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These
questions tend to create a spiritual ambiguity in the minds of many
which produces an uncertain witness rather than a fervent witness to
Jewish people. With these in mind, we can see why without proper Jewish
discipleship many believers are confused, and therefore don’t share
their faith with Jewish people. So, let’s clarify the issues of personal
salvation from sin, the status of the Chosen People, and to whom the
land belongs.
Can Jewish people be
saved without faith in Yeshua?
No. No one can be forgiven of their sins and accepted by God without
personal faith in Jesus. It was to Jewish men that Yeshua said in John
14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father
except through Me.” And it was to Jewish men that Peter said in Acts
4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name
under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.”
Think of it this way: if there was some other way for Jewish people or
any people, to be saved other than through faith in Jesus, then God the
Father would have been a fool for letting His Son die on a cross! If
keeping the Law of Moses could save someone, Yeshua would have told
people to keep the Law. But instead, Yeshua declared that the issue of
the Scriptures and faith in God was for people to believe in Him as
Messiah and God: “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he
wrote about Me”(John 5:46). And in John 8:24, “Therefore I said to you
that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am, you
will die in your sins.”
Are the Jewish people
still 'The Chosen People'?
Yes, according to the Law of Moses (Deut. 7:6; 14:2), the Prophets (Isa.
41:8; Amos 3:2), the Writings (Psalm 33:12; 135:4), and the New Covenant
(Romans 9:3-5; 11:1-2). But isn’t the body of Messiah called a Chosen
People as well? Yes, in 1 Peter 2:9 it says, “But you are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that
you should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of
darkness into his marvelous light.” Here all believers in Jesus are
called “a chosen generation/race (or people), a royal priesthood.”
Please note that Peter refers to the body of Messiah as “a chosen
people”, but not as “the chosen people.” Though Israel is chosen for a
specific purpose (see next section), during this present time of
Israel’s national unbelief they are ‘sidelined’ from being God’s
instrument of service, until they return to God and confess Yeshua as
the Messiah. (Matt. 23:38,39, Hosea 5:15). For the present time, the
Body of Messiah is the spiritually active instrument of ministry--“a
royal priesthood” -- for service and worship. Though Israel is chosen to
be a ‘witness people’ for the Lord (Isa. 43:10-12; 44:8), they cannot be
an active witness until they first believe in Yeshua as Lord
(Rom.10:14,15).
If Jewish people are The
Chosen People, why do they still need to be saved?
Israel is chosen as a people for God’s purpose, which was ultimately to
bring Messiah into the world (Rom. 9:5), and to bring about the return
of Messiah to Planet Earth (Matt. 23:36; Zech. 12:10). This will happen
when they collectively confess their national sin of rejecting Messiah
(Isaiah 53). Though nationally chosen for God’s purpose, each individual
Jewish person still has to have personal faith in God’s salvation on
God’s terms to be a saved. Otherwise they are as lost and unsaved as any
pagan (Jer. 9:25,26). In both the Tanakh (Older Covenant) and New
Covenant the sad facts are that only a remnant of Israel would actually
become the spiritual offspring of the Lord (1 Kings 19:18; Is. 1:9;
10:20-22; Rom. 11:5).
If the Jewish people are
as a nation, spiritually unregenerated, are the national promises to
Abraham's descendants through Isaac for a homeland still valid ?
Yes! The present spiritual condition of Israel does not change the
promises of God, for even though Israel is nationally unfaithful, He is
still faithful. This is Paul’s argument in Romans 11:1,2 where he
writes, “I say then, God has not rejected His people, has He? May it
never be! For I too am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, of the
tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew.”
Israel returned to the land after the Babylonian exile, but that wasn’t
to be the last return. In fact, Isaiah prophesies Israel’s return to the
same land for the second time in 11:11,12, “Then it will happen on that
day that the Lord will again recover the second time with His hand the
remnant of His people, who will remain, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros,
Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And He will
lift up a standard for the nations and assemble the banished ones of
Israel, and will gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of
the earth.” The Jewish people’s present return to the land is the
fulfillment of this promise in Isaiah.
Why has God returned
Israel to the land He promised them, even though they are in unbelief?
This present unbelief is necessary to fulfill all Scripture. There are
future events approaching us that the Scriptures speak to. The scenario
is this: The Jewish people will have to be in the land, and in unbelief
regarding the true Messiah, in order to be deceived into agreeing to a
seven year ‘peace’ covenant with the Anti-Messiah (or Anti-Christ, see
Daniel 9:27). This event will begin the seven-year tribulation period,
a.k.a. “the time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jer. 30:7). It is at the end of
this period Messiah returns to rescue Israel; then Israel as a nation
repents and comes to faith in Yeshua (see Zech. 12:10, Isaiah 53,
14:2-4, Rom. 11:25-27). It is necessary for the Jewish people to be
brought into the land in unbelief so that all these things will be
fulfilled (see also Ezek. 37:1-14). Now this doesn’t mean that
everything that the present Israeli government does is praiseworthy, but
it does mean that Israel is entitled to the land. That they are the
Chosen People and entitled to the land does not mean that they are saved
apart from personal faith in Messiah. As we pray for the peace of
Jerusalem, we should remember to pray for Jewish people to come to faith
in Yeshua, the Messiah of Israel. For all people, Jew and Gentile,
Israeli and Arab, there is no peace apart from the Prince of Peace. By
understanding these critical, sometimes volatile issues, and having
Biblical answers to address them, believers in Jesus can have a boldness
and confidence to share their faith with Jewish and non-Jewish people
alike. Outside of God’s miraculous, heart-changing power found in the
Gospel, there is no solution to the present and future problems we see
developing in the Middle East, which could ultimately engulf the whole
world.
Therefore, all believers must share the Good News with their Jewish
friends, and in order for this to happen the need for Jewish
discipleship among all believers is greater than ever. So, get involved!
Share this with your friends! You can help us get the message out. Since
God has not forsaken the Jewish people, let us not forsake our
responsibility to proclaim Yeshua to Jewish people. And remember, pray
for the peace of Jerusalem.
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