There seems to be an increasing number of Christians today who are convinced that the Jewish people are no longer God’s chosen people. To them, modern-day Israel is considered irrelevant and not part of God’s prophetic plan, and the church is now the chosen people of God. I’m here to tell you: those who hold to that position are dead wrong.
Thankfully, as Paul writes in Romans 11:1, “God has not cast away His people.” The Apostle further emphasizes his point by saying, “God forbid!” The truth is that Israel is our insurance policy, as shown in Jeremiah 31:35-36. God will keep His promises to Israel, and we can be assured that He will keep His promises to us.
Some of the greatest promises made to believers are found in Romans chapter eight, where Paul says in verse 28, “And we know that all things work together for good, to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”
In verses 37 to 39, Paul continues, “Yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present, nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord.”
Wow, what wonderful promises!
And yet, consider this: what hope is there in those promises? What hope is there in believing them if God is finished with Israel and has somehow “unchosen” His people? If that is the case, Romans eight doesn’t mean very much at all. But you see, Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, addresses this as he inserts Romans chapters 9-11 following chapter eight. In these chapters, he clearly teaches that God is not finished with Israel and that one day, all Israel will be saved, physically and spiritually. That is the remnant that the prophet Zechariah also spoke about in the 13th chapter.
Paul issues a warning to all believers about this very mischaracterization as he speaks of the natural branches of the olive tree being Israel and the wild olive branches being the Gentiles. The Gentiles are now grafted into Israel’s spiritual blessings in the new covenant we read about in Jeremiah chapter 31. In Romans 11:20-21, Paul writes, “Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith.” Here’s the warning, “Do not be haughty but fear, for if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. “
Be careful, church! Do not be led astray by this false teaching of replacement theology.
Those who promote replacement theology will cite verses like Romans 2:28-29, where Paul says, “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh, but he is a Jew who is one inwardly. And circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not from men, but from of God.” Does this say anywhere that God has “unchosen” His people, Israel? No. Paul is simply making the point that just because you are Jewish doesn’t mean that you are in the right with God. If you’re born in a Christian home, does that mean that you are automatically in the right with God? No. God has no “grandchildren.”
What are some other verses that are used to promote this false idea of replacement theology? Many will also point to Galatians 6:15-16. Let’s look at that. Paul, writing to the Galatians, says, “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation. And as many as walk according to this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God.” The argument insists that Paul is referring to the Gentiles as “the Israel of God.” This claim is also incorrect, as Paul was simply speaking about Jewish believers.
Let’s go a step further. If you want to think that we, the church, are now a spiritual Israel, let’s look at Romans 10: 1-3, putting “the church” in place of “Israel.” Paul, writing to the Romans, says, “Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for [the church] that they might be saved. I bear [the church] witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge for [the church], being ignorant of God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.”
Do you see how ridiculous that sounds? “The church” replacing “Israel” stripped these verses of all their meaning. The truth is plain to see: God has not “unchosen” His people, and He has not forgotten about His promises to Israel.
God made promises to His chosen people 4000 years ago in Genesis 12. God unconditionally swore those promises to Himself in Genesis 15. In Psalms 105:8-11, the psalmist, speaking of God, writes: “He remembers His covenant forever, the word which He commanded for a thousand generations, the covenant which He made with Abraham and His oath to Isaac, and confirmed it to Jacob for a statute to Israel as an everlasting covenant, saying to you, ‘I will give the land of Canaan as the allotment of your inheritance.'” Because of that, friends, we can rest assured that when we read Romans chapter eight, God will keep His promises to us as well. Amen, praise the Lord!
God has also chosen the church, and some of these false teachers will point that out as part of their case. In 1 Peter, chapter two, we read that we are chosen. However, this truth does not void Deuteronomy 14:2; it does not mean that He has “unchosen” the Jewish people.
Thank God that the Jewish people are still the apple of His eye, as we read about in Zechariah chapter two. God promised that He would regather His chosen people back to their ancestral homeland in Israel and one day save them physically and spiritually through the Messiah (Ezekiel 36-37, Zechariah 12, etc.). We see their spiritual restoration happening at the end of the “time of Jacob’s trouble,” otherwise known as the seven-year tribulation period.
The church should be very careful not to spread this false narrative that modern-day Israel is irrelevant and that the Jewish people are no longer His chosen people. They are His chosen people, and they have a very bright future, which we should be celebrating. I will close with Romans 11:12, where Paul says, “Now, if their fall is the riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness.”
