Q. I am confused about the use of “gentile” by some people. What do I call myself (not knowing if I’m Jewish or not) being a “messianic” believer?
A. The answer to your question is in your question, but let me give some information first. The term gentile has several meanings. The word itself comes from the Latin “gentilis” and it means “a people not Jewish.” The Hebrew term for this concept is “goy” meaning a stranger, non-Jew. Its plural form “goyim” means “nation” (Gen 12.2, 17.20) applying to Israel and it can be applied to non-Israelites (Deut. 15.6, 28.12, 36). Eventually the term can to be applied to unbelievers. Eph 2.11-22 is a good example of how one who was considered a gentile in times past can be spiritually brought near to God. In the 1st century these gentiles, which also meant “a pagan” had a specific term applied to them. They were no longer considered pagans, but God-fearers. This term is used in the book of Acts all over the place. The Greek term is “phoubemenoi” and you can see already the root of that word is where we get “phobia” from. They were also called “devout” which is the Greek word “sebemenoi” and that word is also used for these non-Jewish believers in Acts. These were specific synagogue terms used for these people and it was a compliment.
That probably doesn’t help with your confusion but it’s some back-round on this question, and it was something that has been dealt with for thousands of years. Now we come to some modern terms for a believer. The believers in Yeshua were called “mashiachim” in the 1st century and it is seen today as messianic. But, anyone who had an eschatological expectation of the Messiah was seen as “messianic” also. The term in Greek is where “Christian” comes from. In a Hebrew context it is “messianic, in Greek it is “Christian” and both mean the same thing. However, over the years there came to be a distinction between the two because of replacement theology. As a result, the term Christian today means something different than Messianic, and with two diverse theologies. So, with that in mind let’s get to the heart of your question. In my opinion, I don’t think the Lord really cares about what we call ourselves, what is important is what He calls us. He says we believe so “believer” is good. That’s what I go by a lot of times. I’m just a believer. Child of God or “son” in my case is a good one. Although I have Jewish descendants on both sides of the family, that doesn’t matter to the Lord.
Faith is what counts no matter what your pedigree is, so being Jewish doesn’t really matter except for some commandments that may apply. Some think that they have “Jewish blood” because Jews were scattered all over the world and there ”has to be some in there somewhere” they will say and they consider themselves “Jewish”. The problem with that is if there is no evidence for that in your family, then you can’t really back- up what you say and it can hurt your witness. Secondly, it’s like stealing the identity of someone then and you wouldn’t want that. Third, it doesn’t really matter as long as you come to the Lord in faith, believing in Yeshua and you keep His commandments found in the Torah. There is nothing wrong with someone who comes to faith from among the nations. That is what God wanted all along. There was no Jew or Gentile in the beginning. Man sinned and God redeemed him. God made promises to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and they represented all mankind in these promises.
Their descendents were to go into the nations and tell them they can have peace with God, and miserably failed but it didn’t stop the Lord. There has always been a faithful remnant that carried on the work and the world has heard the good news. When one from the nations comes in repentance to the Lord and in true faith they are grafted into the Olive Tree (Rom 9-11) along with those who come to faith from among Israel. The two groups become one in His Body, His Kahal, His Bride, His Name and there is one Shepherd and one King to lead them. In your question you called yourself a believer, so go with that and I’m sure the Lord has no problem with it either.
The La Quinta meeting room in Alvarado, 1165 Hwy 67W Alvarado, TX. 76009. (Behind Sonic)
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upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
1 Corinthians 10:11 (NASB95)
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Thursday, November 9, 2006
Issues Re: Catholic School Enrollment
Q. I have a Catholic friend who is twice divorced and has remarried. They have a son and when they tried to enroll him in a Catholic school, the priest said their son was illegitimate. Is that true?
A. I don’t have the whole picture so I’m going to answer the question based on the assumption that the first marriages had biblical reasons for the divorce. If that is true, then their son is not illegitimate biblically. Now, what the priest was referring to was the Catholic doctrine concerning divorce. They are very strict about it and it is almost never allowed as far as canon law. The Church of England was started because of this doctrine of divorce when King Henry VIII wanted a divorce and it was not granted. This goes back to the same old problem that has plagued mankind since creation, and that is making man-made laws the override what God has said. This is not a Catholic problem. The Pharisees of the First Century had a similar system. They believed there was two Torah’s, one written and one Oral. Yeshua took them to task on many occasions
about their traditions. The Orthodox Jews of today are modern day Pharisees and they believe that if a rabbi tells you your right hand is left and your left hand is right, you must believe them. They believe that the oral law takes precedence over the written when there is a conflict, thus invalidating the commandments of God. They teach that Moses received the written law and an oral law on Sinai, which isn’t true but they teach it. Now, we can shake our heads and say “How can they believe that” but Christianity does the same thing. The Catholic Church comes along and is basically formed 300 years after Yeshua. They changed many of God’s commandments including Saturday to Sunday as far as the Lord’s day, instituted non-biblical festivals and so on and man cannot invalidate God’s commandments. They believe in what is called “apostolic authority” which means that the leaders have authority from God to change these things because they are the spiritual descendants of the Apostles. They teach that Yeshua gave them direct authority to change things that are clearly written in the Scriptures and when you are ordained that authority passes to you and so on through the generations.
It’s the same doctrine the Pharisees believed and Judaism practices today. Protestants believe the same thing by the way so it’s not just Judaism and Catholics. Protestants say Sunday is the Lord’s day when there is no evidence for that in the Scripture and has never been proved. That doctrine comes solely from the Catholic Church. There are many more man-made laws that are passed on as biblical also. Now, with that back-round let’s get a little more specific about your question. Divorce under certain circumstances is allowed in the Scriptures (Deut. 24.1). It is not the ideal situation but we live in a fallen world and sometimes there is no choice (abandonment and so on). If your friend’s situation falls into a category like that then he is free to remarry and if they have any children they would not be considered illegitimate biblically. The priest made his remarks because of their Church doctrine on his divorce. He felt that if the divorce was not legal than any child born from a subsequent marriage would not be “legal” either. I hope this helps.
A. I don’t have the whole picture so I’m going to answer the question based on the assumption that the first marriages had biblical reasons for the divorce. If that is true, then their son is not illegitimate biblically. Now, what the priest was referring to was the Catholic doctrine concerning divorce. They are very strict about it and it is almost never allowed as far as canon law. The Church of England was started because of this doctrine of divorce when King Henry VIII wanted a divorce and it was not granted. This goes back to the same old problem that has plagued mankind since creation, and that is making man-made laws the override what God has said. This is not a Catholic problem. The Pharisees of the First Century had a similar system. They believed there was two Torah’s, one written and one Oral. Yeshua took them to task on many occasions
about their traditions. The Orthodox Jews of today are modern day Pharisees and they believe that if a rabbi tells you your right hand is left and your left hand is right, you must believe them. They believe that the oral law takes precedence over the written when there is a conflict, thus invalidating the commandments of God. They teach that Moses received the written law and an oral law on Sinai, which isn’t true but they teach it. Now, we can shake our heads and say “How can they believe that” but Christianity does the same thing. The Catholic Church comes along and is basically formed 300 years after Yeshua. They changed many of God’s commandments including Saturday to Sunday as far as the Lord’s day, instituted non-biblical festivals and so on and man cannot invalidate God’s commandments. They believe in what is called “apostolic authority” which means that the leaders have authority from God to change these things because they are the spiritual descendants of the Apostles. They teach that Yeshua gave them direct authority to change things that are clearly written in the Scriptures and when you are ordained that authority passes to you and so on through the generations.
It’s the same doctrine the Pharisees believed and Judaism practices today. Protestants believe the same thing by the way so it’s not just Judaism and Catholics. Protestants say Sunday is the Lord’s day when there is no evidence for that in the Scripture and has never been proved. That doctrine comes solely from the Catholic Church. There are many more man-made laws that are passed on as biblical also. Now, with that back-round let’s get a little more specific about your question. Divorce under certain circumstances is allowed in the Scriptures (Deut. 24.1). It is not the ideal situation but we live in a fallen world and sometimes there is no choice (abandonment and so on). If your friend’s situation falls into a category like that then he is free to remarry and if they have any children they would not be considered illegitimate biblically. The priest made his remarks because of their Church doctrine on his divorce. He felt that if the divorce was not legal than any child born from a subsequent marriage would not be “legal” either. I hope this helps.
Monday, November 6, 2006
Michael Disputes with the Devil Over Moses' Body
Q.” In Jude 8 it says that Michael the Archangel disputed with the devil about the body of Moses. What does that mean?”
A. The purpose of the book of Jude is to warn believers about false teachers. Jude is pronounced “Yehudah” in Hebrew and it is where we get the name “Jew “ and “Jewish” in English. The book contrasts what happens to those who disbelieve the Torah, the Scriptures that Jude had. He wants believers to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints (Tzaddikim= the righteous ones) which included Torah observance. Faith is action and action is dead without obedience to God’s commandments. You don’t gain righteousness by keeping commandments. You believe God and that belief is” acted out” by doing what God said to do showing confidence which is what faith means. The first century believers all observed the Torah so that was included in his idea of “the faith” once delivered.
It has always been a part of “The Faith.” He then goes on to describe what happened to the angels who rebelled against God and how they are in darkness (power of their sin) and they will be judged someday. Sodom and Gomorrah is used as an example for those who disobey the Lord. Starting in v 8 he says that with all that evidence available people still revile the Lord. How do you do that today? By saying you don’t have to obey because “it’s been done away with” and “Sabbath has been changed to Sunday” or “I can eat pork and lobster because the Lord has made all foods clean” and all the other false doctrine out there today. False doctrine today is no different than false doctrine in the first century and that’s why I am bringing out examples that apply to us today. Nobody sees their false doctrine as false. But, it is no different than in Jude’s time and that is his point. The false teachers in his day are no different than the ones in Sodom 2000 before him, and no different than what the angels did 2000 years before that.
They may have committed a different sin, but it doesn’t matter. They did not believe. People who keep Sunday, eat pork, celebrate Christmas and neglect the biblical festivals, say the Law has been done away with don’t believe the Lord and it’s just that simple. Even the Messiah they believe in isn’t the one in the Scriptures because they say He is in favor of all of the above. These things are mentioned in v 8 by dreaming. They defile the flesh and reject authority (God’s word) and angelic majesties (the things belonging to God) by rejecting what it has said about keeping the commandments. Now, with all that in mind we come to your verse. This story is not mentioned anywhere in scripture. It may have been around in some form in other 1st century writings and is loosely found in others, but the Law and the Prophets do not have it. To mention things not found in scripture is not unusual. Paul mentions Jannes and Jambres in 1 Tim 3.8 but they are not mentioned in Exodus or anywhere. So what is going on?
This is probably a figurative story to illustrate what he has been saying up to this point. God’s ways will always be opposed by false teachers. The Torah is also known as “Moses” in the New Testament especially. Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses to their destruction. Gen 3.15 says the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman will have a hatred for one another. Satan wants to sit on the “mount of the assembly” (Isa. 14.13) to be worshipped which is the whole point of most theology today that is not Torah based. In Hebrew “mount of the assembly” is “har’moghed” or “armageddon” in English and that is where the devil tries to gather those that follow him (Rev 16.16). So, Michael (who is like God) is symbolic of Yeshua, the seed of the woman. The “body of Moses” is the body of the Torah that the devil has his “disputes” over.
He contested it in the Garden of Eden and has ever since. Jude introduces this story to illustrate that false teacher’s will dispute over Moses, or in keeping of the Law of God, like they always have. They do it today by saying you are “free from the Law” and “the law has been done away with” and so on. There is nothing new under the sun and then the rest of the book goes on to describe these false teachers and why they do it. Anyway, the story in v 9 is used to show that false teachers (devil) will dispute with God (Michael) about keeping the commandments ( the body of Moses) and we should avoid this and to remember what happened in the past when others tried to do this and failed.
A. The purpose of the book of Jude is to warn believers about false teachers. Jude is pronounced “Yehudah” in Hebrew and it is where we get the name “Jew “ and “Jewish” in English. The book contrasts what happens to those who disbelieve the Torah, the Scriptures that Jude had. He wants believers to contend for the faith once delivered to the saints (Tzaddikim= the righteous ones) which included Torah observance. Faith is action and action is dead without obedience to God’s commandments. You don’t gain righteousness by keeping commandments. You believe God and that belief is” acted out” by doing what God said to do showing confidence which is what faith means. The first century believers all observed the Torah so that was included in his idea of “the faith” once delivered.
It has always been a part of “The Faith.” He then goes on to describe what happened to the angels who rebelled against God and how they are in darkness (power of their sin) and they will be judged someday. Sodom and Gomorrah is used as an example for those who disobey the Lord. Starting in v 8 he says that with all that evidence available people still revile the Lord. How do you do that today? By saying you don’t have to obey because “it’s been done away with” and “Sabbath has been changed to Sunday” or “I can eat pork and lobster because the Lord has made all foods clean” and all the other false doctrine out there today. False doctrine today is no different than false doctrine in the first century and that’s why I am bringing out examples that apply to us today. Nobody sees their false doctrine as false. But, it is no different than in Jude’s time and that is his point. The false teachers in his day are no different than the ones in Sodom 2000 before him, and no different than what the angels did 2000 years before that.
They may have committed a different sin, but it doesn’t matter. They did not believe. People who keep Sunday, eat pork, celebrate Christmas and neglect the biblical festivals, say the Law has been done away with don’t believe the Lord and it’s just that simple. Even the Messiah they believe in isn’t the one in the Scriptures because they say He is in favor of all of the above. These things are mentioned in v 8 by dreaming. They defile the flesh and reject authority (God’s word) and angelic majesties (the things belonging to God) by rejecting what it has said about keeping the commandments. Now, with all that in mind we come to your verse. This story is not mentioned anywhere in scripture. It may have been around in some form in other 1st century writings and is loosely found in others, but the Law and the Prophets do not have it. To mention things not found in scripture is not unusual. Paul mentions Jannes and Jambres in 1 Tim 3.8 but they are not mentioned in Exodus or anywhere. So what is going on?
This is probably a figurative story to illustrate what he has been saying up to this point. God’s ways will always be opposed by false teachers. The Torah is also known as “Moses” in the New Testament especially. Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses to their destruction. Gen 3.15 says the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman will have a hatred for one another. Satan wants to sit on the “mount of the assembly” (Isa. 14.13) to be worshipped which is the whole point of most theology today that is not Torah based. In Hebrew “mount of the assembly” is “har’moghed” or “armageddon” in English and that is where the devil tries to gather those that follow him (Rev 16.16). So, Michael (who is like God) is symbolic of Yeshua, the seed of the woman. The “body of Moses” is the body of the Torah that the devil has his “disputes” over.
He contested it in the Garden of Eden and has ever since. Jude introduces this story to illustrate that false teacher’s will dispute over Moses, or in keeping of the Law of God, like they always have. They do it today by saying you are “free from the Law” and “the law has been done away with” and so on. There is nothing new under the sun and then the rest of the book goes on to describe these false teachers and why they do it. Anyway, the story in v 9 is used to show that false teachers (devil) will dispute with God (Michael) about keeping the commandments ( the body of Moses) and we should avoid this and to remember what happened in the past when others tried to do this and failed.
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