Acts 13:13-20

Jesus was a Jew, and Paul was too. He began his ministry in Pisidian Antioch by attending the Jewish synagogue on the Sabbath. When asked to speak, he began by aligning himself with the basic Jewish confessional. He was a Christian, but he still believed, as all Christians should, the four underlying tenants of the Jewish faith. He believed and stated clearly, that:

• God is the God of the people of Israel. The God of the Christian is not a new God, a newly discovered God, a different God or even a changed God. As Christians, we worship the same God that the Israelites worshipped before us.
• God chose the patriarchs. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not choose God; He chose them. The same is true for us as Christians.  We are not Christians because we chose God. If God had not chosen to reveal himself to us, we would not even be able to find Him, and choosing Him would not be a possibility. God chose us and then gave us the freedom to accept or reject His choice.
• God is a redeemer. Egypt enslaved his children, the Israelites, but God did not forget them nor did He forsake them. He redeemed them from bondage and He led them to freedom through the desert. God is still redeeming and leading to freedom His lost children today.
• God gave the Israelites the land of Palestine as an inheritance. As Christians, we recognize that God honored his promise of a homeland for his Hebrew children, and we do not doubt His promise of an eternal homeland in heaven for us.

These four confessional truths of Israel’s faith reveal God’s redemptive concern for His people. The revelation of Christ does not invalidate these truths. Rather, these truths underpin and strengthen the gospel. They make clear that the gospel did not spring into existence from nothing, but was the ongoing continuation of God’s redemptive plan for humanity. The Jewish faith prepared the way for Christ.