hebrew roots – The Messianic Walk

Don’t Share That! Avoiding Messianic Misinformation in the Age of YouTube

Don’t Share That! Avoiding Messianic Misinformation in the Age of YouTube

By judahgabriel on March 5, 2021

So many of my Messianic and Christian friends are caught up in conspiracy theories, pseudo-medical woo, and various garbage by some rando they found on YouTube. That garbage then spills over into their Facebook pages.

If God’s people care about truth, we must do better.

In this new podcast episode, John McKee and I discuss some examples of hot garbage being shared — real examples taken from Facebook profiles of believers. (It’s gross and embarrassing!)

We talk about the damage this causes the body of Messiah: it hurts our credibility, destroys our witness about Yeshua, produces no good fruit, and entangles us in conspiracies often rooted in anti-Semitism.

Finally, we talk about some actionable steps you can do to avoid misinformation and be a person of truth: be slow to speak (James 1), prefer to keep quiet when uncertain (Prov 17), look for credible sources, avoid sensationalism, check with experts in the subject matter before posting, watch out for confirmation bias, beware of “all spirit, no brain” types, focus on Yeshua over conspiracy theories.

“But Judah, I’m a watchman and I want THE TRUTH”

If it’s the truth you want, friends, go back to Yeshua and focus on Him. He said, “I am the truth.” Refocus on Yeshua and building Yeshua’s kingdom. Devote your energy to doing the things Yeshua told us to do: helping widows and orphans, helping the poor, clothing the naked, visiting people in prison, feeding the hungry, caring for the sick. This will produce far more good fruit for the Lord than posting on Facebook about the latest conspiracy theories and faux-medical woo.

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Messianic Jewish Problems with Hebrew Roots

Messianic Jewish Problems with Hebrew Roots

By judahgabriel on December 24, 2020

John 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:

One-Law Rigidity – dogmatism around the idea that non-Jews must follow the Torah in the same way that Jews do
Two-House identity – which claims many or most non-Jews in the Messianic movement are actually descendants of the lost 10 tribes of Israel
Sacred Name Onlyism – the idea that you must pronounce God’s divine name, יהוה, and must never use circumlocutions like “Lord”, “God”, or even “Adonai” or “Elohim.”
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 — via a Big Tent kind of Messianic movement. Enjoy!

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Tackling Romans for Messianic Believers

Tackling Romans for Messianic Believers

By judahgabriel on October 12, 2020

In this new podcast, John and Judah tackle issues relevant to Messianic believers in the book of Romans.

Specifically,

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?
Paul speak 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?
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?
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?
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?

Tune in to hear the discussion of these difficult matters of walking out the Bible in the modern Messianic movement.