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LCJE Affirmation - Zeist 1991 |
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Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism Zeist, The Netherlands, August 9, 1991 As God once spoke to Israel, we hear his voice again today: "Behold, ! am doing a new thing" (Isa. 43:19). At the fourth international conference of the Lausanne Consultation on Jewish Evangelism, 150 people from five continents--including many Jewish believers in Jesus--gathered in Zeist, The Netherlands, August 5-9, i991. In response to God's word to us, we offer the following message to the Jewish people, the churches and all those concerned with Jewish evangelism. "Behold I am doing a new thing..." To the Jewish people: We lament the resurgence of hatred against the Jewish people, against the state of Israel and we abhor every action or attitude which threatens Jewish survival. We rejoice in God's continuing care of his covenant people. We rejoice that many have found freedom from oppression in Eastern Europe and Ethiopia, and that many have returned to the land of their fathers. We hope and pray for an end to oppression and for peace for all in the Middle East. We implore you in this time of renewed messianic fervour to recognise that the era of redemption has begun with Yeshua of Nazareth. He is indeed the promised divine Messiah of Israel, as well as the light to the nations, revealing God's presence and saving power to all who receive him. "Behold I am doing a new thing..." To the Churches: We lament the teaching that the church has replaced the Jewish people in the purposes of God and we lament the widespread reluctance to share the Gospel with the Jewish people. Silence has often replaced shouts of joy that Jesus came as the Jewish Messiah, the Saviour of the world and the only way of salvation. We rejoice that the response of Jewish people to the Gospel is none the less gaining momentum in our time and that messianic Jews are making a creative contribution to the life, worship and witness of the worldwide Church. We also rejoice that significant numbers of Christians are again upholding "the New Testament pattern of taking the Gospel to the Jew first..." (Manila Manifesto, LCWE 1989). We implore the churches to stand with us against powers that promote anti-Semitism and to affirm the urgency of Jewish evangelism. We Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus need to strengthen our resolve to work together, and together we call upon the whole church to take the whole Gospel to Jewish people everywhere. "Behold I am doing a new thing..." |
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