Israel and the Church: A Coming Reformation
By Juergen Buehler, ICEJ President
In centuries past, the church underwent dramatic seasons of reformation that altered its very nature. One such era of historic change was even christened by the Reformation—initiated by Martin Luther.
It is hard to underestimate Luther’s impact on the church. It was not just his theological reforms that dramatically changed medieval Christianity. Far more influential was the fact that he placed the Bible back into the hands of believers in their own native language.
Thanks to Luther’s translation of the Bible into the common language of Germans, ordinary Christians could once again read and learn about God for themselves. Previously, it was considered a sacrilege for uneducated lay people to read the Holy Book. But the widespread availability of the Bible would transform everything.
Soon after, other nations translated the Bible into their own languages. King James I authorized an official translation into English a little over 400 years ago. French translation would soon follow. Over the ensuing centuries, more biblical truths were rediscovered by the church through subsequent waves of reform.
Today, I see another wave of reformation coming to the church, and it has to do with Israel. The early church’s understanding of God’s enduring purposes for Israel and our connection to the Jewish people must be brought back to mainstream Christianity.
The “World Missions” Reformation
A powerful example of how original apostolic doctrines were rediscovered and consequently reformed the church is that of world missions among unsaved nations. The reformed Protestant churches of Europe did not show much zeal for outreach toward pagan nations. Instead, they focused on reforming the churches of Europe. When leaders of Pietism such as Philip Jacob Spener and Count Nicolaus von Zinsendorf sent out the first missionaries, many Lutheran clergy opposed them.
In his book Transforming Mission, author David J. Bosch tells us these opponents of foreign missions claimed “that the office of apostle had vanished; that God’s grace no longer worked as powerfully as it did in the beginning; that those who were still pagans were under a curse; that God, if He wished to convert them, would do so without human effort.”
But this attitude would change. By the end of the eighteenth century, missionaries like William Carey would leave for India. Hudson Taylor would establish the “China Inland Mission.” And David Livingstone would take Christianity to the unmapped heart of Africa. By the mid-nineteenth century, world missions had become part of the orthodoxy of the church. Now there is hardly a church that does not have a mission’s budget or support at least one missionary somewhere in the world.
The Israel Reformation
Today, a new season of reformation is at hand and it has to do with the church’s relationship to Israel. I believe in coming decades, there will be few churches that do not have a connection to Israel, and a budget to “bless Israel” will be equally as natural for a church as their missions’ budget.
With a few exceptions, most churches in the past had little understanding of Israel or the Jewish people. If they did have an interest in the Jews, it often met opposition similar to those who tried to hinder the outreach to pagan nations.
Many theologians taught that God had abandoned the Jews, who were now an accursed people. They insisted that the church had replaced Israel, and there was no national destiny left for the Jews. For centuries, this was the prevailing view in most of the established churches of Europe. Any contrary outlook was brutally silenced. In 1589, one of the first clergymen to write openly about the promised restoration of Israel, Francis Kett, was burned at the stake for his beliefs.
A Paradigm Shift for Israel and the Church
Yet in our day, a major shift is taking place concerning Israel. God has dramatically changed His own approach toward Israel. This is best described by the prophet Zechariah: “For thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘Just as I determined to punish you when your fathers provoked Me to wrath,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and I would not relent. So again in these days I am determined to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. Do not fear’” (Zechariah 8:14–15).
In other words, God shifts into different gears in His dealings with His chosen people. Over the past 100 years, God has moved from reverse gear to fast forward. Israel is being restored just as the prophets foretold. No one can overlook any longer the dramatic alignment of biblical prophecy and events in today’s Middle East.
This means the teaching of Replacement Theology (often masked these days as Fulfillment Theology) is being proven wrong by realities on the ground. The reborn State of Israel is a prophetic fait accompli, which demonstrates that God is a covenant-keeping God. And this means the church has to deal with a totally new reality today. For 1,900 years, no one asked: “How do we deal with the restoration of the Jews back to their ancient homeland?” But today this question has to be asked.
Yet tackling this quandary is a task with no parallel in church history. No other generation had to deal with it. This means the coming years will surely be some of the most exciting times in church history, as we are in a season of unprecedented restoration for the Jewish people.
Back to Our Roots
The good news is that we do not have to invent a new theology. True, for most of church history there was no State of Israel and the Jews were scattered around the world. But in the decades when most of the New Testament was being written, a Jewish political entity still existed in the Land of Israel. Though it was under Roman occupation, most Jews at that time lived in their ancient homeland and they enjoyed a measure of religious autonomy. Therefore, if we look at how the apostles taught gentile churches around the world about their relationship to the Jewish people, we will find that the Scriptures are quite clear in teaching how the church should relate to Israel today.
1. Remember Your Pagan Past
The apostle Paul first reminded gentile believers in Ephesus and Rome about their previously hopeless pagan status. Today, after 2,000 years of Christianity expanding to even the remotest islands on earth, it sounds strange to view ourselves as pagans.
But Paul had to remind the church in Rome of this. As non-Jews, they were like the branch of a wild olive tree. Such wild olive trees produce inedible fruit and thus are little more than a useless shrub.
To the church in Ephesus, Paul appealed: “Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh … that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:11–12).
Paul also reminds both churches that only after they put their faith in a Jewish Messiah could they be reconciled to God and become part of His people. Only the book of the Jews, the Bible, gave us hope of knowing a loving God.
This means every gentile church needs to be humble and mindful regarding its own past.
2. Acknowledge the Hebraic Roots of Your Faith
Paul declares to the church in Rome: “Do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you” (Romans 11:18).
That means gentile Christians should not reject or ridicule the Jewish origins of their faith. Rather, they should nourish them as one would nourish the roots of a tree. Adam Clark states it so beautifully. He says through the Jewish people, “all the blessing and excellencies which you enjoy have been communicated to you.”
Or to quote the Presbyterian theologian Marvin Vincent in his Word Studies in the New Testament: “The life-force and the blessing are received by the gentile through the Jew, and not by the Jew through the gentile. The spiritual plan moves from the Abrahamic covenant downward, and from the Israelite nation outward.” Or, as Jesus Himself declares, “Salvation is of the Jews!” (John 4:22).
This means every New Testament church needs to recognize the role of Israel as a source of “blessing for all the families of the earth” and to respect the Jewish roots of our faith.
3. Appreciate the Irrevocable Calling over Israel
The New Testament epistles strongly underline the eternal calling of Israel. Even though the Jewish people might not recognize Jesus as their Messiah and might even be “enemies of the gospel,” Paul still calls them “beloved for the sake of the fathers” (Romans 11:28).
That means if God still loves Israel as is, the church should love her the same. Paul squarely contradicts every Replacement theologian today: “Will [the Jews’] unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect? Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar” (Romans 3:3–4).
So even if they are unfaithful, God still is faithful to His covenants, as He cannot deny Himself. Anything else would be a lie.
This means every New Testament church needs to uphold and proclaim the enduring call over Israel.
4. Recognize Your Spiritual Debt to Israel
Paul made it clear to gentile believers that the Jewish people already provided everything necessary for our relationship with God. The Bible is a Jewish book, we serve a Jewish Messiah, and Jewish apostles spread the gospel to the gentile world. Paul thus declares that gentile believers are debtors to Israel:
For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are in Jerusalem. It pleased them indeed, and they are their debtors. For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. (Romans 15:26–27)
This means every New Testament church needs to be very intentional in how we return the blessings received through the Jewish people.
5. Expect the Restoration of Israel
In the New Testament, the apostles affirm the enduring calling over Israel and strongly establish the hope of Israel’s restoration. This is demonstrated in the last question they posed to Jesus before His ascension: “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6).
Paul also conveys this hope to the church in Rome: “For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?” (Romans 11:15).
In other words, he maintains the greatest calling and blessings are still ahead for Israel.
This means every church should embrace a theology of hope regarding Israel and support her full restoration.
Connect with Israel!
Just as the vision for world missions was renewed within the church, there needs to be a reformation that reconnects the church with its Jewish roots. In times to come, a healthy church can no longer afford to ignore Israel. This needs to be taught from every pulpit and become an integral part of the activity, prayers, and giving of every church. We see this happening around the world. It is a time of reformation!
Join other believers from around the world in this exciting and historic journey!
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This article was originally published on October 30, 2017.