Something Is Happening Out
There!
Something extraordinary is taking place! It
is on the cutting edge of Church renewal. Essential Judaic contours
of first century Christianity are being vigorously researched
and progressively restored to the spiritual value system of the
church. Why?
Abraham's Seed
The Bible teaches that both Jews and Christians
are the seed of Abraham. Abraham was the first Jew and the Apostle
Paul in his Galatian letter leaves no room for doubt that even
Gentile believers are his spiritual seed.
"And if ye be Christ's, then are
ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Ga
3:29) KJV
In view of this, we as Christians are considered
both children of God by grace and children of Abraham through
faith. For this reason the religious system of Christianity has
historically been referred to as the "Judeo-Christian faith"
and rightly so.
One's "faith" is a reference to
those teachings in which one places confidence as being the truth.
Before Christians can come to a consensus on what is truth, there
must be a return to the foundations of our faith rooted in the
Old Testament - Biblical Judaism.
Don't be apprehensive of the term "Judeo"
or "Judaism." Judaism is the name that men have attached
to the formative stages of Biblical faith (Old Testament). Christianity
is the name that men have attached to the completing stage of
Biblical faith (New Testament). From this idea comes the historic
reference "Judeo Christian" faith. It has been fittingly
said that "Judaism does not need Christianity to explain
its existence, but Christianity needs Judaism both to explain
its existence and what it believes." That conclusion was
undoubtedly drawn from these words of admonition to the Church
from the Apostle Paul:
". . . do not boast over the branches.
If you do, consider this: You do not support the root (Israel),
but the root supports you (Church)" (Ro II: 18) NIV
Christians have been known to boast of their
spiritual superiority over the Jews. Such boasting has led to
a propensity for disassociating ourselves from them and consequently
alienating us from a rich Biblical heritage that God brought
to us through them. Our thinking has all too often been "If
it's Jewish, it's risky, tainted or worse cursed." The truth
is that everything the Christian believer holds dear, both in
word and spirit, is inherently Jewish. Why? Because we are the
seed of Abraham who was the first Jew and all of our blessings
of truth come through him and his seed. Through them the spiritual
blessings from God were made available to all humanity,
"...in thee (Abraham) shall all families
of the earth be blessed." (Ge 12:3) KJV
Salvation
Consider this statement of our Lord:
"Ye worship ye know not what: we
know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. " (John
4:22) KJV
Have you any idea what Jesus meant by that
statement "salvation is of the Jews." Few Christians
do; it is just left hanging, cloaked in mystery. Understanding
that little statement could revolutionize your Bible study, your
relationship with the Jewish people, your vision into the purposes
of God and your eternal destiny. Salvation involves much more
than redemption, it means total reconciliation (Col 1:20).
Judaism and Christianity share a common origin
having been created by the same God. The question should then
arise, how can two religions created by the same God fail to
have many things, indeed most things in common? And if not, why
not?
We must prepare ourselves to deal seriously
with many long overlooked passages of scripture. For example;
if questioned, how would you attempt to explain the following
New Testament passage? (read carefully):
"What advantage then hath the Jew?
or what profit is there of circumcision? Much every way:..."(Ro
3:1,2).
Can this be true, is Paul serious, whatever
did he mean? The Apostle Paul proceeds in his letter to help
us with his reasoning for arriving at this astonishing conclusion
by stating:
"...chiefly (primarily), because
that unto them (the Jews) were committed the oracles of God."
(Ro 3:2)
The very least that must be acknowledged is
the following: It is from the Jews that we have received two
of God's most precious gifts; the Bible and our Messiah, Jesus.
On The Cutting
Edge
What one considers to be on the "cutting
edge" of progressive Biblical truth may vary in opinion
from individual to individual. Some may say it is the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit on the church, witnessed by the phenomenal
or the manifestation of the miraculous. Others may say it is
the increased anointing for evangelism, or both. While these
manifestations may indeed be considered a movement of God, they
are not new nor are they "what's next." Therefore,
the question remains "What is next?"
God, through the Holy Spirit, is preparing
to restore His church to the biblical principles found in the
Judaic contours of its formative years. The way it will happen
is not by an "outpouring" of the Holy Spirit alone
but through a Word of God revival. Here is the promise of God:
"My doctrine shall drop as the rain,
my speech shall distill as the dew, as the small rain upon the
tender herb, and as the showers upon the grass: (Deut 32:2).
The latter rain will be a rain of truth. If
the Church needs anything today, it needs the following: ".
. . the washing of water by the word." (Eph 5:25-26)
Unity
Christianity has a myriad of differing denominations
and associations within it. These divisions do not exist because
they differ on the witness of Jesus. They exist because we differ
on what the Book (Bible) teaches. We are together in believing
on the Christ of the doctrine but remain divided on the doctrine
of the Christ. The technique employed by most to maintain some
semblance of unity has been, to devaluate the importance of doctrinal
unity. We tend to seek unity only in things redemptive and in
the manifestations of the miraculous.
Such unity is at best only partial and at
worst hypocritical. This condition is not, in all cases, willful
avoidance of responsibility. In most cases it is the result of
disappointing experiences from former attempts at scriptural
dialogue.
Why the existence of all of these doctrinal
dilemmas and futile attempts at resolving them? Why cannot preachers
and theologians agree on what the Bible teaches? You must know
there has to be a fundamental cause for this situation! The answer
is simple. We are not using the same tools. We have resorted
to more Greek or Hellenistic tools than Hebrew tools for interpretation.
It is largely the result of our forsaking or denial of the foundation
priniciples of Christianity rooted in Biblical Judaism. For the
average Christian that sounds like over simplification or maybe
to the contrary, puzzling and complex. But God is speaking this
admonition to the hearts of many believers today.
A renaissance of first century Judeo-Christian
teaching is occurring within the Church in our time. It is revolutionizing
Christian theology. It will impact all Christian believers. Like
the computer age, it is challenging but unavoidable.Why
not be on the cutting edge? |