In his discussion about the futility of trying to gain merit with God through law-keeping, the Apostle Paul (Rabbi Shaul) wrote that it is through Messiah Yeshua that the “blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles” (Galatians 3:14).
 
Later in this same chapter of Galatians [v.28] Paul says that there is “neither Jew nor Greek (Gentile), there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus (Messiah Yeshua). And if you are Christ’s (Messiah’s), then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise”

It seems obvious that Paul is not negating ethnic or gender realities - and in the context of his time, he also acknowledges the fact that slavery was a functioning institution. His point was simply that these categories are not significant in terms of one’s standing before God. All are lost in sin, and all need salvation which is available through Messiah Jesus alone.

When Paul wrote to the believers in ancient Ephesus he said that it was always God’s plan to bring both Jew and Gentile together as one. “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two…” (Ephesians 2:13-15).

Jew and Gentile alike stand equal before God, and all alike must come to God in the same way - through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the long-promised Messiah of Israel and the Savior of all who believe in him.

We’d love to discuss this further. Leave and comment and begin the conversation.

As I stepped out of my car one morning, upon arriving at work, I heard a voice calling to me. I turned to see a young Jewish man (a Lubavitcher as I learned later) approaching me.

“What kind of a place is this? It looks like a synagogue, but any knowledgeable Jew would know that a synagogue would not have the words “New Covenant” in their name, unless they attended a synagogue like _______ (he named a large reform synagogue). But then, those are probably the Jews you are targeting.”

“Oh, targeting Jews,” I responded. “Well, if you know anything at all about evangelical Christians, you will know that we ‘target’ the whole world. We are interested in talking about Jesus with anyone who is open to speaking with us.” I then went on to explain that many evangelical ministries focus on specific people groups, and that the ministry I represented was committed to sharing the gospel with anyone, giving a particular focus to the Jewish community.

We often face objections from both Jews and non-Jews about our desire to explain the gospel to Jewish people. But we are convinced that Christians have a responsibility to share their faith with everyone, including the Jewish community.

The New Testament Scriptures are clear, all people should hear the gospel. It was Jesus himself who commissioned his followers to “go and make disciples of all nations” [Matthew 28:19 NIV*] The Apostle Paul (the former Rabbi Shaul before coming to believe in Jesus as Messiah and Savior) wrote:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (gentile).” [Romans 1:16 NIV]

There was no question in Paul’s mind but that the gospel message - salvation, the forgiveness of sins - is a message that must be shared with all, beginning with the Jewish community. How tragic it would be if we failed to share the message of Messiah Jesus with those who have been “entrusted with the very words of God” [Romans 3:2 NIV].

While we ”target” Jews no more than any other people group - we speak with far more Gentiles than Jews - we make no apology for seeking to “Encourage Conversation about Jesus” with the Jewish people we meet.

Without reservation we believe Jesus is our only hope of salvation. It was the Apostle Peter (a Jewish believer in Jesus) who declared to the Jewish religious leaders of his day:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” [Acts 4:12 NIV].

As long as God gives us the ability, we will share this wonderful news of salvation in Yeshua (Jesus) with everyone who is willing to listen, including Jewish people.

We’d love to talk about this with you.

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NIV = The Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

A few months ago, publishers of SEVEN magazine asked me to write a cover article entitled ”Easter: Is it for Real?” for their March 1, 2009 issue. You can read the full article, and the whole issue, online. Scroll down the page for the appropriate PDF of the magazine. Below is a brief overview of the article.

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“Could you come over and explain the real meaning of Easter to our boys? I don’t want them to think that Easter is only about the Easter Bunny and chocolate eggs.” Though expressing no open commitment to the Christian faith, this young couple instinctively knew that the story of Jesus dying and rising again was at the heart of Easter, that it was something important for their young boys to know.

Christians, at least in the evangelical branch in which I was raised, tend to make a great deal of fuss over Christmas, while observing the surrounding events of Jesus’ death and resurrection with relatively little fanfare. And yet, Easter presents a great opportunity to talk about the heart of Christianity - that Jesus lived, died and rose again to make atonement for our sins. 

A couple of years ago, while discussing Judaism and Christianity with an orthodox rabbi, he challenged me: “Prior to his crucifixion and alleged resurrection, why would a first century Jew have believed that Jesus was the Messiah?” In calling the resurrection “alleged,” my rabbi friend was stating he did not believe it to be true. However, though I doubt he meant to do so, his comment underscored the importance of the resurrection as the crucial, watershed issue in establishing the credibility of Christianity.

Given its vital importance, are there reasonable evidences for believing Jesus actually rose from the dead? There are four common lines of evidence for the physical resurrection of Messiah Jesus.

The Old Testament Scriptures clearly predicted the death and resurrection.
Jesus really died. It may seem strange to raise this as evidence, but many refute the resurrection by claiming that Jesus never really died.
The empty tomb - Where is his body? To this day, no one has ever produced the body of Jesus.
Jesus appeared to many people in different places.

Aside from the factual evidence above, the circumstantial evidence for Messiah’s resurrection is simply too great to ignore. As Christians we are committed to the truthfulness of Scripture - both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament scriptures. It is God’s Word - we believe what it says. But not everyone shares our commitment to the veracity of Scripture. So is there anything else to which we can appeal? There are several matters demanding plausible alternative explanations, if we are to deny the resurrection of Jesus. Here are just a few.

The radical change in behavior of the disciples must be explained.
The conversion of hardened skeptics is significant.
The worldwide existence of the Christian church cannot be ignored.

However, as valuable as apologetics is, I believe one of the best defenses for the reality of the resurrection is the testimony of a transformed life. The New Testament says “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Cor. 5:17). Just as Jerusalem’s citizens marveled at the bold witness of the early Christians, our culture also takes note of those who live authentic lives. When Christian faith truly informs a believer’s life - in marriage and family relationships, in one’s work ethic, in one’s interests and ambitions - the surrounding community takes note that something powerful is at work in that life.

This was surely true in ancient Thessalonica, for Paul wrote to them: “…your faith in God has become known everywhere…we do not need to say anything about it … they tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead - Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath” (1 Th. 1:8-10).

As important as it is to be informed about the reasons for believing in the resurrection, Christians must also be transformed by that resurrection power residing in them through God’s Holy Spirit. It is that empowering presence of God’s Spirit in one’s life that compels the Christian to share the great news that Jesus really did rise from the dead.

Please read the full article . And as always, I welcome your comments and questions.

New Covenant Forum encourages conversation about Jesus. We believe that humankind’s only hope of salvation, forgiveness of sins and right standing with God, is found only through faith in Jesus.

We believe that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah of Israel - the one of whom the ancient Hebrew prophets spoke. The Apostle Peter, a first century (CE) Jewish fisherman who became a Jesus follower spoke of this in his first epistle. In an extended discussion about the living hope Jesus followers have, he says:

Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was reavealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven - things which angels desire to look into. [1 Peter 1:10-12 New King James Version]

We believe the New Testament scriptures when they record that Jesus voluntarily laid down his life as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of all who will believe in Him. We also believe that it is our responsibility to take this good news - salvation and freedom from the guilt of sin is available in Yeshua - to the entire world.

We also believe that this message is critically important for the worldwide Jewish community. Jesus was born a Jew, lived a Jewish life, and included Jewish people in his atoning sacrifice on that cursed tree. This gospel that has been embraced by millions the world over is a good news message for Jewish people too.

The Apostle Paul emphasizes the importance of keeping the Jewish community in mind when declaring the gospel message of salvation in Jesus. In his letter to the believers in Rome, he writes:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek (gentile). For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’. [Romans 1:16-17 New King James Version - emphasis mine]

Generally speaking, Jewish people are conditioned to reject the messiahship of Jesus, to view Him simply as the gentile god. But that is not how the first century Jewish followers of Jesus saw things. It is certainly not how the Bible (e.g. New Testament) speaks. The gospel message must go to the entire world - the Jewish community included.

Because there is so much misconception about Jesus among contemporary Jews, we are committed to encouraging conversation about Jesus. As far as is humanly possible, we want Jewish people to respond to Jesus out of a clear understanding of who He is, why He came, and what He did on our behalf.

We welcome your comments.

According to the Bible, Adam & Eve, the human father and mother of all humanity, lived in a perfect world - the Garden of Eden. Placed in this perfect environment by Almighty God Himself, history’s first man and woman had complete freedom to enjoy the fruit of this paradise with but one exception. The Scriptures tell us that God clearly prohibited Adam and Eve from eating the fruit of one tree in the center of this garden - a tree Scripture describes as “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil” [Genesis 2:9].*

Very soon in the biblical story, we find the evil one coming to Eve and tempting her to disobey God’s clear command to avoid eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild beasts that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say: You shall not eat of any tree of the garden?” The woman replied to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the other trees of the garden. It is only about fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden that God said: ‘You shall not eat of it or touch it, lest you die.’” And the serpent said to the woman, “You are not going to die, but God knows that as soon as you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like divine beings who know good and bad.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for eating and a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable as a source of wisdom, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they perceived that they were naked; and they sewed together fig leaves and made themselves loincloths.

They heard the sound of the LORD God moving about in the garden at the breezy time of day; and the man and his wife hid from the LORD God among the tree of the garden. The LORD God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard the sound of You in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” Then He asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat of the tree from which I had forbidden you to eat?” [Genesis 3:1-11]

In a moment of disobedience everything changed. A perfect relationship with the Creator was broken, a pristine world was lost, and the innocence of human nature was utterly destroyed. The evidence that everything had changed is seen in the response of Adam and Eve to God’s presence: “the man and his wife hid from the LORD God…” Centuries later, when writing to followers of Jesus in Rome, the Apostle Paul conveyed the utter ruin brought about by this willful act of rebellion against God’s clear directive:

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned… [Romans 5:12 New King James Version].

The Apostle states that the sin of our first parents plunged the entire human race into sin. When they sinned, they corrupted their human nature, and because of that all their offspring are born with fallen natures that must be redeemed and regenerated.

Returning to our Genesis 3 text, we discover that Adam, when confronted by God, blames their failure to obey God’s directive on Eve: “The woman you put at my side - she gave me of the tree, and I ate” (Genesis 3:12), his wife. Eve in turn, casts blame on the serpent - on the devil himself: “The serpent duped me, and I ate” [Genesis 3:13].

A just, holy God must be true to His character and word. He had warned Adam and Eve of the consequences of disobedience, and now He must act. Their disobedience resulted in their expulsion from the Garden, and consigned them to a life of battling with sinful tendencies. However, even in his words of judgment, God demonstrates his mercy and grace.

Addressing the serpent directly, God says:

Because you have done this, accursed are you beyond all beasts of the field; upon your belly shall you go, and dust shall you eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will pound your head, and you will bite his heel [Genesis 3:14-15 Tanach: The Stone Edition, Mesorah Publications, Ltd., 1996 - emphasis mine].

Did you catch the singular pronouns in the final sentence of that biblical quote? When God says there will be enmity between the serpent’s seed and the woman’s seed, He points to an ultimate showdown between two individuals. The serpent, a representation of Satan, will bite the heel of the one who will pound the head of the serpent.

I believe this is the first biblical reference to the redeemer who comes to atone for the sins of all who will accept him. This is none other than promised Messiah of Israel and Saviour of the World - Yeshua haMashiach - Jesus the Messiah.

When Jesus came to earth, He came to fulfill Torah. He is the only person who has ever been completely Torah observant. Having fulfilled the Law’s demands, Jesus voluntarily gave his life to make atonement for the sins of all who will repent and place their trust in Him. In dying on that accursed tree, Jesus in fact defeated Satan, and made full and complete atonement available to all who will believe.

In future posts, I hope to explore this salvation more deeply. In the meantime, I welcome your comments and questions. New Covenant Forum actively encourages conversation about Jesus. Whether by commenting on this post, or by emailing directly, I hope you will join the conversation.
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*Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from the Tanakh, Jewish Publication Society, 1985, 1999 - The Jewish Study Bible, Oxford University Press. 2004.