According to Matthew 5:17-18, Jesus came to fulfill the Law and the prophets. His obedience to the Law revealed His perfect holiness and His faithful obedience. His birth (Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2), ministry (Isaiah 61:1-2), death (Psalm 22; Isaiah 53) and resurrection (Psalm 16:7-11) demonstrated prophetic accuracy. While we are free to celebrate Jewish festivals in ways that reflect Jesus as God’s fulfillment of Messianic promises, we are not obligated to do so (Acts 15:28-29). The Law points us toward Christ (Galatians 3:21-25) so that we can follow Him through the power of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:1-16) without focusing on the requirements of the Law.
Does God love everyone? Please use references and explain Romans 9 if He does love everyone.
God is love (1 John 4:7-10) and He demonstrated perfect love when Jesus willingly died on the cross in our place (Romans 5:8). God loves the world (John 3:16), and according to John's usage of the word "cosmos" throughout his Gospel, "world" includes everyone. God’s loving goodness to all people is also expressed by every tangible and relational blessing He provides in this earthly existence (James 1:17). Even though we rebelliously go our own way (Isaiah 53:6), God persists in His kindness (Acts 14:15-17). While every person experiences God’s love in these earthly ways, John 6:35-44 emphasizes God’s gracious initiative in drawing individuals toward faith in His Son. When a person “looks to the Son and believes in Him” (John 6:40), agreeing with God about their sin and accepting Jesus’ death on the cross as full payment for their sin, they begin a relationship with God that will last forever.
In Romans 9, Paul grapples with our perspective of God’s sovereignty as He works in different ways in people’s lives. It also wrestles with why God does not show the same degree of mercy to everyone. Reflecting on God’s dealings with Jacob and Esau as well as Moses and Pharaoh, Paul asserts that God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy and He hardens whom He wants to harden.” (Romans 9:18) Paul anticipated the logical question, “Why does God still blame us?” His answer is, “Who are you to talk back to God?” (Romans 9:19-20) God is portrayed as a potter who has the right to work in different ways in different people. After two more chapters of affirmation for both God’s sovereignty and our responsibility in our choices, Paul does not resolve this tension. Instead, he urges us to worship the gracious, loving, sovereign God with gratitude and humility. We may not be able to fully grasp how God works in our salvation, but even a child can understand that when we trust Jesus for our forgiveness, He is faithful and just in cleansing us from sin (1 John 1:9). Focus on our opportunity to tell others about Jesus, trust that God is faithful to His promises and purposes and worship God whose ways are beyond our full comprehension.
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