Only , as the Lord has assigned to each one , as God has called each , let him walk in this way . I give this rule in all of Messiah ’ s communities . Was anyone called when he already had been circumcised ? Let him not make himself uncircumcised . Has anyone been called while uncircumcised ? Let him not allow himself to be circumcised . Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing — but keeping God ’ s commandments matters . Let each one remain in the calling in which he was called . ( 1 Cor . 7:17-20 TLV )
The Scriptures also recount the Zeal of many Jewish believers for the Torah . ( Acts 21:17-20 ) the influence of these passages and more birthed the modern Messianic movement , with Messianic Synagogues full of Jews ( and Gentiles ) celebrating in a markedly Jewish way , through keeping Shabbat , the Feasts , while walking out a new theology and experiencing God through a new form of worship music .
Today we see a bit of a bleaker picture – Congregations with aging leaders closing , a fractionated movement of varying observances and ideas , and a much larger proportion of Gentiles versus Jews within our congregations . Why is this ? Isn ’ t God wanting a remnant of Jewish believers to remain until the coming of the Messiah – when all Israel will be saved ? ( Romans 11 )
I do believe that God is calling us to a |
different |
path |
forward |
during |
this |
season . |
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Extremes Messianic Jewish believers come in all shapes and sizes . I have observed that there are generally two extremes when it comes to Messianic Jewish identity :
1 . The Orthopractic Approach 2 . The Jew in the Pew
I believe that both extremes are sources of our declining witness and fruit in our movement and I propose a life in the Messy Middle .
F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 4 • T I K K U N A M E R I C A R E S T O R E | 1 4