Jew and Gentile together: a Wake up call to Evangelical Christians

Advance Warning

I’m not judging, but I am learning and posting as I recognise incongruence. If you as a reader feel convicted, I believe that will be the Holy Spirit at work and we can both Praise God!

I’ve been delving into our Hebraic Roots, studying the Hebrew alphabet and am learning a lot about how Jewish language and culture ooze GOD.

I’m realising that it requires much more commitment for a Jew to follow Yeshua Messiah than for a Gentile to believe in Jesus…. The person of Hebraic understanding sees the huge cost to following Yehovah in a way that I’m realising a typical Gentile such as myself initially at least, cannot fathom.

If you believe each of us is responsible for our degree of revelation, then come along with me to catch a glimpse of the revelation a Jewish person will have when he catches Jesus…

This is why

At the deepest level, a Jew understands what a huge commitment it takes if he is to follow Messiah. They are the keepers of the Book, including the Law of God: Ten Commandments, food laws, cleanliness laws, family and criminal law. They have the cultural history of sacrifice for sin. Religion and Faith is more than head knowledge; it goes into the fibre of their being. A gentile can have faith and claim he follows Jesus… even without really following him at all but claiming when he’s remiss that he’s simply imperfect and saved by God’s grace…. This is both true and a lame excuse in my view (though I have been guilty of weak Christianity through my own ignorance too). A Jew is bred to know too much of the nature and authority of God to take it lightly when he sins.

I encourage us all to look at the Hebraic roots to make sure we are Believers and Followers of Jesus/Yeshua. To be born again is what matters (John 3, Ephesians 2), but to fully understand what born again means, I’m realising we need to go further than the Evangelical profession of faith (or a traditional communicants class or First Communion), for:

“Even the demons believe” (James 2:19) and “faith without works (not simply good deeds, but authentic surrendered lifestyle) is dead.” (James 2:20)

This is a raw word and will upset some readers. I’m sorry. Truly.

But we have to get to the deep things with God and not take for granted we understand enough. We are to study to show ourselves approved (2Timothy 2:15) for we are perishing for lack of knowledge (Hosea 4:6).

God never changes, but He does bring more and more revelation and responsibility to those who entrust their lives to Him and seek to walk as the New Man (Ephesians 2), led by God’s Spirit and not by our own flesh.

I am only just realising that the Evangelical view, while solidly Biblical, can be just as much tradition now as other – perhaps more culturally established – styles of Christianity. If the Evangelical is no longer growing, seeking, but is resting on his salvation, how is s/he any different than any follower of traditional Christianity?

Please let’s dig deep, asking God what He wants

My prayer is that all of us will hunger for more of God and surrender to Him our time, talent and hearts ‘all over again’ so that we are not like the Ephesians of Revelation who have “lost their first love” but are like the Philadelphia, full of joy, exercising their commitment.

Hallelujah, Jesus saves. God loves us unconditionally. But it is equally important that we also love Him and demonstrate our love to Him, so that we don’t receive “I never knew you” when we cry at the End of the Age, “Lord, Lord!” (Matthew 7:21-23)