Is the church a substitute?

Welcome to Midway Church of Christ

What’s Your Question? for Oct. 14, 2009

The church was in the eternal purpose of God, and in Christ we have redemption through His blood (Eph. 1). Those who teach Christ intended to establish an earthly kingdom, say God substituted the church because the Jews rejected Jesus as their King. According to this theory, if the Jews had not rejected Jesus, they would have been saved without the cross. Furthermore, Gentiles would not have access to the blood of Christ. Hebrews 10:1-18 teaches the blood of animals could not take away sins and Jesus became both the sacrifice and the Priest to make atonement for our sins. Those saved by the blood are added to the Lord’s church (Acts 2:47), or translated into the kingdom (Col. 1:13,14). The kingdom is not of this world (Jn. 18:36). It is the church Jesus died to establish (Mt. 16:18,19).