Thanks for your questions!

The answer to your second question -- can a Jew who doesn't believe in Jesus (as his Savior) go to heaven? -- is a resounding "no." We could marshal any number of Scripture passages to support this answer, but let us settle the issue with Jesus' teaching in St. John 3:36 ("He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him") and with St. Peter's words in Acts 4:12 ("Neither is there salvation in any other [besides Jesus]: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved"). One must be washed in the blood of the Lamb, therefore, to enter heaven; and apart from this washing one cannot enter glory regardless of his heritage and upbringing.

Regarding your first question (if the Jews are still "special" to God), there is legitimate disagreement about this issue among Bible-believing Christians -- and even among Reformed believers. The central text in question is Romans 9-11 and the Apostle Paul's discussion there of the future of Israel. "Has God cast away His people?" Paul asks. He answers, "God forbid," and goes on to speak of God's continual preservation of a remnant of faithful Jews through the centuries.

The history of Israel -- of the Maker of heaven and earth choosing to reveal Himself to a particular people and to make that people *His* through saving grace -- speaks powerfully of the mercy and goodness of God. The Lord was under no obligation to create man, nor was He under any obligation to make Himself known personally and redeemingly to any people. Yet God's grace to Adam and then to all the faithful people of the Old Testament testifies to His lovingkindness.

Over time, the sinful Israelites by and large rejected the Lord and His messengers; most of them ultimately rejected Jesus, the Messiah. Really, their rejection of Christ was nothing new: see Exodus 32:9 for an example of Israel's longstanding insensitivity toward the Lord. He sent them into exile, hoping that they would repent earnestly and seek His face -- but the Israelites steadily refused to turn to the Lord.

But as Paul makes clear in Romans 9:6, they are not all the true("spiritual") Israel who are Israelites according to birth. In Galatians 6:16 Paul speaks of the "Israel of God," which is a different group from those who were merely Israelite by birth. The Lord always has distinguished, then, between *believing* Israelites (and non-Israelites, such as Ruth) and those who simply were Israelitish by birth. Having a right relationship with God always has been a matter of the heart and never an issue of heritage.

That said, is there any benefit in being born a Jew? Of course, Paul says (Romans 3:1). Natural-born Jews were brought up in the Old Testament Scriptures, had the revelation of the one, true God and should have anticipated the coming of His Son to redeem them from sin. A natural-born Hittite or Persian, for example, wouldn't have enjoyed such access to the Word of God or to the promises of God in terms of salvation and blessing. Salvation indeed came first to the Jew, in the sense that the Jews first enjoyed the special revelation of God (the Word) and the preaching of that Word.

It also is true that the Holy Spirit still is taking Jews brought up in the Old Testament Scriptures and drawing them to Christ. As ethnic Jews come to faith in Christ, we are reminded of the fidelity of God to His Old Testament people.

Salvation does not come simply by virtue of being born a Jew -- or into a Presbyterian family, for that matter. Salvation comes only through personal faith and trust in the redeeming work of our Lord Jesus Christ. But for those of us raised in homes that read the Scriptures, we can give thanks that we -- like the Jews of old -- were exposed to the truth of God from an early age so that we might come to know the power of Christ as we grew older.