The Christian View of Israel

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

—Romans 10:1–4

Where does Israel stand in the working of God, according to the Scriptures?

This is an ongoing argument among Christians from the academic level to the popular level.

The argument is not going away soon either, as far as I can tell, because each side can go to a number of Scriptures to prooftext its point. Is it possible to bring these sides together “according to the Scriptures”?

Well, to be honest, some people hold to an idea and then find the right scriptures to uphold their idea rather than “rightly dividing the word of truth¹” and seeking the “whole counsel of God²” on the matter.

To these, the problem is a spiritual and soul problem, and not an academic one. It has been said, “A man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still”, and after a really good argument, he will stick to his idea, because he has dug himself a deep hole and it requires a good deal of humility to come out of it.

When we come to this chapter in the Apostle Paul’s Epistle to the Romans, we have the place where all Christians need to start when establishing an opinion regarding Israel.

“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved”, Romans 10:1.

Is that where you are starting when coming to your opinion?

If it is not, you do not have the Christian and correct Biblical heart for Israel. That is true whether you follow dispensational theology or covenant theology.

I have not kept it secret what my theological position is, nor do I expect to change it anytime soon. This present writing is not going to be a defense of that position as much as it is going to be a call to reorient to the Christian position as the Apostle Paul said it in the middle chapter of his extended discourse on Israel in the middle chapter of his epistle that I (and others) refer to as “The Gospel According to Paul”³.

Those who would argue that the church is the new and completed Israel, against those who would rebut that ethnic/national Israel are still God’s chosen people, should be able to come to an easy consensus of agreement with the Apostle of Christ here.

Paul’s desire, and you can feel it jump off of the page as you come to the beginning of chapter 10, remembering what you read a chapter earlier in 9:2, is that his unbelieving brethren according to the flesh would turn from their rebellion against their God and His Son Jesus the Christ and be saved. They look to establish their own righteousness according to the law, yet they do not realize that the verdict has been given and the curse of the law is what they are yet under. There is now no making of themselves better by turning to a better keeping of the law, for we have already learned that “by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in [God’s] sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

We also learn in another epistle to Gentiles who are being tempted and swayed to attempt to complete what Christ has already completed by turning to “the Jews’ religion⁴“, by bettering their stand with “the people of God” by being circumcised, that “as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them”, Galatians 3:9.

Under the Law, that which the people of Israel were seeking to use to establish their own righteousness, leaves them under a curse. While they were often called to return to that covenant and to walk rightly under it, that time was done, and only “the righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ⁵” would be accepted as righteousness. This leaves us at the place where we see and understand that Jews and Gentiles together are all under sin⁶“.

The Apostle can see that if his countrymen had the real knowledge that they need, they would know that they were undone⁷, that all of their righteousness was as filthy rags⁸, and that only by a new and living way⁹ would they have any right standing before the God who they draw nigh to with their lips, but who their hearts are far from¹⁰.

These people of the covenant need Christ, in whose blood is the new covenant, and without Him they are in their sins and under the curse of the law. We know from Jeremiah 31:31-34 that the Lord would make a new covenant with the houses of Israel and Judah, and we know from the Lord Himself and from His apostle Paul that the new covenant is in His blood. Without this New Covenant and the blood which makes it happen, Israel is still undone.

We know that without that blood, there is no remission of sins¹¹, and it will be that when the heart of the Israelites will turn to the Lord Jesus Christ that the vail that is upon the heart of this covenant people will be removed¹². It will not be by turning to the law and by walking better under it. By the law is the knowledge of sin, but knowledge of sin will not save. The knowledge of the Savior will.

Whatever your theological bent on end times (eschatology) or on the Israel/Church distinction (ecclesiology), you should have this Christian view of Israel and know that each one of them needs the Savior, Jesus Christ, as you do.

The gospel for the people of Israel is the same as it is for those of us who were strangers to the covenants of promise. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and was buried and rose again according to the scriptures. They come to Christ in the same way as Gentiles, as we see in a few verses ahead in Romans chapter 10¹³:

Romans 10:8–13 — “But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

In all of this, are we arguing so much regarding Israel that we have missed the Gospel of Christ entirely. The Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. It is that power to all in between as well, and that gospel declares that all the world, including you that are reading this, is guilty before God, and that you need the Savior Jesus Christ to take your sin and to give you righteousness. This He did when He was made sin for us and we were made the righteousness of God in Him. Let’s get first things right and then let us submit our opinions and frustrations with those that disagree to the Word of God.

End Notes:

1. 2 Timothy 2:15. See some other articles that I have written on this: Study and A Workman Studies 2 Timothy 2:15 are two that are fairly recent on this subject. ↩︎
2. Acts 20:27. In understanding what Paul means here, I cannot see it meaning that he taught them the whole Bible, cover to cover, so to speak, but that he taught them everything that the Lord had commissioned him to teach them. ↩︎
3. F.F. Bruce has a chapter discussing the themes in Romans with this title in his book “Paul, Apostle of the Heart Set Free”, and William R. Newell states similar ideas in his commentary on Romans. ↩︎
4. The Greek word here in Galatians 1:13 and again in verse 14 is Ἰουδαϊσμῷ, or what we might say Judaism. ↩︎
5. Romans 3:22. ↩︎
6. Romans 3:9 ↩︎
7. Isaiah 6:5 ↩︎
8. Isaiah 64:6 ↩︎
9. Hebrews 10:20 ↩︎
10. Isaiah 29:13; c.f., Matthew 15:8, Mark 7:6 ↩︎
11. Hebrews 9:22 ↩︎
12. 2 Corinthians 3:14–16 ↩︎
13. There are those that will argue that this is about how Israel will come to Christ in the future. I wholly disagree. This is about how they will come to Christ now. There is no difference! ↩︎