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Shalom
Jul 6, 2014 11:48:24 GMT -6
Post by carlhenrybrans on Jul 6, 2014 11:48:24 GMT -6
I have recently been talking to one of my former students' parents. I asked her some questions about being Jewish.
Here is our dialogue:
What does it mean to you to be a Jew? What does that entail or require of you? What are your thoughts on Jesus Christ? What happens when you die? How do you get to heaven?
Her response: All who are of the faith are sons of Abraham(Galatians 3:7) and Jews inwardly(Romans 2:9) grafted into Israel (Romans 11). Yeshua is the Messiah born of a Jewish woman, circumcised on the eight day, the only one to keep the Torah perfectly, becoming savior for all who would believe. We believe in repentance, faith towards God, redirection of the dead and judgment(Hebrews 6:1-2) Yeshua will spend eternity with those who are His bride.
I would like to hear your thoughts, suggestions on responses I could make to her. Maybe some questions I could ask her. The one part I was curious about and wondering if she was wrong is her view on Romans 2:9.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks Guys.
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Shalom
Jul 6, 2014 22:07:35 GMT -6
Post by CowboysDad on Jul 6, 2014 22:07:35 GMT -6
I think you mean Romans 2:29, "But he is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter, whose praise is not from men but from God." Paul is saying to the religious Jews of his day that their outward conformity to the Law does not mean that they will escape the judgment of God (v. 3). All Jews and Gentiles are lost apart from God's righteousness, which can only be acquired by faith (1:17). It is true that all who are of "the faith" are sons of Abraham (Gal. 3:7). But what would your friend say is the object of her faith? What is one to believe? Find out exactly what she means by "the faith." The context of all the passages that you have noted would answer that question by directing one to the substitutionary death of Jesus (Yeshua) and the subsequent defeat of man's sin and death by his resurrection from the dead. Does she believe that Yeshua (the Messiah) is merely a man? The modern Jewish faith doesn't accept that Yeshua is the Messiah, that he died for the sins of mankind, and certainly not that he is God in bodily form. She may be culturally Jewish but she is not a religious Jew if I'm understanding correctly what you are stating. It almost sounds as if she may think that a Gentile becomes a Jew when he or she believes in Yeshua and so that is why she is calling herself a Jew. But that's not what the passage is saying. It's simply saying to "religious" Jews, "If you think that being Jewish means obeying the Law for salvation, then you are badly mistaken and under the judgment of God. Being Jewish has always meant being a person of faith, not simply one who jumped through the hoops of circumcision and the keeping of the Law. Look at Abraham to see what I mean." Paul is not saying that Gentiles become Jews. But rather that Jews and Gentiles become "one in Christ" when they believe (Gal. 3:28). In any event, I'd want to ask: 1) What do you mean when you say that Jesus is your Savior? 2) What is the object of your faith? What exactly is it that you are believing in order to be saved? The clear answer to those two related questions will be telling. - Daniel
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