To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date sent: Wed, 4 Apr 2001 12:32:43 -0500
Subject: HF027 - Gentile Christianity
Hebraics,
This is Bible study HF027, entitled 'Gentile Christianity.'
In this study I want to show how westernized Christianity has lost
some of its rich spiritual heritage when it moved away from its
Hebraic moorings. This study draws on an earlier article than I had
written with adaptations that suit it to the time era of this forum. I
hope you enjoy it.
Many Christians are not aware that Christianity began as a form of
Judaism. During the second temple period, which takes in the time of
Christ, there were twenty-four major movements in Judaism. You
might say there were twenty-four Judaisms. After the destruction of the
temple in 70 AD, only two of these movements survived. One evolved into
Rabbinic Judaism. The other movement became what we know as Apostolic
Christianity. Christianity is the true heir of the ancient Messianic faith.
Yet we share a kinship with the Jewish people. Jesus was the
Jewish Messiah. The apostles were Jews. The prophets were
Jews. The Bible of the early Church was Jewish. In fact the Bible
we love is a Jewish document from Genesis to Revelations. (This
is why when Jews read the New Testament, they hear a Jewish voice.)
When Jerusalem was destroyed, a new religion was formed called
Rabbinic Judaism. It had its source in the Pharisees, and became
the religion of the Jewish people who had rejected Jesus Christ. Of
course they continued to believe in a coming Messiah.
The other branch of Judaism took on the name Christian. (Early
Christians were also known as 'Nazarenes.' Cf. Acts 24:5; 24:14;
28:22) In early church persecutions, the persecutions were Jews
persecuting Jews. Christian Jews were accused of being heretics.
After the destruction of Jerusalem, the two newer branches of
Judaism continued with a love- hate relationship. The issue, however,
was that the Christian branch had an atonement in the Messiah.
The Judaists had neither atonement nor temple. It continues that way to
this day.
With the temple gone there was little need for a priesthood in
Israel. The Sadducees passed off the scene. No more blood sacrifices. The
Rabbis were are center stage. This new forum of Judaism was not Biblical
Judaism. It was forced to develop another system to work with.
This is where the Talmud comes from. The Talmuds are based on the
'traditions of the elders' that Jesus so often came against. As for
the other major branch of Judaism, now known as Christianity, a name
change had been foretold by the prophets. (Cf. Isaiah 65:15) Peter the
Jewish apostle, told the new covenant believers never to be ashamed of
their name 'Christian.' (1Pet4:16)
But as Gentiles flooded into the Church, Christianity began to
drift from her Hebraic roots. Greek philosophy began to fill the Church.
And even pagan influences found a haven in the Gentilized Church.
Over time Christianity began centering in Rome, and the Church
continued to take on a strange nature. It should be noted,
however, that there have always been purer forms of Christianity
than that which evolved out of Rome. (Just remember that 'He who
has the votes, writes the history.')
What eventually happened is that the Greek-Latin aberration of
Christianity took the place of the Hebraic form. Darkness began to
overtake much of the Church. Paul warned of this. (Cf. 1Tim4:1-6)
Paul also warned Gentile believers not to boast against the Jewish
branches who were broken off, nor against the Hebraic nature of
the Church. Jesus Himself had said that 'salvation is from the Jews.'
(John 4:22)
Paul explained that Gentile believers are wild olive branches who
have been engrafted into God's cultivated olive tree. This means
that Gentiles were partaking of a completed Messianic-redemptive
faith of the Jews. Paul further says, "For if the Gentiles have
shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to
them in material things." (Rom. 15:27)
It is most likely that the olive tree metaphor speaks of God's
peoples of all ages, although some say it is a reference to
Abraham. The root of the tree would be the true Messianic faith,
which, in turn, would be the source of God's blessings that flow to the
branches. The sole purpose of the root is to provide life and nourishment
for the branches. The branches that were broken off were those Jews who
did not accept Jesus.
So our engraft is into a tree that existed long before New
Testament Christianity. Some like to limit the tree to Israel, but
may not be entirely accurate. It seems the tree existed before
there was an Abraham or Isaac. But since the olive tree is a
metaphor there are many thoughts that can be added to a study
on the olive tree.
The point is that as engrafted branches, we are to take on the
nature of the olive tree, not vice versa. Perhaps it is in this sense
that Gentile believers feel themselves to have Hebrew hearts.
However, we must never forget that in God's salvation code, being
Jew or Gentile is meaningless. And yet all believers are spiritual
descendants of Abraham. Abraham was a Semite. (There were no
Jews at his time. Jews derive their name from the tribe of Judah or
possibly the province of Judea.)
Here are examples of what we have lost from our Hebraic heritage.
Often when Christians read and study the Scriptures, our desire is
to accumulate knowledge. We gather data. We study with
scholastics in mind. In the Biblical-Hebrew tradition, God's people are
taught to study the Scriptures in order to draw near to God.
For the ancient Hebrews the study of Torah was the highest form of
worship. David's Psalm 119 certainly brings this out. It was
through study that a person came to know God in a personal way.
For the Jews who rejected Jesus, the Torah became a closed
book in many senses. This is because Jesus Himself is the living
Word (voice) of God.
Then we have prayer. Oftentime Christians are taught that the more
we pray the more spiritual we become. The stress is on long
prayers. Certainly there is a place for longer prayers, yet in the
Hebrew tradition, long prayers were not that common. In fact,
Jesus rebuked the Scribes and Pharisees over their pretence of
righteousness with the use of long prayers. (Matt23:14)
The ancient Jews were taught that that their whole life was an
offering of prayer. Even their work was to be considered worship.
The Hebraic emphasis is more on short prayers of thankfulness.
(Cf. Matt6:5-13; 1Thess5:16-18)
When Paul says that we should pray without ceasing, he was
speaking as a Jewish man. Our daily life should to be a
continuous activity of short prayers filled with thanksgivings.
Then there is dualism. Some Greeks felt that anything of the
material world was evil. When Paul said that in his flesh dwelt no
good thing, he was not calling his body evil. He was saying that
there is a principle of sin in fallen man. The Hebrew writers refer to
this as 'the evil impulse,' or 'yetzer haRa.'
Actually we should learn to rejoice in our humanity. Humans were
created as very special creatures.
But with the Greeks the highest form of spirituality was often
to enter into a monastic form of living. Monasticism comes from a root
word which means 'to be alone.' What did God say about aloneness?
He said it wasn't good. (Cf. Gen2:18)
One of the Latin fathers went so far as to say that when a man and
his wife have conjugal relations the Holy Spirit leaves the bedroom.
It was this thinking that contributed to the celibate priesthood.
Nowhere does the Bible teach that a celibate lifestyle is particularly
spiritual. Actually it teaches the opposite.
The Bible affirms the goodness of marriage and the family. A Biblical
requirement of a Christian pastor is that he be married. Among the
ancient people, a man was given no official voice in the community
until he was married.
In comparison, in the Hebrew culture the act of love in marriage
was considered both sacred and joyful. Love in marriage allows a
couple to express their gift of maleness and femaleness. If you
don't think God wants us to celebrate the romantic side of
marriage, read the Song of Solomon. Because of our western
mindset this book can be embarrassing. (Cf. Prov5:15-20; Ecc;9:9;
Heb 13:4.)
There is a final caution to be noted. In our search for roots, we
should not reject everything that is not Hebraic. The Lord never
intended Christianity to be another Jewish religion. It was designed
to be multi-cultural. And neither should we get on a Jewish lust trip.
No person is ever closer to God than being in Christ Jesus. We should
rejoice in the diversity and beauty of Christianity while we seek
to learn more about our true Biblical heritage.
There is much more to be said about our Hebraic heritage.
The study is open for questions and/or observations.
Shalom in Christ,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org