Grafted In, But Not Jewish [Israel means Israel, Period. Part 4]

Links to Parts 1-3 inside

"Tov Rose has written a resource so thorough that Bible students, ministry leaders, and every believer in Yeshua seeking to understand the unity of both the Hebrew and Apostolic Scriptures, will want a copy in their library.

In our own day, much scholarship, and certainly pulpit ministries, have moved away from advancing the truth that Yahweh’s people must understand how both Testament’s speak His revelation. The result is a rise in what I describe as abhorrent theologies that attempt to negate and reject outright Yahweh’s people Israel, argue against a literal realized eschatology where King Jesus reigns, and a misunderstanding of the role we must play as believers in these days. Tov’s book provides the biblical basis as well as the intellectual weaponry to right these wrongs."

Dr. Mike Spaulding
Pastor Calvary Chapel Lima, OH, Author and Conference Speaker

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Thank you for buying me a caffeinated beverage to keep me awake, productive, and perk- Click!

Announcement: As many know, my family has been struggling a lot. We do see the light at the end of the tunnel, but it will take a lot of hard work and some consistent partnership to get there. Our ministry has been raising funds to help.

Thank you for reading this announcement from our volunteers sent out today:

“Update #101 $236.79 Past Due – Help the Roses Keep Their Lights On - From Call to Return Ministries

Thank you for your generosity—$150 came in today from our morning email and Tov’s post, bringing us to $1,250 raised, with $1,000 paid toward the Rose family’s rent. Another $100 is pledged but won’t arrive until Monday, leaving them unable to pay their past-due electric bill of $236.79. Power is critical for their daughter’s health, as mold in their apartment worsens her Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (CIRS). Insufficient funds since February have kept her from starting her treatment, and they must escape this toxic home.

Tov shares: “Please pray for me, my family and my job search and training to rebuild my business. I'm focusing those rebuilding efforts on providing high quality lead generation to businesses that make over $500,000 yearly. I’ve applied to over 600 jobs that I am perfectly qualified for since February and had ONE interview with an AI Chatbot and was rejected, and have had a sum total of five rejection emails. The maintenance team at the apartment we rent has begun to fix most things we report now that we've had to go over his head to the company that owns this Apartment company. The head of maintenance here is now hostile to me. They have not yet treated mold as requested and required. We’ve not been able to find local lawyers to help us. We have to get out of here for our daughter's sake to help restore her health. This is the immediate goal. But to be honest, I’m depressed and discouraged. I thought other things we've gone through were hard, I am tired.”

As Christians, we’re called to act in love, which is why we at Call to Return have been helping. Can you help keep their lights on:

• $25 to start

• $100 toward the electric bill

• $250 to cover it fully

Donate Now:

• Venmo: @CalltoReturn, https://venmo.com/CalltoReturn

• Cash App: $CalltoReturn, https://cash.app/$CalltoReturn

• PayPal: Donations@CallToReturnMinistries.org

• Zeffy (no fees): https://www.zeffy.com/donation-form/c527882c-9e50-4889-b510-390fd9b3b7df

• GiveSendGo: https://www.givesendgo.com/GCHUP

• Amazon Wish List: https://amzn.to/3HtTnV4

For their daughter’s special diet (required for CIRS symptom management), you can also purchase electronic gift cards for Sam’s Club or Costco and email them to donations@calltoreturnministries.org.

• Sam’s Club Gift Cards: https://www.samsclubhub.com/sams-club-hub-egift-card-SAMGC220001.html

• Costco Shop Cards: https://www.costco.com/

Every gift helps the Roses survive and fight for a healthier future. Share #HelpTheRoses to rally our community.

With gratitude,

The Call to Return Team”

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Grafted In, But Not Jewish: A Coffee Chat with Christopher

Hey there, friends! Tov Rose here—your Happy Theologist—popping in. Picture this: you, me, a steaming mug of something good, and a chance to unpack a juicy question from my pal Christopher Hubbard. I love when folks like Christopher toss me a curveball—it’s like a little adventure through the Scriptures, and I’m all in for it. So, pull up a chair, and let’s dive into this together!

Christopher dropped me a note that got my wheels turning: “Tov, I’m with you until you say Gentiles aren’t spiritual Jews. Romans talks about being grafted in, and to me, that’s adoption—joining a family, taking the name, all through the blood of a guy from Judah who’s also God. If it doesn’t mean Replacement Theology, what’s the harm in believing that?” Oh, Christopher, you’ve got my Jewish heart humming! As a guy who’s walked this Messianic road with Yeshua, I’ve got some thoughts—personal ones, biblical ones, and maybe a little quirky ones too. Let’s chat it out.

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That Olive Tree Moment in Jerusalem

So, let me take you back a bit. I’m in Jerusalem, perched at this tiny café with falafel sizzling nearby and an espresso so strong it could wake up Moses. I’ve got Romans 11 open, and it’s hitting me hard—my Jewish roots and my Yeshua faith all tangled up in Paul’s words. He says, “Some branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive, got grafted in, sharing that rich root” (Romans 11:17, my paraphrase). Me? I’m a natural branch—born Jewish and never broken off, alive in Messiah, part of the Remnant Paul talks about. But you wild ones out there, the Gentiles—what’s that mean for you?

I used to hear folks say, “Grafted in? You’re a spiritual Jew now!” It sounded sweet, like a nod to my heritage. But then Paul keeps going: “Don’t get cocky with those branches” (v. 18), and “The root holds you up, not the other way around” (v. 18). And later, “If they turn back, they’ll be grafted in again” (v. 23). Wait a sec—if the tree was just Israel, why’s Paul talking about Jews coming back? That’s when it clicked: the tree’s not Israel the nation. The root’s God’s promise to Abraham—“all nations blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3)—and the tree? It’s us, the faith family, where I’m a Jewish branch and you’re the wild ones Yeshua welcomed in.

Christopher’s adoption idea? Love it. Yeshua’s blood—Judah’s finest, God Himself—brings us into the fold. But here’s where I see it different: we’re not all squeezed into my Jewish shoes. We’re family in Messiah, not clones of my tribe. That tree’s a wild, beautiful mix, and I’m grinning ear to ear about it.

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Adoption’s Cool, But I’m Still Me

Adoption’s a big deal—huge! Ephesians 1:5 says God “picked us out for adoption through Yeshua,” and Romans 8:15 talks about that “Spirit of adoption.” As a Jewish guy, I feel that deep—my Messiah, my Judah kin, pulling us all close. But adoption doesn’t mean I stop being Tov, the Jewish Happy Theologist, or you stop being you.

Think about my buddy Michael-David. His wife is part of our Tribe, she's Jewish, married a guy who wasn’t Jewish but came to faith. He’s family now—loves Shabbat, is the foremost Davidic Harp teacher on earth—but he’s not a Jewish. His story’s his, mine’s mine. You wild branches get grafted into God’s big house (Ephesians 2:19), but you don’t swipe my Jewish name tag. We’re all “God’s kids” (John 1:12), rocking a new family vibe in Yeshua.

Paul, my Jewish great-grand cousin, gets it. Romans 2:28-29—“A Jew isn’t just outward; it’s the heart.” That’s faith talk Jew to Jew, not an ID swap where Gentiles become Jews. Unbelieving Jews are still my kin; believing Gentiles are my siblings—not “spiritual Jews.” It’s a heart thing, and I’ve lived it, laughed through it, and loved it.

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Abraham’s Crew, Not Jacob’s Club

Let’s hop over to Galatians. Paul says, “If you’re in Messiah, you’re Abraham’s kids, heirs of the promise” (Galatians 3:29). I’m pumping my fist—Abraham’s my guy too! But “Abraham’s kids” isn’t “spiritual Jews.” Abraham had a big family—Isaac, Ishmael, the works (a bunch more kids after Sarah died). The promise narrows through Jacob to Israel, sure, but the blessing? It’s for all nations (Genesis 22:18) throug Abraham. You’re in on that, grafted into the root, but you’re not suddenly my cousin from Tel Aviv. Being a kid in Abraham is the ultimate Grandfather Clause. You're grafted into Grandpa, not grandson Jacob!

Picture a Passover table. I’m there, born into the Exodus story, but when you join through Yeshua, you’re not rewriting your roots. Galatians 3:28—“No Jew or Greek”—means we’re equals, not twins. I’m still lighting my candles; you’re still you. Same grace, different flavors. You're a man who's looking for a woman to marry? Yep, male and female still exist, we're just given equal access to that Promise through Faith in and through Grandpa Abraham.

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“No MoreJew or Gentile” Doesn’t Mean We’re All Me

That Galatians 3:28 line—“neither Jew nor Greek”—trips people up. Christopher, you might think it’s one big Jewish family now. But check this: Paul says in 1 Corinthians 7:18-19, “Called as a Jew? Stay that way. Called as a Gentile? Don’t change.” I keep my Jewish groove; you keep yours. It’s about faith, not a makeover.

“No more” isn’t erasure—it’s unity without uniformity. My Shabbat, my Torah—they’re mine. Replacement Theology twists this into “everyone’s Jewish now,” sidelining my people. Nope. Paul’s not kicking us out; he’s inviting you in—different, but together.

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Commonwealth? Yep, But Not My Nation

Ephesians 2:12 stings a bit: Gentiles were “out of Israel’s commonwealth, strangers to the promises.” As a Jewish believer, I’m in that commonwealth—Israel’s covenant world. Yeshua, my Judah King, reigns over it all. You’re “brought near” (v. 13), “fellow citizens with the saints” (v. 19), but your passport’s from heaven (Philippians 3:20), not Jerusalem.

It’s like the British Commonwealth. my nephews and cousins are Israeli by birth; you’re Aussie or American or wherever. We’re family under God’s big roof, but you’re not moving into my neighborhood, taking over my house and sleeping in my bed. Misreading this as “Gentiles are Jews” feeds Replacement ideas, and I’m not here for that.

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Why “Spiritual Jews” Feels Off

Calling you “spiritual Jews” just doesn’t sit right with me. Paul never says it—he calls us “in Messiah” (Romans 6:11), His crew (1 Corinthians 12:27). My Jewish Messianic life is my story—Yeshua’s woven into it. You join the journey, but you don’t borrow my yarmulke.

Replacement Theology grabs “spiritual Jews” to push Israel aside. But Romans 11:1—“God ditch His people? Never!”—and “all Israel will be saved” (11:26) say I’m still here. You’re adopted into Yeshua’s love, your connected to the Second Adam who is now Abraham's Firstborn Son of Promise through his obedience and sacrifice on the same Temple Mount that Isaac was nearly sacrificed, but your not adopted my lineage which is literally genetic, and that’s awesome.

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The Risk and the Party

If “spiritual Jews” slides into Replacement Theology, it’s trouble—history’s got the scars of it, and I’ve felt them personally, as have all my kids. But the flip side? Pure joy! One tree, natural and wild branches, all rooted in Yeshua. I’m cheering you on, hoping my Jewish kin get a little jealous of your faith in our God (Romans 11:11) and join the party.

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Let’s Live This Thing

So, Christopher, here’s my Happy Theologist take: Celebrate adoption, but let me be Jewish, and you be you. Live loud as wild branches, shining with heavenly citizenship through baptism into Jesus the firstborn son of Abraham, loving my people as family. One tree, two styles, one Jesus. What’s your next move? Grab a coffee, crack open your Bible, and let’s keep this going!

Part 1:

Part 2: The Church is NOT Israel:

Let's take this a step futher: over on X @B_A_Purtle suggested this discussion:

This is very simple, actually. If the Church is Israel and Israel is the Church, please answer my parenthetical questions:

"...all Israel (a mostly Gentile Church?) will be saved, as it is written,

'The Deliverer will come from Zion,

he will banish ungodliness from Jacob' (A mostly Gentile Church?);

'and this will be my covenant with them

when I take away their sins.'

As regards the gospel, they (A mostly Gentile Church?) are enemies for your sake (Oh, if Israel/Jacob/They means a mostly Gentile Church, who is "your"?). But as regards election, they (A mostly Gentile Church?) are beloved for the sake of their forefathers (Forefathers, as in Origen and Augustine?). For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable."

Rather facetious questions, I know. But it's exegetically nonsensical to say that "the Church is the new Israel" in light of Paul's language. Rather, the flow of this whole section of Romans is clear -- Israel, the Jews, Paul's kinsmen according to the flesh, Jacob, enemies of the gospel/beloved for the sake of the fathers... These are all ways of referring to the Jewish people, upon whom a partial hardening has come, but whom "God has the power to graft in again." And He will.

No wonder Jonathan Edwards wrote, "Nothing is more certainly foretold than this national conversion of the Jews in Romans 11."