Southern Baptists, Jewish Christians: Bible Says God Gave Israel to the Jews
Both the spokesperson for the Southern Baptist Convention and Jews for Jesus ministry point to the Bible as the reason why a recent national poll found that the majority of the South believes God gave Israel to the Jews.
“The reason that 7 out of 10 evangelicals believe that God gave the land of Israel to the Jewish people is simply because it is stated as such in the Bible, and evangelicals believe the Bible to be God’s Word,” wrote SBC vice president for convention relations, Dr. Kenyn Cureton, in an email to The Christian Post last week.
Cureton noted that he expects the number to be higher among Southern Baptists.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Late last month, the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life released a survey that found 56 percent of those in the South believe that God gave Israel to the Jews. An even higher number (69 percent) of white evangelical Protestants subscribed to this belief.
Jews for Jesus spokesperson, Susan Perlman, referenced Romans 11:29 which says “the gifts and his call are irrevocable” and concluded, “therefore so must our support for the survival of Israel be irrevocable.”
She further noted that political and humanitarian efforts have failed to bring lasting peace to the region and the only hope for peace is in Jesus.
“Only when Palestinians and Israelis can say to one another, “I love you in Jesus’ name” will the whole world take note and see the power of the gospel,” stated Perlman in a written statement last week.
However, she pointed out that, “As God’s people, committed to peace, we must demonstrate that loving Israel does not mean hating Arabs.”
David Brickner, executive director of Jews for Jesus, also highlighted biblical support that God gave Israel to the Jews.
In a newsletter last year, he wrote, “God’s promise of the Land was based on an eternal covenant He made with Abraham, a covenant He never revoked.
The Southern Baptist Convention is the nation’s largest denomination with over 16 million members headquartered in Nashville.
Jews for Jesus is an international ministry seeking to share the Gospel with the Jewish people with branches in eight major U.S. cities.
