Messianic Q&A

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Sapphire
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Messianic Q&A

Post by Sapphire »

Might as well do this too.

We believe:
1. . . that the Bible, composed of both the Tenach (Old Testament) and the Brit Chadasha (New Testament), are the only infallible and authoritative Word of G-d as expressed in 2 Timothy 3:16.

2. . . that G-d is 'Echad' (one), as declared in Deut. 6:4 (Shema Yisrael, Adonai Elohenu, Adonai echad), a united one or 'compound unity eternally existent in three persons' as expressed in Isaiah 48:16-17, 9:6-7;
Genesis 1:1-3.

3. . . in the deity of Yeshua Ha Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah), hereafter referred to as Yeshua, and that He is the 'seed of the woman' as G-d promised in Genesis 3:15 and that His virgin birth was to be a sign to Israel of His Messiahship as stated in Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6-7.

4. . . in Yeshua's life, His miracles yesterday and today, His vicarious and sacrificial death as our atonement, His ascension, His personal future return for believers in Yeshua both living and passed on, and His future establishment of His kingdom on earth.

5. . . that the only means of being cleansed from sin is by grace, through faith in the shed sacrificial blood of Yeshua and that the regeneration by the Spirit of G-d is absolutely essential for personal salvation, as expressed in Leviticus 17:11 and Ephesians 2:8.

6. . . in the present ministry of the Ruach Ha Kodesh (Holy Spirit), hereinafter referred to as Ruach, by whose indwelling the believer is enabled to live a G-dly life, as stated in Ezekiel 36:26-27.

7. . . that the promise of the Father, as outlined in Acts 1:4-8, and the gifts of the Ruach Ha Kodesh, as foretold by the Jewish prophets (Joel 12:27-29; Isaiah 28:11-12), fulfilled in Acts 10-44-48, and as taught by the anointed Jewish apostle Shaul (Paul), are for believers today. (1 Corinthians 12:4-10)

8. . . that Jewish people (descendants of Abraham through Isaac, whether through the blood line of the mother or the father) who place their faith in Yeshua as Israel's Messiah have not disowned or separated themselves from their race and their Judaic heritage, but remain sons and daughters of Israel (Romans 2:28-29).

9. . . in the resurrection of both saved and lost, one to everlasting life and the other to eternal separation from G-d, the latter being consigned to a state of everlasting punishment. (Daniel 12:2 and Matthew 25:46)

10. . . that the middle wall of partition which in times past separated Jews and Gentiles has been broken down, the strife between them eradicated by Yeshua Ha Mashiach. (Ephesians 2:12-14)

11. . . that the new covenant body of the Lord is composed of both Jewish and non-Jewish people who have accepted Yeshua as the Promised Redeemer and that now they are to worship together in the house of G-d. (1 Corinthians 12:13 and Hebrews.10:2)

12. . . in the partaking of the communal elements of the matzah (unleavened bread) and the wine, as instituted by Yeshua at His last Pesach seder, and that the elements are symbolic of the Messiah's death and as the ultimate Pesach lamb and His resurrection.
(1 Corinthians 11:23-24)

13. . . in the immersion of believers (Tevillah) as commanded by the scriptures as an outward sign of an inward redemption experience, symbolizing the death of the old flesh and the resurrection unto the newness of life. (Matthew 3:16 and 28:18-20)
Basically, Messianics are a mix of Jewish and non-Jewish believers in Jesus who also appreciate and want to learn more about the Hebrew roots of Christianity. We meet on Saturdays because we believe that is the actual Sabbath day. (I do not speak for every single Messianic person, but I myself and other Messianics out there do not judge Christians who attend church on Sundays or do other things that may be a little different than from what we do.)

If you have any questions, just ask, and I will try my best to answer them.
"Some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again." ― C.S. Lewis
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John Chrysostom
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Post by John Chrysostom »

So during your time as a Messianic what have you discovered about the Hebrew roots of Christianity?

Are you associated with Jew for Jesus at all?

Is there some kind of overarching authority structure for Messianic churches or is each one autonomous?

What are your services like? Are they similar to Jewish services?
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Post by DanP740 »

Why is God spelled G-d in that quote?
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Post by ric »

Do the majority of Messianics you know follow the dietary laws?
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Post by Sapphire »

Ayn Rand wrote:So during your time as a Messianic what have you discovered about the Hebrew roots of Christianity?

Are you associated with Jew for Jesus at all?

Is there some kind of overarching authority structure for Messianic churches or is each one autonomous?

What are your services like? Are they similar to Jewish services?
I have learned many things. For instance, I have discovered that Jesus was probably born around Sukkot (sometime in autumn). We have learned the importance of the Biblical Jewish holidays. There is so many more things, but I can't think of anymore at the moment...

We are not associated with Jews for Jesus, but we do give to their ministry.

There isn't really an authority structure. Each Messianic church is different, but still similar to the rest of them.

For my congregation, we do liturgy, a Torah service, praise and worship, and a sermon. The Torah service is somewhat similar to Jewish services, however during that time we also read from the New Testament. During praise and worship, we have dancers dancing very Israeli dances. Some of the liturgy is spoken in Hebrew.
DanP740 wrote:Why is God spelled G-d in that quote?
In the Old Testament days, the Hebrew people were not allowed to say God's name or spell the whole name out. So, they spelled it that way. I think now it is used out of respect for the Jews who are not Christians.
Pip wrote:Do the majority of Messianics you know follow the dietary laws?
Yes, the majority of them do. However, most of us do not look down or judge people who do not follow them. Also, most of us aren't super kosher. We just stay away from shrimp, pork, crab, etc. It is almost impossible to be absolutely kosher in today's world because so many foods are made with pork enzymes and whatnot.
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John Chrysostom
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Post by John Chrysostom »

What kind of liturgy do you use? Do you know if it is similar to Catholic or Eastern Orthodox liturgy?

Do you have pastors or priests?

Would you consider yourself Protestant or?
Last edited by John Chrysostom on Sat Feb 11, 2012 9:37 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Lee »

How do you feel about the wearing of jewelry?

Briefly describe your standards for the way women are to dress. ;) That would be interesting. :)
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Post by Sapphire »

Ayn Rand wrote:What kind of liturgy do you use? Do you know if it is similar to Catholic or Eastern Orthodox liturgy?

Do you have pastors or priests?

Would you consider yourself Protestant or?
We basically use Bible verses or liturgy that is based on the Bible. We recite them in both Hebrew and English. We also say the Shema. I don't know if it is similar to those kinds of churches. I don't think so, but I wouldn't know for sure.

We have rabbis.

Messianics are really a group of themselves...But, if we had to choose, I think we could be Protestant.
Lee wrote:How do you feel about the wearing of jewelry?

Briefly describe your standards for the way women are to dress. ;) That would be interesting. :)
We're completely fine with jewelry.

The standards for a woman's attire varies. It is more up the the individual. Since Messianic congregations have Jewish believers there, we tend to be a bit more liberal. So, Messianics still try to dress modestly, but we probably accept clothing that other churches may not.
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Post by John Chrysostom »

You talked earlier about the Hebrew roots of Christianity. How do the Messianics identify with or relate to the Early Church?
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Post by Whitty Whit »

I'm sorry, but when you quoted all of that, it just seems to cumbersome, so I didn't read it. I'm not trying to be ignorant or anything. :P Edit: I have now read the quote box.

How do you view people who don't believe the same as you? Are they sinners? If you are saved, and if someone doesn't follow the Messianic views, would you view them as saved if they truly are saved? Does that make sense?
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Post by American Eagle »

Would you marry someone who's not Messianic? What if they're Baptist? Catholic? Jewish? Islamic?
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Post by Sapphire »

Ayn Rand wrote:You talked earlier about the Hebrew roots of Christianity. How do the Messianics identify with or relate to the Early Church?
The very Early Church was actually filled with a mix of Jews and Gentile Christians, but somewhere along the line, the Jewish believers began to greatly reduce. Sometime after that, the churches began to persecute and kill the Jewish people because they were not Christians. So, there is some hurt there for some Jewish Messianics. I believe that most of them have forgiven the churches, but they haven't forgotten.
Quackie wrote:I'm sorry, but when you quoted all of that, it just seems to cumbersome, so I didn't read it. I'm not trying to be ignorant or anything. :P Edit: I have now read the quote box.

How do you view people who don't believe the same as you? Are they sinners? If you are saved, and if someone doesn't follow the Messianic views, would you view them as saved if they truly are saved? Does that make sense?
Oh no! Not at all. If they believe in Jesus and love Him, then they are truly saved.
American Eagle wrote:Would you marry someone who's not Messianic? What if they're Baptist? Catholic? Jewish? Islamic?
Yes, I would, but he would half to love God with all of his heart. For me personally, I would rather marry a non-Messianic than a Messianic.
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Post by Whitty Whit »

Sapphire wrote:Yes, I would, but he would half to love God with all of his heart. For me personally, I would rather marry a non-Messianic than a Messianic.
Would other more hardcore (not to say your aren't or anything, but I'm saying people who are like... extreme) Messianics object to your marriage if you married a non-Messianic?
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Post by Sapphire »

Quackie wrote:
Sapphire wrote:Yes, I would, but he would half to love God with all of his heart. For me personally, I would rather marry a non-Messianic than a Messianic.
Would other more hardcore (not to say your aren't or anything, but I'm saying people who are like... extreme) Messianics object to your marriage if you married a non-Messianic?
Perhaps some would, but they wouldn't consider it a sin.
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Post by John Chrysostom »

Some follow up questions about the marrying a non-Messianic.

Would marry someone who was Jewish or Muslim?

If you did marry someone of another religion or of a different Christian denomination would you still want to go to Messianic services or would you go to your spouses services?
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Post by Sapphire »

Ayn Rand wrote:Some follow up questions about the marrying a non-Messianic.

Would marry someone who was Jewish or Muslim?

If you did marry someone of another religion or of a different Christian denomination would you still want to go to Messianic services or would you go to your spouses services?
I would marry a Jew or Muslim if they were Christians.

I would never marry someone who wasn't a Christian. If they were apart of a different denomination, I would naturally want to go to the Messianic congregation. It depends on which place I would go with him. So, I really can't say which one we would go to. I would be willing to go to a different denomination's church, but I would certainly miss the Messianic church.
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Post by John Chrysostom »

Okay makes sense. To clear up some definitions really quick since there seemed to be some confusion. While Jewish can be used to refer to someone who is ethnically Hebrew but not religiously a follower of Judaism it can also refer to someone who is not ethnically Hebrew but religiously a follower of Judaism. However the same is not true of Muslim, the word Muslim does not refer to any specific people group. Just wanted to clarify that.

Also a question about your Bible, do you use the Masoretic text like Protestants do?
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Post by Sapphire »

Ayn Rand wrote:Okay makes sense. To clear up some definitions really quick since there seemed to be some confusion. While Jewish can be used to refer to someone who is ethnically Hebrew but not religiously a follower of Judaism it can also refer to someone who is not ethnically Hebrew but religiously a follower of Judaism. However the same is not true of Muslim, the word Muslim does not refer to any specific people group. Just wanted to clarify that.

Also a question about your Bible, do you use the Masoretic text like Protestants do?
Okay. Thanks for clearing that up. I think we do use it...
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Post by John Chrysostom »

Do you know how similar your service is to a Jewish service?

Do you think miracles happen in the present age?
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Post by Sapphire »

Ayn Rand wrote:Do you know how similar your service is to a Jewish service?

Do you think miracles happen in the present age?
I am guessing between one third and one half Jewish like. Maybe even only one fourth. And, it's not very Jewish. It's like Jewish with a Christian perspective if you get what I mean...

Yes, we do believe that miracles happen.
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