“The Bible opens with a clear declaration of unity of mankind. But after the fall and then the flood it traces the origins of human division and separation. It may seem that god himself contributed to the process by choosing israel out of all the nations to be his “Holy” and “Distinct” People but we need to remember that in calling Abraham he promised through his posterity to bless all the earth families and that choosing israel he intended her to become a light to all the nations. The tragedy is that israel forgot her vocation, twisted her privilege into favoritism and ended by heartily despising the heathen as ‘dogs’.”

- Stott, The Message of Ephesians

“Participants in the new covenant (that’s Christians) are not required to obey any of the commandments found in the first part of their Bibles. Participants in the new covenant are expected to obey the single command Jesus issued as part of his new covenant: as I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
-Andy Stanley, Irresistible