Taking God’s Name In Vain

 

One of the weirdest things that many Christian Zionists say is that it is arrogant to say only believers, or Christians, are of Israel. It is head turningly strange.  

They often refer to this passage to make this claim, not really reading what it says, Romans 11:18-20,

“19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?”

What is arrogance in this context? It is not continuing in faith. It is thinking your flesh counts as credit towards the Lord. It is living in unbelief yet claiming to be God's people. If those born of the nation of Israel could be cut off when they rejected faith in Jesus Christ, how much more could we Gentiles if we did not continue in faith? We must continue in faith, because to trust in the flesh is arrogance. That is what it is in this context.

It is also arrogant, as a human being, to ever think anything but faith counts with God. Our flesh does not count. Hence being part of Israel, the Olive Tree, is only for those who trust in Jesus and never those who trust in the flesh.

Not only is it strange to say this statement is inherently arrogant, it makes no logical sense. If unbelieving Jews are not accounted as God’s people, then it is loving and necessary to say that they must trust in Christ, just like anyone else to be saved. This is what the disciples did,

“24 Yes, and all the prophets, from Samuel and those who follow, as many as have spoken, have also foretold these days. 25 You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘And in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ 26 To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your iniquities” (Acts 3:24-26). 

The disciples warned their own people that they needed to turn from their sins and trust in Jesus if they were to experience the prophesied blessing given to Abraham. Were they arrogant? No, they were simply doing what Jesus trained them to do.

I suppose it is the case that some people could state this in an arrogant way. But this statement is not inherently arrogant. In fact, this assertion will often provoke the same kind of response from Christian Zionists today that it got from Pharisees in the times of the Apostles. So, to say this is to take some degree of flak from your fellow believers. However, it is true and therefore should be proclaimed anyway. 

It also necessarily follows from this, contextually, that it is arrogant to assert unbelieving Jews are Israel. In fact, because Israel is the people of God, I cannot think of a better example of breaking the 3rd commandment, though there are many equivalents of course. To say you are God's but to reject Christ, is to take the Lord's name in vain. That is arrogant. It is also dangerous.  

God will judge Christians for enabling that. God will also judge all of us if we fall into this error of claiming his name but not continuing in faith.