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Affirmation - Stuttgart 1996 |
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Sixth European LCJE Conference, 28-30 October 1996
Conference Statement Over 40 representatives from Protestant churches, Mission agencies and Messianic Jewish congregations met in Stuttgart to reflect on Christian witness to the Jewish people in post-Holocaust Europe. The conference considered this challenge in the light of the clear teaching of Scripture that the Gospel is "to the Jew first" (Romans 1.16). The conference made the following declaration: We believe that only through faith in Jesus the Messiah is there salvation for Jew and Gentile alike. We therefore call on the Church to engage with renewed energy in the task of Jewish evangelism in accordance with the clear witness of Scripture. We acknowledge that the Christian faith is rooted in God’s covenant with Israel. We recognise the indebtedness of the Church to the Jewish people who under God have been used to bring to the world the light and truth of his grace. We acknowledge with grief that the Christian Church must bear its share of responsibility for the suffering of the Jewish people throughout history. We rejoice that a growing number of Jewish people are coming to faith in Jesus the Messiah. We are especially thankful that this includes Jewish people in post-Holocaust Germany. We maintain the right of Messianic Jews to preserve both their Jewish identity and their essential unity with all believers in Jesus. We oppose all forms of anti-Semitism, prejudice and racial discrimination. We reject the two-covenant theory which claims that Jewish people have a separate way of salvation apart from faith in Jesus the Messiah. In the light of the clear teaching of Scripture we recommit ourselves to the evangelization of the Jewish people worldwide. |
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