Jews, Gentiles, and the Church - A Newsletter Classic

Tom: Before the cross of Christ, mankind was divided into two groups: Jews and Gentiles. The Old and New Testaments both make very clear what caused this distinction. It was the covenants God had made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and with their descendants through Moses. These covenants were for Israel alone and separated her from all other nations on the face of the earth, making God's “chosen people” absolutely unique. Israel was segregated from other peoples by the Mosaic law and by her special relationship with the One who calls Himself “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” (Leviticus:20:24But I have said unto you, Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey: I am the LORD your God, which have separated you from other people.
See All...,26, etc.).

The important distinction between Jews and Gentiles is maintained consistently throughout the Bible: “ . . . so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth” (Exodus:33:16For wherein shall it be known here that I and thy people have found grace in thy sight? is it not in that thou goest with us? so shall we be separated, I and thy people, from all the people that are upon the face of the earth.
See All...); “. . . for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other people that ye should be mine” (Leviticus:20:26And ye shall be holy unto me: for I the LORD am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
See All...); “And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his . . . own people for ever” (1 Chronicles:17:21-22 [21] And what one nation in the earth is like thy people Israel, whom God went to redeem to be his own people, to make thee a name of greatness and terribleness, by driving out nations from before thy people, whom thou hast redeemed out of Egypt? [22] For thy people Israel didst thou make thine own people for ever; and thou, LORD, becamest their God.
See All...); “ . . .  [Gentiles] were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God. . .” (Ephesians:2:12That at that time ye 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:
See All...).

After the Cross, a new entity came into existence—the church that Jesus Christ promised He would build. As a result, there are now three divisions of mankind: Jews, Gentiles, and the church. Paul tells us that we are to "Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God" (1 Corinthians:10:32Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
See All...). It is absolutely essential to understand that these three groups exist side by side in today’s world, to distinguish between them, and to recognize that God deals with each differently.

Essential also is an understanding that the church was created through offering to both Jews and Gentiles a “new covenant” relationship with God. This did not bring Gentiles under the Jewish Mosaic law (as some erroneously teach) but delivered from it those coming into the church, both Jews and Gentiles. Paul explains that Gentiles who were “aliens  . . . of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise” have been “made nigh [to God] by the blood of Christ” (Ephesians:2:13But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
See All...). God has "broken down the middle wall of partition between [Jew and Gentile]; having abolished in his flesh the [Mosaic] law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain [Jew and Gentile] one new man” (Ephesians:2:11-22 [11] Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; [12] That at that time ye 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: [13] But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. [14] For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; [15] Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; [16] And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: [17] And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. [18] For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. [19] Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; [20] And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; [21] In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: [22] In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
See All...).

These scriptures (and many others) make it clear that the church did not replace Israel but came into existence as a new and third entity comprising both Jews and Gentiles and distinct from each. As surely as Gentiles continue to exist outside the church, so does Israel, with all of God's promises and plans for her remaining in full force. God also has unique plans for the church, differing from those for either Israel or the Gentile nations.

A major error of Reconstructionists such as North, Rushdoony, DeMar and Bahnsen (an error that is also taught by Jay Grimstead’s Coalition on Revival) is their claim that the law of Moses was for all mankind, and that it provides the moral basis both for the civil government of Romans 13 and for the conduct of Christians today. On the contrary, the law that unsaved civil magistrates enforce under Romans 13 could not be the Mosaic law, because that was given exclusively to the Jews. It is rather the moral law that Romans 2 says is written by God in every human conscience.

That the Mosaic Law was never intended for Gentiles and is not applicable to the church is clear from many scriptures in addition to those quoted above. Consider: “For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them . . . [and] hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law” (Deuteronomy:4:7-8 [7] For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for? [8] And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?
See All...); and “He showeth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them” (Psalm:147:19-20 [19] He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel. [20] He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.
See All...). As already noted, the Mosaic “law of commandments” that distinguished Israel from the rest of the world was “abolished” by the cross of Christ in the process of creating the church out of both Jews and Gentiles, who have been made into “one new man.”

Failure to accept the above teaching of Scripture leads to the grievous errors that plagued the early church and are being revived today. Foremost, of course, is legalism—the idea that to be a Christian one must obey the laws of Moses. This causes confusion both as to justification and sanctification: the means of being delivered from sin's future penalty, and from its present power in our lives. The Scripture makes it clear that neither of these involves keeping the Law. The suggestion of “Judaizers” that the church was under the Mosaic Law was rejected as heresy by the apostles and elders when they met in Jerusalem specifically to consider this subject shortly after Pentecost (Acts 15). Paul thoroughly refuted the Judaizers’ teachings in his Epistle to the Galatians.

Certainly through keeping the Law “there shall no flesh be justified” (Romans:3:20Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
See All...). Justification comes as a free gift of God's grace through the finished work of Christ. Nor can one be sanctified (i.e., gain the victory over the practice of sin) by keeping the Law because of the weakness of human flesh. The good news is that “what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,” God accomplished in "sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin” (Romans:8:3-4 [3] For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: [4] That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
See All...). The New Testament presents to the Christian a much higher standard of moral and ethical conduct than that of the Mosaic Law. We are empowered to live this higher standard because Christ himself, by the Holy Spirit, has come to indwell our hearts and to live through us a supernatural life pleasing to God. The glorious result is the death of self and a new life of faith (Galatians:2:20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
See All...) that produces the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians:5:22-23 [22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, [23] Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
See All...).

There are many serious consequences to the growing delusion that the church is Israel. Christ said that those who “say they are Jews, and are not” are in fact “the synagogue of Satan” (Revelation:2:9I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.
See All..., 3:9)! Some of those who teach this lie (like Greg Bahnsen) are brilliant. He has his doctorate in philosophy from USC. Yet the errors they make are so elementary as to betray a basic anti-Jewish sentiment, which they deny, but which seems to have blinded them to the obvious.

Bahnsen, for example, quotes Psalm:89:34My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.
See All... (“My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.”) to prove his contention that “God's covenant is one unchanging moral code through Old and New Testaments” (By This Standard, p 44). Yet Psalm 89 has nothing whatsoever to do with a moral code but is all about the covenant that God made with David that “His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me” (v. 36). This is the covenant the angel Gabriel reaffirmed in telling Mary that the One conceived in her of the Holy Spirit would reign on the throne of His father David—a covenant that Bahnsen perversely claims is no longer in force in spite of the very verse he misapplies, which declares that it is!

Bahnsen habitually quotes Jesus's statement, “ . . . one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law. . . ," to support his contention that the church is under the Mosaic law, but he deliberately leaves out the rest of the sentence. Far from teaching that the Law would always be in force, Christ declared that it would pass away when it was fulfilled, and that He had come to fulfill it: “I am [not] come to destroy the law . . . but to fulfill [it]. . . . One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" (Matthew:5:17-18 [17] Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. [18] For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
See All...). His life, death, burial, and resurrection accomplished this fulfillment and made possible the new covenant relationship with God whereby those in the church are "justified by faith without the deeds of law" (Romans:3:21-30 [21] But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; [22] Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: [23] For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; [24] Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: [25] Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; [26] To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. [27] Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. [28] Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. [29] Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: [30] Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith.
See All...). Does this “make void the law”? No, it “establish[es] the law” (v 31) as that which made Israel unique. That same law was the barrier between Jew and Gentile and is still applicable to Jews, but for those now in the church, both Jews and Gentiles, it has been fulfilled and abolished in Christ.

Those who teach that the church is Israel go on to claim that the church is heir to all of the promises given to Israel. This is as ludicrous as claiming that “the land of Israel” is now “the land of the church.” Clearly the church has no relationship to the land God gave to Israel. Hear God's promise: “ . . . though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee. . . . He that scattered Israel will gather him . . . they shall come and sing in the height of Zion . . . they shall not sorrow any more at all” (Jeremiah:30:10-11 [10] Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. [11] For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet will I not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.
See All...; 31:3-14; etc.).

The preservation of the Israelis as an identifiable people, in spite of the proverbial “wandering Jews’” and their 2,500-year diaspora from the promised land, and the establishment of Israel in 1948, constitute irrefutable proof for the existence of the “God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” and the validity of His Holy Word. Therefore, to insist that Israel no longer has any claim to her ancient homeland and that her return thereto is a mere coincidence denies one of the most persuasive arguments for belief in God and the gospel. It dishonors Him and His Word, and it is not only illogical but evil!

My language may seem strong, but it is justified in view of the monstrous errors that grow from this one delusion, as well as by the severity of Christ’s “synagogue of Satan” indictment. It may seem innocent enough to claim for the church 2 Chronicles:7:14If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
See All..., but this scripture, which has become such a popular favorite, simply does not apply to the church. Although Christians may make spiritual applications to themselves from God's admonition to Israel to “humble themselves, and pray, and seek [His] face, and turn from their wicked ways,” the “land” He promised to heal as a result was Israel and only Israel—not the United States or any other country.

Gary North’s book, When Justice Is Aborted, begins with God’s promise to Joshua that He would help him to conquer the land of Canaan – then, on that basis, in a typical reconstruction/kingdom/dominion misapplication of Scripture, justifies a Christian takeover of the world! The Forceful Men organization, codirected by muscleman John Jacobs, sponsored a large conference in Phoenix featuring leading charismatic speakers who promoted the same error. God's exhortation to Joshua to “go in and possess the land [of Canaan]” was presented as inspiration and justification for a “Joshua generation” of macho-minded Christians taking over America and the world. In fact, Joshua himself had no authority from God to take over any land outside of the prescribed boundaries specifically given to Israel (Genesis:15:18-21 [18] In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates: [19] The Kenites, and the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, [20] And the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, [21] And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
See All...; Numbers:34:1-12 [1] And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, [2] Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:) [3] Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward: [4] And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadeshbarnea, and shall go on to Hazaraddar, and pass on to Azmon: [5] And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea. [6] And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border. [7] And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor: [8] From mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad: [9] And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazarenan: this shall be your north border. [10] And ye shall point out your east border from Hazarenan to Shepham: [11] And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward: [12] And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about.
See All...; etc.).

I know of no better way for Christians to clarify in their hearts and minds the important points above than to personally visit Israel with God’s Word in hand. There you will see the Bible being fulfilled today before the eyes of the world in “the promised land.” I confess that I used to consider Christian tours of the Holy Land a needless luxury and wanted no part of them. Last June, however, my wife, Ruth, and I joined a tour of Jordan, Israel, and Egypt at the persuasion of a friend. It was an awesomely inspiring and informative experience.

The second coming of Christ becomes clouded in confusion if we fail to remember that the Lord comes in a different and specific manner for “Jews, Gentiles, and the church of God.” For His bride, He comes secretly to “rapture” her to His Father's house of many mansions, where He has prepared an eternal dwelling place for her. For Israel, in the midst of God's judgment for her rejection of her Messiah, surrounded by the armies of the world and about to be destroyed, He comes visibly in power to rescue her, to judge her Gentile enemies, and to establish the millennial kingdom with headquarters in Jerusalem. May God help us to “love His appearing” and to witness with a clear voice concerning these soon-coming events.   TBC

Question: I have read your articles on replacement theology and Israel. You stated that Gentiles observing the festivals and other Torah laws were frauds. Could you please explain?

Response: That is not what I actually said, nor would I accuse those who sincerely think they are doing God's will of being "frauds." I would reserve that term for those to whom it properly applies. What I did say, in October 2005, was that "for a Gentile to keep those [Jewish] feasts today would be a fraud" – and I stand by that.

The Passover, for example, was clearly to be kept by Jews as a "memorial" of the deliverance of their ancestors from slavery in Egypt and as proof that they were the chosen people of "the God of Israel" to whom that land belongs today. It would, therefore, be improper for Gentiles to celebrate the Passover – and the same is true of the other Jewish feasts. Though all relate to the gospel symbolically, they are specifically for Jews to keep as part of their heritage in relation to the land God gave to them alone.

And yes, I have made it clear that I reject categorically the very word "Messianic." It is confusing and is not found in the Bible. To speak of a "Messianic Movement," or "Messianic Christians," or "Messianic Jews," etc., is not biblical. Such expressions were never used by Christ, the apostles, or the early church. Yet one gets the impression from "Messianic" believers that they are being more biblical by using that term.

The Hebrew word Messiah (Mashiach) appears only twice in the Old Testament, both in the same passage (Dn 9:25,26). The Greek form of it, Messias, appears only twice in the New Testament (Jn:1:41He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.
See All...; 4:25). In Israel, prophet, priest, and king had to be anointed with a special oil symbolic of the Holy Spirit. The words "Messiah" and "Christ" signified the Anointed One, in whom all three offices would be fulfilled.

In contrast to only four appearances of "Messiah/Messias" in the entire Bible, the word "Christ" (Gr. Christós) occurs hundreds of times in the New Testament. So it would seem more biblical to refer to "Christ Movement," or "Christ Christians," or "Christ Jews" than to "Messianic." That word purports to call us back to the Jewish roots of our faith.

Unfortunately, "Messianic-whatever" implies that observing Jewish practices ensures that one will be closer to God – and it often becomes an excuse for imposing the law and Jewish observances upon Gentile Christians. This is unbiblical and something Paul combated in his epistle to the Galatians.

The gospel is all about Christ, who died for the sins of the world. Everyone, Jew or Gentile, must believe on Christ in order to be saved. All who believe on our Lord Jesus Christ in response to the gospel have embraced the Messiah--but not in the exclusively Jewish sense of the Anointed One who will rescue Israel at Armageddon and reign on the throne of David forever.

The term "Messianic Christian" makes an unbiblical distinction between two classes of Christians: "Messianic" and "Non-Messianic." Yet Jews and Gentiles who believe the gospel have been made one in Christ. If one is a Christian, whether Jew or Gentile, he has believed on Christ the Messiah as Lord and Savior. There is no other basis of salvation. What more could the "Messianic Movement" offer? Obviously, nothing.

The gospel that the apostles preached and that we are to preach doesn't even have the word "Messiah" in it. The gospel is that "Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures" (1 Cor:15:1-8 [1] Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; [2] By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. [3] For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; [4] And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: [5] And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: [6] After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. [7] After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. [8] And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
See All...). It would not be more biblical to preach, "Believe on the Messiah, who died for our sins."

Scripture refers to "Jews...Gentiles...the church of God" (1 Cor:10:32Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
See All...). "Messianic" describes none of these three. Both Jews and Gentiles who believe on Jesus before He comes visibly at Armageddon are in the church; Jews and Gentiles who do not receive Christ as Savior and Lord until He appears at the Second Coming will inhabit the earth – Jews in the special relationship to their Messiah promised to Israel, Gentiles as part of the nations that remain on earth (Rv 21:24; 22:2) along with Israel but distinct from her.

Again, it is presently impossible for anyone to be "Messianic" because all who believe on Christ (Jew or Gentile) are in the church, with Christ ruling as Lord in their hearts. They are part of the bride that will rule and reign with Him eternally. They will not be among the Jewish subjects in the Kingdom over whom the Messiah will reign on the throne of David. To call some Christians "Messianic" is not biblical but confusing.