The Long Way: Israel, the Church, and God’s Promises

Josiah and I recently completed a nine-episode Salty Believer Unscripted series called Israel, the Church, and God’s Promises. Our goal was straightforward, but it took time. About 180 minutes, actually. We wanted to think deeply about Israel, the Church, God’s promises, and Modern Israel. We wanted to go beyond repeating slogans, following political trends, or echoing what’s popular on Christian social media. Those shortcuts might be quick, but so is making a microwave burrito. Quick solutions are not always the most nourishing.

This is a topic where people often want answers before doing the hard work. Many start with current events and then look for Bible verses to support their views. Others begin with a preferred theological system and try to jam every passage into it. Some even think that asking honest questions about Israel means you are betraying either the Old or New Testament. We wanted to do things differently. We began where Scripture begins, in Genesis, and then moved through Sinai, the land promises, the prophets, the coming of Christ, the church, God’s future promises, and Paul’s teaching about Israel’s current place before God. It took some time, but we think it was worth it.

The main question is not just whether God made promises to Israel—he did. The real question is how those promises develop through the covenants and are fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The gospel does not interrupt Israel’s story; it is at the center of it. Jesus is not an afterthought added because the Old Testament promises failed. He is the Son of Abraham, the Son of David, the true Israel, the promised King, and the only Savior for both Jews and Gentiles. If any answer leaves Jesus out, it is already off track, no matter how confident or organized it sounds.

That is why we took nine episodes rather than one. We needed all nine. We wanted to avoid easy answers. We did not want to see the Church as a backup plan, as if God had to change course after Israel’s mistakes. We also did not want to see the Church as just a temporary project while God waits to focus on Israel again. The Bible offers something much richer.

In Christ, believing Jews and Gentiles become one new people of God, and Paul still speaks with grief, hope, and expectation about ethnic Israel. The Bible can hold more than one idea at once, which is truly remarkable. How should we think about Modern Israel?” We should answer as Christians, with an open Bible and our eyes fixed on Christ. That does not make the question less practical. It makes it more faithful. Current events matter, nations matter, justice matters, and the Jewish people matter. But none of those matters are rightly understood when detached from the gospel, the covenants, the Church, and the promises of God fulfilled in Jesus Christ and awaiting final consummation at his return. That is what this series tried to do. We took the long way because it's often the only way to arrive somewhere worth going.

Israel, the Church, and God’s Promises
— Thinking About Israel Without Losing Your Mind audio / video
— Going Back to Genesis audio / video
— Israel at Sinai: Chosen for What? audio / video
— Did Israel Receive the Promised Land or Lose It? audio / video
— Did the Prophets Promise Israel More Than Land? audio / video
— Is Jesus the True Israel? audio / video
— Did the Church Replace Israel? audio / video
— Did God Reject Israel? audio / video
— What Should Christians Think about Modern Israel? audio / video