Download The Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations defines Messianic

The Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations defines Messianic Judaism as "a
movement of Jewish congregations and groups committed to Yeshua the
Messiah that embrace the covenantal responsibility of Jewish life and identity
rooted in Torah, expressed in tradition, and renewed and applied in the context of
the New Covenant."
"Jewish life is life in a concrete, historical community. Thus, Messianic Jewish groups
must be fully part of the Jewish people, sharing its history and its covenantal
responsibility as a people chosen by God. At the same time, faith in Yeshua also has a
crucial communal dimension. This faith unites the Messianic Jewish community and the
Christian Church..."[18]
Messianics believe that the first followers of Jesus of Nazareth were called
Nazarenes (in Hebrew, Notzrim; "‫ )"נוצרים‬or simply "Followers of the Way."
Messianic Jews practice their faith in a way they consider to be authentically
Torah-observant and culturally Jewish.
The Messianic Judaism movement of today grew out of the Hebrew-Christian
movement of the 19th century. Hebrew-Christian congregations began to emerge
in England; the first of these was Beni Abraham, in London, which was founded
by forty-one Hebrew-Christians.[19] This led to a more general awareness of their
Jewish identity for Christians with a Jewish background.[20] In 1866, the HebrewChristian Alliance of Great Britain was organized, with branches also existing in
several European countries and the United States. A similar group, The Hebrew
Christian Alliance of America (HCAA), was organized in the U.S. in 1915. The
International Hebrew-Christian Alliance (IHCA) was organized in 1925 (later
becoming the International Messianic Jewish Alliance). Additional groups were
formed during subsequent decades.[21]
Modern Messianic Judaism emerged in the 1960s.[22] A major shift in the
movement occurred when Martin Chernoff became the President of the HCAA
(1971–1975). In June 1973, a motion was made to change the name of the
HCAA to the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America (MJAA) and the name was
officially changed in June 1975. The name change was significant as more than
just a "semantical expression;" as Rausch states, "It represented an evolution in
the thought processes and religious and philosophical outlook toward a more
fervent expression of Jewish identity." [23]
When the movement began to become larger, new organizations such as the
Messianic Israel Alliance and the Coalition of Torah Observant Messianic
Congregations arose. These organizations disagreed with UMJC's stance over
the issue of Gentile observance of the Torah, and whether it is obligatory, or not.
Messianic Jewish theology is the study of God and Scripture from a Messianic
Jewish perspective. Many Messianics affirm the Trinity - creator God, Yeshua the
son who entered human form in accordance with Scripture, and the Holy Spirit being three representations of the same divinity; others leave it deliberately
obscure.
Messianic believers commonly hold the Old Testament to be divinely inspired.
Theologian David H. Stern in his "Jewish New Testament Commentary" argues
that Paul is fully congruent with Messianic Judaism, and that the New Testament
is to be taken by Messianic Jews as the inspired Word of God. This is the
mainstream view within the movement although, as with many religions, there
are several schools of thought. A very few Messianic believers are troubled by
the writings of Paul and may reject his writings, holding them in less esteem than
those of the Gospel writers.
Often, the emphasis is on the idea that the Old Testament is the only scripture
the early believers universally had,[26] and that, except for the recorded words of
Jesus, the New Testament was meant to be an inspired commentary on the Old
Testament. This agrees with non-Jewish views of scripture, and the complete
canon of accepted books is the same as that of the Protestants.
Torah
"Torah" refers to the first five books of the Bible, also called the Pentateuch,
Books of Moses, or Books of Law. The word translated most commonly as laws
is probably more rightly translated as teachings. The Torah contains the 613 laws
of the Covenant between God and Israel. For Jews, whether they are Messianic
or not, observance is covenantal. For Messianic believers, the Torah is held as
the foundation for "teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,
so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
2Timothy 3:16-17.
Core doctrines
This section lists some of the main beliefs and doctrines present in Messianic
Judaism
1.
God - Messianic Jews believe in God (Adonai of the Bible), and that he is
all-powerful, omni-present, eternal, exists outside of creation, and is
infinitely significant and benevolent. Messianic Jews believe in the Shema
("Shema Means 'hear' and is the quintessential Jewish text from
Dvarim/Deuteronomy 6:4.: 'Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one
LORD' showing the uniqueness of the God of Israel. Israel didn't require
many gods (like harvest gods, fertility gods, fire gods) The God of Israel is
unique and infinite -- He alone is sovereign. The Shema is a confirmation
in Torah that Adonai/God is a compound unity ('echad') not as is
commonly misunderstood.")[34] Many Messianic Jews are open to
trinitarian views of God;[24] some demand strict monotheism.[35]
2.
Yeshua the Messiah - Jesus (Yeshua) of Nazareth, is believed to be the
Jewish Messiah in Messianic Judaism. The mainstream movement
accepts Yeshua (Jesus) as "the Torah (Word) made flesh" (John, 1:14),
and believe he is HaShem.[24][36] Some small offshoots exist outside the
fringe of the movement which deny Jesus's divinity entirely.[37] These
however, are rejected by mainstream Messianic Jews in the same way that
some Christian groups reject groups with differing Christologies, such as
the Jehovah's Witnesses.[38]
3.
Written Torah - Messianics, with few exceptions, consider the written
Torah (Pentateuch), the five books of Moses, to remain fully in force and
they therefore believe that it is a holy covenant, which is to be observed
both morally and ritually, by those who profess faith in God.[39] They
believe that Jesus taught and re-affirmed the Torah, rather than did away
with it.[40]
4.
Israel - It is believed that the Children of Israel were, remain, and will
continue to be the chosen people of the God of Jacob, and are central to
his plans for existence. Virtually all Messianics (whether Jewish or nonJewish) can be said to oppose supersessionism (popularly referred to as
replacement theology), the view that the Church has replaced Israel in the
mind and plans of God.[41]
5.
The Bible - The Tanakh and the Apostolic Writings (sometimes called the
"B’rit Chadasha") are usually considered to be the established and divinely
inspired Biblical scriptures by Messianic Jews.
6.
Biblical eschatology - Most Messianics hold all of the following
eschatological beliefs: the End of Days, the Second Coming of Jesus as
the conquering Messiah, the re-gathering of Israel, a rebuilt Third Temple,
a Resurrection of the Dead (and that Jesus was resurrected after his
death), and the Millennial Sabbath.
7.
Oral Law - Messianic Jewish opinions concerning the “Oral Torah”,
encoded in the Talmud, are varied and sometimes conflicting between
individual congregations. Some congregations believe that adherence to
the Oral Law, as encompassed by the Talmud, is against Messianic beliefs
and outright dangerous.[32] Other congregations are selective in their
applications of Talmudic law.[42][43] Still others encourage a serious
observance of the Jewish Halakha.[44] Virtually all Messianic
congregations and synagogues can be said to believe that the oral
traditions are subservient to the written Torah. It is important to note that
Jesus followed some oral traditions (such as the observance of
Hanukkah), but opposed others.
Additional doctrines
1.
Sin and atonement - Messianics define sin as transgression of the Torah
(Law/Instruction) of God (1 John 3: 4-5). Some adherents continue
practices intended to atone for their sins - usually involving prayer and
rituals relating to repentance—that is, acknowledgment of wrongdoing and
seeking forgiveness for their sins (esp. on Yom Kippur, the Day of
Atonement). Other Messianics disagree with these practices, believing that
all sin (whether committed yet or not) is already atoned for because of
Jesus's death and resurrection.
2.
Faith and works - Messianics draw on Jewish rather than Protestant
tradition. In Hebrew there is one word for both faith and faithfulness:
Emunah. Most adherents to Messianic Judaism believe in a showing of
their faith through righteous works (Jacob 2: 17-26; James 2: 1-26),
defined by the Torah. Few Messianics believe that faith and works are
mutually exclusive or polarized; most believe that faith in God and
righteous works are entirely complementary to each other, and that the
one (faith) naturally leads to the other (works) - much like some Christian
thinking. Some say that righteousness with God is solely by grace through
faith and then acknowledge that works are still very important.
People of God
According to the Jerusalem Council, "the people of Israel are members of the
covenant HaShem made with Avraham, Yitzhak, and Ya'akov. Covenant
membership is extended to converts to Judaism from the nations, as well as to
the descendants of covenant members. Israel is a nation of nations and their
descendants, or more specifically a people group called out from other people
groups to be a people separated unto HaShem for his purposes. HaShem's
promise of covenantal blessings and curses as described in the Torah are unique
to Am Yisrael (People of Israel), and to no other nation or people group. The
bible describes an Israelite as one descended from Ya'akov ben Yitzhak ben
Avraham, or one who has been converted or adopted into that group by either
human or spiritual means." [45]
Jews are those who are born of a Jewish mother or have undergone halakhic
conversion to Judaism. An exception is also made for those born of Jewish
fathers only if the individual claims Jewish identity, similar to the Reform position.
The statement of the Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council on Jewish identity[46]
is often disputed among Messianic believers who either don't find it necessary or
discourage halakhic conversion by believing the Romans 2:29 teaching (that a
"Jew" is not one who is one "outwardly" but is one who is a Jew in his heart).
They also believe that by accepting Jesus into their hearts and confessing that
he is Lord, salvation is received.[47]
Messianic believers from the nations are also considered a part of the People of
God. Depending on their status within various Messianic Jewish groups, such as
the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, an allowance for formal
conversion is made based on their understanding that Messianic converts are not
automatically considered Jewish. The reasoning for this variance is as follows:
While Titus may have been the norm in the epistles, a Gentile not converted to
Judaism, Paul nevertheless made an exception for Timothy, whom he
circumcised and brought under the Covenant, probably because though
Timothy's father was Greek, his mother was Jewish. According to the statement
of the Messianic Jewish Rabbinical Council regarding Conversion,[48] converts to
Judaism do not in any way have a higher status within Messianic Judaism than
the Messianic believers who are considered by the UMJC to still be "Gentiles"
who are attached to their communities.
One Law theology
One Law theology teaches that anyone who is a part of Israel is obligated to
observe the Covenant and its provisions as outlined in the Torah. Dan Juster of
Tikkun, and Russ Resnik of the UMJC, have argued against One Law theology's
insistence on Gentiles being required to observe the entirety of Torah in the
same way Jews are.[49] Tim Hegg from FFOZ responded to their article
defending what he believes to be the biblical teaching of "One Law" theology and
its implications concerning the obligations of Torah obedience by new Messianic
believers from the nations.[50]
Two House Theology
Two House Theology comes from the idea that the "House of Judah" in scripture
refers to Jews, and the "House of Israel" refers to the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, or
Ephraim. Where scripture states the House of Israel and Judah will again be "one
stick" (Ezekiel 37:15-23), it is believed to be referring to the End Times, right
before Yeshua returns, that many of those descended from Israel will come back
to Israel. This theology postulates that the reason why so many so-called gentiles
are coming into Messianic Judaism is that the vast majority of them are really
Israelites and just don't know it yet. They believe a majority of the people who
considered themselves as gentiles coming into Messianic Judaism are those of
the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. Like One Law groups, the Two House movement
appears at first glance to have much in common with Messianic Judaism
because of their belief in the ongoing validity of the Mosaic Covenant. While
much of the Two House teaching is based on interpretations of Biblical prophecy,
the biggest disagreements are due to inability to identify the genealogy of the ten
lost tribes. Organizations such as the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America and
Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations have opposed the Two House
teaching[51] and it continues to be a sensitive issue among Messianic
congregations.