LINDENHURST, Ill. (BP)–Because of my service in the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship I am often asked the question, “How can we bless Israel?” Often I am told by someone that they have been blessing Israel for many years. I am often told by someone that they bless Israel through ministries that I know are not evangelical in any way. This brings me to question the process of determining whom to support.
I am a Jewish person, saved in Jesus. Several loving Christians blessed me beyond measure by bringing the Gospel to me. They spent the time learning how to minister Christ to Jewish people. They had their whole church praying for me. They patiently fed me encouraging words that pointed me to the path of salvation in Messiah Jesus. They even pointed me to several ministries that specialized in ministering Christ to Jewish people.
The sad thing I have discovered is that many Christians are supporting ministries that never minister Christ to the Jewish people group. The conundrum is that these supporters have no idea that the group may never let the people who receive the support know that a Christian gave this help to them or that the group believes that the Jewish people group are saved under another covenant with G-d.
There are ministries out there that hide under the term Christian Zionism. There are also wonderful evangelical ministries that support and believe in Christian Zionism. The only Christian part of the non-evangelical ministries is the loving Christians who give support to them.
Please don’t get me wrong. There are several wonderful ministries out there that serve the down-and-out members of the Jewish people group. Humanitarian aid is essential to many Jewish people who have nothing. Throughout the world there are numerous Jewish people who don’t know where their next meal will come from. There are homeless Jewish people all over the world. There are Jewish orphans whose parents have died from all sorts of maladies and tragedies, including terrorist attacks. It is essential to feed the hungry, supply safe lodging and good medical care to people of all people groups and religions. Humanitarian aid is a wonderful thing to do for anyone who is suffering.
However, Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” (John 14:6).
There is only one way to truly bless Israel. Food is used up by the body. Housing can be destroyed by natural or manmade disasters. Anyone can be left behind by their parents, friends and spouses, but there is One Who never leaves us if we are His. He feeds us food that can never be used up. He has gone to prepare a place for us in His Kingdom. He offers us freedom from sin and stands before G-d as our advocate. He is the true Lamb of G-d, the sacrifice for our trespasses. Baruch Ha’Shem Yeshua. (Praise the Name of Jesus.)
To truly bless Israel we should be careful by remembering to support ministries that are evangelical. True love is to share the Good News of Jesus with the unsaved. There are unsaved Jewish people all over the world. One of the largest groups of unsaved, under-evangelized Jewish people is in North America. Israel is full of lost Jewish people. Europe, Africa, Asia, and Central and South America are also inhabited by Jewish people who don’t know Jesus as Savior and Jewish Messiah.
“And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
I constantly try to advise brothers, sisters and local churches to investigate the ministry that they plan to bless Israel by supporting. As Southern Baptists we are blessed to have a fellowship of Jewish evangelists in our convention. If you want to bless Israel and don’t know how to do it with the blessing of Jesus, please contact the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship. The Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship will help by advising you in ways to bless Israel. If you know how to speak in a way that Jewish people will understand, you will have better success bringing the Gospel to them.
“Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to G-d concerning them is for their salvation” (Romans 10:1).
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Ric Worshill is vice-president of the Southern Baptist Messianic Fellowship, online at www.sbmessianic.net. Contact him at [email protected].
