Hello, this is Pastor Steven Anderson from Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, Arizona.
Today I want to talk about Titus 3.9 where the Bible reads,
But avoid foolish questions and genealogies and contentions and strivings about the law,
for they are unprofitable and vain.
Now this scripture here tells us to avoid genealogies.
Now today there are those who want you to believe that the Jews are God's chosen people
because they descend from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Now the New Testament clearly teaches that God's chosen people are those who believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, no matter what their nationality.
But they say, no, no, no.
The Jews are God's chosen people because they descend from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Now let me ask you this.
How do we know who in 2014 descends from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and who doesn't?
How can we really prove that those who call themselves Jews today are truly of Israel
and that the rest of us are not?
The only way to really prove that would be to use a genealogy.
So if it mattered who is a Jew and who is a Gentile in 2014,
then why did God tell us in the New Testament to avoid genealogies?
It must not matter.
That's why He said over and over again, in Christ there is neither Jew nor Gentile.
He said there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek because if there were a
difference between the Jew and the Greek, we would need a genealogy to be able to determine
who is a Jew and who is not.
Now if we go back to the Old Testament, for example, in the book of Nehemiah, we will
find genealogies being important.
It says in verse number 64,
These sought their register...
This is Nehemiah 864, I'm sorry 764.
These sought their register among those that were reckoned by genealogy, but it was not
found.
Therefore, were they as polluted put from the priesthood.
So in Nehemiah chapter 7 verse 64, it says that those that did not have a genealogy to
prove that they were Levitical priests were considered polluted because they didn't have
a genealogy to prove that they were of the priestly line of Levi, so they're put forth
from the priesthood as being polluted.
So let me ask you this, in the Old Testament, did genealogies matter?
Of course they did.
That's why throughout the Old Testament, we'll find lots of genealogies listed.
That's why in this passage, genealogies played a critical role.
But in the New Testament, He says avoid genealogies.
Why?
Because it no longer matters whether or not you're a Jew.
It no longer matters what nation you're of because God has brought us all together into
one fold.
There's one shepherd.
There's no difference between the Jew and the Gentile.
There's no difference between Jew and Greek.
In the New Testament, that's why He said avoid genealogies.
If it mattered, who is a so-called Jew today?
He'd say, well, embrace genealogies.
But He didn't.
Avoid genealogies.