Theology for Everybody: RomansSample

Within the Christian faith, there are closed-handed issues and open-handed issues. Closed-handed issues are absolutely certain and include the authority of Scripture and the life, death, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. On the other hand, open-handed issues hold less certainty, allowing for diversity in thought among people who are sincerely united by faith. Oftentimes in the Bible, the mystery is not what God will do but how and when He will do it.

One of the great mysteries in the Bible is the Resurrection of the dead in 1 Corinthians 15. This Resurrection is a mystery—we can know it truly, but we can’t know it fully. People tend to have questions that simply cannot be answered until the time of the Resurrection.

When it comes to the end of time and Jesus’ Second Coming, there are two basic theological views:

1. Replacement theology (also called supersessionism), a subsection of Covenant Theology, sees the Church as having replaced Israel in all of God’s promises. Abraham began as a Gentile, was saved by grace through faith, and birthed the nation of Israel. Subsequently, whether one is Jewish or Gentile does not matter; all that matters is faith in Jesus Christ. Anyone can trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. Today, the Church has replaced Israel as the fulfillment of all promises, prophecies, and blessings. All references to a future restoration of the Promised Land are to be spiritually interpreted as the heavenly home for all of God’s people.

2. Dispensational theology teaches there are two peoples of God, and He generally does not work through both equally and simultaneously. In the Old Testament, God worked through Jewish Israel. Today, God is working through the Gentile church. One day, God will remove the Gentile church with the Rapture of the saints, and there will be a return of God working on and through Jewish Israel for a massive evangelistic harvest at the end of human history before the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. Those holding this view look forward to a full restoration of Israel as a nation before the return of Christ.

(Continued on Day 245 ...)

Today’s Reflection

Do you lean more toward replacement theology or dispensational theology?