It’s probably not the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about Jesus’ ministry. I can’t recall any video on His life that included Him overturning tables as recorded in John 2:13-17 and Matthew 21:12-13. Yes, He did it two times.
If there’s a table in today’s church that needs overturning, it’s Replacement Theology. Its proponents tell us that the church has replaced Israel as the recipient of God’s covenants with and promises to the nation. They say the church is now God’s kingdom on earth.
“Why another post on Replacement Theology?” you ask. It’s because this teaching harms believers and in the end, it exalts the church over Jesus.
It Contradicts the Words of Scripture
Scripture tells us that the Lord will restore a glorious kingdom for Israel. Those who adhere to Replacement Theology contradict what the Bible teaches about the future of the Jewish people.
In my post, 12 Questions for Those Who Deny the Validity of Future Bible Prophecy, I provide a dozen biblical reasons supporting the restoration of a future, glorious kingdom to Israel. In another article, The Biblical Necessity of a Third Jewish Temple, I explain why there must be a seventieth week of Daniel for the Jews followed by their kingdom.
The adherents of Replacement Theology mistakenly teach that the church has inherited the promises meant for Israel and in doing so negate what the Bible says about Jesus’ future reign over the nations. Such mistreatment of Scripture is just the beginning of the harm it does within the body of Christ.
It Obscures the Message of Hope Embedded in the Gospel
I have heard a great many sermons where the preacher states that God calls all believers to evangelize their neighborhoods, workplaces, or schools. Such messages typically paralyze me in guilt and I suspect I’m not alone.
Of course, as believers we must remain alert for opportunities to share our faith. However, it’s an awareness of God fulfilling prophecy in our day along with a focus on Jesus’ imminent appearing that both prepares and motivates us to share our joyous hope with others. Is this not what it means to provide “a reason for the hope” that we possess (1 Peter 3:15)?
A couple years ago, a husky strong plumber stood in our home and said he was afraid for himself and his family because of what’s happening in America. My wife and I shared our hope of Jesus’ appearing and pointed him to the Savior and the Gospel. He resisted, but we continue to pray for him.
The ones most open to hearing the saving message of the cross are those who recognize the perilous times in which we live. They see the threats to their wellbeing and long for a message of hope that soothes their fears because of the hope the Bible offers them. They need to hear about the fulfillment of prophecy in our day along with our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing. However, these are the very things that Replacement Theology negates.
Preachers immersed in various types of kingdom theology are often exceptionally gifted speakers and people flock to their churches in great numbers to hear them preach. Unfortunately, their preaching obscures the hope that both believers and unbelievers need the most for the day in which we live. It points them away from Jesus’ appearing and makes church growth the overarching objective.
It Misrepresents the Role of Believers as Members of the Body of Christ
The marching orders for all the saints to become evangelists distort what the Bible says about life in the body of Christ. The message of Paul in Romans 12:6-8 paints a much different picture than what’s popular in most seeker-friendly churches today:
“Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”
As members of the body of Christ, we enthusiastically exercise the gifts and callings that Jesus gives to to each of us. If there’s any matter that Paul makes abundantly clear in 1 Corinthians 12, it’s that the members of the body of Christ have differing roles and functions, dare I say differing callings.
In 1 Corinthian 3:4-9, the apostle addressed a division that had arisen in the Corinth church. Some claimed a devotion to Paul who initially brought the Gospel to the city. Others preferred Apollos, who instructed the young believers in their faith.
In verse 8, Paul erases the distinction between those that “plant,” or evangelize, and those that “water,” or teach: “He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.” Did you catch that? They are “one!”
The Lord works through all the gifts of the Spirit to bring others to saving faith.
It Opens the Door to False Teaching
During lunch with a local pastor, he called my attention to Andy Stanley as a reason I should adopt his “church is the kingdom” brand of amillennialism. He said I was out of touch with what was “popular” in the church because I disagreed with his and Stanley’s denial of a future restored kingdom for Israel.
I couldn’t help but recall that discussion from years ago as I recently watched a video clip of Andy Stanley praising “gay Christians” for their courage and pleading for their acceptance in the church. He referred to Old Testament passages that prohibit such behavior, but did so with a tone of exasperation that implied we dare not apply such passages to these fellow believers.
Please know I’m extremely grateful that many pastors immersed in Replacement Theology still maintain the purity of the Gospel. The problem is that it opens the door, perhaps at a much later time, to teachings that dilute the purity of the saving message of the cross.
This happens because those who promote kingdom theology must employ symbolism, also referred to as allegory, to reinterpret the intent of biblical authors who predict that the Lord will restore a kingdom for Israel.
Once churches start down the road using allegory to reinterpret these prophecies, the same errant approach invariably bleeds over to other passages of Scripture.
The identification of the church as God’s physical kingdom on earth has given birth to the most popular false teaching in the church today, Dominion Theology. It’s proponents tells us that the church will bring in God’s righteous rule on the earth with Jesus returning after the Millennium.
Preterism, which falsely claims that Jesus returned to earth in 70 AD and fulfilled most, if not all, future prophecies, begins with Replacement Theology and naturally flows from it.
What do all these teachings have in common? They glorify the church at the expense of lifting up the name of Jesus. Of course, you will hear praise for Jesus where these things are taught, but the main objective is always to grow and honor the church. I say this based on my study of these beliefs and from many years’ experience of interacting with their adherents.
Replacement Theology always leads, at a later time, to further abuse of biblical texts and to the glorifying of the church above its Head.
It Blinds Saints to the Reality of Living in the Last Days
Replacement Theology harms the saints because it blinds them to the reality that they live in the last days. Its proponents see no prophetic implications in the miraculous reemergence of Israel as a nation, which is a key indicator of the day in which we live.
It’s also popular to regard the book of Revelation as everything other than what it claims to be, a book of future prophecy. The allegorical approach to it blinds many today to the innumerable precursors for the fulfillment of its prophecies.
It was heart wrenching to watch scenes from the devastating earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria on Sunday, February 5, 2023. In one video, I heard the people screaming with grief and agony. As I write, the reported death toll now stands at about 35,000 killed and 80,000 wounded.
This should be a wakeup call for all believers: God’s judgment is on its way to our world. How many more warning signs will it take for pastors of seeker-friendly churches to recognize that we live in a day when the Bible is coming to life before their eyes and begin at least mentioning our “blessed hope” in their sermons? If not now, when?
During the past several years, the Lord has shown the world a sampling of what’s to come during the Tribulation, but it’s a warning that few heed. The scenes from the earthquake in Turkey and Syria are horrific and awful. However, the devastation during the Day of the Lord will be considerably worse.
1 Corinthians 15:50-54 is one of many passages that tell of our joyous expectation of the Rapture. The promise that not all believers will die applies especially to those of us alive today. Isn’t that a cause for much rejoicing? I think so.
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
This is the message of hope the lost need to hear and the encouragement of which we all need continual reminders. It’s all about Jesus and exalting His wonderful Name above all else.
Jesus alone is our hope and the heart of the Gospel.
Maranatha!
My book, The Triumph of the Redeemed-An eternal Perspective that Calms Our Fears in Perilous Times, is available on Amazon. In it, I provide further reasons for rejecting Replacement Theology and putting our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing to take us home to glory.
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