Shabbat shalom and welcome to the fifth part on our series entitled The Kingdom Road. Yahweh-willing, we will attempt to finish the series off today as there are other things I need to share after I return from my operation next week.

May I first of all thank the many of you who have been praying for me from the bottom of my heart - I have been overwhelmed by the shere number of well-wishers and intercessors online who have been a great encouragement as it has a been a really tough week both with my health being what it is and with all the discouragement the Enemy has been throwing at me. A couple of mornings ago I asked Yahweh to 'clear the screen' of my mind, as it were, and show me something that He wanted me to see. A vision opened up of a winding procession of people holding large torches. It was misty so I could not see the people nor the road they were walking on - only the flaming torches were visible.

As I gazed on the scene the message was crystal clear - 'CELEBRATE!' was the word that loomed large and filled my mind, and I knew I was to celebrate Yahweh, if for no other reason than "our salvation...is nearer now than it was when we first believed" (Rom.13:11, KNT). There is always much to celebrate whatever we are going through and wherever we are in our Gospel walk - what Yah'shua (Jesus) has done for us on the cross, and for all we have. And that is what I have been doing.

When I went online with what's left of my computer systems, I was amazed to see how many of you had been praying for me, and then it clicked - it was you who had been holding up the torches in prayer for me, walking with me this part of my own Road. It's misty because I can't see the outcome. I have to trust Yahweh and celebrate Him anyway. So thank you again for backing me up, and there are so many of you.

I have actually faced some quite radical choices these last few days particularly as in less than a week I have to go in for heart surgery and you can never be sure how such will turn out. With so much left undone still, I have been faced with the choice to quickly finish this series, finish up some unfinished articles on our website, or write a kind of 'last will and testament' in case this is my last opportunity to witness. It is tempting in such circumstances to be negative. However, I choose to celebrate Yahweh and Yah'shua (Jesus) and to get this project finished - my mother emphatically taught me not to leave half-done jobs. And I have to say that that also appeals to my Prussian mindset, more of which I will speak of in a minute. So I am going to finish the Kingdom Road series and trust Yahweh to bring me back to do more afterwards.

You know, I have been a believer now for over 40 years and a minister for over 30 and yet I still feel like a novice. I am still astonished at how little I know. I like the way J.B.Philips translates Romans 11:33 (a quotation from Isaiah 40:13) for this very much sums up my sentiment right now:

"I stand amazed at the fathomless wealth of Elohim's (God's) wisdom and Elohim's (God's) knowledge. How could men ever understand His reasons for action, or explain His methods of working?" (Rom.11:33, JBP)

I mention this now especially to express something of the awe I have felt - not to mention, at times, frustration - as I have tried to bring so many theological strands together in this great Kingdom Road journey. The jigsaw puzzle is so large, isn't it? There are lots of pieces we have to look at closely but we also have to stand back from time to time to take a look at the whole.

That, I think, has been the hardest part for me. In the preparation of this study I had to read Romans so many times and using several versions - dissecting words, verses, chunks of verses, chapters and then reading the whole again and again to keep the 'big picture' in view while trying to think like the Hebrew that Paul was. That is tough.

Evangelism was, and is, the call to people everywhere to respond to the large-scale story about Elohim (God), the people of Elohim (God) - Israel originally and now Messianic Israel - Yah'shua (Jesus), the nations, and finally the renewal of the whole creation. The scope of Romans is from the individual and his or her salvation and right-relationship with Elohim (God) (single jigsaw pieces), marriages, families, congregations, communities, nations, the whole planet and finally the total universe. That is a huge portrait of reality to keep in focus and Paul masterfully manages to keep everything together but, in order to do so - because his mind was finite like ours - he has to jump in and out of topics just as I have been trying to this last month, only I'm trying to expand on everything in order to make sense of both the individual pieces and the whole. If I have been repetitive, I hope you'll understand why, and appreciate that my brain is not as nimble as it used to be in my younger years.

A few minutes ago I read a part of Romans 13:11 to remind you that salvation does not completely happen at the moment we first believe, it's not just being 'born-again' or spiritually regenerated, but it is a process - a life-long narrative that spills into our final reckoning and thence into eternity "for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed" (Rom.13:11, NKJV). We - you and I - are saved in the sense that Evangelicals usually talk of (the initial or alaf/alpha salvation) but we're not fully saved even though each day we come nearer to that final, taw or omega salvation if we remain faithful. And it's the second point that most Christians don't fully understand but which we must understand if we are going to put the 'Romans Road' into its proper context (really, I think it's time we started calling it what it actually is - 'Five Romans Paving Stones') otherwise we are going to bend the Pauline mould out of shape and create something the apostle never had in mind.

So, as we look at the whole picture and the individual layers and parts, it becomes clear that the narrative approach does not 'coincide' with the 'Romans Road' approach of Evangelicals terribly well. But the point that I want to stress is that the controlling political narrative had - and continues to have - radical implications for us as individuals. Evangelism was, and is, the call to people everywhere to respond to the large-scale story about Elohim (God), the people of Elohim (God), Yah'shua (Jesus), the nations, and the renewal of creation. The narrative approach, seen correctly, obviously does not exclude the agenda of modern evangelism because the first part of that narrative is still the need to be individually saved and become part of a congregation or church.

However, the Pauline narrative does radically and disconcertingly (for some) reframe it because it puts our individual salvation within the context of the nation of Messianic Israel, however dispersed among the nations she may be, so that our religion must become more than 'personal' faith and occasional 'congregational' activities once or twice a week. The Messianic Community (Church) is about a nation that has to come together at some point and that is the purpose of the Second Exodus and the Final Gathering. If our vision extends no further than winning souls for Yah'shua (Jesus) and discipling them a couple of times a week in assembly or church, then we have not really understood what the Remnant is about and why those who don't think on a national scale can't really say they are part of the Remnant's commission - and our own five commissions as Messianic Evangelicals. And by Remnant, I don't just mean the remnant of Israel that Paul talks about in Romans 9 but about the called-out Remnant of Messianic Israel today - and by 'Messianic Israel' I mean the whole 'Body of Christ', all those who claim to be 'Christian' or 'Messianic'.

One of the problems with, or limitations of, the 'Romans Road' theology of Evangelicals is that it not only starts but also ends in the personal dimension. It has proved very difficult for such a highly individualistic conception of salvation and the spiritual life. Paul's epistle to the Romans is first and foremost a history, not a theology, of salvation. We have the Book of Acts to show us how theology is 'done'. Thus, for example, Romans 4 isn't written to illustrate the doctrine of election but to show how Yahweh has always been building a people. Romans is about corporate salvation, the 'Shavu'ot' to 'Sukkot Road' as we like to call it, which is the same as the Kingdom Road, a kingdom that starts within by supernatural implanting leading to regeneration but which manifests outwardly in people as living bricks for a grand construction:

"For behold, the kingdom of Elohim (God) is within you (in your hearts) and among you (surrounding you)" (Lk.17:21, Amp.V)

The problem in Evangelical Christianity is two-fold. Firstly, when used in door-to-door and street evangelism, the 'Romans Road' seems to have as its objective to get someone to pray the 'sinner's prayer', with little attention paid to getting them connected to other believers. There is a lack of proper discipling. Secondly, where proper discipling does exist (and there are many good churches that strive hard at this), there is a failure to relate salvation in Messiah to Israel and the bigger or grander 'project', as it were.

Romans is primarily a text about Israel and the nations, how Yahweh became King of Israel (as Messianic Israel) through Yah'shua (Jesus) and how He will become the King of the Nations at the end of the aeon or age through Yah'shua (Jesus) too. N.T.Wright has written an important book on this very subject [1].

Nevertheless, Romans overflows from this into other important areas too. We read particularly of Paul's own story as a Judean (actually, a Benjamite) apostle to the Gentiles. We read about the universal reality of sin behind both Judahite failure to keep the Torah (Law) and the degraded system of classical paganism. And we read of the profound but remote prospect of the final liberation of creation from its bondage to decay.

My point is this: if we start where Paul starts, we get everything. If we start where modern evangelicalism starts, we get very little. We get a very truncated view of the Besorah (Gospel) which oftentimes doesn't even minister basic personal salvation because it reduces salvation to no more than robotically repeating a short prayer that is supposed to be a spiritual 'catch-all' for everything needed in life. Should evangelicals stop going out to 'save souls'? Of course not. Rather, their preaching should begin and end with the bigger story. You cannot isolate personal salvation from Israel and cosmic salvation without reducing the evangel to a weak caricature. The portrait must be properly framed. Yes, we must go out and witness like the Ray Comfort's and other street evangelists, but we must always follow up and complete the job assigned to us. Once born again - once supernaturally spiritually regenerated - converts must learn and apply the Torah-lifestyle and then go on to a national level. I'll come back to this last point in a minute.

It is just as important to proclaim that Yah'shua (Jesus) died for the sins of Israel (as Paul testified), that Elohim (God) raised Him from the dead and made Him King over the nations (as Paul testified), that Yahweh will finally judge humanity and consign all His enemies to the lake of fire (as Paul testified), once we have proclaimed that Yah'shua (Jesus) died for our sins so that we might have aeonian life or what orthodox Christians refer to as 'eternal life'.

As a quick aside, as this is potentially a sermon all in itself, yet important enough to merit a quick comment here and now, may I remind you that both the Greek word aionios (like the Hebrew olam) which is wrongly translated to 'eternal' instead of 'age-long', is, as the famous Dale Moody pointed out in his book, The Word of Truth (p.356), an adjective and not an adverb. What this means for those of you who may be a little rusty in the rules of grammar, is that it is the chayim or life that is aeonian not ones possession of it.

Aeonian chayim is the life of Elohim (God) in Messiah (the Son of Elohim), and this chayim (life) is lost when one departs from Messiah. That is as true of nations (like Israel) as it is of individuals as is demonstrated historically. The nation consisting of the descendants of Israel is no more 'once saved, always saved' than one who was formerly lost is 'always saved' after he has accepted Messiah. Only those who remain in Messiah - those who continue to trust Him and thereafter respond obediently - that is, who become 'Israel', retain this aeonian chayim (life):

"I (John) write these things to you who believe in the Name (Yah'shua/Jesus) of the Son of Elohim (God) so that you may know that you have aeonian chayim (life)" (1 John 5:13, NIV).

Those who trust in Messiah are Israel, whether blood descendants of Jacob or not, are saved, whereas as those descendants of Jacob along with gentiles who do not trust in Messiah are not saved. What, then, does Paul mean when he says that "all Israel will be saved" (Rom.11:26, NIV)? He does not - and cannot - mean all the descendants of Jacob. "All Israel" are those who are faithful to the covenant, whether in the past or in the present. If you are trusting Messiah, you are Israel, irrespective of your genetics or descent. When will "all Israel be saved?" After the judgment, when salvation is completed. All we must do is trust Messiah. Pity the Calvinist, then, who is forced by his twisted doctrine of predestination or unconditional election, to believe that no true Christian ever falls away, which means he cannot know whether he is a true Christian or not until finds himself either in heaven or burning eternally in hell. He can no security while on earth. Yet we who are trusting now have that security. And that is true of individual Messianic Israelites as of the whole nation of Israel.

So back to the bigger picture. The good news is not just that people can be saved but that the Creator, Yahweh-Elohim, is in charge in the affairs of the planet, and not only in our personal, family and congregational lives. Yahweh is not only doing the 'church thing' but he's doing the 'national thing' as well. He's actually interested in our countries - in the nations - which have futures in the new millennial aeon (age) to come (if they repent) or will be utterly wiped out, like many nations in the past, if they won't. And even if the nations won't repent as a whole before Yah'shua (Jesus) returns, they most certainly can change thanks to good decisions made by governments resulting from citizen pressure and action.

The churches have become, by and large, narcissistic, because they are reflecting the secular culture more and more. It's an increasingly selfish, reprobate culture. And so long as the only thing the churches do is focus on the personal part of salvation (the story of the spring festivals), that will have a minimal impact on the nations where an impact can, and should, be made. I don't think the vast majority Christians and Messianics have much of a clue how to make the 'outrageous' scriptural claim that Yahweh is now the King of the Nations in anything like a meaningful fashion in today's world so long as we don't do our part.

It's been said that our evangelism has become domesticated. We have Westernised it, quite literally. We have, in many denominations, reduced it to the unimaginative, repetitive level of the door-to-door selling of life insurance. We should be appalled at this. Why? Because modern evangelism is virtually guatanteed not to disturb the status quo. Evangelism should challenge the bedrock of our culture. It should also shake the bedrock of the modern church, for that matter. How are we now to respond to the proclamation that Yah'shua (Jesus) has been made Judge and Ruler of the nations when, to all intents and purposes, He has been dethroned by the all-powerful gods of our secular age? Evangelism, in addition to saving souls, ought to be a very disturbing activity for everyone concerned. Romans has been put into a metaphorical fishtank by Reformed (Protestant) Christians and must be returned to the larger sea of history. Read Romans 3 & 4.

Now it is true, of course, that the nations were always antagonistic toward Israel and Yahweh's people, and this is heavily underscored in the Book of Revelation. The nations are thrown into the lake of fire - which you will remember is a cleansing fire - and then the same self-said nations that haven't been completely burned up (dissolved), what do they do?

"Then the malak (angel) showed me the river of the mayim chayim (water of life), as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of Elohim (God) and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the Etz haChayim (Tree of Life), bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations" (Rev.22:1-2, NIV).

Evangelism has both personal and a corporate dimensions, and the corporate dimension includes not only marriages, families and congregations, but nations or countries too. Some of those countries don't even have political borders (yet), like Kurdistan or Basqueland, or did have them but lost them when their conquerers abolished them. Most of you don't know, because it's not something I talk about very much here, that one of my personal missions (as distinct from the larger NCAY work) is to declare the restoration of the nation of Prussia that was dissolved in 1947 by the Allies at the behest of the Deep State as its Christian morality threatened their agenda. I don't doubt that others are called to prophetically announce the restoration and creation of other nations too. Yahweh is the one who determines the borders of the nations, and He calls nevi'im (prophets) to declare them [2].

Restoring the corporate and structural dimensions of evangelism is an important step along the way to a more biblical 'Romans Road', if one may even be said to exist. Thus we have messages for nations too and there is no doubt that Yahweh calls nevi'im (prophets) to modern nations as he did in olden times when, for instance, He sent Jonah to Nineveh of Assyria. These can be pretty tough assignments. I'm thinking now of messianic rabbi Johanathan Cahn whom Yahweh used to call America, and in particular its government and its agencies, to repentance during the Obama administration. You may be familiar with some of his by now very popular books like The Harbinger and The Mystery of the Shemitah.

Now obviously there is an enormous difference in pace when it comes to national evangelism as compared to personal evangelism. Personal evangelism is fast and exciting - things happen all the time as individuals repent and meet the living Messiah. But national work is by its very nature slow and painstaking. This is a much longer 'road' and at times can be quite thankless for the ones called to walk it. Not only that, but it comes in all sorts of forms. I think of the incredible and inspirational work done by Anglican Canon, Andrew Wight, the 'Vicar of Baghdad' (I have often recommended his books and interviews [3]) whom Yahweh not only used for traditional one-to-one evangelism but also called to be a peacemaker amongst Christians and Moslems in that war-torn country of Iraq. And he did this in spite of suffering from multiple sclerosis. There are all kinds of evangelists like him doing astonishing and unexpected things for the Kingdom. I say 'unexpected' only because such labours can sometimes be incomprehensible to those caught up in the theological 'fishtank'.

We now live in a post-Christian, neo-pagan Western culture and the way evangelism has been done for generations is having to change to meet new challenges. As we journey through life as it is in the 21st century, and interact with our world, our journey sometimes forces us to connect to the wider dimensions of evangelism in new and unfamiliar ways. The 'techniques' I learned when I was a young believer witnessing mostly do not work now because the assumptions I worked from no longer hold - you can't assume people even know what basic Christianity is any more. The only version they have ever likely heard is the one negatively presented to them at school from a humanistic perspective which understandably didn't interest them then and which they have in any case probably completely forgotten. Ignorance is widespread.

When you're dealing with a hedonistic mindset you have to use a completely different approach. And it's not like it was in Paul's day among the pagans either because we live in a post-modernist world where the very existence of emet (truth) is no longer acknowledged and where the previously familiar philosophical categories accepted generally in my youth are no longer recognised. Everything is being deconstructed. Frighteningly, the appeal to science, logic and reason is becoming less and less acceptable too. And if you're a white heterosexual male Christian, you are immediately devalued and viewed with suspicion, if not outright hostility because you are the new scapegoat for all the world's ills. So we have new handicaps which really only heavenly power, in many cases, will overcome.

How, then, would the traditional 'Romans Road' approach be perceived by most 21st century post-moderns? You may still be able to approach half the population using this method but that number is diminishing. I predict that within the next 20 or so years very few people will be reachable by this method. That I find alarming, if true. Why, even my own writings by then may be quite useless in reaching this category of person, systematically rendered senseless and mindless by all the state-sponsored brainwashing and dumbing down going on in schools, universities and in the media. Such will be an incomprehensible language to them and I don't think believers have thought carefully enough about this.

We can't easily or quickly 're-raise' and re-educate someone, a process requiring years and years, and yet we can't just abandon these lost souls either. I suspect that the greatest appeal will have to go directly to the heart, making traditional apologetics practically redundant. The 're-training' or 're-raising' will have to happen in the local congregation which will require an altogether new breed of teachers and lots and lots of discipling time. Twice-weekly church meetings won't be enough. Believers are going to need to live in communities where they can see the Besorah (Gospel) in action and can be taught in situ by all the saved as well as in the more structured settings of sabbath schools. The burdens placed on gospel teachers will become greater and greater as we approach the time of the Second Coming. They will have their work cut out for them.

As this anarchy accelerates - as it will - it will appear on the outside that the Creator Elohim (God) is far from being in control. Yahweh will seem to be absent. Actually, it will increasingly appear that Satan is in charge, which he will be in a certain sense, at least for a while, even though he knows he is defeated and knows that he will lose all control in that day the Messiah comes back, that Day of Yahweh when Judgment is rendered and salvation completed. Does that mean, then, that we should sit back, after the manner of the deists, and just wait for the present order to come to an end?

No, and I'll tell you why. Do not work from the assumption that the Enemy's control and power will be evenly distributed even in this high-tech age. In Daniel's vision of the giant statue depicting the historical progression of satanic kingdoms, most of which have come and gone, we are under the final ruling power whose feet are made "partly of iron and partly of baked clay" (Dan.2:33, NIV). In other words, the devilish system is stronger in some places (iron) and weaker in others (baked clay), the latter of which is very fragile.

I believe this can refer both to the mental state of the people as well as the power generally exercised in the nations. Some places, and some people, will be more controlled than others. In other words, the susceptibility to this system will in large part depend on the choices people have made and where they gather for safety. As in the coming judgment, some locations will be safer than others and some places (villages, towns, cities and nations) will be under the control of the Enemy to greater or lesser extents. Satan's hold is not complete generally and not total over all people, places and nations.

Indeed, it is our belief (according to a vision seen by one of our brethren) that at least four countries [4] will be in permanent revival before and when Yah'shua (Jesus) returns, making them excellent places to be generally, with less sustained revivals appearing and disappearing in many other locations and nations. The witnesses of the next generation will definitely be bearing fruit in the right people in the right places. And many of them will understand and respond to the alef or alpha salvation presented by the 'Romans Road' approach. But I think fewer and fewer will respond to that kind of presentation in the future. But we shall see.

Romans 1:16 shows where Messiah died for all - first for the Judeans then for the Gentiles. Who are today's (and particularly tomorrow's) prophetic end-time category called 'Judeans'? Those 'cultivated' by good and diligent parents and teachers with the skills to accept the principle of absolute emet (truth) and who will thereby be susceptible to traditional apologetics and presentations of the Besorah (Gospel), from alef to taw (alpha to omega). The next generation may have to work a bit harder than mine but they will be enabled or anointed to do this. Theirs will be a double, Elisha-type infilling.

The end-time prophetic caregory of 'gentiles', by contrast, will be those who have literally been programmed through indoctrination to be incapable of rational thinking, a hardened, pampered and ultra-polititically correct 'snowflake' generation largely centred in self and suffering from 'histrionic personality disorder' big time - and by that I mean the tendency to emotional overreaction, suggestibility, the tendency to over-dramatisate situations resulting in an inability to build relationships with either man or Elohim (God). More than the 'Judeans' category they are going to need supernatural encounters with the ahavah (love) and chesed (mercy) of Elohim (God) to fill in the gaping holes in their own love-starved hearts Believers will have to be similarly filled themselves to be inspirational living incarnations of the same. Theology won't mean much to them (at least not at first), including some of the paving stones of the 'Romans Road'. Do you get my drift? The 'pure theologians' will have to be patient.

So I don't accept the argument, which some liberals advance, that Romans was only written for the Judeans and Gentiles of the first century AD and so doesn't apply now or can't possibly apply in the future. Of course, we must agree with them when they say that when Paul's letters were written they were specifically and contextually written for the people of that time, so that those people would have known exactly what he was talking about and would have naturally understood all the idioms he used. That does not, however, limit them to where they suddenly are no longer relevant to today's or tomorrow's audience, no matter what the mental and emotional handicaps may be or our ignorance of the language of Paul's day. For if any of the Bible was written to only the original audiences and cannot not relate to today's readership, then what would be the point of reading it? It would only be of interest to historians.

Yet, as I have emphasised many times, we do have to understand the setting of the letters in order to interpret them rightly. That way we will not be tempted to read into them ideas that belong to later times like our own. If one part of the Scriptures was for the original audience and the other for a current audience, then that would make the Bible unreliable. Who then would we, as sinners, be to decide what is, and isn't applicable, in the Davar Elohim (God's Word)? At the very least there are always object lessons to be learned, like what to, and what not to, and how to imitate the godly life through reading historical examples. Even long genealogies have a purpose in, for example, establishing the messianic line and to confirm the claims made by Yah'shua (Jesus) as the "Son of David" and legitimate King of Israel (Mt.1:1,20: 9:27) who came to die for the sins of the world.

The original Judean and Gentile (Greek) readership of Paul's day have long since gone but similar groupings or categories still exist today. I have already done a drash showing how the basic tavnith (pattern) - orderly vs. disorderly (lawless) as the result of upbringing or cultivation, or a lack thereof - basically remains but with new labels.

I hope, in giving all this extra detail, I have not left anyone with the impression that the Derech (Way) to the aeon of aeons or eternal life is broader than it really is. It remains as narrow as it ever was. And it has many, many paving stones, that repeat in pattern as often as we repeat the cycle of the weekly, monthly and annual moedim (appointments), as often as we repeat that simple motion of right foot first, left foot second, and so on in the manner of the Gospel walk. It is a Derech (Way) both personal, national and cosmic, for the whole of creation marches down it. That Derech (Way) has a Name, and that Name is Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ). It's walk is both very personal but also cosmic in its dimension. It's not just about our personal salvation but the salvation of everything visible and invisible. It's narrow to be sure but the paving is very detailed and intricate and many are the ways in which we might portray it. That I am struggling to find metaphors illustrates my point perfectly.

Down the middle is its main lane, occupying almost the whole width, and its name is emunah (faith). The person who walks down it does so trusting implicity in the Name of the One whose Road in its entirety it is. On either side of the lane is a fence, wall, or a hedge of protection and its name is Torah, the Teaching and Law of our Heavenly Father. We walk safely along this road, and need never fear to wander of it into the byways where men and women get lost, so long as we mark our walk by its precepts. This wall is a second compass, an aid to emunah (faith) in Messiah.

As we zoom in on the road that is emunah (faith) we see paving stones of all shapes and sizes. The three largest, that continually repeat along the entire Way, are ahavah (love) - by far the largest and most spectacular - tiqveh (hope), and a stone also called emunah (faith). Sometimes it is hard to tell them apart as they appear to all merge with one another. As you look closer you see ten smaller types of paving stone, again constantly repeating in pattern, which are the Ten Commandments also known as the Ten Devarim or Words. And as you look even closer still you see hundreds of other smaller stones which are all the rest of the mitzvot (commandments) that fill in the gaps between the larger stones. Along the entire length of the road, as far as the eye can see, these stones repeat again and again for every two steps of the Derech (Way).

As you pull away and look from a more distant vantage point, all the paving stones seem to blend into one - a golden way. And if you strain your eyes you might perceive that the one road is, in reality, many roads all occupying the same space, all narrow, and all as perfect as the main one. These are the marriage, family, national, global and cosmic roads. And as you relax your gaze, so they all merge into one again. A very simple road, straight as a ruler, and wide enough for only one man, one marriage, one family, one nation, one world, or one cosmos to move along. Standing it its midst - in it, over it, around it, and under it, is the visage of a Man, and behind Him a Cross, and behind that the Father. And round about them are the heavenly hosts, all perfectly echad (one), all bound by a common ahavah (love), all subject to a single Rule. This is the Kingdom Road, the Golden Way.

Unpacking that road so that it is more comprehensible to our finite minds has been the purpose of this series of sermons. The theme that runs right the way through it is, of course, salvation. Yahweh wants His cosmos restored back to the harmony that once prevailed before the Fall which He foresaw and permitted so that man might choose to love Him of their own free will and not by some satanic compulsion. And it all begins with personal salvation - it's where the rubber must first hit the road, for like the paving stones themselves, the bigger salvation of nations and the like is in reality a salvation of a community of individuals in which the country's leadership plays a decisive rôle.

Paul's basic argument in his letter to the Romans, interestingly, does not centre on the individual's need for salvation but on what Elohim (God) is doing for, and through, His people as part of His 'campaign', as it were, at this particular moment in history. And what is that 'campaign'? To be acknowledged as ruler of the pagan world. This is Paul's 'gospel' unpacked - the story of how Yahweh is proving Himself to be righteous in the eyes of the nations. And it entails three things:

• 1. Divine judgment or wrath against both the Judean and the Greek, against both Israel and against the dominant pagan culture;
• 2. The redemption of Elohim's (God's) people through the death and resurrection of Yah'shua (Jesus); and
• 3. The prospect that in the not too distant future Yah'shua (Jesus) - and not Caesar - will rule the all the nations (in the Millennium).

This 'political' narrative - because that's what Romans is - had implications for individuals at the time - for Judeans and Greeks - though not exactly the same implications. It also has radical, life-changing implications for people today, which is a point we must not miss either. In the bigger picture our individual salvation, vitally important though that is, is for a purpose greater than ourselves - it is for the whole community of Yahweh's creatures. And all I have been trying to say these last five weeks is that we must not lose sight of that bigger picture in our zeal to win souls. This approach, laregly forgotten by Evangelical Christianity, takes the Bible far more seriously and, frankly, more literally than the approach which treats it as all written primarily and directly for the universal reader. In this respect, Messianics tend to have a better grasp than Evangelicals but get sidetracked in other ways, such as the Zionist con.

When individuals or groups of Christians decide to say that some parts of the Bible are relevant for us and some are not, they consequently decide that the Bible cannot be believed wholly, and that is very dangerous. The 'Romans Road', or better, the 'Romans Paving-Stones' approach, selects a few verses that it considers practically relevant for the purpose of personal evangelism and by and large pays no attention whatsoever to the argument of the Epistle. Again, I am not saying that personal evangelism is irrelevant - of course not - only that it needs to be reframed if it is to be fully biblical. I believe this will enrich our spirituality and give us much simcha (joy) too. As I hear many people and pastors talking about the 'Romans Road', I keep coming across one very big thing that is missing. I'm not talking about the use of certain scriptures to change or elaborate the meanings that are trying to be brought out. If we are going to accept Paul's writings as canonical Scripture, if we believe the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) inspired him, then we must pay attention to everything he says and frame all we do within it.

Paul said:

"I am not ashamed of the Besorah (Gospel), because it is the power of Elohim (God) for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Judean (Jew), then for the Gentile (Greek). For in the Besorah (Gospel) a righteousness ('covenant justice' - KNT) from Elohim (God) is revealed, a righteousness that is by emunah (faith) from first to last ('from faithfulness to faithfulness' - KNT), just as it is written: 'The righteous (just) will live by emunah (faith[fulness])'" (Rom.1:16-17, NIV).

I want to zoom in now on this word "power". Just as you do not get any power from an electric plug unless you connect it to the mains, so likewise you do not get the power from the Besorah (Gospel) unless you connect to it and participate in it. Involvement in soul-winning and Kingdom-building is really the only way to be thus connected. It is what gives the corporate body of the saved chayim (life). Without it, congregations stagnate, fossilise, and die.

These last five weeks we have talked about pretty deep things. However, they are not for everyone. The maturer believers want to know more about the historical implications of certain passages of Scripture and for that reason, I have observed, the less mature focus on paving-stones like those of the 'Romans Road' and ignore the rest. Understand that that is not a criticism of the less mature. When your focus is on one-to-one evangelism, as it should be for all of us, that is absolutely fine. As we mature, though, we should ask the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) and our spiritual mentors (pastors, teachers, husbands, fathers, etc.) to reveal deeper meanings to us when we read and study the Bible. However, if you try to explain to less mature students the political reasonings of Paul regarding Judeans, Romans and Gentiles at the time he authored the book of Romans, you'll lose them completely! They need to know the basics of salvation to be saved first, not the complete historical implications and political agendas of 2000 years ago.

Its important for theologians, Bible scholars, and those well versed in the Bible to understand that we all start with 'baby steps' and the 'milk of the Davar (Word)' until we can digest the meatier meanings of the Davar Elohim (God's Word). So if I have choked anyone with too much meat, or sent any of you to sleep, I apologise...and I don't apologise. I apologise because this was not necessarily for you today (and that's absolutely fine) and I don't apologise because you are going to need it one day both to answer hard questions posed by the world as well as to answer the deeper questions of your soul which will surface at some point and demand answers. So I guess this has been for everyone but at different times. Perhaps it is just as well I did not actually preach this series before a live congregation. It is to be read or listened to as needed, but needed it most definitely is at some point in the lives of those part of this work. Leaders and apologists will benefit the most.

Above all, I want us to resolve the doctrinal controversies that have been plaguing the Body of Messiah for centuries. It must be done, and it can be done, so long as we get away from the reductionist world view of modern Western theology. Unfortunately, this false worldview defines our beliefs, our presuppositions, sets the parameters for thought without us realising it, and we absorb it from a very early age in our churches and assemblies. We have to relearn the worldview of the ancients otherwise the wisdom of the ancients will remain forever hidden from us. If we developed a different world view - one which quite naturally thought and read scripture in narrative terms, for example - the distinction between milk and meat would look very different. Indeed, I promise you everything will be 'seen' differently but in a way that brings wholeness and ends denominational bickering. As always, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

As long as our theological culture prioritises personal over corporate salvation, we will struggle to make sense of the historical dimension of the Messianic Scriptures (New Testament), no matter how old we are. If it ever came to the point where our theological culture prioritised the historical narrative, we would not have the difficulties that the denominations still have with each other.

Mart De Haan of Radio Bible Ministries (RBC), whose writings I have been enjoying ever since I became a believer, hit the nail on the head when he said:

"If we see the Bible as a handbook for solving our problems, rather than a revelation of Elohim (God) and the story of our rescue, its moral principles will seem like a cut flower...clipped from its stem and root."

As Messianic Evangelicals, we strongly believe in the study of theology and all the degrees that come with it. At the beginning of my ministry I naïvely thought otherwise but I have learned differently over time. However, that can and does become problematic when knowledge starts to supercede the most important part of the Bible, Yahweh's ahavah (love) for the people and His desire for all to be saved. Yes, emet (truth) must define ahavah (love) in the intellectual sense but it can't substitute for it - ahavah (love) is it's own entity, its own substance, its own reality and power. Yes, Yahweh wants all to be saved which obviously can't be true if you have swallowed the Calvinist lie that He's already decided in advance who is to be saved and who is not:

"This is tov (good), and pleases Elohim (God) our Deliverer (Saviour), who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the emet (truth)" (1 Tim.2:3-4, NIV).

And, as you know, we believe He shall have His way because He is never frustrated in His plans because the Omnipotent One never fails. It was never His plan to unilaterally condemn the vast majority to eternal torture or annihilation. He rescues even the most stubborn and hardened, however long it takes.

Theology without the power of ahavah (love) is dead, as I have been talking to you about these last weeks. Our driving force must always be the public proclamation of the Besorah (Gospel), by whatever means, otherwise all of this is just 'talk without the walk'. Accordingly, we need to first look at what John the Baptist told people. He got his message from Elohim (God) the Father. John didn't preach whatever he felt the 'modern' people of his day might accept. He was no Joel Olsteen or Rick Warren. In a nutshell his message was repent for the Saviour is here and if you do not repent then He, the Saviour, will gather you like a dried up twig and cast you into the fire that painfully burns for a very, very long time, because He cannot suffer impurity in the Creation which He is restoring to its pristine purity through His Son. Repent, and bring forth fruit, the Master demanded, Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand. Go and sin no more. To Festus, Paul preached righteousness, temperance and the judgment-to-come, and all in the context of a simple choice: REPENT OR PERISH.

To many, the 'Romans Road' looks too much like a bunch of flowers in a vase clipped from it's roots. Salvation, whether for an individual or for a nation, must have an intimate encounter with the Living King. There is a transaction where the Ruach Elohim (Spirit of God) bears witness to your spirit that you have passed from death to chayim (life) by your willingness to repent, trust and obey. When that happens, the Bible becomes not just a book of facts or a theological encyclopedia of knowledge but a revelation of Elohim (God) and Messiah (Christ) who gave Himself for us. Without the revelation, it is just dead letter.

Everything in the Bible, from beginning to end, is a revelation of the Elohimhead (Godhead) who reveals Himself through Messiah, who is not only our Sovereign Creator but our Saviour, our Comforter, our Shepherd, our King, our Advocate, our Intercessor, our Deliverer, and the list goes on and on. That revelation and living communion - that daily encounter with the divine chayim (life) - is everything.

We are commited to handling the Davar Emet (Word of Truth) as accurately as we can. We must always be willing to challenge traditional and cherished uses - and abuses - of Scripture. We must show patience and kindness in our responses to the questions people pose to us, even when they not only disagree with our ideas but become disagreeable, antagonistic and even violent towards us as Christians. We must always be gentle and respectful, speaking emet (truth) in firmness and ahavah (love).

Darker days are coming to be sure even to our once Christian lands. I am sure you can imagine all sorts of scenarios. With whom do you identify in the events of this dark day? C.J.Mahaney has a shocking answer which I guarantee most of you have not even considered:

"I identity the most with the angry mob screaming, 'Crucify Him!' That's who we should all identify with. Because apart from God's grace, this is where we would all be standing, and we're only flattering ourselves to think otherwise. Unless you see yourself standing there with the shrieking crowd, full of hostility and hatred for the holy and innocent Lamb of God, you don't really understand the nature and depth of your sin or the necessity of the cross" [5].

If that seems rather out of place with what I have been saying these last five weeks, it was deliberate, to force us to remember just how devilish the flesh really is, and how easy it is to move back into it. And though it might surprise you to hear me say this, given all I have been saying, it is so easy to intellectualise the Besorah (Gospel) and end up in that violent crowd by small increments without realising it. We're not here to win theological debates but to reveal the image of Messiah to others by our very lives. We may not be able grasp everything that fellow believers say to us, particularly those who are seminary-trained, because they have their own 'academic language' which is over the heads of most, but we can walk in the power of divine ahavah (love) no matter how 'bright' or 'dim' we may view ourselves as being as adjudged by the world's standards. Do we use an historical-grammatical or a narrative-historical approach? Well, I think such questions are really for ministers to discuss amongst themselves for the most part. I want us, as we end this sermon and series, to ask the more radical and pertinent question: are we in Him, and He in us, and are we reflecting and radiating His character?

I think that the main problem with modern Christianity is that it has become badly infected with an unbiblical and antibiblical over-emphasis on individualism. Is salvation more than the blessed assurance that we'll 'go to heaven' when we die? Surely the Besorah (Gospel) is more than personal and individual, yet it applies to individuals personally and presently, as well as to people corporately as always. Don't fall for the Marxist trap of believing that the best way to love humans is to love that abstract idea called 'humanity', and to love 'it' alone (yes, it's very impersonal) - for these lost souls, individuals are expendible so long as the masses can be helped out of oppression through revolution. We learn to love individuals first and we must continue doing so. But the ahavah (love) and nature we are supposed to reflect is that of the Divine Redeemer who loves billions of souls all at the same time. Can we have that passionate ahavah (love) for all of humanity as well as for those individuals in our intimate circle? Or is it limited to certain groups only - like Calvin's predestined brats only (since he hates all the rest enough to condemn them, through no fault of their own, to then torture or execute them)? Think about it. Which is the more mature revelation of ahavah (love)? Which is the more spiritual?

We are, sadly, affected by the times in which we live, so we have to be on the alert. That is why the Kingdom Road becomes so important as it moves through this dark terrain. It (He) alone is lit with authentic light, it (He) alone offers spiritual safety, it (He) alone guarantees a happy outcome, whatever our personal limitations may be. And so I think I will end it here, though I could have said more. I am happy to have completed what I have. I cannot promise to have anything for you next week or whether I'll even be here still, but if I am still here, by Yah's grace, I will continue to serve you and the Kingdom as best I can. I ask for your prayers. In the meantime I admonish you to emunah (faith) - keep trusting, stay on the straight and narrow no matter what, remain in your salvation - continue to believe and affirm the atonement, death, and physical resurrection of Yah'shua (Jesus) and you will be just fine. Grace and peace be unto you all in Yah'shua (Jesus) our Master. Amen.

Endnotes

[1] N.T.Wright, How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels (Harper One, NY: 2012)
[2] See, for example, the halakah on Ukraine and Moldova within the context of modern judgments
[3] Andrew White, The Vicar of Baghdad: Fighting for Peace in the Middle East (Monarch Books, Oxford: 2009)
[4] Sweden (with Finland & Estonia), Kenya, the Philippines and Bolivia
[5] C.J.Mahaney, Living the Cross-Centered Life: Keeping the Gospel the Main Thing (Multnomah Books, Colorado Springs: 2006), p.87

Acknowledgements