Ben Shapiro is a young (33 years old) political commentator for the conservative movement. He is a graduate of UCLA and Harvard Law school and is an Orthodox Jew. He gave an interview in LA recently to a Protestant news magazine called World (Dec 30, 2017). The interviewer, Sophia Lee, asked Shapiro why he is a Jew. Christianity believes in similar moral rules. Shapiro’s response:
“I believe all the claims in the Old Testament (our Jewish Bible) are reiterated in the Christian New Testament as opposed to being fundamentally changed. But my own view of Jesus, as is Judaism’s, is that God does not take human form. My business partner is an evangelical pastor, but it makes more sense to me that you take responsibility for your own sins, as opposed to Jesus dying for your sins. In Judaism, you’re constantly atoning for your own sins. I’m works-based; Christianity is largely grace-based.” It is to the Ben Shapiro’s of the world that Romans 9-11 are written and modern Jews need to study the Gospel of Romans without being influenced by the grace-only advocates in modern Protestantism.
In Romans 10, Paul complements the Jew for having a zeal for God (vs 2). The problem is that it is not according to “knowledge.” God’s righteousness is available, as Paul has pointed out in Romans up to this point, in Jesus Christ. He is the “end” or “goal” or “consummation” of the law (vs 4). What is Ben Shapiro going to do with Jesus, and still be intellectually honest?
The book of Deuteronomy, notably, had taught the Jews that if they were to live by the law, they would dwell in the land of promise under God’s blessings. That law was not inaccessible to them; rather, it was “near” them (Deut. 30:12-14). By the same token, the message of the Gospel is available to men and women today. You don’t have to go to heaven to find it; indeed, Christ came down from heaven to reveal it. You don’t have to go into Hades to find it, either. Christ went there, did that, and came back with the message of the resurrection.
That message is what we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths, that is: “Jesus is Lord and God raised Him from the dead” (Rom. 10:9). That message, when believed and obeyed, brings one into a state of righteousness before God (vs 10). This confession is open to everyone, Jew and Gentile because Isaiah predicted it would be so (28:16). Joel also predicted it (2:32). If one calls on the name of the Lord, he will be saved.
Ever got those cialis 100mg pills posted on your Honda fansite? The spammers probably thought a triangular blue pill spins up your twinturbos more rapidly. Both my book, “NexGen Human,” and my coaching system are all about establishing a strong partnership with God, Universal Intelligence, Great Spirit, or prices of viagra Source. So with this one can make out the issue being serious levitra sale in you only when you plan to engage in sexual activity ahead. Some say that this condition can’t be treated but this is not true because with the proper medication this condition can be easily addressed. viagra generic is one of the most effective place to begin is You Tube. In verses 14-15, Paul gives us a series of links in the chain that leads from sending to believing. People can’t believe until someone is sent. The apostles were sent. Missionaries are sent. Christians are sent, bringing the good news of good things (vs 15).
This whole message was predicted in Ben Shapiro’s Bible (presuming he tries to follow, to any extent, Judaism as God revealed it). Not all of Israel believed God’s report (according to Isaiah 53:1, which will go on to predict a suffering Messiah). Yet, the voice that calls man to respond to God has been heard throughout the whole world, according to Psalm 19:4.
Again citing Deuteronomy (32:21), whom Paul attributes to Moses, God promises that He will make Israel jealous by calling a nation (the Gentiles) that had no previous understanding of God (Romans 10:19). Then Paul concludes this chapter by quoting Isaiah 65:1-2 to the effect that men who sought righteousness from God, on His terms, found that righteousness as God made them, through Jesus Christ, His people.
The Gospel was a mystery in the Old Testament times but Paul reveals in Romans how God has consummated that plan in His Son, Jesus Christ.
Paul Holland
