We Are People who believe...
Whether Jewish or non-Jewish, we are just ordinary
people who serve an extraordinary G-d who has changed
our lives forever.
Messianic believers come from a variety of backgrounds
- Some are Jewish people who have come to the revelation
of the truth of salvation in Yeshua. Some are Christians
who seek to gain a better understanding of the Hebraic
roots of their beliefs, in order to get closer to the
original meaning and intent of the Bible. Many others
come from religious backgrounds such as Islam, Buddhism,
Hinduism - or some come from no religious background
at all.
There are four things that we messianic believers all have in common though:
Faith in the salvation of Yeshua
Love for our God, Manifested in His Revealed
Three Persons.
The Father, the Son, and the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit).
Love for one another
Love and compassion for the lost
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What is a Messianic Believer?...
A Messianic Jew is a physical descendant of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob who is joined by faith to Yeshua, the
Messiah of Israel.
A Messianic Jew is someone who is born Jewish and has
intelligently and of a free will embraced Yeshua as their Messiah. This
term usually refers to a Jewish believer who is involved in the Messianic
Jewish movement. There are Jews who embrace Yeshua and are not involved
in Messianic Judaism for various reasons. They may live in an area where
there is no Messianic congregation. Also, there are some Jewish believers
who have no vision for their own Jewish identity just as there are many
non-Messianic Jews who have no real Jewish identification. Messianic
Jews on the other hand have a strong vision for our Jewish identity and
understand that it is God's will for us to follow Messiah and to live
our lives as Jews. This can best be accomplished through involvement
in a Messianic Synagogue. The term Messianic believer is usually applied
to a non-Jewish believer who attends a Messianic congregation. A non-Jew
does not become Jewish by receiving Yeshua as their Messiah, nor does
a Jewish person become non-Jewish by receiving Him.
Messianic Judaism is a biblically based movement of
Jewish people who have come to accept Yeshua as the promised Jewish Messiah
of Israel. Yeshua is the Hebrew name of Jesus, which means Salvation.
Today, there are tens of thousands of Messianic Jews
in the United States alone. Some have estimated the number to be as high
as 350,000. Messianic Synagogues are springing up in almost every major
city across the country including Sarasota. Other nations such as Israel,
Canada, Russia, Mexico, France, England, Australia, Argentina, and South
Africa are experiencing a growing revival of Messianic Judaism as well.
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Is it Jewish to believe in
Yeshua?...
To some, the concept of a Jew believing Yeshua seems
to be a contradiction. The reason is, many people have
a dichotomy set up in their minds. On the one hand,
you have Jews and Judaism and on the other hand, Christians
and Christianity.
You are either one or the other—so the thinking
goes. But this simple dichotomy is in reality not so
simple. If we go back 2,000 years we find that Yeshua
was a Jew living in a Jewish land among Jewish people.
All the apostles were Jewish as well as the writers of the B'rit Hadashah
and for many years this faith in Yeshua was strictly a Jewish one.
From the Book of Acts and other historical evidence,
many believe that in the first century there were literally
hundreds of thousands of Messianic Jews In addition,
there were Messianic Synagogues scattered throughout
the Roman Empire and beyond.
These first century
Messianic Jews remained highly loyal to their land
and their people.
Whether it was Jewish to believe in Yeshua was
never an issue. Of course it was Jewish! What else
could it be?
The big question back then was whether
Yeshua had been sent for the Gentiles also. When G-d
miraculously showed the Messianic Jews that He was
the Messiah for both Jew and Gentile alike, then Gentiles
from every nation began to pour into this Jewish faith.
Through the years, as the numbers of Gentile believers
increased, they began to predominate in this Messianic
faith. With the passing on of the Jewish apostles and
the early Messianic Jews, the Jewish roots of the faith
were eventually lost. This "De-Judaizing" process
continued until in one of the greatest paradoxes in
history, it became alien for a Jewish person to believe
in Yeshua as his Messiah.
The Real Issue »»»
Today we are seeking to put the Messiah back within
His biblical and Jewish context. Messianic Judaism is a spiritual renaissance,
a revival, a return to the faith as men. It is a return to a pure and
simple faith based upon having a living, vibrant and personal relationship
with the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through the Messiah Yeshua.
The real issue we must recognize is not whether it
is Jewish to believe in Yeshua, because the Jewishness
of Yeshua is unquestionable historically. The real
issue at stake here is whether Yeshua is truly the
Messiah or not. If He is. then it is the most Jewish
thing in the world to believe in Him. If He is not
the Messiah, then we should not follow Him.
There is only one way to find out and that is to go back into the Jewish Scriptures
ourselves and study the Messianic prophecies. According to the Jewish
Scriptures, the Messiah was to come twice; the first time to suffer and
die and the second time to usher in the Messianic era of peace upon the
earth.
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Am I still Jewish if I believe
in Yeshua?...
Yes. Maintaining one’s Jewish heritage is a
distinct calling not to be cast off when becoming a
follower of Yeshua. Messiah does not ask us to stop
being male or female, black or white, Jewish or Gentile,
etc. The B’rit Hadashah refers to Messianic Jews
as a “remnant” within
Israel who are “chosen by grace” (Rom.
11:5). As such we must maintain that Jewish identity.
If we go back 2,000 years we find that Yeshua was a
Jew living in a Jewish land among Jewish people. All
the apostles were Jewish as well as the writers of
the B'rit Hadashah and for many years this faith in Yeshua
was strictly a Jewish one.
The Jewish believer
can worship God and practice his Messiah-centered faith
in a context that respects Jewish life and tradition.
Bar-mitzvah their children, observe the Jewish life-cycle
events and biblical holy days, follow the weekly Torah
readings, etc. So yes, you are very much still a Jew.
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To go to the T'nakh Prophesies
click here. |
