John Hagee, founder and senior pastor of the 19,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, will speak at Liberty University's convocation today, Wednesday, March 30. What was once an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist institution of higher learning, LU has now joined the ranks of ecumenical schools. A school ranking as the eighth-largest, four-year university in the country, its views have reached our young people far and wide.
The convocation will mark the kick-off to Liberty's first Israel Emphasis Week, sponsored by Liberty's Stand With Israel club. Israel's ambassador to the United States will also speak in convocation, via a prerecorded video message.
Hagee is widely known for his passion for the Jewish people. He serves as the national chairman of Christians United for Israel, which he founded in 2006 and is now the largest pro-Israel organization in the United States, with more than 500,000 members. Hagee is also the president of John Hagee Ministries, which has given more than $60 million in humanitarian aid to Israel causes. [1]
Hagee, a Christian Zionist, teaches that God has a separate covenant with Israel and another for the Gentile Church. This is unbiblical and is sometimes called a "Dual Covenant." Hagee stated to the Houston Chronicle that he believes Jews have a special covenant with God and do not need to come to the cross for salvation. According to Hagee, Jews don't need to be born-again. Mr. Hagee told the Texas newspaper:
"I believe that every Jewish person who lives in the light of the Torah, which is the word of God, has a relationship with God and will come to redemption" (Houston Chronicle, April 30, 1988).
The Houston Chronicle newspaper then quoted Hagee again...
"I'm not trying to convert the Jewish people to the Christian faith... In fact, trying to convert Jews is a waste of time. Jews already have a covenant with God and that has never been replaced by Christianity." (Houston Chronicle, April 30, 1988, sec, 6, pg. 1). [2]
Although Liberty University tries to bridge unity between Christian denominations, there are still Scriptural elements of ecumenism that are opposed to God's Word, since pure unity is nurtured through the pure teaching of the Word. Just as in Hagee's false message - it lies in direct and serious opposition to biblical truth (John 14:6).
