ADVENT DAY 12 (I Am the Righteousness of God in Christ): Walking Upright

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, in the heart of the Middle East, and He reflected the heart of God to the people whom He had chosen for Himself. Jesus came to make things right: as the Messiah, to restore His people to Himself. Jesus said in Matthew 23:
37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!
38 See! Your house is left to you desolate
39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' "

Jesus indeed came to Jerusalem for that final week - to observe the Passover during what is called Passion Week, or Holy Week.  He died not only at the hands of His own people, but to save His own people.  Not only did Jesus die for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles - for the whole world, and where there has been sinfulness, He has come to forgive and cleanse.  We have all been declared to be the righteousness of God in Christ, if we have believed in the Messiah.

+++++

We have arrived on Day 12 of this year's spiritual "Advent-ure" with Faith Radio, based on our 25-day Faith Radio Advent Guide, found in the center of the Faith Radio Ministry Magazine.  The theme this year is, "Because of Jesus...," and we are exploring what He has done for us as believers in Christ; essentially some aspects of the nature of His life in us. 

Today's theme is "I am the righteousness of God in Christ," and the accompanying Scripture passage is found in 2nd Corinthians chapter 5, which says:
20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

We can be inspired by the accomplishments of others - and we can learn from the unfortunately mistakes of others.  And, while it seems unthinkable that presidents of institutes of higher learning could be so misguided that they could not draw a clear moral conclusion about the scourge of anti-Semitism, when you consider the worldview of so many in higher education, it's actually not that much of a stretch.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on the recent events in the life and work of now-former University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill, who was one of three presidents who testified before Congress last week about their institutions' apparent tolerance of anti-Semitic views; the Inquirer said that Magill resigned in an increasing "backlash against her congressional committee testimony on antisemitism earlier this week and a semester marked by near weekly protests, deep-pocketed donor complaints and widespread accusations of mismanagement since a controversial festival on campus this fall."

The article notes that "When asked repeatedly if calling for genocide of Jewish people violates Penn’s rules or code of conduct..." Magill told Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York that it is a "context-dependent decision."

The article notes that "Magill’s resignation also came on the heels of an investigation opened by the congressional committee into Penn’s policies, as well as Harvard’s and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s, whose presidents also testified Tuesday."  

But the president of a Christian university who has been a guest on The Meeting House, Donald Sweeting of Colorado Christian University, had some blunt words for the unrest on university campuses where students - and even administrators - have chosen to engage in anti-Semitic behavior.  Dr. Sweeting wrote for FoxNews.com:

Countless Americans are shocked that so many college student groups would celebrate Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israelis. They’ve wondered why it's been so hard for the elite universities to condemn Hamas’ terrorism or for college presidents to speak out clearly about the rise of antisemitism, particularly the dramatic increase of on-campus antisemitism.

He added:

I am grateful that Colorado Christian University was one of the earliest universities to speak out on this in the United States. There were clear and timely statements from myself and others in the administration deploring Hamas’ campaign of terror against Israel, and that we stood with Israel.

The university held a special "Night for Israel" last week, and he explained the reason why his university has taken this stance:

First, there is a moral reason. The genocidal campaign against Israel and the Jewish people is evil. The chant to free Palestine from the river to the sea is a cry to wipe Israel off the map. And since Israel is the home to nearly half of the world’s Jews today, this cry is not just anti-Israel; it is antisemitic. It is Jew hatred at its worst. And what Hamas has done to the Palestinian people and Palestinian Christians is also evil — using them as human shields and provoking this war in the first place.

Second, we are driven by what I call a covenantal reason. As Christians, we are Bible people. We acknowledge God’s unique covenant with Israel in the past and the special place for Jews in God’s plan of redemption. They have been a light to the gentile world.

And third, all Christians have a debt to Jews and Judaism which we have not sufficiently acknowledged through the centuries. A great deal of the church’s misguided antisemitism in the past could have been averted had we acknowledged it. Too many Christians forget the Jewish roots of our faith. Most of our Bible is the Hebrew Scriptures.

Sweeting concluded by saying, "This is not a time for Christians to be silent."

As an alternative to the anti-Semitic expressions on university campuses, Concerned Women for America has held a series of "Stand With Israel" prayer vigils, including one at the University of Alabama, a time to worship God and to show solidarity with the Jewish people, especially students of that background who are facing difficulties on campus. 

Dr. Sweeting is absolutely correct, and we cannot ignore the intense human suffering that has been set off by the terror group Hamas and those who stand with it.  I was stunned to read the comments of a very high-ranking U.S. leader calling on Israel to essentially stop killing so many Palestinians. Israel - and any sovereign nation - has the right to defend itself.  Hamas puts its own people in harm's way; military targets become civilian targets - it's an intentional effort to win the PR war.  But, this was perpetrated by the terrorists and can be ended by them, immediately.

As I have talked about repeatedly, this is a spiritual war.  Is Israel, especially the current nation of Israel, perfect?   Absolutely not.  But, this nation occupies land that was promised to its ancestors, not by the U.N. or some multinational group, but by God Himself.   The nation of Israel is where it is today by the hand of God. That has set off a new and highly relevant section of the prophetic timetable.  And, we recognize that the Messiah has come to redeem Israel, yet not all see it - yet.