Lila Rose just said the church has replaced Israel—and we need to have an honest conversation about it.
Before we do, I want to say that we love Live Action. We respect the heroic role that Lila has taken as a leader in the pro-life movement. It’s one of the most important fights of this generation. I have had the privilege of interviewing Lila Rose at the Real Life Network studios. During the interview, Lila provided a beautiful explanation about the forgiveness and hope offered through Christ for the men and women who grieve the loss of their aborted children.
However, in a recent Facebook post surrounding the nation of Israel, most of which was wonderful and true, Lila made one deeply troubling statement. In the second-to-last sentence, Lila says, “The church is the new Israel, and Christians hope that all people, including religiously Jewish people and Muslims, will join the church.”
Of course, we do hope that everyone—Jew and Gentile—comes to know Yeshua Hamashiach, Jesus Christ, as their personal Savior. The problematic portion of her statement was the first part of that sentence, which argued that “the church is the new Israel.”
That’s where scripture tells a different story.
Psalm 105:8-10 says, “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.”
Who is “He?” He is God. How long is “everlasting?” Well, that would be forever!
Romans 11 is a chapter deeply connected to Israel, presenting how God has not “cast away His people.” Verse 29 states that “the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” What does the word “irrevocable” mean? It means that God will never go back on His promise. If God breaks His promise to the Jews, what assurance do you have that He will keep his promise to you?
In Romans 11:18, Paul uses a metaphor of an olive tree. Israel is the root, the natural branches, while Gentile believers are the wild branches grafted in. Paul warns, “Do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.” The church does not replace Israel, but rather the body of Gentile believers is grafted into the promise made to Israel.
In Acts chapter 1, the resurrected Jesus, right before He ascends to the Father, is asked by His disciples, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” If replacement theology were true, this would have been the perfect moment for Jesus to correct them! He could have simply said, “No, the church has replaced Israel.” Instead, Jesus says, “It’s not for you to know the times or the dates the Father has set.” He doesn’t rebuke the question. He doesn’t correct their theology. The implication is clear. Yes, the kingdom of Israel will be restored, but the disciples don’t get to know when.
God says in Zechariah 2:8 that whoever touches Israel “touches the apple of His eye.” In Jeremiah 31:35-36, God promises that unless the sun stops shining and the moon stops giving light, only then will Israel cease to be a nation before Him forever.
There are numerous scriptures that I could mention which point to God keeping His promise to Israel, but perhaps the strongest of all is Exodus 4:22, which states, “Thus says the Lord: Israel is My son, My firstborn.”
Lila, you have done an incredible job championing the pre-born, but God doesn’t turn his back on His “firstborn.”
We can pray for Jewish salvation without believing that God has abandoned His covenant. God can keep His promise and graft in the Gentiles. He is big enough to do both.
Lila, if you are reading this, I write this with the deepest respect. You are a hero. Your work is changing history. You are saving lives. In your post, you acknowledge Israel’s right to exist, the persecution of the Jewish people, and the challenges that Israel faces from radical Islam. But on this one issue, I humbly submit that the scriptures clearly reject replacement theology. The church is not “the new Israel.”
