Study Desk

They are the descendants of Israel, and they are also God's chosen people. God showed them his glory. He made agreements with them and gave them his Law. The temple is theirs and so are the promises that God made to them.

In the Scriptures the Lord says to Pharaoh of Egypt, "I let you become Pharaoh, so that I could show you my power and be praised by all people on earth."

what makes people acceptable to him. So they refuse to trust God, and they try to be acceptable by obeying the Law.

So you will be saved, if you honestly say, "Jesus is Lord," and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death.

It is the same way now. God was kind to the people of Israel, and so a few of them are still his followers.

just as the Scriptures say, "God made them so stupid that their eyes are blind, and their ears are still deaf."

Then David said, "Turn their meals into bait for a trap, so that they will stumble and be given what they deserve.

But if the rest of the world's people were helped so much by Israel's sin and loss, they will be helped even more by their full return.

When Israel rejected God, the rest of the people in the world were able to turn to him. So when God makes friends with Israel, it will be like bringing the dead back to life.

Maybe you think those branches were cut away, so that you could be put in their place.

That's true enough. But they were cut away because they did not have faith, and you are where you are because you do have faith. So don't be proud, but be afraid.

After all, it wasn't natural for branches to be cut from a wild olive tree and to be made part of a cultivated olive tree. So it is much more likely that God will join the natural branches back to the cultivated olive tree.

My friends, I don't want you Gentiles to be too proud of yourselves. So I will explain the mystery of what has happened to the people of Israel. Some of them have become stubborn, and they will stay like that until the complete number of you Gentiles has come in.

The people of Israel are treated as God's enemies, so that the good news can come to you Gentiles. But they are still the chosen ones, and God loves them because of their famous ancestors.

All people have disobeyed God, and that's why he treats them as prisoners. But he does this, so that he can have mercy on all of them.

Dear friends, God is good. So I beg you to offer your bodies to him as a living sacrifice, pure and pleasing. That's the most sensible way to serve God.

I realize how kind God has been to me, and so I tell each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you.

No one who loves others will harm them. So love is all that the Law demands.

You know what sort of times we live in, and so you should live properly. It is time to wake up. You know that the day when we will be saved is nearer now than when we first put our faith in the Lord.

So behave properly, as people do in the day. Don't go to wild parties or get drunk or be vulgar or indecent. Don't quarrel or be jealous.