“Why Are You Messianic?” part 2

Recently we’ve been asked the same question from various friends and acquaintances.  It can be phrased in several different ways but the basic general question is “Why are you Messianic?”  Sometimes we have less than a minute to give a satisfactory answer and other times we have the opportunity to give a fuller answer.  In either case, nobody wants to hear a long monolog they just want to know the basics.  ”What is it that makes you line up with something different than I do?”  Then we have the friends and acquaintances who would like to know but don’t feel comfortable actually asking such a question.  In this entry I’ll try to explain the basics while at the same time taking the opportunity to dig a little deeper.  We love conversation and find that when we engage one another in meaningful conversation that we learn a lot.  So please, don’t hesitate to talk with us.  We actually enjoy it!  Earlier I wrote part 1 of this series, this is part 2.

 

We realized we were on a journey after we were already on the path so there isn’t really a definite date that we can put our finger on and say “Our journey started here.”  We simply began to study the Scriptures and test our firmly held theology against the Scriptures.  It was absolutely amazing what was confirmed as well as what we couldn’t find support for.  We started to take seriously our need to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, our faith was in our own hands and we understood that we were responsible for our own relationship with the King of the Universe.  We were finding ourselves wrestling with everything we held to be true in order to prove it or cast it away.  While it was tempting to go “pagan hunting” and work to cut out all things of pagan origin, we needed to stay focused on our G-d hunt.  We were in search of the King of the Universe and His Son!  We were wanting to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and let the rest take care of itself.

 

Rather than restate what I wrote earlier, I’m going to try to pick up where I left off.  The title “Messianic” has been freely used by a wide variety of people so that the term does not really indicate anything very specific right now.  Just the same as the “Christian” title is used by those who are culturally Christian to those who teach and do some silly, and some evil, things.  There are those who are in a state of proud rebellion against the church and there are those who adhere to very different teaching than we do, all of whom have taken up the title of being Messianic.

 

We are not of Jewish descent, but our faith is.  Our faith, as it is understood and practiced, is a Jewish faith.  Let me explain what I mean.  HaShem chose specific people to be His special treasure, the lineage of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.  Through these people He intended to make Himself known to all the world.  He instructed them how He had created them to live and how to know Him.  We have the record of these instructions in the Torah, often referred to as the Pentatuch.  Torah means “instruction” and His instructions are recorded for us in the first 5 books of the Bible.   He called His chosen people for a purpose and made them holy, meaning He set them apart from the rest of the people, so that through them He would be made known in the world.  Scripture records for us how these plans have played out time and again.  People who were not born into the family of Abraham would see the goodness of the G-d of Israel and be drawn to Him.  They were grafted in, adopted into the family, from as early as the Exodus from Egypt.  We have examples of Caleb, Rahab, Ruth and many more. This is how it was always intended:  His light would shine through His chosen children and draw others to come and serve Him.  This concept is not new to Christians because we remember that we are grafted into the lineage of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by our faith.  Shaul (Paul) teaches that the mystery of the Gospel is that Gentiles are accepted, considered fellow heirs with the Jews, based simply on their heartfelt faith.  We, for our part, are strongly warned not to become arrogant and forget that it is we who are grafted into them and this is the reason Shaul was a prisoner in chains.  Shaul knew full well that the grafted in Gentiles would grow in number to such an extent that there would be more young children (in faith and understanding) than adults (in faith and understanding) and that if the children didn’t honor and respect their elders, we would stray off course.  He also was very aware of the workings of the Adversary within the body of believers, our current struggles with the Church are certainly not new ones.
So, we are grafted into Israel.  What does that mean?  What did that mean to the Shaul (Paul), his fellow leaders and to his intended audience in the first century?  It means that we are the ones who converted.  What did we Gentiles convert to?  In the days of the Apostles there were many different sects of Judaism, just like today there are many different denominations of Christianity.  We can read in Acts 24 that the Jewish leaders of the day accepted the growing movement of believers in Yeshua (Jesus) as the Messiah as a new sect of Judaism.  It wasn’t only the leaders in Jerusalem that understood this, but the leaders in Rome understood this as well.  It is also important to understand that Shaul (Paul) never forsook his place in Israel as a Jewish Pharisee, he held to the strictest of traditions and teachings through his entire life.  Shaul never converted to anything nor did he create a new religion, he simply accepted that Yeshua IS the long awaited Messiah and shifted his discipleship from the prominent Gamaliel (highly revered even today) to Yeshua.  Had Shaul created a whole new religion he would be worthy of stoning according to HaShem’s very teaching in the Torah.  Any prophet that would come and lead the people away from HaShem or His teachings was a false prophet.  What Shaul did do was rise to the position of a leader in this new sect of Judaism, a sect that accepted Gentiles with open arms based on their faith in Yeshua and not a series of rituals.  Shaul wanted the new converts (us) to hold fast to the teachings and the traditions that he taught and modeled for us.   We can see in historical records that there was always a remnant of Messianic Jewish believers (whether they be Jew or Gentile).  This early movement never died, though it was greatly suppressed.  Today Christianity is beginning to remember that she has a root in Israel and the implications of this memory brings startling consequences.  Today people are beginning to really look at why it is the Church isn’t  mentioned at even once in any of the Prophets – because we are grafted into Israel.

 

So the obvious next question that we are asked at this point is, “Have you converted to Judaism?  Are you planning on doing that?”  The firm answer to that is no.  Modern Judaism makes absolutely no room for Messianic Judaism and even considers it a complete affront to their faith.  It is understandable why this is –  Jews have suffered greatly under the Church.  Many teach that Jesus did away with the law, which would render Him a false prophet and NOT a Messiah.  Just as Christianity has evolved from what it once was to what it now is, so has Judaism.  Our family often finds ourselves in the middle of a battle between two brothers that is based on misunderstandings and false teachings.  This is where HaShem has placed and this is where we will remain until further notice from On High.  Our daily walk will line up very much with modern Traditional Judaism because this is very much the same way in which our Master Yeshua walked.

 

In following our Master Yeshua we are to do as He did, walk as He walked and live as He lived.  He lived according to the Torah and His teachings upheld the Torah.  The teachings of the Pharisee Shaul notwithstanding, we are to walk as our Master walked.  We are to raise up disciples (students) of our Master Yeshua, not our own students.   We are to be lamps that shine forth the light of G-d and bring others to know Him, just as it was intended from the dawn of time.  We are to preach the Gospel message based on the Torah of G-d just like Yochannan the Immerser (John the Baptist), Yeshua and the early disciples all did.  We are to live according to the standards taught to us by HaShem, the King of the Universe.  We do not do this to earn anything at all.  We do it because He is King, Creator and Sovereign.

 

I hope this two part explanation helps our family, friends and acquaintances (as well as our “blogland” buddies) understand why we do what we do.  And like I said earlier, conversation is wonderful so don’t be afraid to enter into the conversation through the comment option.  :)