Articles

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I am Jewish, can I also be a follower of Yeshua (Jesus)?

What a wonderful question! Here is my story; the story of another Jew, like yourself, who had asked this very same question many years ago: I grew up in an orthodox Jewish home in New York, and several years ago I came to believe that Yeshua (Yeshua is the Hebrew way to say the Greek name Jesus) is truly the Jewish Messiah. Believing that Yeshua is the Messiah wasn’t easy. I had many, many questions, and I spent months examining the evidences and seeking G-d’s answers. During my journey, I constantly reminded myself of a very important verse from the Jewish Scriptures (the Tanakh). The Jewish prophet Jeremiah records the words of G-d, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart (Jeremiah 29:13). The Jewish Scriptures (The Torah, The Prophets, and The Writings, which make up the Tanakh or the Jewish Bible) paint a very clear picture of who the Mashiach (Messiah) will be when He eventually comes to the nation of Israel. In fact, there are over 300 prophecies in the Hebrew Scriptures, which detail many facts about this coming Messiah/king. Here is just a sampling (and remember, all these verses come from the Jewish Bible): Messiah was to be born at Bethlehem: Micah 5:1. Messiah would be from the tribe of Judah: Genesis 49:10. Messiah would present himself by riding on an ass: Zechariah 9:9. Messiah would be tortured to death: Psalm 22. Messiah would arrive before the destruction of the Second Temple: Daniel 9:24-27. Messiah’s life would match a particular description, including suffering, silence at his arrest and trial, death and burial in a rich man’s tomb, and resurrection: Isaiah 52:13-53:12. Christian prophecy is remarkably specific. In detail as to lineage, birthplace, time and lifestyle, Jesus matched the Messianic expectations of the Hebrew Scriptures. The record of this fulfillment is to be found in the pages of the New Testament. As you review the more extensive list of Jewish Messianic prophecies, allow G-d to speak to your heart and your mind as you seek HIS truth. Interestingly, the Jewish Scriptures paint seemingly two different pictures about the Messiah to come. For one, they talk about the Messiah who will come as the reigning King, who will usher in a period of unprecedented peace on earth. But many verses talk about the Mashiach who will be a suffering servant, who will suffer and die for the sins of the people. For many hundreds of years the rabbis believed that there would be two Messiahs, the King Mashiach ben David, and the suffering servant Mashiach ben Joseph. The rabbis, unfortunately, were not able to see that one Messiah would accomplish both missions. Christian prophecy was indeed fulfilled in the Jewish Messiah. Yeshua came to the “lost sheep of the House of Israel” 2000 years ago. He came as Isaiah chapter 53 so clearly states, to die and “suffer” for the sins of the Jewish people. He came to the nation of Israel, but was rejected. If the Jews would have accepted His “once for all” (Hebrews 10:10) atonement for sins, Yeshua would have ushered in the Kingdom of Heaven at that point in history. But the Jews did not recognize Him. Even though they had the Word of G-d in their own Hebrew Scriptures, and more than 300 descriptions of who He would be when He comes, they missed Him. As a result, the Good News of God’s Kingdom went forth to the Gentile world, and for 2000 years now both Jew and Gentile have come together in Mashiach, looking forward to His soon return as reigning King, just as the rabbis have always expected. Although the nation of Jews rejected Yeshua when He came, G-d has always, through the last 2000 years, kept a “remnant” of believing Jews for Himself. I and many thousands of Jews alive today, have received Yeshua as their Lord, and Savior, and Mashiach. We have been blessed with “new life” in Him, and we look forward to eternal life with Him in G-d’s heavenly Kingdom. This is a lot to digest, but if you are asking this question, it is G-d’s Spirit (the Ruach HaKodesh) who has drawn you to this information. I pray that you will continue your examination of the evidences of who Jesus really is and His claims to be the Jewish Messiah in fulfillment of Hebrew prophecy. Remember the words of Yeshua, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20). Perhaps Yeshua, the Jewish Messiah, is standing at the door of your heart right now! Consider Him! Open the door and allow Him to come into you!

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I am not a Calvinist because Calvinism is non-biblical heresy

Many Christians refer to themselves as “Calvinists.” To the Calvinist there are only two groups: Calvinists (emphasis on God’s sovereignty) and Armenians (emphasis on man’s freewill). To the Calvinist, if you don’t believe in T-U-L-I-P theology, you are teaching a man-centered doctrine. I am neither a Calvinist or an Armenian. Calvin wrote, “whoever shall now contend that it is unjust to put heretics and blasphemers to death will knowingly and willingly incur their very guilt.”1 This should be reason enough for any Bible believer disdaining being called a Calvinist. Where did Jesus Christ, the Apostles or Paul ever advocate the killing of heretics? Calvin is not fit to be followed anywhere. I am not a Calvinist because Calvinism is non-biblical heresy. John Calvin’s system of theology rises or falls on the acrostic T-U-L-I-P. Hence the term “five-point Calvinism.” If one point is true, then all the others must follow suit. Likewise, if one is false, then the whole system is false. I. Total Depravity (Inability) It is true that no man can merit salvation. It is true that man has a depraved and sinful nature (Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3). But to Calvin, total depravity meant total inability. Calvin taught that since a man is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1-4), he cannot do anything to receive Christ as his Savior, even though God commands him to receive Christ. Calvinists believe that it is impossible for man, by his own act of the will, to do anything God commands him to do unless God first regenerates him. The Calvinist’s error is in his stretching the parallel between physical death and spiritual death. If you make a parallel between the inability of a physically dead man and a spiritually dead man to receive Christ, then you must likewise say that neither one can reject Christ. Calvinists deny the fact of man’s “free will.” The term “freewill” is a Biblical term. It is used in seventeen different verses of Scripture (Lev. 22:18, 21, 23; 23:38; Num. 15:3; 29:39; Deut. 12:6, 17; 16:10; 23:23; 2 Chron. 31:14; Ezra 1:4; 3:5; 7:13, 16; 8:28; Psalm 119:108). You will notice that all these verses are in the Old Testament. This statement is Ruckmanism Error…rest of tract excellent. No one in the Old Testament was “quickened by the Holy Spirit.” No saint from Genesis to Malachi was regenerated! No one in the Old Testament was “chosen in Christ.” These acts of “freewill” were all performed by unregenerate men who were still dead in trespasses and sins! Man is responsible, by the act of his own will, to receive Christ, then God wills the new birth. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (John 1:12). The new birth is conditioned upon a man receiving Christ. There is not one case in Scripture of anyone being regenerated until he first received Christ. The responsibility is man’s. Jesus said, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life” (John 5:40). Notice He did not say, “Ye cannot come to me…” Man does have the ability to choose. Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” (Matt. 23:37). Jesus was willing, but Jerusalem was not willing. It was never a question of inability. Man does have a will that can choose for God or against God (John 7:17; Rev. 22:17). The Calvinist will run to John 6:44 to support their teaching. “No man can come to me, except the father which hath sent me draw him…” Of course the Father must draw a sinner, but in John 12:32, Jesus assures us “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw ALL men unto me.” John 1:9 says, “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” The Calvinist teaches that man’s salvation is God’s responsibility. If man is dead in trespasses and sins and is not responsible for receiving Christ, how can he be responsible for rejecting Christ? Calvin’s doctrine of total depravity is totally deprave. Instead of Total Depravity, the Bible teaches that men are Totally LOST. II. Unconditional Election Calvin taught that God unconditionally and arbitrarily selected some people to go to heaven, and others He elected to burn forever in hell.2 The Calvinists believe that it is already decided who will be saved and who will go to hell, and the individuals have nothing to do with it. Now, while election is a Bible doctrine, unconditional election is not biblical. But election in Scripture is always conditioned according to God’s foreknowledge (1 Pet. 1:2). Because God is omniscient (all knowing), He knew from eternity who would choose to trust Christ and be saved and who would reject Christ. On the basis of that foreknowledge, God elected those He foreknew to be predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son (Rom. 8:28-30). Calvinists try to use verses such as Ephesians 1:4-5 or John 15:16 to prove God elected some to be saved and others to be damned. However, these verses are not dealing with salvation. These verses simply teach God’s plan of adoption and His desire for us to be holy, and without blame and fruitful. God does not will anyone to be damned. “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9) “Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). The only way the Calvinist can handle these clear verses is to say that “all” doesn’t really mean all! While Calvinists pride themselves in believing their doctrine is God centered and God honoring (while Bible believers are holding a man-centered Gospel), they misrepresent God and the Bible. They make God the author of sin. Since God has decreed the damnation of the wicked (reprobation), He must also have decreed the reason for their damnation which was the fall of man in the garden of Eden. God first chose to damn certain men to hell, so upon creating them, He made them fall, using Adam as a scapegoat, so it would look like they deserved to go. Reprobation is the deliberate, foreordained, predestinated damning of millions of people to hell as a result of god’s sovereign good pleasure and according to the “counsel of his own will” (Eph. 1:11). This Calvinistic heresy is the most vulgar, obscene, blasphemous, repulsive part of the TULIP system. Calvin’s doctrine of unconditional election deserves unconditional ejection. The Bible teaches CONDITIONAL election. III. Limited Atonement Since the Calvinist believes some men are elected to be damned and only a few are elected to salvation, he must also believe that Jesus did NOT die for every man’s sin. The Bible teaches that Jesus tasted death for EVERY MAN (Heb. 2:9). But the Calvinist will quickly run to such passages as John 10:11 to try to prove Jesus only died for His sheep (the church). Certainly Jesus died for His sheep since His sheep are part of the whole world for whom he died. 1 John 2:2 says clearly, “And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” Calvinists teach that when God said “the world” He really meant “the elect.” So the Calvinist slanders God by saying God only loves the world of the elect. This is what is called “hermeneutical gymnastics.” The context of 1 John 2:2 shows very clearly that “the world” is the unsaved (2:15-17; 3:1; 5:19). The doctrine of “limited atonement” really equals “limited love.” Calvinistic doctrine would render John 3:16 to read, “For God so loved the elect that he gave his only begotten son, that the elect would believe and not perish, but have everlasting life.” The truth is Jesus loves the unsaved (Mark 10:17); and gave shed His redeeming blood even for those who would deny him (2 Pet. 2:1). IV. Irresistible Grace It is only logical that if God elects a man to be saved, no matter what that man does, God must FORCE him to accept Christ. The Bible teaches otherwise. Proverbs 1:24-26 reveals that God stretches out His hand, but is resisted. Stephen preached to a group of unsaved men saying, “ye do always RESIST the Holy Ghost” (Acts 7:51). Paul said God’s grace could be frustrated and received in vain (Gal. 2:21; 2 Cor. 6:1-2). Jude adds that God’s grace could even be turned into lasciviousness (Jude 4). Hebrews 10:28, 29, 39 show how a man can do despite unto the Spirit of grace and draw back unto perdition. Psalm 78:41 shows that God can be limited by man. Furthermore, Titus 1:11 says that “the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto ALL men…” Are all men saved? Obviously not! So many have resisted the grace of God to be saved. I can’t resist resisting Calvin’s teaching on irresistible grace. V. Perseverance of the Saints Finally, since God has elected some to go to heaven, those whom He elected will persevere to the end. While I believe in the SECURITY of the believer, I do not accept the PERSEVERANCE of the believer. Perseverance is one thing; preservation is another. The Bible teaches that the saint is “preserved in Christ Jesus” (Jude 1). I don’t persevere. Instead, God preserves me. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says, “And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” I am sealed by the Holy Spirit unto the day of redemption (Eph. 4:30). God is the one who keeps me from falling (1 Pet. 1:4-5; Jude 24). Conclusion: Down follow man’s teaching or interpretaion of the Bible but rely only on The HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD for the understanding. As for you, the anointing you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about all things and as that anointing is real, not counterfeit–just as it has taught you, remain in him. 1 John 2:27 (DISCLAIMER: I am not saying do not study the Word with the brethren or abstain from going to church to hear the message by posting the bible verse 1 John 2:27) You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere humans?  For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings? 1 Corinthians 3:3-4 http://www.despatch.cth.com.au/Articles_V/calvin_tract.htm

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"What is Messianic Judaism?"

Messianic Judaism is the term given to Jewish people who believe and have accepted Yeshua (the Hebrew name for Jesus) of Nazareth as the promised Messiah of the Hebrew Scriptures. These Jewish people do not stop being Jewish, but they continue to remain strong in their Jewish identity, lifestyle and culture, while following Yeshua as He is revealed in the Brit Chadashah, the New Covenant. Many Messianic Jews refer to themselves as “completed Jews,” since they believe that their faith in the God of Israel has been “completed” or fulfilled in Yeshua. In reality, Messianic Judaism began 2,000 years ago. Yeshua Himself was an observant Jew, most of the Apostles and writers of the New Covenant were Jewish, and the vast majority of the early believers in Yeshua were also Jewish (see Acts chapter 2). Traditional rabbinical Judaism today does not believe that Yeshua is the Jewish Messiah. Observant Jews are still waiting faithfully in accordance with the Rambam’s (Rabbi Moses Maimonides, 1134-1204) “Thirteen Principles of Jewish Faith,” which states in Principle 12, “I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah. However long it takes, I will await His coming every day.” Most secular Jews do not believe in the physical coming of a personal Messiah, but some still look forward to a general Messianic concept or Messianic Age. Today, it is estimated that there are over 350,000 Messianic Jews in the world, and the numbers are growing all the time. Messianic synagogues have also become very popular, and recent estimates number more than 200 congregations in this country. There are also many Messianic congregations in Israel and around the world. Messianic Jews continue to celebrate the Jewish festivals and feast days as prescribed in the Hebrew Scriptures (i.e., Passover, Day of Atonement, etc.) but they do it in a way that demonstrates how Yeshua has already fulfilled these Holy Days. Most Messianic Jews do not celebrate Christmas or Easter, since neither holiday is mentioned in the New Covenant. Jews who now follow Yeshua the Messiah understand that everything given in the Old Covenant was a “mere shadow” of the better things to come in the New. by Gotquestions.org

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Should Christians Live in Fear?

If a doctrine has no application, then it has no relevance to the Christian life. What is the application of the Doctrine of Eternal Security? One application is to consider whether Christians should live in fear of going to hell. And if so, on what basis should they fear? Free Grace advocates a “no fear” philosophy, regardless of the performance of the supposed “Christian”. And even if one falls away and doesn’t believe in Christ such a person is still supposedly “saved”. Lordship Salvation advocates that Christians should fear that perhaps they are only nominal Christians and have yet to be born of God. And thus they don’t fear losing salvation, but they fear that they may not have gained it yet. Arminians advocate that Christians should fearthat they may lose their salvation. The Bible advocates the Calvinist point of view on this issue, as there are clear warnings to make sure you have been born of God, as in 2Cor 13:5, and warnings to nominal Christians against falling away (as I deal with below), yet the security of the true believer is also clearly advocated (as in Ephesians 1 and 1John 4:15-18) and other places. In fact 1John 4:18 advocates no fear of condemnation for those living in Christ as does Romans 8.