Why Israel is Important – Part 2
“The problem with religion”
Romans 10:4-15
Is being zealous for God a good thing?
Maybe Not!
Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is
that they may be saved. 2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for
God, but not according to knowledge.
1.
If there is one thing you can say about the
Jewish people: They are zealous!
a.
An observation of the lifestyle of Hasidic Jews,
orthodox Jews, these are groups that expend a great amount of time, effort, and
energy being obedient to the Torah.
2.
You can trace this back to the return of the
Jews from the Babylonian captivity,
a.
The people in that group understood why they
were sent into captivity; they finally got what the prophets had been telling
them!
b.
Israel was cured of her idolatry!
c.
Even when Jesus come on the scene, the nation of
Israel was not guilty of idolatry, just looking at Jesus ministry and His
discussions with the religious leaders,
d.
No, idolatry wasn't their problem, their problem
was religion!
3.
The Jews had a zeal for God, but it was a
misguided zeal, it was a self-righteous zeal.
3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and
seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the
righteousness of God.
