Jewish Believers and Being Jewish

First, let me say שָׁבַּת שָׁלוֹם. Kim and I are still down in Florida, resting after a heavy week. In fact, part of the reason I'm writing this today is because the discussions on Wednesday were so meaty, I really need some time to digest them. They were mainly focused on the relationship between the Jewish believer in Yeshua and Jewish things.

The first topic Wednesday morning was titled, "The Jewish Believer and the Church." This was the topic on which I was presenting. A copy of my paper can be found here. The general task was to discuss the following eight subjects:

·         Develop a Biblical Theology of the Jewish Believers and the Universal Church?

·         Should Jewish Believers Be Part of Local Evangelical Churches or Messianic Congregations…or Both?

·         Is There a Theological Distinction Between the Jewish and Gentile Believers in the Universal Church?

·         When, How and Why Did Messianic Judaism and Rabbinical Judaism Go Their Separate Ways

·         In What Ways Can the 21^st Century Church Identify and Appreciate Her Jewish Roots?

·         Should Local Churches Celebrate the Jewish Festivals or Other Elements of the Torah…How and Why?

·         What is the Unique Value of the Jewish Believer to the local Evangelical The Church

·         The Contributions of the Jewish Believer to the 21^st Century Church

It seemed as if I were the only one to actually follow this outline. The other two presenters did address some of them, however, the vast majority of the discussion centered on whether or not a Jewish believer should be a member in what we will call the Gentile church. And if so, what role should they have?

Please read my paper for my complete thoughts on the subject. Briefly, my view is that if there is a healthy Messianic congregation that is accessible to the Jewish believer, that is where they belong. The church doesn't have the ability to allow the Jewish believer to worship in the cultural and historical manner of the Jewish people. At least not yet. This includes Shabbat, song styles, feasts and festivals, and all sorts of other culturally important elements, many of them, in fact, not Jewish at all, but rather biblical.

Only in the circumstance where there is no healthy Messianic congregation would it be preferable to attend a church. It is my view that under no circumstances should the Jewish believer become a member of a traditional synagogue. This separates a member from the body of Messiah, and submits a follower of Yeshua under the authority of someone not filled with the Holy Spirit. More on this later.

The other presenters took the position that there was absolutely no problem with a Jewish believer being a member at a church. Some of the folks in attendance even said that it might be preferable, though I still am at a loss to understand why. Perhaps this will be addressed in a future symposium.

I would really be interested to know two things. How would you answer the 8 questions listed above? And I would love to hear your comments on the paper that I presented, both the things that you agreed with, and the things that you disagreed with.

I'll write about the other topics from Wednesday later. Right now, going to keep resting. Shabbat shalom.

Believers and the Torah part 2

So after the three presenters on Jewish believers and the Torah, three other presenters spoke on the relationship between Gentile believers and the Torah. This was really interesting, because more than any other topic so far, the three speakers represented three wholly different opinions on the subject.

The first presenter took the stand that the Torah is applicable to everyone, and should be adhered to by all believers. However, he was also very quick to state that biblical salvation is by faith alone, and always has been. So observance is for everyone, with the understanding that the heart intent and motivation must be in the proper place, and faith must be at the core of any obedience.

In the second slot, the presenter took the position that it was up to the person whether they choose to follow Torah or not. However, she made an incredible insightful statement. She said, "The Spirit-filled life will certainly reflect the Jewish Torah observant life of Moses' day in many respects, as God's character has not changed." She continued on to say that the key principles of unity and love must be the overarching guiding forces in the life of the believer. This should lead to the practice that one places the needs and desires of others over and above one's own preferences. But then she added that one's own convictions should also be secondary to those of others. This, for me, created a paradox. If the Spirit-filled life leads to Torah observance, and there are times when those convictions are tossed aside, isn't that operating outside the guiding of the Holy Spirit?

The third and final presenter held the position that Gentiles should have nothing to do with the Torah. I believe that this view came almost entirely from his personal testimony, in which he spent a great deal of time in the Jewish community in Israel. He learned Hebrew, learned the culture, observed the Torah, and to all intents and purposes, became Jewish. In fact, he mentioned that he had considered conversion. All this while, he never spoke about the Messiah at all, especially not to his Jewish friends. All of this led him to the conclusion, years later, that it is far better to just be yourself, and not get caught in the same trap that he did.

It was fascinating that there were parts of each presentation that I agreed with. In the first case, I agreed with much of what he said. There is a biblical case for the continued adherence to Torah, as many had noted in the presentations on Jewish Believers and the Torah. (See my other post.) Yet, it has nothing to do with salvation, and everything to do with a response to salvation. It becomes our expression of love and thanksgiving, in other words, worship, because of what God has done for us in sending His Son. This is the proper heart intent and motive that was referred to in the first presentation.

Paradox not withstanding, the second presenter really had a lot of good things to say. It is rare that one combines Torah observance with unity. More common, it is connected with the command to love. I would say that love and unity are intimately related. And as she put it, our freedom under the new covenant must always desire to promote unity within the body of Messiah.

And you might guess that I disagreed with most of the third position, and you would be right. However, I think that he was correct in the need to never hide who you really are. If you are Gentile, be Gentile. This does not, however, preclude Torah observance. Nor can Torah observance make a Gentile Jewish.

One last comment. Once again, Kim had a very insightful comment regarding all of this. In a faith community that is trying very hard to figure out the Jewish/Gentile relationship, and not make anyone feel second-best, separating these topics on relation to Torah into Jew and Gentile is in some ways contrary to our overall goal of unity, and the promotion of the one new man of Ephesians.

Therefore, regardless of being physical or spiritual seed of Abraham, what should the believer's relationship to Torah be?

Believers and the Torah

This morning, there were two topics presented. The first was on the Jewish Believer and the Torah, and the second was titled the Gentile Believer, the Torah and a Jewish Lifestyle.

The first topic brought up some good points. The first question asked was whether or not Yeshua had instructed Jewish believers to continue to follow the Torah, and how did He intend for them to do it. There were two take-away points from this first presentation. One, that the Messianic community has yet to really define what is meant by Torah, and two, that while believers are free to observe or not observe select miscellaneous laws, the sacrificial and moral laws are still applicable.

The second presenter gave his presentation in absentia, by video. His main point was that the Torah is how God had established His covenant with the nation of Israel, and therefore reflects His desire to preserve them as His people. He added, "Torah is not the means by which God’s people earn his favor, but the way his people learn how to live in a right covenantal relationship with him." Because it isn't a way to earn a right standing with God, it is something that shouldn't be divisive in the body, and this was the main point of his paper.

The final presenter on the Jewish Believer and the Torah focused on an exegetical view of Matthew 5:17-48. In this study, it is revealed that Yeshua never abrogated Torah observance. On the contrary, He took the physical observance and raised the bar to the n-th degree by turning it into a spiritual issue. This deepening of the Torah cannot stand in contradiction to it, but rather intensifies it.

Therefore, all three presenters gave basis for Jewish believers continuing to follow the Torah in some way, shape or form, though not all agreed on the reasons for continued observance.

We're getting ready for the afternoon session, so I will continue this later.

Thoughts on Jewish Identity presentation

I sat in a room tonight with about 80 people from all over the country. In fact, there were people there from all over the world. It was the opening night of the Jewish Identity Symposium. I will be speaking on Wednesday morning, but tonight, three other people presented papers with the topic, "A Biblical Basis for Jewish Identity."

I will admit that I didn't read the papers ahead of time. I tried to follow along, comparing the papers that I had electronically downloaded on the computer with the presentations that were being given. However, since the papers that were written were 4,000 words each, or about 18 pages, and the presentations were only allowed to be 15 minutes, there was a lot that had to be trimmed from the papers, which made it difficult to follow along.

My wife brought up a very good point that I think should be stated from the very start. As believers in the Jewish Messiah, Yeshua, our identities are wrapped up in Him, and in Him alone. So the question of a Biblical basis for Jewish identity is really not an accurate reflection of biblical, particularly New Covenant theology. However, for the sake of this discussion, we will move ahead.

The first presenter for this evening began with the premise that the Jewish people are a communal people. Therefore, rather than asking the question, "Who am I?" the Jewish people ask the question, "Who are we?" As such, Jewish identity is the identity of Biblical Israel as a nation. And Israel's identity, biblically, is marked by the call to be different, set apart, holy, קָדוֹשׁ (kadosh). His final conclusion was that the Tanakh describes this set-apartness, and the New Covenant, while not necessarily providing explicit basis for such an identity, it does, however, assume its continuation.

The second presenter on this subject was somewhat more confusing. His initial statements included a comment that Hebrew Christians and Messianic Jews have contributed to the assimilation and silent disappearance of the Jewish community into the greater church. He continued on to say that Galatians 3:26-28 is Paul's defense of Gentiles remaining Gentiles. Confused yet? Isn't this supposed to be a discussion of the continuation of Jewish identity?

The final presenter tonight seemed to begin with the presumption that the continuation and maintenance of Jewish identity is a given. With that assumption being made, there are a number of consequences to maintaining a Jewish identity, which she illustrated through personal testimony. There is no doubt that the persecution and anti-semitism that have been experienced throughout the past centuries have contributed to many Jewish people assimilating, and giving up their Jewish identity. However, as she pointed out, the same persecution and anti-semitism can be a solidifying force within the Jewish community, something along the lines of, "If we can stick together, we can get through this." And while all this is true, it really doesn't address the issue of a biblical basis for Jewish identity.

The biblical basis for Jewish identity is scattered throughout the New Testament, but not in a dogmatic way. It is revealed in the way that the first century followers of Yeshua lived. It is clear they went to the Temple, just like Jewish people did in those days. It is clear that they honored the Sabbath. It is clear that there were additional things that were part of the Jewish community that were being followed. And in many cases, these things were also being followed by Yeshua, Himself. That seems like a good reason to maintain a Jewish identity if you were Jewish to begin with. The question of Gentiles living a Jewish lifestyle will be part of a future blog later this week.

The issue of Jewish identity, as it applies in this discussion, is one of practice rather than heritage. If Jewish identity is decided solely by birth, that is, by whether or not one is of the lineage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, then the continuation of Jewish identity is not an issue at all. If you are, you are, and there is no maintenance required. And there is nothing that you can do to change it. If, on the other hand, it is a reference to the practices that were associated with the Jewish community, and those practices are delineated by the Torah, then continuity in the New Covenant is a valid question. Especially since there are so many who believe that everything in the Tanakh was done away with when Yeshua came.

There were no conclusions that were made, and I think that was intentional. I do think that the point is to start a discussion about the subject. So let's start one. I would really be interested to hear about what you think about this. So here are the questions. 1. Is there truly such a thing as a Jewish identity in the Tanakh, and what is it? 2. If there is a Jewish identity, should it continue in and beyond the New Covenant, and what does it look like?

Remember that this is not saying anything about the role or identity of the non-Jew. We will talk about that later. Tomorrow, "The Jewish Believer and the Torah," "The Gentile Believer, the Torah and a Jewish Lifestyle," and "The Messianic Jewish Home." Going to be an interesting day.

It's late, I'm tired, and heading to bed. 

What did Sarah's Key unlock for you?

Kim and I recently watched the movie,  Sarah's Key. I must admit, that I really didn't know much about the movie to being with. I knew that it had a Holocaust theme, but it sounded more like a thriller than what it turned out to be. I like thrillers!

This movie was a really sad story about a Jewish family during the Holocaust. Unlike most films of this genre, it was not set in Germany. It was set in France. If you haven't seen it, I won't spoil it for you. However, if you know me at all, you will understand what I mean when I say that this movie left me thinking. But to be honest with you, I am not sure what conclusions I have come to about it. I would love to hear from anyone who has seen it.

And here is what I would like to know. Most of the time movies have an underlying message that the writer is trying to get across. What was that underlying message for you? Comment here and let's get this conversation started.