Replacement Theology Leads to Anti-Semitism

Salvation is by grace, not race. There is one people of God, not two. The Israel of God includes the elect of God out of every kindred, tongue, people, and nation. However, this does not make void the promises of God to Israel after the flesh.

"For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim: Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days." (Hosea 3:5)


The Son of man will come and all His holy angels with Him to consummate the kingdom of God. He will establish the new heavens and the new earth where the saints, including the converted Jews, will reign with Christ a thousand years.

 

This is a quotation from an internet source that attempts to define the exact meaning of Replacement Theology.

I would like to see this source. I bet it is from a Dispy.

 

A misleading statement. Believing Israel BECAME the Christian Church. Then Gentiles were added in. Unbelieving Israel was cut off within a generation of Jesus' coming.

Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. It depends upon the context.

Another misleading statement. The covenants were confirmed with BELIEVING Israel--the faithful remnant of Jewish believers. Gentiles then became fellowheirs with them. Ethnic Jews cannot claim to be in the New Covenant apart from faith in Christ--nor can anyone else.

The Jews did receive curses for their rejection of Christ--culminating in the destruction of their temple in 70 AD. Jews today are no more guilty than any other people for their rejection of Christ. That was taken care of in the first century when judgemnt fell upon the ones who were guilty of His blood.

The Elect are God's chosen people in the New Covenant. John the Baptist and Christ were up front about the fallacy of Jews depending upon their lineage.

When Paul describes the way God views people today, he says there is "no difference" between Jews and Gentiles. Dispensationalists say, "Yes, God has a different plan for Israel"--sounds like a difference to me. Who should I believe?
Believers (Jew or Gentile) have a future in God's plan.

Much confusion centers upon the meaning of the term "latter days"--thinking it is future to us. Actually many N.T. writers said it was their own time. It was. The Old Covenant was fulfilled in Christ and the formation of the church out of Israel. The New is now in place.

In Christ,

Tim

 

Tim said it very well.

I agree 100%.

 

Tim, you lay it out so well.

 

An interesting point is where Christ scolds the jews for thinking they were Abraham's children when they did not recognize the one in whom Abraham rejoiced to see.

Of course, this has to do with how you see ethnic Israel and its relationship to the church.

To my knowledge, it does not demand any one particular end time view.

 

I would still like to see someone attempt a logical argument for our position being anti-semetic. All we are doing is acknowledging that God has leveled the playing field in the New Covenant.

Tim (and others of like-mind)

 

My understanding of the people of God in the New Testament can be illustrated by a funnel turned on its side. The small opening represents Old Testament Israel and the large opening represents the Church. Are Israel and the church separate? No! The Church is the true Israel of God.

Matthew 16:18-19 (NKJV) "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 "And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

Jesus was not prophesying some completely different body of believers cut off from the Old Covenant people. Who were the people to whom He spoke these words? Who made up the early church? Jews made up the nucleus. When God prophesied in Jeremiah 31 that He would inaugurate a New Covenant with the house of Israel and Judah, He did that very thing with the believing remnant of Israel. Who was in that room in Luke 22:20 when Jesus inaugurated the New Covenant? Jews! They played a very important function in redemptive history. Not only were they the believing remnant of Old Testament Israel who accepted Christ, but they were also the nucleus of the emerging church and those to whom the promises of Israel were fulfilled.

Point: Those disciples who made up the nucleus of the emerging church stand in direct continuity with Old Testament Israel. We are not to think that the church is a temporary interruption in God's prophetic purpose for Israel. It is, in fact, the progressive continuation of that purpose. The church is not some new, entirely different, and distinct covenant body of people but rather the maturation of the believing remnant of Israel.

Romans 11:17-20 (NKJV) And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.
What I want you to see here is that there is only one olive tree, there is only one root.

The natural branches, which stands for ethnic Israel, have been broken off because of their rejection of Jesus Christ. But the unnatural branches, which are the Gentiles, have been grafted in. God did not go out and plant another tree, He put us in the one olive tree of true Israel.

Romans 11:17 (NKJV) And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree,

We, Gentiles, were grafted in with them, Israel, and with them partake of the root of the olive tree. Believing Gentiles have been admitted as citizens into the commonwealth of Israel. We partake of their promises and blessings.

Galatians 3:16 (NKJV) Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ.

The promises were to one Seed, who was Christ. Jesus Christ is the seed of Abraham.

Galatians 3:26-29 (NKJV) For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

If you by faith belong to Christ, you are Abraham's seed and an heir according to the promise. It doesn't matter whose blood you have in your veins but whose faith you have in your heart. It is covenant, not race, that makes one a Jew.
Who is a true Jew? Is it ethnic background that makes you a Jew? NO! Many people today still consider the Jewish people as a race, but there is no Jewish race today. After the destruction of Jerusalem, the nation of Israel (after the flesh) was scattered throughout the earth and lost all tribal relations. This scattering was made immutable due to the fact that all tribal genealogical records were destroyed with the Temple in A.D. 70. The simple fact is that there is no existing Jewish race.

Millions of 21st century Christians have allowed themselves to be robbed of one of the most precious and vital beliefs of historical Christian teaching, namely, that the church is the true Israel of God and the ONLY Israel through which God's eternal purpose is be consummated.
I believe that Hebrews 8 clearly teaches that believers are the true Israel of God. God has only one purpose throughout the ages - to redeem a people for himself.

From a Sermon preached by David Curtis
http://www.bereanbiblechurch.org/home.htm

 

Grasshopper,

I like your sideways funnel analogy. The Jewish thread was never broken, the word "replacement" is misleading in and of itself in referring to our theology.

Basically the important issue in the O.T. was, "Am I in the Jewish nation?"
But in the N.T. the issue is, "Am I in the Jewish Messiah (and is He in me)?"

Tim

 

Newbie here...be gentle.

Personally I think Replacement Theology is evil.

Jesus is a Jew.

What kind of King forsakes his Kingdom and his people? Answer..a lousy one. So anybody that thinks that Jesus is done with Israel needs to re-read their bible.

He's supposed to sit on David's Throne

He's supposed to reign for a thousand years

We live in the church age that has an end point. If the Millenial Kingdom starts after the end of the church age then that means that at some point the church age will be over.

UNTIL the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Sounds like the trigger of the Rapture to me, but then again I'm just a newbie.

Steve