Recommended for your listening (or viewing pleasure) is the 3rd message in the series from Johnson Ferry Baptist Church on the Jewish People and Christianity. Although this third message, entitled “Does God Play Favorites” has only a small amoung to do with the Jewish people and Jewish believers, it is nevertheless a wonderful teaching, one that I was very blessed to be able to listen to one morning this week, while driving to work. Pastor Wright goes through issues like predetermination and election and free will and covers theologies like Calvinism and Arminianism. I think he presented these topics very well, very fairly and evenly and I agree with much of his conclusions, and thus I wanted to recommend the message to you. Enjoy.
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2 responses so far ↓
1 Tom Albrecht // Sep 10, 2007 at 10:20 pm
I listened to the sermon on the question, “Have Christians Replaced Jews as the New Israel?”
I always get my hopes up that I will hear something other than the tired argument of dispensationalists on this important question. But I’m usually disappointed when I get to analyze the actual message.
The dear pastor begins his presentation by poisoning the well with his arguments against “replacement theology”. This term is a bogeyman invented by the folks like Pastor Wright to be used to beat those who do not believe his particular understanding of Israel.
There is really nothing new here. It the sort of thing that you will (unfortunately) hear in many if not most Southern Baptist churches.
For once I would like one of these guys explain passages like 1 Peter 2:9,10
; Hebrews 8-10
, Galatians 3
and 4, or any of the many passages that give a proper view of the people of God, and not that it was some afterthought in God’s redemptive plan.
Let’s look at one little simplistic interpretation, the phrase “everlasting possession” (cf. Gen. 17:8
). What exactly does this phrase mean, really? Well, if we take it literally, we would expect that the Jewish people would be in possession of the land of Israel (that small plot of ground in the Middle East) continuously for all time. But is that what has actually happened? Hardly. How long has Israel actually been in possession of that plot of ground? From the time of Abraham until today has been about 3500 years. Of that 3500 years Israel has possessed the land for about, maybe at most, 1000 years. (Probably much less, since the possession was lost when the northern tribe was conquered.) And what about the future? Well, it is not believing Israel that possesses the land today. They are unbelievers. Does unbelieving Israel count in the promise, the Jews who reject Jesus Christ? Is secular Israel today really the fulfillment of God’s promise? It’s difficult to make that argument from the Bible.
That leaves us with the future millennium. If you take it literally, you can tack on another 1000 years. After that we have eternity, pictured by the new Jerusalem, which is made up of believers from every nation, etc.
So, the poor pastor’s analysis does not hold up to careful biblical scrutiny or logic.
Of course we say that God has indeed not rejected Israel since many Jews both in the early Church and since that time have come to faith in Jesus Christ, the king of Israel. He has made two people, Jews and gentiles, into one people, the true sons of Abraham. We share the same spiritual genetics. That is not “replacement theology”. It is, as my friend Fred Klett likes to say, blessed expansion of the covenant people. We pray that many more Jews, as well as gentiles, come to Christ before He returns to usher in the new heavens and new earth.
We need to put aside the racial divisions within Christ’s body. That is the only way to deal with the problem of “anti-Semitism”.
2 B Z // Sep 20, 2007 at 10:31 am
Tom, can you explain how we put aside the racial divisions within Christ’s body? It seems that the “solution” you are proposing is that all Jewish believers give up their heritage. However if there is to be no racial divisions then should not others give up their racial heritages as well? No Irish heritage, no black heritage, no Italian, German, French, British, etc. Or is it only the Jews that are the problem?
As is typical I disagree with you. Sorry but I do. I don’t see verses the same way you do and I don’t come to the same conclusions as you do. We could go back and forth on these things forever, but I am not going to do that anymore. I have other things that I want to delve into and coming back over and over again to defend Messianic Judaism is not my goal here.
Go in peace Tom, God bless.
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