PREAMBLE
People often ask me, “Do you love the Jews?” My answer is yes. I do.
SOME POINTS THAT I BELIEVE IN LOVING ISRAEL
1. I love the Jews, and I love Jerusalem. I once visited the city when Gordon Fauth and Naomi Fauth were still alive. We kept Sabbath at Baca Residence and slept in Abu Tor, where the old Church building stood. I pray for the City of Jerusalem daily (Psalms 122:6).
2. I also make an important distinction. Loving Israel does not mean joining the Jewish religion (Galatians 1:13-14).
3. I know the Jews and Jerusalem were chosen by Elohim (Deuteronomy 7:6-8; 2 Chronicles 6:6).
4. I know salvation is from the Jews (John 4:22).
5. I know Yahshua and all the apostles were Jews (Romans 9:4-5).
6. I know Yahshua came first for the lost sheep of Israel (Matthew 15:24).
7. I know the apostles were told to begin their evangelical work in Jerusalem, then Judea, Samaria, and finally the rest of the world (Acts 1:8).
8. I know Yahshua said the Jews would be scattered until they say, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord” and that Jerusalem would be trodden down by the gentiles till the times of Gentiles would be fulfilled (Luke 21:24; Matthew 23:39; Luke 21:24).
9. I know Jews were dispersed across many nations for their disbelief (Deuteronomy 28:64; Ezekiel 36:19).
10. I know their return to Israel happened because Elohim had mercy on His Holy Name, not because they became righteous (Ezekiel 36:22-24).
11. I know a time will come when they will look upon Him whom they pierced and mourn for Him, each family by itself, this will happen closest to the return of Messiah (Zechariah 12:10-12).
12. I know Saul was a strict Jew of the Jewish religion, who persecuted Messianic believers until Yahshua stopped him on the road to Damascus (Acts 8:3; Acts 9:3-6; Galatians 1:13-14).
13. I know many Jews refused Paul’s message, and that is why he turned to the Gentiles (Acts 13:46-48).
14. I love Israel and Jerusalem, but I cannot leave the Way of Yahshua to follow the Jewish religion that Paul himself left behind (Galatians 1:13-14; 2:19-21).
15. I would gladly visit Jerusalem again, but my deepest hope is to stand in Jerusalem when Yahshua returns (Zechariah 14:4).
16. I belong to Yahshua Messiah, and because of that, I share in the promises given to Abraham, the father of many nations and not Israel only (Genesis 17:4-5).
17. I believe the rebirth of Israel in 1948 is one of the greatest signs of our time, a nation born in a single day (Isaiah 66:8).
18. I know some ordinances were taken away at the death of Yahshua at the cross (Colossians 2:14-17; Galatians 3:24-25).
19. I know following the Torah cannot bring salvation, even though some people think loving Israel requires keeping the Torah (Galatians 2:16).
20. I know that if Torah-keeping were required for salvation, then circumcision would also be required. Yet relying on circumcision would cut a person off from Messiah (Galatians 5:2; Galatians 5:4; Acts 15:1-11).
21. I know some people feel that what is written in the Torah must be done without question but they know not what they affirm in law (1 Timothy 1:7; Acts 15:10).
22. I know Yahshua came so that both Jew and Gentile could become one people in Him (Ephesians 2:13–16).
23. I know believing Jews remained on the olive tree by faith, and Gentiles are grafted in the same way, by faith until the fullness of gentiles be fulfilled (Romans 11:17–26).
24. I love Israel, but my salvation and inheritance are found in Yahshua Messiah, together with everyone who believes (Galatians 3:26–29).
CONCLUSION
Loving Israel is part of my faith, but my trust for salvation is in Yahshua Messiah. I honour Elohim’s plan for Israel. I respect Jerusalem, and I value the Scriptures that came through the Jewish people. Still, I walk in the New Covenant. I am saved by faith, and I stand together with all who believe, whether they are from near or far. If I ever get the chance, I would happily visit Jerusalem again. But the Jerusalem I long for most is the one I will see when Yahshua returns.
This Post has been prepared by Bro Mutonga (Pipeline Church, Nakuru, Kenya, East Africa, Africa)
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