from The Authentic Gospel, pp. 101-105
All denominations of evangelical Christianity are unified in the belief that the message of the gospel should be equally applicable to all “human beings” on the planet.1 This position is based on certain theological assumptions that are taken for granted as correct, but are not necessarily proven to be true beyond a reasonable doubt. The consensus of opinion is that the gospel according to Jesus Christ and His Apostles is, in fact, universal in scope without question. This chapter challenges these main assumptions or propositions regarding the recipients of the gospel message to test them against the evidence of the Bible and common sense evaluation about whether these assumptions fit the facts of verifiable experience in our world.2
The Universal Gospel and Supporting Hypotheses
We return to the academic textbook, The Story Retold, to capsulate their conviction that the gospel should be heard by all races and racial subtypes on the planet:
From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible presents a single, grand narrative that reveals who we are, who God is, and his goal for all creation. It is a rich story that puts God on display for all to see and marvel. This is a story that narrates God’s gracious and merciful dealings with humanity …
The grand story line of the Bible entails the general pattern of creation, fall, and redemption. Delving deeper into this cycle, the pattern begins with creation and the divine commission for humanity to rule over the earth and worship the Lord.3
This is the conclusion based on certain theological assumptions embraced by evangelical Christianity today. These assumptions are only hypotheses unless proven to be true, correct, and certain.
Should these hypotheses be examined? The answer is succinctly stated in the massive theological work, Integrative Theology:
All hypotheses, even those whose truth we have assumed for years, must be tested for their coherence and viability on standard criteria of truth. If they are true, we need not fear reexamination. True doctrines will not be found self-contradictory, or unrelated to reality in the external or internal worlds of human experience. Sound interpretations of a disputed passage of Scripture will without self-contradiction account for all the relevant lines of evidence: the author’s purpose, grammar, and word usage; the immediate biblical context; and the broader theological context. Fitting the external givens, the hypotheses should also fit the internal givens. That is, one should be able to live by it without disillusionment or inauthenticity.4
“All hypotheses … must be tested …” So, we commence on the ground-breaking task of examining some of the main universal hypotheses.
“Jews” and “Gentiles”
The first theological assumption believed to be true is that “Jews” represents Israel and “Gentiles” refers to every other “human being” on the planet. From this hypothesis it is deduced that the gospel should be universally applied since “Jews” and “Gentiles,” they say, are inclusive of all races.
However, a closer look at the Hebrew and corresponding Greek words translated as “Jews” or “Gentiles” reveals other meanings.
The Hebrew word most commonly translated “Jew” is Yehudi (Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary #3064) which comes from Yehudah (#3063). The first time it appears in the Old Covenant Scriptures is II Kings 16:6 (translated “Judeans” in the New American Standard Bible (NASB) and “Jews” in the King James Version (KJV).
At that time Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram, and cleared the Judeans out of Elath entirely; and the Arameans came to Elath, and have lived there to this day. – II Kings 16:6 (NASB)
At that time Rezin king of Syria recovered Elath to Syria, and drave the Jews from Elath: and the Syrians came to Elath, and dwelt there unto this day. – II Kings 16:6 (KJV)
The context of II Kings 16:6 was about two kings (Rezin king of Syria and Pekah king of the house of Israel) who invaded the southern house of Judah to make war against Ahaz, the king of Judah. The NASB translated the Hebrew term Yehudi correctly, that is, “Judeans” because that’s who they were. Yehudi meant Judean of the house of Judah. This word never referred to the northern house of Israel anywhere in the Bible. Furthermore, neither Yehudi or Yehudah, commonly translated “Jew” or “Jews,” referred to anyone in the Old Covenant Scriptures other than those pertaining to Judah. The following authority of biblical Hebrew summarizes the use of the terms.
What does “Jew” mean? It comes from the Hebrew word Yehudah – Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary #3063. Here’s the definition from The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon, p. 397:
– depending on the context, Yehudah variously means:
1. Son of Jacob and Leah (named Judah)
2. Tribe descended from Judah
3. Nation of the southern kingdom under the dynasty of David, as distinguished from the northern kingdom of Ephraim or Israel
4. Land of Judah
The equivalent Greek word for “Jew” is Ioudaious (Strong’s Greek Dictionary #2453) from #2455 (Ioudas) and means Judean, belonging to Jehudah.5 The meaning is the same as the Hebrew word. The term “Jews” never referred in the Bible to Abraham, Isaac, or Jacob, or the northern house of Israel represented by the ten tribes.
The word translated “Gentiles” or “nations” (Hebrews: goy #1471 or goyim; Greek: ethnos #1484) can, depending on the context, generally mean:
1. Physical offspring from each of Noah’s sons:
These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, by their nations; and out of these the nations were separated on the earth after the flood. – Genesis 10:32
2. Physical offspring from Abraham and Sarah:
Now the Lord said to Abram … I will make you a great nation … – Genesis 12:2
As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. – Genesis 17:46
In the New Testament, “nation” (ethnos) can even refer to the Judean people as in Luke 7:2-5:
And a certain centurion’s slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die. And when he heard about Jesus, he sent some Jewish [#2453 - Ioudaious] elders asking Him to come and save the life of his slave. And when they had come to Jesus, they earnestly entreated Him, saying, “He is worthy for You to grant this to him; for he loves our nation [ethnos], and it was he who built us our synagogue.”
“Jewish elders” meant elders of the Judeans. In the above passage, the Judean elders identified themselves with “our nation” or the Judean nation or even as the nation of Israel which, at that time, was only represented by the house of Judah. Again, depending on the context where “Gentiles” or “nations” is used, it can refer to different people including “Jews” or Judeans of the house of Judah.7
Each time the words “Jews”8 or “Gentiles” (nations) are used, the context must be consulted to determine their meanings – who they refer to. But the belief that “Jews” means all twelve tribes of Israel and “Gentiles” means everybody else on the planet has absolutely no biblical support! Put to the test, this widely assumed belief fails to fit the biblical facts.
To be continued.
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1 See chapter 2 in The Authentic Gospel. 2 This chapter cannot serve as an exhaustive treatment of these common assumptions, but other references for further study will be given in this chapter. 3 Beale and Gladd, The Story Retold, p. 1. 4 Gordon Lewis & Bruce Demarest, Integrative Theology, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1987-1994), p. 38. 5 Blanchard, Discover the Story of Your Biblical Heritage, pp. 70-71. See YourBiblicalHeritage.com. 6 Ibid., p. 72. 7 Ibid., pp. 72-73. 8 As an aside, but important to consider, is the assumption that the people who call themselves “Jews” today are biblical Israelites and that “Israel” refers to “Jews.” For that discussion, see Identifying Biblical Israel Today, Book Two. YourBiblicalHeritage.com.
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