Hey Joe!

 

Nice hearing from you!  And thanks for your questions.  I must answer your questions in the form of an explanation because I don't want to be misunderstood.  What I wrote before, that you are refering to, I was making general points.  And that's why what I said is easily misunderstood.  I will elaborate a little so as to answer your questions.

 

First of all, I must disagree with you on your assumption that "there are many Gentile's out there, who are also members of the lost tribes of the House of Israel."   You are not alone in that assumption....I just don't believe it to be accurate.  And I won't go into why here.

 

First, it is undeniable that Jesus said everything He did to the Jews (and Romans) living at the time.  That is the essence of my point.  Jesus was speaking to Jews about God's will and plan for the Jews and their Messiah.  And recognizing this is very important to understanding the Bible.  But in saying this, I am NOT saying that certain things that Jesus said cannot be applied to everyone.  They most certainly can!!  Anything He said that pertains to the betterment of the human being can and should be applied to everyone.  But that doesn't mean that Jesus was speaking directly to you and me, right?

 

The things He said in the parables and what He said about the end times, however, was meant for the Jews to understand, and for us to understand from a Jewish perspective.  It is because we fail to understand these issues from a Jewish perspective that we misinterpret what He is saying and apply it to the Church.  Christians in general want to feel as if Jesus, while He was alive on Earth, was speaking directly to them.  Its not good enough that He was speaking indirectly to them, and 99% of the time about something other than them.  They want Jesus to have come to earth as the Messiah for the Church, rather than as the Jewish Messiah and King of the Jews.  And consequently, they greedily apply everything He said to themselves. 

 

Jesus did not speak to the Church until the Church was created.  And even then, He doesn't speak directly to Christians.  He speaks to us through the Holy Spirit.  And He speaks to us through the New Testament Epistles.  But even in the Epistles, we are being spoken to indirectly.  Paul was speaking directly to those he was writing the letters too.  That is very important to understand also!  A lot of what Paul said was meant to be applied to all Christians in general.  But some of what he said was meant to be applied specifically to those he was writing to, as well as to the Church as it was in his day. 

 

For the most part, Christians, from the death of the Apostles to modern day Christians, have the Holy Spirit to communicate with them....to communicate God's LIVING  Word with them.  We have the written Word also, but too many Christians try to rely on their interpretations of the written Word instead of the present living voice of the Holy Spirit.  It is the Holy Spirit that we are to rely on to guide us through our modern-day lives, and to enlighten us as we read and study the written Word. 

 

God's Word is immensely more than what is contained in the Bible.  Too many Christians idolize the Bible.  Its true!!  They think that God's Word is limited to what is written in the Bible.  They think that His Word is "contained" in there, within the cover.  They assume that God told the Catholic delegates to the Council of Nicea what books to put in there and what ones not to include.  And they further assume that no other piece of literature can be inspired by God with inspiration equal to Biblical inspiration.  And no other writer can be inspired with inspiration equal to the inspiration experienced by Biblical authors.  In other words, they limit themselves to the Bible.  All Christian knowledge must come from the Bible, they think. 

 

Joe, you said that "The Lord Jesus said that those who love Him keep His Word."  I couldn't agree with you more!  But it is very important to understand when and how God is speaking to us.  In most of the Bible, God was not speaking to Christians or about Christians.  But that's not to say that Christians cannot apply many things written in the Bible to themselves.  The important thing is that we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us as we search the Bible for Words that can be and are intended to be applied to us.  But what we must also realize is that God is more than the Bible....and He is more than the Words of Jesus and Paul that were recorded.  God is the Eternally Living Spirit....His Word is alive and infinite.  Its within us as the Holy Spirit's voice, its in other literature, its in Philosophy, its in Nature, and its in the Bible too1  Its everywhere! 

 

My point is.....there is no need to force Jesus to speak to us in the Gospels.  When God speaks, its not always to the Christian or the Church.  He does speak to us in the Bible, but not in every single word of the New Testament.  God's voice to Christians is the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Jesus is our Savior, but the Holy Spirit is our Teacher. 

 

So as you see, I am not "shunning" Jesus' Words, as you say......nor am I saying that "none of the Gospels pertain" to Christians.  I am simply "rightly dividing the Word," as I am instructed to do.  Assumptions and the blind acceptance of traditional beliefs is where the danger lies.  Holy Spirit-empowered discernment is the key to understanding God and His Word.