Messianic Jewish Problems with Hebrew Roots

In a new podcast episode, Messianic Apologist John McKee and I tackle difficult issues separating Messianic Judaism and Hebrew Roots.

For the uninitiated, the Messianic movement encompasses both Messianic Judaism and Hebrew Roots.

In Messianic Judaism, the goal is Israel’s salvation by making a space where Jews can follow Yeshua as Messiah without losing their Jewish identity.

In Hebrew Roots, the goal is a return to the Jewish roots of Christianity, removing the extra-Biblical cruft created by the Church over the last 2000 years.

Go to most any Messianic congregation today, and you’re bound to find folks from both camps. These groups need each other, and yet, often there are theological disputes and disagreements that can prevent fellowship.

In this podcast, John and I look at 4 major issues that the Messianic Judaism movement sees with Hebrew Roots, and offer some ways to navigate them:

1. One-Law Rigidity – dogmatism around the idea that non-Jews must follow the Torah in the same way that Jews do
2. Two-House identity – which claims many or most non-Jews in the Messianic movement are actually descendants of the lost 10 tribes of Israel
3. Sacred Name Onlyism – the idea that you must pronounce God’s divine name, יהוה, and that you must never use circumlocutions like “Lord”, “God”, or even “Adonai” or “Elohim.”
4. Divergent Calendars – Calendars that differ from the modern Jewish (Hillel II) calendar, resulting in dates of the Feasts differing from mainstream date.

These 4 issues were raised by Rabbi David Schiller of Congregation Etz Chaim in Richardson, Texas, during an interview with John in an earlier podcast.

In this episode, John and I talk about how to navigate these difficult issues — and have fellowship in the presence of disagreement on these issues — towards a Big Tent Messianic movement.

If you enjoy the Messianic Walk, you can subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or email. Enjoy, friends!

Hanukkah, Christmas, and Messianic Faith

“Christmas is pagan”

“Christmas is anti-Jewish”

“Christmas is Catholic”

If you’re a Messianic believer, almost certainly you’ve heard these claims. Are they true?

The Gospels describe the divine intervention that changed the course of history:

Now there were shepherds in the same region, living out in the fields and guarding their flock at night. Suddenly an angel of Adonai stood before them, and the glory of Adonai shone all around them; and they were absolutely terrified.

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! For behold, I proclaim Good News to you, which will be great joy to all the people. Today in the city of David is born a Savior, who is Messiah the Lord. And the sign to you is this: You’ll find an infant wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger."

And suddenly, a multitude of heavenly armies appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest! And shalom on earth and good will to men!”

Luke 2

This event took place in Israel two-thousand years ago, and it changed the world forever. Today, this event is celebrated by billions of Christians as Christmas.

But many Messianic believers don’t celebrate Christmas.

Some of us feel it’s un-Jewish to do so, especially given the existence of Hanukkah and its anti-assimilation themes. Some of us feel that Christmas is mere dressed up Catholicism, a view shared by some early Reformers. Some of us highlight pagan influences that have seeped in: Christmas trees, yuletide, and other “Christmas” symbols have more to do with Norse and Germanic mythology than the historical Jewish Messiah.

In this new episode of the Messianic Walk, J.K. McKee and I discuss how Messianic people can navigate the winter holidays while avoiding some of the doom, gloom, and heresy hunting too prevalent in today’s Hebrew Roots movement:

I argue we Messianic believers ought to have joy at this time of year, despite the extra-biblical elements attached to the birth of the King. 😊 It’s OK to have joy that Messiah was born. It’s OK to have joy that billions of people are celebrating His birth, even if it’s not exactly on the right day.

The Messianic Movement: The End-Time Move of God

I don’t know about you, fine Kineti readers, but I often tune out discussions about the last days, the end-times, the return of Messiah.

Why?

All of the hype, sensationalism, failed predictions, idle speculation, and crazy-uncle nonsense that gets peddled. It’s not my cup of tea!

However, the Lord wants us to have a joyful anticipation, even excitement, about His return. I don’t want to avoid studying the return of the Lord merely because so many abuse it. And I want to have that anticipation of the Lord’s return; that sort of thing fills you with joy and hope. I want that.

This week I sat down with Messianic apologist and author J.K. McKee to discuss the end-times and the Messianic movement’s role in it:

In it, J.K. and I tackle 5 questions pertaining to the last days and the Messianic movement:

1. How do Messianics today handle the subject of the last days; what’s been our personal experience in the Messianic movement?
2. Given how disruptive and uniquely difficult 2020 has been, the Lord’s return has been top of mind. How should Messianics think about the last days?
3. With regard to the end-times, what does the Messianic perspective bring to the wider body of believers?
4. What role will the Messianic and Hebrew Roots movement play in the the last days leading up to the return of Yeshua?
5. What further studies and investigations need to take place in the Messianic movement regarding the last days?

Here you’ll find a candid conversation about the last days and the Messianic movement.

I expressed how I’ve personally been turned off to conversations about the end-times due to sensationalism, failed predictions, date-setting, and more. John shared his reservations as well.

At the same time, we can’t simply punt and avoid the topic. The Lord wants us to have a joyful anticipation, an excitement even, knowing his return is imminent.

John and I discuss all this and more in episode 5 of the The Messianic Walk. Enjoy, friends!

New video blog: Lawlessness vs. Legalism

Legalism and lawlessness: two extremes in Messiah faith

Many churches in the Evangelical world spend a great deal of time condemning legalism: rigid adherence to Biblical laws and the man-made stringencies around them, observance by the letter and not by the Spirit, observance of Biblical laws to gain eternal life with God.

But Yeshua’s words in the Gospels warn of a different issue:

“Because lawlessness will multiply, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. This Good News of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

Matthew 24:12-14, Tree of Life Version

While legalism has been and continues to be a problem among believers, especially Messianic believers, its opposite extreme — lawlessness — pulls God’s people away from living godly, upstanding lives.

In this new podcast episode, Messianic apologist John McKee and myself discuss forms of legalism and lawlessness we’ve encountered in our Messianic walk, and how believers can avoid these extremes that tend to be too common in our Messiah faith. Enjoy, fine Kineti readers!

And, a reminder, you can subscribe to our podcast over at MessianicWalk.com

New episode: Tackling Romans for Messianic Believers

In this new episode of Messianic Walk, John and Judah tackle the book of Romans and its pressing questions for Messianic believers:

Specifically,

• 08:35 When Paul says, “A true Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart, in spirit and not in letter” (Rom 2), is he saying Gentiles are spiritual Jews?
• 18:32 Digging deeper on “a true Jew…”: if it speaks only to Jews, why is Paul talking about Jews and Gentiles in the previous verses and context of Romans 2?
• 24:12 Paul speaks about the righteousness of “Gentiles who do by nature the things of the Torah” (Rom 2): is this the moral law, the full Mosaic law, or something else?
• 37:09 Paul tells the Romans, “We are released from the Torah” (Rom 7). Does this mean the Torah has no relevance the lives of Messianic believers?
• 49:05 Sidebar, a relevant example of why we need scholarship in the Messianic movement.
• 54:49 Paul writes, “Let every person submit himself to the governing authorities” (Rom 13). In the coronavirus era, how should this play out? Governors are issuing mandates to wear masks, quarantine for indefinite periods of time, close churches and social gatherings. Should Messianic believers submit themselves to these authorities, or are these issues going beyond what Paul had in view?
• 1:16:00 Romans 13 speaks about not causing others to stumble over issues of food. Can this be applied to kosher standards today in the Messianic movement? Is it wise use of Romans 13 to discourage Messianic folks from taking a stand over kosher issues? Or can we cite Paul’s “the Kingdom of God is not about eating and drinking” and tell people that food ultimately doesn’t matter to God?
• 1:31:20 So many missteps with Paul’s letters began with misapplying or overapplying Paul’s words in a specific context to a broader context. How can Messianics apply Scripture today without over-applying it; without getting off on erroneous tangents by misapplying Scripture to overly broad contexts?

I learned a lot just by chatting with John about these issues. I think you will too, fine Kineti reader.

The Messianic Walk: Episode 2 - Did the early Roman believers really celebrate Passover?

In the 2nd episode of The Messianic Walk, J.K. and I discuss the theological objections to Torah observance from a friend, Jonathan, who recently left the Hebrew Roots movement for the mainstream Church.

We tackle several challenges to Torah observance, including:

• Does Matthew 5 really say the Torah is still in effect?
• Has God changed, or have people changed? If people changed, does it means God’s law applies differently?
• Is the Sabbath merely a cultural commandment, meant only for Bronze Age Israel?
• Did the Christian community at Rome really celebrate Passover?

That last one was an interesting question. My friend who left Torah, Jonathan, had objected to Torah observance by appealing to the book of Romans, saying that Paul's rebuke of sinful Rome was only a rebuke of breaking the moral law, which surely doesn't include laws about Passover:

"Were kosher, feasts and sabbath part of this [moral] law?  Romans 2:14-15 “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,” I doubt that a gentile would accidentally keep kosher."

My response is that the leaders of the Roman believers, Acquila and Priscilla, were both Jewish believers who were almost certainly keeping Passover. And that they were ousted with other Jews from Rome during Claudius' reign suggests they were identifiably Jewish. My reasoning, then, is if the leaders of the Roman believers were celebrating Passover, it's reasonable to conclude the laypeople of the Roman community were following their example.

In the podcast, J.K. shed further light on this: many of the laypeople in the Roman community were the "God fearers" of the 1st century: non-Jews who followed the God of Israel, attended synagogue, but lived as righteous gentiles among the nations. These folks too would be likely to celebrate Passover, all the more given Yeshua's imbuing the feast with new meaning.

Check out the podcast, friends, I think you'll enjoy this discussion on Torah, faith, Romans, and the early believers.

One final note, I'm glad to report that we've started a new website home for the podcast: messianicwalk.com. Additionally, the Messianic Walk podcast is now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and Podcast Addict. 😎

I'm launching a new podcast! The Messianic Walk Show

Friends, I'm super excited to announce that I'm launching a new podcast with my longtime friend and Messianic apologist John McKee:

Our new show! (Can you tell that John and I are Star Trek fans? 😄)

We recorded our first episode, "Leaving Messianic Things", in which we discuss the difficult Messianic issues raised in Responding to "No Longer Torah Observant." 

In this first episode, John and I discuss challenges facing Messianic believers today: the pitfalls of end-times sensationalism, conspiracy theories, low views of the New Testament, heresies about Yeshua's identity, contempt for the Church and Christianity, a lack of Gospel evangelism and outreach, and more. We discuss better paths forward for our movement, one centered around the weighty matters of the Torah and the salvation of Israel.

Here's the table of contents:

• Our purpose in The Messianic Walk 
• Background to "No Longer Torah Observant"
• No Gospel, no outreach
• Hebrew Roots has found a good thing, but neglected the best thing
• Degrading the New Testament
• Inconsistent critical standards
• Mistaken belief that the Bible was written to you
• No longer true today: "Jews look for signs, Greeks for wisdom"
• Slanderous views of Paul 
• Low Christology
• Scholarly materials showing why Messiah is God 
• Salvation by works
• Christians keep Torah
• Why play God and determine people's eternal destinies?
• Conspiracy theories
• Conspiracy theories not limited to Hebrew Roots
• Scholarship is derided
• John's personal experience with scholarship in the Messianic movement 
• Does formal theological education produce liberal scholars who create loopholes for sin? 
• Not every teacher needs to be a scholar, but we should cherish religious education and scholarship 
• Idolizing Judaism
• A Kingdom of Eating and Drinking
• A failure to prioritize the weighty matters of Torah
• Hebrew Roots needs to wrestle with these issues
• The Messianic walk is not easy, but we must persevere with the Lord's help

Our goal with this podcast is to help folks with their Messianic walk. I earnestly hope it helps you, fine Kineti reader, grow and mature in your walk with the Lord.