There are parts of the Bible that are not written to us as Christians. There are parts of the Bible that are not written to unbelievers either. I mean that they are not directly to us or them but they may be for us and them.
Let me explain.
There is a fair amount of brou-ha-ha centered around something called “replacement theology”. Simply put – Jesus came – Israel rejected Him – the Church replaced Israel. And by extension, the New Testament has replaced the Old Testament. Oversimplified, I’m sure, but I think that’s the gist of it. While there may be some evidence that could lead someone in this direction, I believe you also need to ignore a mountain of truth and most of God’s Old Testament promises to pursue this idea. We need to understand what God has given to them (Israel), us (believers) and others (unbelievers).
We must recognize that God made promises and commitments and a covenant with the Jewish people. Certainly, there are passages and even entire books that were informational, instructive, historical, and meant to be used in a general sense, but many were specifically to Israel. We often hear Jeremiah 29:11-13 “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come to pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” This was for Israel when they were in captivity. You could make the case that any nation or people who are not following the Lord are actually in captivity and can earnestly pray to Him and He will listen. But that is not what God was saying at that time. We can learn from passages like this how God acts in the life of His people and as followers of Christ, we have been “grafted in” in order to find the same kind of relationship with God.
The same “kind” of relationship but not the exact same relationship. They were chosen, we were grafted in. We can benefit greatly and gain great insights as to the nature, wisdom, love and attention God gives to His people by reading and understanding the Old Testament. The Israelites were singled out specifically in the Old Testament and are singled out in the “end times” as well. And they are on God’s mind in between those times as too. So basically, we cannot directly apply what was meant for God’s chosen people to ourselves. Even though we can learn a lot about God and how He deals with His people today.
So, this actually brings me to the point of this musing. That is, the New Testament and its application.
Just as we realize that a good portion of the Old Testament was for the Jewish people, so to, much of the New Testament is for Christians. That is, believers and followers of Christ. This may seem obvious but my point is that it applies to Christians and not unbelievers. The Epistles. That is, letters to the Church, were obviously written to Christians. There are New Testament books written to individuals, by Christians and generally to Christians. Don’t hear what I’m not saying. Unbelievers can benefit greatly and gain great insights as to the nature, wisdom, love and attention God gives to His people by reading and understanding the New Testament. Unbelievers should be drawn to the Good News, but as unbelievers, they exclude themselves from its power and salvation by their unbelief. And we need to understand this. Just as the Old Testament covenants and promises were for the Jews and much of the New Testament is written to the believing people, there is much that can be useful to an unbeliever.
The Good News is for everyone but it truly and only benefits those who believe. Just like the Old Testament is for everyone, so is the New. But not everyone receives the benefits God wants them to have. They need to believe in the source of the benefits, otherwise they will believe that we are the source. And we are not. We learn much in the New Testament about reconciliation. Reconciliation is wonderful, but it is only truly wonderful if the reconciliation is between God and a sinner. Not between the sinner and us. Its fine to be reconciled with anyone and everyone, but it has eternal meaning only if the reconciliation is with God. We should not think nor act like our love, friendship, attention or care means much unless the recipient of these things knows and accepts the true origin of them. That is, they must know that it is only the love of God and what He has done that will save them. Can we love them without them knowing that God is the source of that love? Certainly, we can, but we need to understand that the true and ultimate goal is to give God the glory, for His is the saving love. And convey God’s love to them.
We want everyone to believe, but if they don’t, how do God’s promises benefit them? They have no true fellowship with Him nor us. We must always love people. But it needs to be God’s love that we are showing. An unsaved person is welcome to come to church and find comfort and acceptance given by us, but the comfort we provide is not a saving comfort. They need the comfort of the Holy Spirit which comes from repentance and faith in Christ.
My point is this. We may want to think that God’s promises, plans, covenants and an intimate relation benefit everyone, but they do not. Certainly not in an eternal sense. They are available for everyone but are only eternally beneficial when they are accepted, believed and understood that they are from the ever present, all powerful and all-knowing God. He truly does have a plan for all – but His is the plan that must be followed. It’s not our plan. We can be as nice and welcoming as we can be, but we must understand and make it known that we are offering God’s love, God’s hope and God’s plan. And do it to glorify God.