Note: The following resolution was passed at the 2008 GARBC Conference, held June 24-27, 2008, in Ankeny, Iowa.
As a result of God’s sovereign choice, the people of Israel are beloved for the sake of the patriarchs (Romans 11:28). God entrusted them as a people with His oracles (3:2). He adopted them as sons; He revealed to them His glory; He brought them into a covenantal relationship with Himself; and He blessed them with the Torah, the temple service, and the promises (9:4). Also, the people of Israel are the ones through whom the Messiah, Who is over all, entered into this world according to the flesh (9:5).
These gifts of God to Israel and His sovereign election of this people are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). Thus, God most certainly has not cast them away (11:1), nor has He renounced His promise that the Land belongs to the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob forever (Genesis 13:15; Exodus 6:8).
In light of these Biblical truths, we reaffirm our steadfast adherence to our Articles of Faith that express our shared belief “in the sovereign selection of Israel as God’s eternal covenant people” (Article XVIII).
Recently, on May 8, 2008, the Jewish people of the modern State of Israel celebrated the 60th anniversary of their independence as a nation. In response to these celebrations, we, the messengers of the churches in fellowship with the General Association of Regular Baptist Churches, meeting for our 76th Annual Conference on the campus of Faith Baptist Bible College and Theological Seminary in Ankeny, Iowa, during the days of June 24–27, 2008, congratulate the people of Israel for their sixty years of industry and tenacity.read more
