Should The Church Always Be Pro Israel?
21 January 2009 Hits:7424
Now, right from the start I want to make my position clear so there can be no misunderstanding from what I’m about to say (I hope!). I am Pro-Israel. I believe that God chose to work through this people group in order to bring forth the Messiah who would save those who put their trust in Him that’s what Genesis 12:3 is about – “all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” But being Pro-Israel does not mean two things:
1. That I agree with everything Israel does, and
2. That I am anti any other nation
I believe it is vital that our Pro-Israel stance does not blind us to these two very important truths, because some Christians I have spoken to are so Pro-Israel that, in their eyes, Israel can do no wrong. These same people often speak disparagingly of nations that Israel is at enmity with, such as the Palestinians.
Regarding the first issue: Blessing Israel does not mean I have to agree with everything it does. I love my kids; I love to bless my kids; but that does not blind me to their faults and it does not stop me from exacting appropriate discipline when they do the wrong thing. In the Old Testament God often punished the nation of Israel for their wrong actions. Over the years Israel has been guilty of some dreadful injustices to others. We have some Palestinian people at Bayside Church who have recounted to me the horrors their families were subjected to by Israeli soldiers many years ago. My point here is that just because Israel does it doesn’t mean it’s right.
Secondly, being Pro-Israel does not mean I have to be anti any other nation. I am not anti-Palestinian; I am not anti-Arab; I am not anti-Lebanese – and neither is God. Jesus came to save people of all nations. Glimpses of heaven in the Book of Revelation refer to there being people of all nations worshipping around the throne of God.
One of the things I love about the church is that we start to get a glimpse of heaven on earth. In the Church we see Jews and Palestinians worshipping side by side as well as people from Lebanon, Iraq and other nations. We see Protestant and Catholic Irish people loving each other. This is why heaven will be heaven. The Church’s task now is to bring heaven to earth: that’s what Jesus told us to pray for in the Lord’s Prayer. Supporting injustices of one nation against another or being anti any nation creates hell on earth rather than heaven and ultimately works against the plan and purpose of God for the World He loves.
Rob Buckingham
Senior Minister
7 replies on “Should The Church Always Be Pro Israel?”
nicely put Rob — me & Suzi read the “back & forth” entries on your facebook last week with great interest (or at least the 1st 30) !
Really is that view not bit simplistic, It seems to proport the whole world peace idea, And while I would love to think that world peace was possible, until Jesus comes I don’t think it is. So therefore when is war O.K? It’s not like the bible is exactly anti-war. Not that I think that Israel or Palestinian are in the right here, or that I think either nations are fundementally wrong. I don’t know how much us just deciding to love everyone and not take sides etc helps.
A good balanced outlook. Looking at things through the filter of Gods word – that reveals his loving character through Christ to all mankind – and keeping in mind the fallen of nature of man – no matter how blessed – helps us not to discount any people group from the love of Christ.
Great comments here Rob. I agree that, while we’re supportive of a nation and its Godly position, net every decision it makes is necessarily to be supported and backed by His people. Regarding Rebekah’s comment, I think you need to see that loving everybody is actually the Bible’s suggestion, not just an idyllic metaphor for being kind to everybody.
yes it is believeable that Christian living in the home is either nigh or is real, with prayers before and after a meal. Now the discipline can be a sensitive issue in our house hold and have to be careful how it is given for discipline is not and should not be a form of punishment but used as a guide for the children to understand where they went wrong this is where we need to pray for it is a wrong doing and ask God the Father for forgivenness. There are behaviours that happen with children that need assistance because of special needs so this is where the sensitivity comes in. and the whole house hold needs to adjust to it. With lots of prayer and lots of support is the only way that this will work for us. For example your normal every day praise for the work well done, when your cild shows you there drawing is not comprehanded as giving a good report and our child begins to get frustrated for us praising his good work that he had done and this is hard. The use of mackaton is needed for our child to understand this. He Samuel has been going to yarrabah school which khas helped alot. God Bless and keep up with your Blog I love reading them.
Most who use this verse take it out of context to justify a pro war policy against the Middle-East by America.(No surprise that the war is concentrated in oil rich regions. )Of course this same group believes in American exceptionalism (God love America and of course Israeli only)
Genesis 12:3 if taken in context shows us that was through Abram God would send Christ to fulfill his plan and offer redemption to ALL peoples of the world.
Dear Rob
Bless you with your words of honesty and truth. Unfortunately people take quotes from the Bible out of context and I am sure if Jesus was here, he would be supporting you.
I was fortunate enough not to have experienced or witnessed any torture but both my parents being Palestinians did and I thank God I was spared.
Life is too short to be living and holding onto feelings of hatred. I am so blessed coming to my church Bayside, knowing that both Jews and Palestenians alike are welcome and accepted. This I am sure will please our Lord and put a smile on His face!
I fully agree with you in what you said: “One of the things I love about the church is that we start to get a glimpse of heaven on earth. In the Church we see Jews and Palestinians worshipping side by side as well as people from Lebanon, Iraq and other nations.”