Re: Questions -- Mosaic Board

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Date Posted: 18:02:36 03/09/04 Tue
Author: Rabbi Stanley
Subject: Re: Questions
In reply to: Raylene Swanger 's message, "Questions" on 23:58:25 03/08/04 Mon

Shalom Raylene,
These are all valid questions and they have valid answers.
Let's go one by one.
" I was taught that I am a Christian first and Jewish second" Being in the Body of Christ is the highest calling there is period. Concerning Salvation, we are all one in Him and there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. That is concerning SALVATION and that's it. When it comes to our own individual calling/callings we are different. As the Bible says...� there is no Jew or Greek�, it also says there is �no male or female� either but we know that men and women have different callings from each other and that we relate to G-d differently. The same goes for Jew and Gentile. We are one in Yeshua but there are different callings and different ways that we relate to Him. One calling is not higher then the other. So, being a Jew who follows Jesus doesn't make one better then a Gentile who follows Jesus and vice versa. The Gentiles who follow Jesus are called to do particular things and Jews who follow Jesus are called to do different things. So what are Jews who love Jesus called to do? Well, for one, they are called to follow the Laws G-d gave us and gave to Abraham. These are NOT the laws given to us by the Rabbis. Those laws are called Rabbinical laws. The Laws G-d gave us we are to follow. There's a huge difference. For example... Rabbinical law says we cannot eat meat with milk. That means we can't have a cheeseburger. Rabbinical law says we can't cause a spark on Sabbath so we can't drive a car or flip on a light switch from Friday night to Saturday evening. A Biblical Jew or "Mosaic Jew" such as myself takes the Bible as it says. The passage where the Rabbis get the idea about not mixing meat and milk is this "Do not cook a kid in its mothers milk". So the Rabbis said no meat and milk. I say, don't cook a kid in its mother�s milk period. And I don't do that. Causing the spark has to do with resting on the Sabbath. The whole idea of Sabbath is to rest. Back during the ancient days, in order to cook, you had to go and cut the wood and gather the wood... then start a fire by hand (matches hadn't been invented). This all took a lot of time and work and G-d was saying, don't do it... rest! It's not a lot of work for me to flip on a light switch or pop a TV dinner in the microwave etc. So that is the difference, Biblical Jews look at the "Spirit" of the Law� not the letter of it. I don't eat pork or shellfish but I don't have to have all my food inspected by some unsaved Rabbi, I inspect it myself. As a Mosaic Jew, I also understand that some Laws supercede other Laws. For example... If I'm asked to come and have dinner at a Gentiles house and the lady of the house has worked very hard at making a pork roast... I don't offend her and turn it down. I give thanks and I dig in. Same sort of thing with the Shabbat (Sabbath). If I need to go and pick up a relative at the airport on Shabbat... I go pick them up. If I had a 9-5 job and had to feed my family even though I had to work on Shabbat, I'd do so but I'd try to make a way that I didn't have to work on Shabbat if at all possible.

For those Jews who keep Biblically kosher, they have a part in the "Congregation of Israel". We will enjoy the blessings of Israel and the persecutions of Israel. Most Christian Gentiles don't realize that the promises given to Abraham and his descendants are for Abraham and his descendants and NOT for the Gentile Church. There ARE promises for the Church and there are also promises to the Gentiles, but there are also promises to the Jews. These promises He made to the Jews are for the Congregation of Israel. Does this mean NO Gentiles can be a part of those promises? No it doesn't. Those Gentiles who love Yeshua AND keep Biblically kosher and keep the Laws given to us by G-d, will be a part of the Congregation of Israel and participate FULLY in the blessings and persecutions that we Jews have. All these Gentiles you've seen in the Messianic congregations... that's them. One other thing I'd point out is that many of the people who THINK they are Gentile will find out that there is indeed a Jewish line in their background. It only takes a little blood in you to make you a Jew. Matter of fact, Yeshua was only 5% Jewish Himself and He was the KING of the Jews!

No, we do not have to leave our Jewishness behind when we come to Yeshua. The Gentile Christians have been defining who we are for nearly 2,000 years. But no longer. We decide who we are and we decide what our part is through the direction of the Holy Spirit. I know we are often the "token Jew" in our Churches. It seems whenever there is a question about the Old Testament, everyone looks at us. That's the way it is and we can use that to our benefit if we choose.

We who choose to be a part of the Congregation MUST follow G-d's Laws. They are NOT Moses' Laws. Many Christians don't seem to understand who's Laws they really are. They are G-D'S Laws! Moses only delivered them. Gentiles have Laws too, the Noadic Laws. Many of them are breaking those Laws and they will be required. You'll hear a lot of objections about the Law and they will quote a lot of different Scriptures but all of those Scripts are taken out of context and misinterpreted. I.e. "We are free from the Law". They make that to mean, "we no longer have to follow the Law because the grace of Jesus is enough". That's incredibly ridicules. If that were true then why did ALL the Disciples AND Paul all still follow the Law, even AFTER the Resurrection and Ascension? Because if you had told them we no longer have to follow the Law... they would look at you like you were crazy because they knew that we have to follow it and any other idea would be heresy. This whole idea that we don't have to follow G-d's laws are of Gentile origin.... not from a Jew.

The Gentile Church has done so much harm to true doctrine by bringing in all kinds of paganism from the unG-dly world. Christmas is one of them. We Jews have NEVER celebrated birthdays! We celebrate the anniversaries of the deaths of loved ones. The Pagans started celebrating birthdays and Christmas was made to correspond with a Pagan Holiday. The same for Easter. It's Pagan! Pasach (Passover), is Jewish. I could go on and on about this but that's sufficient for now. As far as Hanukah goes, Yeshua even celebrated it, it's a Biblical holiday and not meant to have anything to do with Pagan "birthdays". The Disciples NEVER celebrated any birthdays and neither did the early Church. Now I know I seem very "anti-birthday" but I'm not really. I celebrate my wife's birthday etc but I'm also aware where it came from and Messianics are correct in not celebrating it. We do not have Christmas trees however. This is something that is also Pagan. Trees were decorated by the Pagans and worshipped so we wont have Christmas trees in our house. Again, we are not legalistic about this, we have friends who have Christmas trees and we go to their house etc, no problem. But we choose not to have one.

Ok, I hope that answers all your questions. Sorry it was so long but there are no short answers to those questions.

Rabbi Stanley

>
> Thank you for such a quick reply. I remember hearing
>something about
>
>that as a child growing up. I think it is a tough
>position. When I
>
>first read "God" with out the "o" I was offended. In
>the back of my
>
>mind I was thinking there was a reason, that is why I
>wrote and asked.
>
>I respect your decision. However, this leads me to
>several questions I have
>
>had regarding the Messianic Church. Maybe you can help
>clarify some
>
>things for me. Rabbi Stanley, I was taught that I am a
>Christian first
>
>and Jewish second. I am Jewish, (as crazy at it may
>sound, I am just
>
>really realizing that God sees me as a Jew.) I haven't
>been raised in
>
>the Jewish religion, with the exception of knowing
>what the holidays
>
>were. I did celebrated Passover ever year with my
>"other" mother 's
>
>family, who was my mom's best friend. I loved it. I
>attended many a
>
>Jewish wedding and Bar Mitzvahs. I always new there
>was a God, He was
>
>big and powerful. I accepted Jesus as my Lord and
>Savior over 20 years
>
>ago. At that time many fellow believers were over come
>with joy that I,
>
>a Jew, had accepted Jesus. Not really understanding
>what all the
>
>excitement was about it, turned me off. I didn't want
>any favoritism or
>
>the attention I was getting. (Since then, I haven't
>ever announced
>
>that I am Jewish. My closest friends know and
>sometimes it comes out in
>
>conversations.) At that time, I was under the
>understanding that
>
>Jewish people needed to leave behind their Old
>Testament Laws and
>
>beliefs, because Jesus paid the price for them, they
>were no longer
>
>under the law. I guess for a lack of words they became
>a "completed
>
>Jew" dropped everything and began a new life Under the
>"New Covenant".
>
>(I guess just as Gentiles leave their wayward life of
>sin and accept
>
>Jesus into their heart and quit sinning walk with Him.
>Although there
>
>is the difference between a sin and a religion/belief)
>That was easy
>
>for me to accept since I never practiced the Jewish
>religion. But, all
>
>a long I have wondered about it. Why some Jewish
>people do and some
>
>don't. Why there is a Messianic church. What is it to
>look like from a
>
>Rabbi's view? I have a friend in Denver who is Gentile
>and attends a
>
>Messianic church and acts like a Jew. I think ( and
>believe) he would
>
>turn a Jewish person off from the Messiah. Also, I
>have found there
>
>are more Messianic churches with Gentile Pastors and
>there are more
>
>Gentiles than Jewish believers in them, also they
>aren't witnessing
>
>to the Jewish people. Why is this? What is your
>opinion of this? In the
>
>Messianic church shouldn't it be the Gentiles who want
>to participate
>
>with their fellow brothers and sisters in the Messiah
>remain and act
>
>like Gentiles? Also, my friend and his church don't
>Celebrate Christmas
>
>anymore. They celebrate Hanukkah and don't even
>recognize the Birth of
>
>the Messiah. I understand Hanukkah as the Festival of
>Lights. Nothing
>
>to do with the birth of the Messiah.
>
>Thank you for taking the time to answer all these
>questions for me.
>Raylene Swanger

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