangelize, fast, serve the church, deny himself or study the Bible. He may be an atheist who denies to existence of God (another form of religion) or an agnostic (who dares to crown reason as the test of all things). It does not matter; his salvation depends on him --whatever he does is what secures his salvation.
Of course, most Christians acknowledge that the larger part of salvation comes from God. Others attribute their salvation to the gods, if they believe in such. He, or they, respond to our efforts and grant us the blessings we crave or the salvation we need. If we are atheists, we thank and compliment ourselves with hollow words that, deep in our hearts, we know to be false.
After all, whence came our abilities, opportunities and advantages? They are not of our own making. In all cases, the initiative is ours, and what God or the gods do for us or what we make of life is in response to our actions. If they exist, he or they laid the ground and paved the way. The rest us up to us. If there is no God, it is all up to us. Perhaps we obtained salvation, or a moment’s experience of happiness (and few know the difference). It is now up to us to ensure we do not lose what we’ve gained, or to bring it to a higher level. Ultimately, we are all atheists, because we are the ones who make the choice and thereby become the arbiters or our fate. Even if saved by the kindness of God, our two bits are necessary.
The Gospel runs contrary to the general vein. It tells us the truth we do not wish to hear: that life – real, true LIFE – does not consist of doing our own thing or pursuing an endless string of enjoyments that serve to deafen us to the hollowness of our lives. We inevitably lack that inner sense of meaning that can only derived from an eternal purpose that has to do with a goal beyond ourselves.
Yes: beyond ourselves. Instinctively, we all know we cannot and ought not be the goal of our lives. Our egotism has not achieved that heightened state of satanic persuasion that dares openly declare ourselves worthy of being the goal of our lives. Nor are we able. Deep in our hearts, we sense the futility of the selfish, hedonistic pursuit of pleasure.
When encountered with pain, we have no means to address it. We seek, instead, for meaning by escaping, by inventing alternate purposes such as family, ideology, culture or sheer enjoyment of various kinds. In doing so we flee the very source of meaning and of exhilarating value. All becomes vanity, a vapor liable to dismissal by the slightest wind.
The Gospel, on the other hand, tells us that we are never freer than when in bondage to God; never more like ourselves than when we are Christlike; never wiser than when we submit to the truth of him who made the worlds; that we never, ever deserve to be happy, and that every moment of enjoyment is a gift of grace.
The Gospel calls for humility, for a frank admission of demerit. It teaches us that without God we can do nothing, that with him we can do only by his kind enabling, and that even after we have done our best, we are but unprofitable servants whose labors are acceptable only because of Christ. It teaches us to love God at our own expense and thereby find life by way of a holiness that embraces the world without succumbing to it.
That is the essential nature of the Gospel, the essence of grace – it is utterly unearned and undeserved. Not only so, but grace, to be grace, does it all: the initiative is God’s, the grounds are laid by him. He places us on those grounds, and he ensures we remain on them, guiding, sustaining and protecting us all the way to glory. We are secure because our holiness now and for eternity, without which there is no happiness, depends on him.
That is how the Gospel imparts meaning even to our darkest moments. It points to pleasures that far exceed the realities we experience in the here and now, and thereby accords even pleasures a value while dismissing them from the pretension of being the purpose of life. We thus find more pleasure in denying a craving than in satisfying it, in forcing ourselves to fulfill a duty rather than seeking to shirk it.
That’s it: grace calls for human effort. The only reasonable response to grace is that we offer God our full, hearty, unreserved, sacrificial and continuous obedience. We love, not to be loved, but because we have first been loved. We obey, not in order in order to obtain but because we have been given so much, so liberally and so undeservedly. We serve, not to ensure our inheritance but because – contrary to all desert – we are assured of an inheritance unblemished, undefiled, reserved in heaven for us, purchased by the blood of the Son of God, affirmed by the Spirit of God and secured by the promise of the Father.
Christian obedience is not a burden, it is an act of love and of gratitude, a recognition of sweet duty made all the sweeter by being rendered to the most glorious, beautiful, worthy, magnificent, worthy and beloved One who is altogether holy, perfectly lovely, unimaginably himself. That is what Paul describes in Romans 8 as walking in the Spirit, as minding the things of the Spirit rather than those of the flesh. When we do not our own thing, but his; when we seek to please him rather than ourselves; when we respond to his grace as we ought, then we are all we were meant to be, all that we ought to be, all that – deep down in our hearts – we long to be. Then we find life and peace.
Such was the original Faith of Israel until corrupted by human contrivance and driven by prideful self-assertion. Paul of Tarsus came to understand that. He learnt to love the law of God with exuberant affection. He was changed, so that he learned to delighted in the law. It framed his desires. It challenged his habits. It changed the course of his life. He learnt to deny himself and thereby find himself, to forgo pleasure and find the greatest of all pleasures – the pleasure of loving God because we are loved by him. Coming under God’s pleasant yoke, Paul became the freest of all men. We will know no real peace until we follow Paul’s example, with abandon.
Upon destruction of the temple at the hands of the Romans in 70 AD, Judaism took a decisive turn which set it on a path of self-obtained righteousness of the kind often promoted earlier by some within Israel. Instead the religion of grace described in the Old Testament (later in the New), tendencies castigated by the prophets found expression in Pharisaical understandings and arrogant self-assertions. These became the norm, resulting in a major departure from the ways of God.
God in his unilateral grace gave Israel the blood of sacrificial animals as a means of atonement for sin (Leviticus 17:11), but stringent ritual became a means by which Israel pleased God and sought to obligate him, (Isaiah 1:4-17), often without regard to the intended meaning of the ritual and without engaging the affections. Ritual was divorced from its intended content and thereby detached from daily life. Moral behavior was no longer motivated by a sense of gratitude to God, nor viewed in terms of worshipful, loving obedience. Instead, acts of generosity and kindness were viewed as ways by which man obtained merit and thereby earned God’s blessing, or simply replaced by efforts to increase earthly gain. Even humility was a transformed into a kind of purportedly meritorious self- motivated, self-imposed abasement.
Illogically, everything had to do with life on earth. There was no recognition of value beyond that. No one was expected to have to give account for the life he lived. Consequently, life became a case of “let us eat and drink because tomorrow we die”. There being no God, there was no purpose beyond life itself. Selfishness ruled, and rules today.
Of course, there were exceptions. But they were just that: exceptions, not the rule. God’s authority was supplanted by an authoritarian Rabbinocracy, liberalistic Atheism or presumptuous Priestcraft in which the Creator had no real say. Religion was handed over to the Rabbis, the Kadis, the rationalistic intellectuals or the Priests, manipulators of the divine will. Indeed, Jewish tradition has it that God was silenced and his opinion rejected, while rabbis, kadis, scholars and priests arrogated to themselves the right to determine the practical implications of the biblical text.
Israel today has followed the logical path outlined by such presumption. The choice is presented as between secular humanism and blind obedience to a tradition as interpreted by the Rabbis, and the majority has chosen the former. The world at large has followed suit. Religion is, at best, considered to be a means to obtain and secure human happiness: “If that is what makes you happy, that’s fine with me”.
Christians too, have been deceived. God is once again viewed as subject to human manipulation through prayer, fasting and other human endeavors. Truth is relative: “Everyone has a right to his own opinion” and Bible study becomes an event in which everyone shares his own ignorance rather than listening to someone who has seriously studied the scripture. Obedience is not as valued as an emotional rush, and worship has more to do with feeling good (“let’s celebrate God”) than with the fear of the Lord.
The church has departed from its biblical moorings and degenerated into liberalistic humanism, a means by which man obtains merit, or a form of blind obedience to traditional practices and doctrines expounded from the pulpit. Many of the historic churches have chosen the latter. Modern evangelicalism has chosen the second. The majority, disappointed by both, has chosen the first. In many so-called churches, man is the focus of attention and God exists for man’s self-centered sense of comfort, pleasure and success.
Even common evangelical thought and practice has come to assume a kind of meritocracy which affirms that Jesus did much and the rest is up to us. This is expressed in many ways. Some affirm that God would dearly love to save every individual, but his will is stymied by man’s independence. His sovereignty has to do with everything – especially with what we expect him to do for us -- except man’s freedom to choose.
Election is man choosing God, God foreseeing that choice, and then running ahead and choosing him first. Others affirm that evangelism, prayer and fasting, Bible study, self-denial or other such activities are the means by which Christian ascend the ladder of spirituality and secure their final arrival at heaven’s gates. Worship is no longer worthy of the name because it is ultimately focused on man, his feelings and his trials, enjoyments and successes.
Few today have more than a mediocre understanding of the Faith as presented in the word of God. The majority prefer “practical” sermons, shallow evangelistic appeals, mega- churches in which their emotions are stirred while their minds are ignored and where there is no clear call to holiness in life, the fear of God, repentance or the forsaking of sin. People come to church to be petted, pampered, encouraged and taught to feel good about themselves. Hence the popularity of preachers such as Joel Olsteen, Mark Driscoll and the like. So-called Christian hedonism is just that: man finding ways to enjoy himself, be it hunting, music, God or a good meal. Hopefully it will be something good. The idea that we might be called upon to suffer loss, or even life, for God is anathema. God’s whole purpose is to make us happy.
The church has refused the discomfort of a truly prophetic ministry. Christians prefer chronologies and understand their Bibles in terms of world events, rather than viewing the world through biblical lenses. The church has turned its’ back to truly biblical congregational life, in which men of all races and cultures mix, theologies rub against each other and customs are challenged, modified and made to be more like Christ.
We prefer the theological, cultural, racial and linguistic ghettos in which our practice is never challenged and our assumptions are never questioned. In consequence, we are not called upon to change except in the direction of our cherished prejudices. We separate into congregations and clusters of congregations into which only those who agree with us are allowed to enter, and then love fellow-Christians (some, not all) over the fences our self-love has erected – until we divide again because some new area of disagreement has been discovered.
We are in desperate need of reformation. We desperately need to return to the word of God and to re-examine the best of our traditions, confessions, practices, polity and systematizations. Our fear of God our Savior must not be the fruit of human traditions rather than of the mighty, truthful, powerfully living word of God, which is able to save and sanctify us to the glory of him for whose sake we were created, redeemed and assured glorification. We are in desperate need of a revolution, a change in course.
We need to hear and heed the word of God afresh, change our ways and return to the biblical standards, in which God, his glory and his will come first, and man was made to honor him.
Two recent sermons, summarizing Paul's letter to the Romans:
Part One: https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=5251719319
Part Two: https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=525171124510
Israel's Defense Forces
From Chief of Staff and later Prime Minister of Israel, Itshak Rabin’s speech at the Hebrew University, June 8 1967 upon receipt of an honorary doctorate of philosophy:
“Today the university has conferred this honorary title upon us in recognition of the I.D.F.’s superiority of spirit and morals, as was revealed in the heat of war, for we are standing in this place by virtue of a heavy battle which, though forced upon us, was forged into a victory that is already called miraculous.
War is intrinsically harsh and cruel, bloody and tearstained, but this war in particular, which we have just undergone, brought forth rare and magnificent instances of heroism and courage, together with humane expressions of brotherhood, comradeship, and spiritual greatness.
Whoever has not seen a tank crew continue their attack with their commander killed and their vehicle badly damaged; whoever has not seen soldiers endangering their lives to extricate wounded comrades from a minefield; whoever has not seen the anxiety and the effort of the entire Air Force devoted to rescuing a pilot who has fallen in enemy territory, cannot know the meaning of devotion among comrades-in-arms.
The entire nation was exalted, and many wept, upon hearing the news of the capture of the Old City of Jerusalem. Our sabra youth, and most certainly our soldiers, do not tend toward sentimentality; they shy away from revealing it in public. However, the strain of battle, the anxiety which preceded it, and the sense of salvation and of direct participation of every soldier in the forging of the heart of Jewish history, cracked the shell of hardness and shyness and released wellsprings of deeply felt spiritual emotion. The paratroopers who conquered the Wailing Wall leaned against its stones and wept. As a symbol, this was a rare occasion, almost unparalleled in human history. Such phrases and cliche?s are not generally used in the I.D.F., but this sight on the Temple Mount, beyond the power of words, revealed, as though by a flash of lightning, a deep truth.
And more than this, the joy of triumph seized the entire nation. Nevertheless, we find, increasingly, a strange phenomenon among our fighters. Their joy is not total, and more than a little sorrow, and shock, permeates their celebration. There are those who do not celebrate at all. The warriors in the front lines witnessed not only the glory of victory but also its price – their comrades who fell beside them, bleeding. And I know that the terrible price paid by our enemies also touched the hearts of many of our men deeply. It may be that the Jewish people never learned, never accustomed themselves to experience the thrill of conquest and victory, and so we receive it with mixed feelings.”
Such is the spirit of Israel’s defense forces.
We Need a Reformation
We’re just not ever satisfied unless we’ve made our mark, justified our presence, proven our worth, earned some accolade (Ezekiel 28:1-5). If someone says something, we have to add our two bits (Proverbs 18:2). If anything goes on, we have to be involved – or at the very least in the know. We do not like to be obligated and would much rather have others obligated to us. “Freedom” is viewed as the liberty to do all we want, when we want it and as much as we want. “Do your own thing”, “be your own person”, or the purportedly milder “be yourself” are considered watchwords for what we consider a successful life. “Be your own boss” is a goal we pursue in all walks of life.
So, we climb the Everest or win a race, buy the newest gadget and aspire to the most prominent position. When we see a TV camera, we put on a childish smile, poke our mugs into the frame and wave or invite our girlfriend to tune to the right station. We love to drop names of well-known people we’ve met, as if that will add to our importance and we rush a hundred times a day to see how many likes we received on FaceBook, or noted that we’re drinking coffee in the Anserine Motel on top on Mount Boorishness.
That is why we find it so painful to apologize and to admit failure. We prefer to lay the burden on responsibility on others (Genesis 3:12). We were provoked; circumstances imposed themselves upon us or even justified our actions; or our education or lack thereof is to blame and so on. Moral failure – the worse kind of failure – is especially difficult to admit.
Mankind has created an endless stream of religions, all of which share a common characteristic: man becomes his own savior. He may do so by “good works”, by offering sacrifice, by meditation or prayer. He may be serving a Buddha, kissing a scroll, an ancient wall or some other relic, bowing before an idol or ministering to the needy. He may be evangelizing, serving in the church, denying himself or studying the Bible. Whatever he does is what secures his salvation and assures his blessing.
Of course, in many cases we admit that most of our salvation comes from God, or the gods. He, or they, respond to our efforts and grant us the blessings we crave. But the initiative is ours, and what he or they do for us is in response to our actions. God or the gods laid the ground and paved the way. The rest us up to us. If he or they accorded us salvation, it is now up to us to ensure we do not lose it; or we must bring it to a higher level of spiritual achievement. Ultimately, it is we who make the choice. We are the ultimate arbiters or our fate. Even if saved by the kindness of God, our two bits are needed to make it stick.
But the Gospel runs contrary to this general vein. It tells us that we are never free than when in bondage to God; never more like ourselves than when we are Christlike; never wiser than when we submit to the truth of God. The Gospel tells us that we never, ever deserve God’s blessing. It calls for a sincere humility that is borne out of a sense of inability and lack of worth, for a frank admission of demerit. It teaches us that without God in Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5), that with him we can do only by his kindness and enabling (Philippians 2:13), and that even after we have done our best, we are but unprofitable servants (Luke 17:10) whose labors are acceptable only because of Christ (Philippians 4:13, Hebrew 13:21).
That is the essential nature of grace – it is utterly undeserved. Not only so, but grace, to be grace, does it all (Colossians 2:10): the initiative is God’s, the grounds are laid by him, he places us on those grounds, and he ensures we remain on them, guiding, sustaining and protecting us all the way to glory.
Not that grace does not call for human effort. On the contrary. The only reasonable response to grace is that we offer to God our full, hearty, unreserved, sacrificial and continuous obedience (Romans 12:1-3). But we love because we have first been loved (I John 4:19), not to be loved. We obey, not in order in order to obtain but because we have been given so much, so liberally and so undeservedly. We serve, not to ensure our inheritance but because – contrary to all we deserve – we have been assured of an inheritance unblemished, undefiled, reserved in heaven for us (I Peter 1:4).
Christian obedience is an act of love and of gratitude. It is a recognition of sweet duty (Romans 7:21), made sweeter by being rendered to God, the glorious, beautiful, worthy, magnificent, beloved One who is altogether holy, perfectly lovely, unimaginably himself.
Such was the original Faith of Israel until corrupted by human contrivance driven by prideful self-assertion.
Upon destruction of the temple at the hands of the Romans in 70 AD, Judaism took a decisive turn which set it on a path of self-obtained righteousness instead of being the religion of grace described in the Old Testament. Tendencies castigated by the prophets and which again found expression in Pharisaical understandings became the norm and Israel engaged in a major departure from the Word of God
God in his unilateral grace gave Israel the blood of sacrificial animals as a means of atonement for sin (Leviticus 17:11). Stringent ritual now became a means by which Israel pleased God, (Isaiah 1:4-17), often without regard to the intended meaning of the ritual and without engaging the affections as the rituals were followed. Moral behavior was no longer motivated by a sense of gratitude to God, nor viewed in terms of worshipful, loving obedience. Instead, acts of generosity and kindness were ways by which man obtained merit and thereby earned God’s blessing. Even humility was a transformed into a kind of self-motivated, self-imposed abasement that was considered meritorious.
Of course, there were exceptions. But they were just that: exceptions, not the rule. God’s authority was supplanted by an authoritarian Rabbinocracy in which God had no say. Indeed, tradition has it that God was silenced and his opinion rejected as the rabbis sat to determine the meaning of the biblical text.
Today Israel has followed the logical path outlined by such presumption. The choice is presented as between secular humanism and blind obedience to a tradition as interpreted by the rabbis, and the majority has chosen the former.
The church has likewise repeatedly departed from its biblical moorings and degenerated into liberalistic humanism, a means by which man obtains merit, or a form of blind obedience to traditional practices and doctrines expounded from the pulpit. Many of the historic churches have chosen the latter option. Common evangelicalism has chosen the second. The majority, disappointed by both, has chosen the first.
Yes, common evangelical thought and practice assumes a kind of meritocracy which affirms that Jesus did much but the rest is up to us. This is expressed in many ways. Some affirm that God would dearly love to save every single human individual, but his good will is stymied by man’s independence. His sovereignty has to do with everything but man’s freedom to choose. Election is man choosing God, God foreseeing that choice, and then running ahead of man and choosing him first. Others affirm that evangelism, prayer and fasting, Bible study, self-denial or other such commendable activities are the means by which Christian ascend the ladder of spirituality and secure their final arrival at heaven’s gates.
Few today have more than a mediocre understanding of the Faith. They prefer “practical” sermons, shallow evangelistic appeals, mega-churches in which their emotions are stirred while their minds are ignored and where there is no clear call to holiness in life, the fear of God, repentance and the forsaking of sin. People come to church to be petted, pampered, encouraged and taught to feel good about themselves. Hence the popularity of preachers such as Joel Olsteen, Mark Driscoll and the like.
The church has refused the discomfort of truly prophetic ministries, or of congregational life in which men of all races and cultures mix. We prefer the cultural and linguistic ghettos in which our practice is never challenged and our assumptions never questioned, so that we are not called upon to change except in the direction of our cherished prejudices. We separate into congregations and clusters to which only those who agree with us are allowed to enter, and then love fellow-Christians over the fences our self-love has erected – until we divide again because some area of disagreement has been discovered.
We are in desperate need of reformation. We desperately need to return to the word of God and to re-examine the best of our traditions, Confessions, practices, polity and systematizations, lest our fear of God our Savior be the fruit of human traditions rather than of the mighty, truthful, powerfully living word of God, which is able to save and sanctify us to the glory of him for whose sake we were created, redeemed and assured glorification.
March 21, 2017
ISRAEL'S EXISTENTIAL THREAT: THE OCCUPATION
Gili Cohen Ha’Aretz March 22, 2017 12:02 PM
Former Mossad chief Tamir Pardo asserted on Tuesday that the Israeli occupation and the conflict with the Palestinians are the only existential threat facing Israel.
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“Israel has chosen not to choose, hoping the conflict will resolve itself – perhaps the Arabs will disappear, maybe some cosmic miracle will happen,” Pardo told a conference at the Netanya Academic College. “One day we will become a binational state because it will be impossible to untie the Gordian knot between the two peoples. That is not the way to decide.”
Pardo stated: “Israel has one existential threat. It is a ticking time bomb. We chose to stick our head in the sand, creating a variety of external threats. An almost identical number of Jews and Muslims reside between the sea and the Jordan. The non-Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria live under occupation. This is Israel's definition, not mine. The law in this territory is as we have made it, a military justice system that is subject to the authority of the Israel Defense Forces.”
He said that despite the full withdrawal from Gaza, responsibility for the territory remains in Israel’s hands. “Israel is responsible for the humanitarian situation, and this is the place with the biggest problem in the world today,” he said.
Pardo added: “Israel must deal with the demographic reality and [decide] which state we want to be. Life with alternative facts harbors a disaster for the Zionist vision. The key to saving the state requires brave leadership.”
March 16, 2017
For those interested, the following is our March-August 2017 itinerary:
April 1-2 Saturday - Sunday
AM Port Angeles WA
PM Bothell WA
April 7 Friday flight to Baltimore, drive to Camp Hill
April 8 Saturday Al Herman
April 8-9 Saturday-Sunday Media PA AM, PM
April 16 Sunday
AM Mount Carmel PA
PM RB Camp Hill
April 19 Wednesday– Mebane NC
April 20-24 Thursday-Monday Louisville KY
April 24-25 Monday- - Tuesday open for engagements
April 25-26 Tuesday – Wednesday Knoxville TN
April 26-27 Wednesday- Thursday open for engagements
April 28-May 1 Friday - Monday Hartsville TN
May 1-4 Monday-Thursday Atlanta GA
May 4- 6 Thursday- Saturday Tallahassee FL
May 6– 7 Saturday - Sunday Gainesville FL
AM OPC
PM Luzt FL
May 8 Monday Newly formed church
May 9-15 Tuesday - Monday Birmingham AL
AM Reformed Baptist
PM Briarwood Presbyterian
May 15-19 Monday – Saturday New Orleans Details to follow
May 22 Monday Shreveport LA
May 23 -25 Tuesday - Thursday Pasadena TX
May 25-26 Thursday – Friday open for engagements
May 26-29 Friday – Monday Fort Hood TX
30- 31May El Paso TX
May 31 – June 8 Wednesday – Thursday Phoenix AZ
MAY 1 Wednesday OPC PM
June 2-3 Friday - Saturday Show Low AZ
June 3 Saturday Gilbert AZ
June 4 AM Mesa AZ
PM Gilbert AZ
June 7 Wednesday Prescott AZ
June 8 Thursday San Diego
Friday June 9 Los Angeles
June 10-12 Saturday – Monday Visalia CA
Monday June 12 Sacramentoopen for engagements
June 13-15 Tuesday – Thursday Sacramento
June 15-July 5 Thursday – Saturday Seattle WA
Sunday June 18 PM Emmanuel Reformed Baptist
AM Kirkland WA
PM Issaquah WA
July 6-7 Thursday- Friday Post Falls, ID
July 7-8 Friday-Saturday Worland WY
July 8-10 Saturday - Monday Powell WY
July 10- 11 Monday - Tuesday Leith North Dakota
July 11-12 Tuesday - Wednesday Minneapolis MN open for engagements
July 12-13 Wednesday - Thursday Waukesha WI
July 13-15 Thursday – Saturday Bloomington IN
July 15-17 Saturday - Monday Grand Rapids MI
Am Reformed Baptist Jeffrey 09:30
PM Rev. Heritage Reformed
July 17- 18 Monday – Tuesday Datron OH
&n
Fighting Iran's Ambitions in Syria, Israel Risks Angering Russia
Israel plans mass evacuation if war erupts again
A visual guide to the demons that spooked the Jews of Babylon
Ex-Mossad Chief Says Occupation Is Israel's Only Existential Threat
Israeli Ministry Trying to Compile Database of Citizens Who Support BDS
House With Phallic Amulets, Frescoes Found in Northern Israel
Israeli-made astronaut radiation shield set for moon mission trial
In an Israeli warehouse, clues about Jesus’ life and death
War Against ISIS and Syrian Kurds' Aspirations Could Spark Another Civil War
Explained: Why does it seem like Israel is always having a new election?
Israel's Growing Tensions With Syria, Lebanon and Hamas Leave Little Room for Maneuvering
Archaeologists Find the Last Hideout of the Jewish Revolt in Jerusalem
Before Islam: When Saudi Arabia Was a Jewish Kingdom
Second Monumental Arch of Titus Celebrating Victory over Jews Found in Rome
The winds of war are blowing on Israel’s borders
Haredi coalitionists enraged at PM’s Shabbat meet
On His First Visit to the Middle East, Trump’s Envoy Jason Greenblatt Surprises Everyone
THE MOSCOW-WASHINGTON MIDEAST TANGO
DISPATCH FROM MOSUL: THE BATTLE TO CLEAR AN ISIS STRONGHOLD
1967 | The Six-Day War was a watershed in Middle Eastern history
1967 | The Six-Day War and Israeli society: an interview with Yossi Klein Halevi
Trump Middle East envoy meets Palestinian leader Abbas
$900,000 AWARDED TO ISRAELI-AMERICAN MOBILE VIDEO TECH PARTNERSHIP
REVOLUTIONARY GUARD COMMANDER: HEZBOLLAH MORE PREPARED THAN EVER TO ATTACK ISRAEL
ANALYSIS: PALESTINIAN ISSUE PUTS JORDANIAN-ISRAELI PEACE ON ICE
Israel Police Fail to Charge Offenders in 95% of Reported anti-Palestinian Attacks
Intel Buying Mobileye in Biggest Ever Deal in Israeli High-tech
Israel's Gaza Island Mystery: Everyone Seems to Be on Board but Netanyahu
MIGRATING STARLINGS SWOOP OVER SOUTHERN ISRAEL
ARCHEOLOGISTS DISCOVER 2,000-YEAR-OLD ‘EMPEROR’S ROAD’ NEAR BEIT SHEMESH
High art: Historic aerial shots of pre-state Israel revealed
Two filmmakers scoured the globe for last Ben-Gurion interview, before finding it in Israeli desert
Monumental Carved Dolmen More Than 4,000 Years Old Found in Golan Rewrites History of Civilization
CAN 250 ISRAELI GENERALS BE WRONG?
Israeli medical innovations to be presented
Shame on the Silent Christian Leaders Who Refuse to Stand Against Government Tyranny
ISRAELI SHOOTS, KILLS TERRORIST DURING ATTACK IN FAMILY HOME
ONE EYE ON HAMAS WHILE DOING THE DISHES IN NETIV HA’ASARA
Israel Quietly Begins Exporting Natural Gas to Jordan Amid Political Sensitivities
Israel Demolishes Settler Homes Built on Private Palestinian Land
In Last Monologue, Israeli Comedy Show Host Implores Israelis to Wake Up and Smell the Apartheid
State and religion in Israel: An interview with Elazar Stern
CHRISTIANS FEAR FOR THEIR LIVES IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Days of Terror and Defiance for U.S. Jewish Parents as Bomb Threats Force Toddlers Out of Classrooms
Leaping to West Coast: 29 Bomb Threats Against Jewish Targets Across U.S. in Fifth Wave
Mounting Threats Against Jews Leave Security Expert Baffled and Concerned
ISRAELI HOSPITAL TREATS FIRST PALESTINIAN FOR UNIQUE BRAIN CONDITION
The Syrian War Shakeout Is Changing the Mideast’s Balance of Power
Ignoring Forecasts of Its Demise, Palestinian Authority Develops Six-year Policy Plan
Afghan toddler undergoes live-saving surgery in Israel
The untold story of the Jews forced to work in Nazi death factories
How Jewish artists reclaimed Jesus as their own
Who Really Started the 1948 War and When
The Arab Commander Who Lost the 1948 War: Hero or Failure?
Isaac Herzog Details His 10-point Plan for Israeli-Palestinian Peace
SECRET LETTERS REVEAL NAZI DEATH CAMP HORRORS
Two States, One State, No State
At Secret Aqaba Summit, Netanyahu Offered Construction Freeze Outside Settlement Blocs
'Hezbollah might have game-changing naval missiles'
Egypt Got the Economics Right, and Will Pay Dearly for It
Seize the Moment – Build a New Regional Paradigm
Haredi IKEA catalogue is a no-ma'am's land
Syrian forces used chemical weapons in final push for Aleppo
Hamas’ new leader in Gaza: A radical and a militant
The AG’s war to protect Israeli democracy
Ancient Judean Jar Handles Prove the Earth's Magnetic Field Won't Kill Us All
Syrian Women Who Fled Civil War Find Refuge at Center Opened by U.K. Jewish Group in Turkey
Israel's President on Land-grab Law: We Will Look Like an Apartheid State
As the world keeps silent in light of Syria massacre, Israel must act
'Orgy of murder': The Poles who 'hunted' Jews and turned them over to the Nazis
A day with wounded Syrian kids hospitalized in Israel
In Iraq, the U.S. Invests, ISIS Loses and Iran Gains
Returning Jihadis: A Generational Threat
The Six-Day War was a watershed in Middle Eastern history
Most Israelis Against Exploiting 'Friendlier' White House to Expand Settlements, Poll Shows
Assad Has Killed 13,000 in Mass Hangings Since Syrian Uprising Began, Amnesty Says
Explained: Israel's New Palestinian Land-grab Law and Why It Matters
Israel Passes Contentious Palestinian Land-grab Bill in Late Night Vote
'Jews belong in the ovens' written on NYC subway
Desalination Problems Begin to Rise to the Surface in Israel
BEHIND THE LINES: THE MIRAGE OF THE MIDEAST’S ‘MODERATE’ ALLIANCE
Settlements and 'The Ultimate Deal': Trump's Surprising Statement on Israel in Context
Peoples of the Bible: The legend of the Amorites
UK WATCHDOG: 2016 HAD HIGHEST-EVER LEVELS OF ANTISEMITISM
Donald Trump Is The First President To Turn Postmodernism Against Itself
Rights groups provide jihad with free services
Mystery of Galactic Hyperspeed Cracked: It's the Universe's Imperfection
How an unknown monumental palace rewrites ancient Greek history
SpaceIL achievement: Israel is getting close to the moon
The Dangers of Annexing the West Bank
200,000 survivors left in Israel
Being a second-class citizen in Israel
The hateful whispers that make me want to move from London to Tel Aviv
Justifying Israel: An interview with Chaim Gans
'LAST LETTERS FROM THE HOLOCAUST' DISPLAYED IN YAD VASHEM PROJECT
Brothers in Arms - but Not to the Grave
Russian Octopus Reaches Beyond Syria
How Israel Went From Atheist Zionism to Jewish State
Israeli Intel Warns Netanyahu Against Pushing Trump to Undo Iran Deal
ARCHAEOLOGISTS UNEARTH ANCIENT COPPER-SMELTING SITE DATING TO KING DAVID
Water deal reached between Israel and Palestinians
Paris peace conference: Wrong message, wrong time, wrong place
How the 'Israeli Arab' was created
Two-thirds of Israelis Still Back Two-state Solution, J Street Poll Finds
A Jewish girl's pendant was found at a Nazi camp - and now Yad Vashem is looking for her relatives
SYRIAN PATIENTS LEAVE MARK ON STAFF AS THEY RECOVER AT ISRAELI HOSPITAL
Why Nationalist and Jewish Orthodoxy Are Taking Over Israel
Board game and luxuries discovered in Crusader castle in the Galilee
Archaeologists find vast pagan sanctuary outside Roman city in north Israel
Archaeologists Debunk Myth: Human Brain Evolution Didn't Cause Our Teeth to Shrink
Israel's 'flying car' passenger drone moves closer to delivery
Ancient Jerusalem Road Hints at Possible Reason for Jewish Revolt Against Rome
An archeological mystery and the search for King David
The best archaeological finds in Israel of 2016
PLO official: Overall message of Kerry speech welcome, but parameters unacceptable
Abbas: Willing to resume peace talks if Israel freezes settlements
Netanyahu tells Kerry: Israel doesn't need to be lectured about peace by foreign leaders
FULL TRANSCRIPT: Kerry Blasts Israeli Government, Presents Six Points of Future Peace Deal
Stone wall from First Temple period destroyed by rains in Israel
Israeli missile alert technology saves lives in Chile
Israeli youth collecting winter supplies for Syrian kids
Palestinian land owner preparing to take settlers to ICC
Jaw Dropping: Lab-Grown Bones Successfully Transplanted In 11 Jaws
US consistent against settlements — and against UN as appropriate venue
Full text of US envoy Samantha Power’s speech after abstention on anti-settlement vote
Too Many Israelis Don’t Properly Understand Democracy
Jesus sites in Jerusalem: Are they real?
The War on Christmas Opens a New Front in Jerusalem Hotels
Netanyahu to Amona: I Feel Your Pain, I Was Kicked Out After '99 Election - to Sheraton Plaza
Israeli University Rabbi Forbids Jews From Entering Student Union Due to Christmas Tree
Former Mideast diplomat decries Trump envoy’s "Kapo" labeling of J Street.
Rare coin from King Antiochus’s rule discovered in Jerusalem
Oldest-known Images of Hanukkah Menorahs: Not What We Know Today
New Dead Sea Scrolls Fragments Found in Judean Desert
In Israel, Settlers of Amona Come Before Fighting Poverty
More and more land, less of a state
Obama Admits He's Unwilling to Pay a Price to Save Aleppo
The Fall of Aleppo Signals the Dishonorable Decline of the West
Israelis raise half a million NIS for Syrian children
Israeli Reservists Demand to Be Sent to Help Wounded Syrians
Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei Explains the Chant "Death to America"
Aleppo Massacre: Assad Is Only Getting Started
Head of MI6: Britain faces 'fundamental threat to sovereignty from Russian meddling'
Bill Banning non-Orthodox Services at Western Wall Submitted to Knesset
Egypt- Between International Stardom and Dignified Survival
Comment: Why is the Middle East so disappointed with Obama?
Supreme Court president warns: Majority's decision is not necessarily democratic
Expert claims inscriptions from Egyptian exodus proves Hebrew is world’s oldest alphabet
American media need psychotherapy
Arab IDF soldier: 'I love this country and want to contribute'
Were the Israeli fires arson terror claims premature and exaggerated?
How the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Affects the Brains of Arabs and Jews
Iraq's Fight Against ISIS Is Prologue to Its Next Bloody Civil War
Israeli Startup Reports Successful Transplant of Lab-grown Bones
Divers find unexpected Roman inscription from the eve of Bar-Kochba Revolt
70 C.E.: The Roman Siege of Jerusalem Ends
Shiraz Maher | Mapping contemporary Salafi-Jihadism
Returning Jihadis: A Generational Threat
The reality of women in combat roles
Analysis Syrian Rebels Can Blame America for Loss of Aleppo
Israel's Biggest Threat Is 'Nationalistic' Demon of Netanyahu, Former PM Barak Says
Vast Majority of Jews Don’t Want Rabbis Deciding if They’re Jewish, Survey Shows
Analysis Unprecedented Clash With ISIS Could Open a Dangerous New Front for Israel
Analysis: The battle for Mosul and the rearrangement of the Middle East
Divers uncover world's oldest harbor, in Red Sea
4000-year-old version of Rodin's 'Thinker' found in Israel
Why I find the black community's response to Trump's election a little embarrassing
With All Hospitals Out of Action, Syrians in East Aleppo Are 'Left to Die'
Why regulation must be limited to settlement blocs
Analysis Middle Eastern States Fight Each Other Like There's No ISIS
Egyptian Human Rights Activist Hany Elsadek in Defense of Hitler
The Demise of Totalitarian Liberalism
Gold, silver offering to the gods 3,600 years ago found in Canaanite Gezer
Amidror: Still against deal, but Iran’s recovery slower than expected
Iran deal violation: Sign of emboldened country... or simply more transparency?
US-Israeli clean-tech projects get $4 million boost
WHO: Israel's field hospital best in world
ISIS Expands Its Reach and Finds New Recruits in Pakistan
Archaeologists find 'snapshot' of 4,500-year-old Canaanite citadel's last hours
The Best Two Minutes You’ll Hear On Tv All Year About The Presidential Election
Analysis: Showtime for the Egyptian president
Behind the lines: Syria’s interlocking conflicts
The Palestinian Economy: On Artificial Respiration
Watch: No Place on Earth (2012)
Is Evangelical Worship Headed for a Huge Crash?
Analysis U.S. Caught in a Vise Before Battle for Mosul Even Begins
World is silent, except when it comes to Israel
Iran Slams UN Human Rights Council for Electing Saudi Arabia as a Member
So was it David who killed Goliath?
Looking for the light in the dark: A Holocaust survivor's story
The Kurdish battle for Mosul, and independence
Parts of Bible Were Written in First Temple Period, Say Archaeologists
Papyrus With Earliest Hebrew Mention of Jerusalem Likely Fake, Experts Say
Iraqi forces marching toward bloodbath with ISIS: Special report from the Mosul front lines
Mostly Children Among 26 Killed in Airstrike on School in Syria, Medics Say
Papyrus With Earliest Ex-bible Hebrew Mention of Jerusalem Is Revealed
Israel Displays First Temple-era Pottery Found on Temple Mount
The inconvenient reality behind the long, messy battle for Mosul: a special report
This Day in Jewish History 1946: Nazi Doctors Are Indicted
Insight: Egyptians losing patience with Sisi
Lieberman: If Hamas forces war on us, it will be their last
Israeli Discovery May Help Ward Off Famine
Analysis: Which Iraq will triumph in Mosul?
Visiting the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, no time machine necessary
Do You Like Poison Spray on Your Fruit? Israel, EU Collaborating to Reduce That
Previously unknown Canaanite revolt against Egypt revealed in ancient Jaffa
Uncovered Ancient City Wall in Jerusalem Tells Story of Great Jewish Revolt
Trump Supporters Tweet Naziesque Death Threats to Jewish Women Writers
Analysis: A new crack in the Sunni bloc?
B'Tselem's disgraceful appearance at the UN
Opinion B'Tselem Head: Why I Spoke Against the Occupation at the UN
The Forgotten Story of 'Gertrude of Arabia,' Who Created Modern Iraq
The Universe Has Almost 10 Times More Galaxies Than We Thought
Recently released IDF soldiers combine volunteer work with world travel
When Putin decided to help Assad
Opinion How the Environment Can Bridge the Israeli-Palestinian Impasse
The art of occupation, according to Israeli General Gadi Shamni
West Bank soccer team honors Ammunition-Hill terrorist
Chief rabbi calls Syrian conflict ‘Holocaust,’ urges action
Israeli-designed Bacteria Could Help Solve World's Gigantic Plastic Problem
As Vehicles Go High-tech, Israel’s in the Driver’s Seat
For whom the bell tolls: Listen to the sound of the Temple high priest's coattails
Victory of Orthodox Judaism is everyone’s defeat
Jerusalem City Budget for Houses of Worship Goes Only to Synagogues
Opinion Israel Has Overcome Every Threat, Except the One From Within
Opinion Russia Is Fated to Lose the War in Syria; We Should Let It
Opinion Needed: A 'Secularism Officer' for Israel's Army
The banker who used Nazis to help save Jews
Ultra-Orthodox crowds verbally abuse Haredi soldiers
The sickness of narrative thinking
Ad Informing El Al Female Passengers They Don't Have to Switch Seats Rejected by Port Authority
A Synagogue in Every Precinct and Rabbi-approved Pens: Israel Cops Get Religion
The Holocaust train that led Jews to freedom instead of death
International conference promotes Israel as a leader in multiple sclerosis research
Obama’s US failing the test of power
Analysis Putin Will Stop at Nothing to Increase Mideast Influence at U.S.' Expense
A former spy chief is calling on Israelis to revolt
Obama says goodbye in Hebrew: Shimon, toda raba haver yakar
The best of Israel archaeology in 5776
Ancient Toilet Reveals the Unique Way the Judeans Fought Idol-worship
Gate shrine from First Temple period unearthed at Tel Lachish National Park
Why So Many Children Are Being Killed in Aleppo
Shimon Peres, 1923-2016: From nuclear pioneer to champion of peace
Global agtech investors find 'rich pipeline of opportunities' in Israel
New Israeli tech sees machines leading the blind
Love, Unity and No Women Singers at Yom Kippur Concert in Tel Aviv
Alternative wedding revolution underway in Israel
Kerry: Israel and Palestinians Headed for Binational State, World Must Act or Shut Up
Scientists Prevent Breast Cancer Spread, in Mice
Rare High Priests stone weight from Second Temple period found in Jerusalem
Opinion Israel as We Know It Has Less Than a Decade Left
Opinion Begin and My Father Had the Courage to Be Real Leaders. Netanyahu Hasn't
I have deep respect and love for Baruch Maoz, and the work that he is carrying on in Israel, despite obstacles and opposition. He has been a dear friend for many years. I’ll never forget doing a conference for him in Israel several years ago. I pray that God may use his sound theology, helpful preaching, excellent books, and numerous gifts for the conversion and spiritual maturation of thousands of Israelis and for the abundant glory of God. Rev. Joel R. Beeke, Heritage Netherlands Reformed Congregation, Author
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Baruch Maoz has been a minister of the gospel, author, publisher, and voice for believers in the land of Israel for four decades. I have seen firsthand the fruit of his ministry and I cannot recommend it too highly. Baruch’s preaching, teaching, and writing ministry should be supported by all who care about the gospel and its impact in Israel and beyond! Pastor Jerry Marcellino, Audubon Drive Bible Church, Federation of reformed Evangelicals – Laurel, Mississippi
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Knowing and embracing our Lord’s clear directive to bring the Gospel to the “Jew first” I, along with BPC have been extraordinarily blessed to work in partnership with the effective biblical and faithful ministry of Baruch Maoz. His ministry of evangelism, discipleship, along with his strategic and insightful writing/translation projects, only enhance my opportunity to recommend him and his ministry. Rev. Harry Reeder, Senior Pastor, Briarwood Presbyterian Church (PCA), Birmingham AL
*
Tom Ascol of the Founders Movement writes: "Baruch and Bracha Maoz serve in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Baruch has served as a pastor, publisher, author and church reformer in his homeland of Israel. He has ministered several times with our Grace Baptist Church family in Cape Coral and our people have come to love Bracha and him dearly. I highly recommend his and his ministry to any church that values expositional preaching and the gospel of God's grace." Dr. Thomas Ascol, Grace Baptist Church (SBC), Founders Movement, Cape Coral FL
For more, see below.
It has been encouraging to receive responses to our monthly issues of MaozNews. Many readers distribute copies of these to friends and fellow-church members. We will continue to offer special comment and urgent bulletins whenever events in our region justify such. Our bulletins are separate issues, unrelated to the monthly newsletter.
You can help by following us on Twitter (@BaruchMaoz), retweeting our tweets, recommending us to friends and Facebook contacts, and clicking "like" on our Facebook page.
Contributions to our work may be made via PayPal
or to Franklin Bank, 24725 West Twelve Mile Road, Soutjfield MI 48034, Account no. 567495976, routing No. 241271957.
You can help by following us on Linkedin (BaruchMaoz)
Above all, please pray for us!
TAX-deductable support for our ministry should be written to the order of Berean Baptist church, P.O. Box 1233, Grand Blanc, Michigan48480-3233. Direct bank transfers may be made to Franklin Bank, 24725 West Twelve Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48034 USA, Routing Number 241271957 Berean Baptist Special Account No. 567495976.
Please inform Ms. Craig Cooper at Berean Baptist Church of the details of the transaction (including date, transaction number and sum) at coopmobile31@gmail.com
All contributions are tax deductable. Receipts are sent at the end of the calendar year or at the donor's request.
Please do not send contributions directly to us – we consider accountability important.
Funds sent for the ministry will be used exclusively for that purpose. We reserve the right to use for the ministry funds sent for personal use.
IMPORTANT NOTICE Our email address is bmaoz@themaozweb.com Please edit your Contacts List and henceforth direct all mail to that address.
Periodic bulletins are made available to MaozNews readers should the situation justify such. Briefer bulletins are provided when called for via Twitter (@BaruchMaoz). Subscribe to MaozNews by writing to bmaoz@themaozweb.com follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn and retweet our messages to others. We are also available on FaceBook.