Long, long ago there were two athletes that competed in the 100 meter dash. Runner A ran it in 11.5 seconds while Runner B crossed the finish line at 12 seconds. Which of these two runners deserved the Olympic gold medal?
Wrapping up on my trip to Israel, I would hope that I’ve gotten across the point that the Jewish people are blessed by God. They are not only surviving, but thriving in a desert surrounded by countries that aren’t shy to say they want to destroy them. I think this is important to elaborate on because while most Americans would consider Israel an ally, they are probably less aware of the anti-semitism that persists around them. Unfortunately there are always the blatant acts of racism, but I’m talking about the little nudges that often go unnoticed, especially in the church. Until recently I had been unaware of the terms Supersessionism or Replacement Theology.
At the heart of the matter, is the idea that you can only be saved through faith in Jesus (a la John 14:6, etc.). This would mean that Jews can not be saved without turning to Jesus. That sounds perfectly biblical to me, however more extreme opinions of Replacement Theology claim Jews are no longer God’s chosen people. That’s like God saying, “Remember all those mistakes you made in the Old Testament, Jews? I let those slide when you repented, but not accepting Jesus went too far so don’t even bother trying anymore.” That doesn’t sound like the God they talk about in my church.
Traditional supersessionism provides a more subtle kick out the door, claiming that the Church has inherited the promises formerly held by the Jews. At first this doesn’t sound entirely unreasonable. The Church did take over, right? So what’s the problem? Ask yourself, when you read God’s promises to Israel in the Old Testament, do you mentally transfer them to you or your church? The verse that immediately comes to my mind is 2 Chronicles 7:14. God promises that if His people turn from their sin He will heal their land. I have heard Americans apply this to the United States, but this promise is to Solomon and the Israelites as they are dedicating the temple. We should not take it out of context and apply it to ourselves.
With that in mind let’s take a look back at the two runners. Who deserved the Olympic gold medal? Runner A was me in high school. I ran that time at our regional qualifiers and got beat by just about every other person in my heat. Runner B was Thomas Burke running in the 1896 Olympics. It doesn’t matter that I ran a faster time than Tom. He ran in and won the race in the Olympic finals. So in the same way that I can’t claim Tom’s gold medal, we can’t steal the promises God made to Israel. Now that’s not to say that God won’t provide for you in a similar way that He promised to provide for Israel, but that would be part of a separate promise to you, not in accordance with His promises to Israel.
The main point I want to get across is that as Christians we should remember the importance of Israel and the Jews. The Bible clearly tells us that God has a plan of restoration for His chosen people.
If you invent a time machine just to compete in the 1896 Olympics:
Wrapping up on my trip to Israel, I would hope that I’ve gotten across the point that the Jewish people are blessed by God. They are not only surviving, but thriving in a desert surrounded by countries that aren’t shy to say they want to destroy them. I think this is important to elaborate on because while most Americans would consider Israel an ally, they are probably less aware of the anti-semitism that persists around them. Unfortunately there are always the blatant acts of racism, but I’m talking about the little nudges that often go unnoticed, especially in the church. Until recently I had been unaware of the terms Supersessionism or Replacement Theology.
At the heart of the matter, is the idea that you can only be saved through faith in Jesus (a la John 14:6, etc.). This would mean that Jews can not be saved without turning to Jesus. That sounds perfectly biblical to me, however more extreme opinions of Replacement Theology claim Jews are no longer God’s chosen people. That’s like God saying, “Remember all those mistakes you made in the Old Testament, Jews? I let those slide when you repented, but not accepting Jesus went too far so don’t even bother trying anymore.” That doesn’t sound like the God they talk about in my church.
Traditional supersessionism provides a more subtle kick out the door, claiming that the Church has inherited the promises formerly held by the Jews. At first this doesn’t sound entirely unreasonable. The Church did take over, right? So what’s the problem? Ask yourself, when you read God’s promises to Israel in the Old Testament, do you mentally transfer them to you or your church? The verse that immediately comes to my mind is 2 Chronicles 7:14. God promises that if His people turn from their sin He will heal their land. I have heard Americans apply this to the United States, but this promise is to Solomon and the Israelites as they are dedicating the temple. We should not take it out of context and apply it to ourselves.
With that in mind let’s take a look back at the two runners. Who deserved the Olympic gold medal? Runner A was me in high school. I ran that time at our regional qualifiers and got beat by just about every other person in my heat. Runner B was Thomas Burke running in the 1896 Olympics. It doesn’t matter that I ran a faster time than Tom. He ran in and won the race in the Olympic finals. So in the same way that I can’t claim Tom’s gold medal, we can’t steal the promises God made to Israel. Now that’s not to say that God won’t provide for you in a similar way that He promised to provide for Israel, but that would be part of a separate promise to you, not in accordance with His promises to Israel.
The main point I want to get across is that as Christians we should remember the importance of Israel and the Jews. The Bible clearly tells us that God has a plan of restoration for His chosen people.
If you invent a time machine just to compete in the 1896 Olympics:
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