Note: Position statements of the FBFI are not the same as magazine articles on FrontLine or typical posts on Proclaimanddefend.org. They are crafted in a committee during our Winter Board Meeting, discussed by the assembled board members, edited by the board, and published as a collective statement of the position of our board on a particular subject. We do this when we believe it is important for us to speak with unity on a matter of great importance. With the rise of antisemitism among evangelicals, we believe we need to speak clearly on this subject. This is a statement from February 2026.
Position Statement 26_03: The Jewish People and Israel
Theological Foundations
* In His grace, for the sake of His glory, and to accomplish His redemptive and kingdom purposes, God chose Israel to be His representative people among the nations (Ex 4:22; Lev 20:26; Deu 26:18-19) and made a covenant with them at Mount Sinai (Ex 19– 20; Deu 5:1-2). Although Israel broke this covenant and God dispersed them among the nations, He has not repudiated, but rather has reiterated, His promise to restore and use them in the future (Lev 26:44-45; Rom 11:25-29).
* In the present age the majority of the Jewish people remain in unbelief, rejecting the Gospel of Jesus the Messiah, although a remnant is being saved through the preaching of the Gospel and faith in Christ (Rom 11:1-6). They, along with believing Gentiles, are being incorporated into one spiritual body in Christ, His Church (Eph 2:14-18).
* The current unbelief of the majority of the Jewish people in the Messiah does not mean that God has repudiated His calling of them or annulled His promises to them (Rom 11:1-2, 25-32). When Christ returns in glory, the Jewish People will acknowledge Jesus as their Messiah and will enter the Millennial Kingdom with Christ as their King (Jer 30:9; 31:31-34; Zech 12:10–13:1; Rom 11:26). This will be a time of blessing for the Gentile nations as well, which will also become the people of the Lord (Gen 12:3; Ps 22:27-28; Isa 19:23-25; Amos 9:12; Zech 2:11).
* From the time of Pentecost until the Rapture, the Church is God’s ordained mediatorial institution in the world. Although the Church shares in some of the blessings of the New Covenant promises that God made to Israel and exceeds Old Testament Israel in spiritual privileges, the Church is neither a continuation of national Israel nor a replacement for Israel in God’s plan.
Antisemitism
* Antisemitism, hostility toward the Jewish people, is evil. God is not a respecter of persons. No one on account of his or her religious or ethnic background is precluded from the grace of God (Acts 10:34-35).
* Antisemitism has various motives, including religious, social, political, ideological, and racial. Throughout history, it has been reflected in bigotry, blood libel, conspiracy theories, pogroms, confiscation of property, and even genocide. Regardless of its manifestation, antisemitism ultimately is satanic in origin (Rev 12:1-6; 13-17; 1 Chr 21:1; Zech 3:1-2).
* The reality and horrors of the Holocaust are among the best documented facts in modern history and attempts to deny or minimize it are both historically indefensible and morally repugnant.
* Antisemitism is contrary to Scripture. Gentile believers are specifically admonished by God not to look down on the Jewish people (Rom 11:13-18), rather they owe a great debt to Israel as the instrument through which God gave us His Word and His Christ (Rom 3:1-2; 9:1-5; 15:27). Bible-believing Christians should be especially wary of false teachers that seek to justify antisemitism based on professed loyalty to Christianity or other alleged theological reasons.
Jewish Evangelism
* Everyone born into this world, Jewish and Gentile alike, is under the condemnation of God and needs salvation through Jesus Christ (Rom 3:9). Christ loved and died for us all, and everyone who trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved. The good news of salvation in Jesus Christ is for Jews and Gentiles without distinction (Rom 1:16).
* Jesus is the true Messiah (Mat 16:16-17; John 20:31) and Suffering Servant (Isa 52:13–53:12; Acts 8:35), Who gave His life for His people (Mat 1:21; John 11:49-52). Therefore, Jewish evangelism is not antisemitic, but rather, it is a manifestation of God’s love for the Jewish people (John 3:16; Rom 9:1-5; 10:1) and should be encouraged (Acts 20:21; 1 Cor 9:19-20). As with all people, believers’ interactions with the Jewish people should be culturally sensitive and avoid giving offence where truth and principle are not involved (1 Cor 9:19-20;10:32).
The Mosaic Law and Jewish Customs
* The Scripture is clear that believers (whether Jew or Gentile) are not under the Law of Moses (Rom 6:14; Gal 3:23-25; 5:18). Old-covenant ceremonies are not binding on Jewish Christians, must not be imposed on the Gentiles, and may not be commended either as a as a condition for full fellowship with God or other believers or as a means of sanctification (Gal 3:3; Col 2:16-17; Heb 10:1).
The Modern State of Israel
* Zionism, understood as the belief that the Jewish people should be able to live as a nation in their ancestral homeland, is not inconsistent with God’s Word. The reestablishment of the nation of Israel in 1948 can reasonably be seen as a manifestation of God’s electing love for ethnic Israel and as a token of His intention to fulfill his promises to them in the eschatological future.
* While affirming that God will bring His chosen people, Israel, back to their Jewish homeland in fulfillment of Biblical end-time prophecy, we reject the idea that Jews must be in the land before the Lord can Rapture the Church. We believe that the next event on the prophetic calendar is the Rapture.
* Meanwhile, there is no valid theological objection to Christian people supporting the right of the Jewish people to a homeland or the right of the modern State of Israel to exist.
* From the standpoint of geopolitics, the nation of Israel was created in 1948 in accordance with United Nations Resolution 181. Israel’s legitimacy has been recognized by the majority of nations, and by the United Nations, of which Israel has been a member state since 1949. Nevertheless, Israel’s existence was opposed by the Arab leadership and allied states, which initiated wars against Israel, and which fomented numerous terrorist acts against Israel and Israelis, including the October 7, 2023, attack, a reprehensible act of state-sponsored terrorism against innocent civilians.
* Like other nations, Israel has the right to defend its people and its territorial integrity from invasion and terrorism. Also, like other nations, the policies of Israel’s government are subject to criticism on political and moral grounds. While affirming that God blesses those who bless the Jewish people, we reject the idea that the political positions of the nation-state of Israel at any given time must be supported unconditionally.
* The suffering of innocent people as a result of terrorism and warfare is a tragic consequence of sin that should grieve God’s people. However, in a fallen world, the responsibility of national self-defense is necessary for the protection of the people and the nation (Rom 13:1-3; Isa 1:17), and governments cannot be expected to abandon that responsibility in order to avoid all harm to the innocent.
* Christians should pray for all the people of the Middle East, for the success of the Gospel there, and for the peace of Jerusalem (Ps 122:6-9), recognizing that there will be no ultimate peace until the coming in glory of the Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6).
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