Podcasts about judaizing

This sermon from Galatians 4 warns against returning to spiritual slavery—whether through idolatry, Judaizing, or man-made traditions—and calls believers to live as mature sons, adopted through Christ, walking in the freedom, worship, and inheritance of the New Covenant.

This Reformed Rookie podcast episode delves into the dangers of false teaching, drawing heavily from Paul's letters to Titus and Timothy. Pastor Anthony discusses the characteristics of false teachers—insubordination, deceit, empty talk, and greed—and their destructive impact on families and the church. He explores specific heresies prevalent in the early church, including Gnosticism and Judaizing legalism, contrasting them with the true gospel of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ alone. The importance of sound doctrine, scriptural authority, and the role of church elders in confronting false teaching are emphasized. The episode also highlights the need for unity in Christ, transcending cultural and racial divisions, using Peter's actions in Galatians 2 as a cautionary tale. The podcast concludes with a call to stand firm on biblical truth and resist the ever-evolving tactics of Satan.00:08:32 - Sound Doctrine & Rebuke03:55 - False Teachers in Crete & Ephesus07:56 - Confronting False Teachers11:28:13 - Characteristics of False Teachers15:08 - Dangers of False Teaching18:06 - True vs. False Christianity21:58 - Early Church Heresies28:03 - Gospel Integrity & Discipline35:05 - Combating False Doctrine38:28 - Silencing False Teachers41:50 - Unity in ChristPodcast: www.ReformedRookie.comPodcast: https://anchor.fm/reformedrookieFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheReformedRookie Twitter: https://twitter.com/NYapologistSemper Reformanda!

A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday in Lent Galatians 4:21-31 by the Rev'd Dr. Matthew Colvin Our epistle lesson this morning comes from Galatians 4. I know that Pastor Bill preached on it just recently, but I would like to look at it too, from a different angle. It is one of the most controversial chapters in the NT, both for its view of Judaism and for its hermeneutical maneuvers. Paul is concerned for Christians in Galatia. The Judaizers were taunting Gentile Christians with the manifest visible superiority of Judaism: its splendid temple; its priesthood; its Torah; all the society's esteem and honor. And against this, what did Christians have to show? They were hiding for fear of the Jews; they were subjected to persecution and arrest; they had been kicked out of the synagogue and subjected to the ban, excommunication. Above all, there was the disgrace of worshipping a criminal who had been killed by the most shameful sort of execution, crucifixion by the Romans. All this was exploited by Paul's enemies in Galatia, the Judaizers or the circumcision party. Their strategy was to exalt themselves by trying to get the Gentiles to envy them - “They zealously court you, but for no good; yes, they want to exclude you, that you may be zealous for them.” – The verb zeloō means both to be zealous and to be jealous. Paul's enemies are behaving like spiteful middle school girls — not like the righteous women of this church, but like the ones I knew when I was in school — trying to exclude a hated rival by social shunning, in order to magnify their own status. To stop them and shut them down, Paul needs to do more than just answer their case logically. He also needs to undermine their ethos; he needs to subvert the system of value that makes their case so plausible at first glance. They are counting on Paul's readers sharing their value system. Paul wants to make sure his readers do not share it. It is a task that he undertakes in many of his letters. In Romans he addresses the Jews as those who “rest on the law, and make your boast in God, and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law.” He is setting forth the Jewish system of value, the grounds of their boasting. And it was a very good grounds for boasting. The longest book in the Bible, Psalm 119, is one continuing paean of praise to the Law, the Torah. It is full of statements like, “I love thy commandments above gold and precious stones” and “The law of thy mouth is dearer unto me than thousands of gold and silver.” But Paul rips this point of boasting away by asking, “Yes, the Law is wonderful — but do you actually obey it?” In Philippians 3, Paul gathers together all the things that he could have been proud of as a Jew: “If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;” That stuff that the Jews think is so valuable? Their circumcision, their membership in one of the two faithful tribes (Benjamin and Judah)? Their zeal, their lawkeeping? It's all worthless. In fact, it's so worthless that I threw it all away. I have something of real value that none of that stuff can give you. In the book of Hebrews, Paul or someone from his circles who thought an awful lot like him has the difficult task of undermining Jewish boasting about the Temple, the priesthood, and the sacrifices — a task that might seem impossible, since these things were instituted by God and everybody knew it. The temple was imposing, gleaming with gold. Paul calls it a “tent”, the sort of makeshift, flimsy structure that you go camping in, and you lie down in it, and there's nothing but a thin layer of cloth between you and the outside, and if it's too windy, the thing is in danger of collapsing; and anyway, it's that way because you're going to take it down and pack it up anyway. That's what he thinks of your fancy temple. Besides, the real temple is in heaven. Your tent is made by human hands; the only Temple worthy of the name is made by God. The priests' ministry was observable; they were dressed in robes; everyone could see their work, and that they had been instituted by God. Paul says, “They keep on dying, which is proof that their work isn't much good. And they have to offer sacrifices for their own sins, not just the people's.” The sacrifices were there for all to see: they had been commanded by God himself. The blood of the sacrifices flowed continually at the temple, on a daily basis. Paul says, “See how they have to do it over and over again? That's because it doesn't really work. They need Jesus. That's the only sacrifice that works, and that's why Jesus only needed to be sacrificed once.” Yes, Paul is a genius at overthrowing his opponents' strongest arguments. He loves to take their most powerful evidence and use it against them. He is a master of rhetorical jujitsu, throwing his opponents to the mat by using the momentum and force of their own attacks. He is like Elijah in the contest with the prophets of Baal, one man against 450, “And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.” In Galatians 4, it is a terribly difficult rhetorical task that Paul faces: his opponents appear to have the Torah, the OT, on their side. It does, after all, command circumcision; it does prohibit the eating of unclean foods; it does tell the stories of Ishmael, Moab, and Ben-Ammi, the ancestors of the rival nations surrounding Israel, all of whom are deprecated as the offspring of incest, slave marriage, or concubinage. These stories account for the origins of the Gentiles around Israel. Israel itself, however, was descended from Isaac, the legitimate son and heir of Abraham. These stories underscore the chosenness of Israel, and the fact that these other nations were not chosen. “Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated” was not just a statement about two sons. It was a statement about two nations: the Edomites and Israel. It says that Israel is the covenant people that God loves, and Edom is not. So it is Paul's opponents, not Paul, who have the easier case to make here: Jewish people are (most of them) descended from Jacob (Israel) and Gentiles are not. And they might have made this case most plainly from the story of Isaac, Abraham's son miraculously conceived by the power of God in Abraham's old age. This is strong rhetorical ground for the circumcision advocates in Galatia. Circumcision is commanded in the Torah for God's people. It is breathtakingly audacious for Paul to argue that a proper understanding of the Torah will lead you to the conclusion that circumcision doesn't matter. Paul calls the Torah a yoke of bondage. I'm not sure we appreciate how bold a move this is. The exodus was Israel's independence day. It's when they came out of slavery in Egypt and became a free nation. Paul says that the circumcizers advocating Torah-obedience in Galatia are like those who wanted to go back to Egypt. It would be like an American saying that the Declaration of Independence is the document in American history that made everyone slaves. But that is what Paul says about the Torah, given on Mount Sinai: that covenant has led to the present state of affairs: Jerusalem that now is, and is in bondage with her children. Now, we know from elsewhere in Paul's letters, especially Romans, that he considered the Law a good gift of God and the reason why the Law was now leading to slavery was because Israel was using it wrongly, not because the Law was bad. The slavery results from Israel's sinfulness, not something wrong with the Law. But here, he doesn't go into that, because he is focused not on the Law as it was given by God, but on the Law as it was used rhetorically by his opponents. You have heard the expression, “He is wrapping himself in the flag”? That is what the Judaizers in Galatia are doing with the Torah: using it as a uniform to distinguish true, Jewish Christians from second-rate, Gentile Christians. And Paul says: You think that you look cool with your bling; but it's really chains to keep you enslaved. Above all, Paul takes the bull by the horns and uses an audacious maneuver to deal with the Judaizers' most powerful weapon: the taunt of illegitimacy. That is the point of the Ishmael story as used by Jews: the Ishmaelites, the Arabs, are illegitimate offspring of Abraham, just as the Moabites and Ammonites were stigmatized as the offspring of Lot's daughters after the destruction of Sodom. Only Jews were the children of Isaac; they had been called into existence by the power of YHWH himself. They were not the product of an ill-conceived attempt at surrogate pregnancy, and with a slave wife. Be aware that the Judaizers have centuries and centuries of social and legal precedent for their view. That line that Paul quotes from Sarah — “Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman” — that was a line that Paul's opponents loved to quote. When Sarah said it to Abraham, she wasn't just being mean. The lawcodes of Ur-Nammu and Lipit-Ishtar, from around the same time as Abraham, contained rules about exactly this sort of situation, and they are formulated with exactly the same sort of phrasing: “If a man has a wife a free woman who has born children to him, and he takes a slave wife and she also bears children to him, the children of the slave wife shall not share in the inheritance with the children of the free wife.” Sarah is saying, “Husband, you know the law from when we lived in Ur. This is what we have to do.” And the heretics in Galatia were taking up this two-thousand year tradition of legal and social stigma against children of slavery, and applying it to Gentile Christians. It's a powerful tool of shaming and social marginalization, and it is based on a very foundational text of the covenant: the story of the birth of Isaac. Both the Judaizers and their Galatian Gentile victims believed this text was the word of God. Both believed that the Jews were descendants of Isaac. Paul knows all this. He has chosen to fight them on their strongest ground; he gives them home field advantage. He pours water so that it fills up the trench. And then he incinerates their whole argument like Elijah. The stigma of illegitimacy? He turns it back on the Judaizers. They are the bastards now, the “children of the flesh”; they are “in bondage” with their slave-mother. The Gentile Galatian Christians? They are “children of the promise.” And just as it was back then, the child of the slave woman is persecuting the child of the promise. The two sons are marked not by their circumcised or uncircumcised status but by the slave/free polarity that distinguishes their mothers. Paul has to reach a little bit here. The LXX Greek translation that Paul used here doesn't actually say, “persecuting”. What the LXX says is that Sarah “saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian who had been born to Abraham playing with her son Isaac (paizonta meta Isaac tou huiou autes).” That's the most straightforward way to take it. But the word “playing” can also mean “mocking”. And that's probably how Paul took it. And then he magnifies it into the sibling rivalry from hell by glossing “mocking” as “persecuting”. Where did he get this from? It is transferred from the situation between the Judaizers and the Gentile Christians in Galatia. By casting the rivalry as a conflict between the flesh and the promise, Paul undercuts the Judaizers' use of the Torah. That is why he says, “These are two covenants” — the boldest piece of clever interpretation in the Bible. It is all part of his rhetorical strategy concerning the Torah that he has laid in the previous chapter, Galatians 3. The two covenants are NOT the Old and the New. They are the Torah covenant and the covenant with Abraham (which turns out to find its fulfillment in Christ). And the covenant with Abraham is more original, more foundational, more important, more primary. The law was added 430 years later. The Torah was a stop-gap measure to keep things under control until the fulfillment of the covenant with Abraham. And for Paul, Gentile Christians are that fulfillment: “in you, all the nations — the ethnê — shall be blessed.” This aligns the Gentile Christians with the whole purpose of the Covenant with Abraham, and means that Paul can cast them as the true children of the promise. They are citizens of the only Jerusalem that counts, the “Jerusalem above”. And by citing the line of Sarah, “cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman”, Paul makes clear what the stakes are here: the Judaizers and those who trust in the Torah to be their badge of membership in the covenant are not merely mistaken. They are Ishmaels and they will not inherit. They will be cast out. The Gentile Christians — and faithful Jewish Christians who did not pressure them to get circumcized — will be counted as true members of the covenant with Abraham, and the Judaizing circumcision-pushers will not. Who are the bastards now? Paul revels in what God has done. It is perfectly in accordance with his way of working: "He catches the wise in their own craftiness, and the counsel of the cunning is brought to a quick end.” (Job 5). The Judaizers have fallen into the pit that they have dug: their taunts of illegitimacy rebound on their own heads; the glory of the title of “true children of Abraham” is wrapped around the Gentile believers whom they had stigmatized. Paul's jujitsu victory is complete and total, because it is the victory of Christ, who led captivity captive and triumphed by being crucified. In the end, Paul's fierce warfare over the Galatians has to do with vindicating the honor of Christ, with proving that He has really accomplished all that Paul says he has; with showing that the covenant with Abraham is truly fulfilled in Jesus, because he is the yes and amen. To go back to the Torah is to turn the clock back and engage in historical reenactment; to live a life of live-action-role-playing instead of reality. It is a costly and foolish attempt to gain privilege and honor by denying the completeness and finality of Jesus' work, and attempting to supplement it with another identity in terms of the Torah. The true Exodus is via Christ, not via the Torah. That is part of the meaning of our gospel lesson this morning from John 6. Here the true bread from heaven, Jesus, works a miraculous feeding like the manna of old. But he does it not in order to cause the crowd to envy his disciples; he has no desire for his followers to act like the Judaizers, zealous courting others to provoke them envy. No, his disciples are to be the means by which the bread of life is given to the multitudes — and the two small fish, symbol of Gentiles and of fishing for men, of the fulfillment of Jeremiah 16:16: “Behold, I am sending for many fishers, declares the Lord, and they shall catch them.” In the end, the nations are to be blessed through the disobedience of Israel. Our time is short, so I will not try to prove this exhaustively, but I want you to see the pattern: Joseph's brothers disobey and sell him into slavery, so that he is carried off to a Gentile land, Egypt, and becomes assimilated to Egyptian ways. But God works it all out so that Joseph's imprisonment in an Egyptian prison works out for the salvation of Joseph's brothers and all Egypt, “to save many alive.” When Jesus touches dead bodies, a woman with a 12 year flow of bleeding that made her unclean, or a leper, what happens? The usual laws of uncleanness work backward: rather than becoming unclean, Jesus makes these people clean. That is the way God has designed the exile of Israel to work: rather than the exiled members of Israel becoming lost and destroyed, they have mingled with the nations and thereby brought it about that in order to keep His promises to Israel, God will save the Gentiles as well. As a result, “In Abraham's seed, all the nations shall be blessed.” Isn't it funny how Satan's schemes always backfire? He is truly the Wile E. Coyote of the Bible. He will have his church be Israel for the sake of the world; thus we are to be true heirs of Abraham, fulfilling the purpose for which He was called. Amen.

Send us a textIf you are interested in the Daily Bible Devotional, you can find it at the links below: Amazon - (paperback, hardcover, and Kindle) Spiritbuilding.com - (premium quality paperback) Youtube Video Introducing the Content Feel free to reach out with any questions: emersonk78@me.com Sponsors:  Jon Cunningham, Owner, Cunningham Financial Group Website:  www.cunninghamfinancialgroup.com    Phone:  205-326-7364 Tyler Cain, Senior Loan Officer, Statewide Mortgage Websites: https://statewidemortgage.com/ https://tylercain.floify.com/ Phone: 813-380-8487We must obey the commandments of Jesus and the principles taught by Him and by His apostles and prophets. We answer to Him, and our salvation and hope is found IN HIM. It is not found anywhere else, not within us, not in men, churches, or movements. Therefore, none of those have the right to make the salvation rule for your life: only Jesus. Colossians 2 warns against Judaizing teachers, and gnostics, trying to implement sectarian and legalistic rules upon the people, teaching extreme conservatism as some form of holiness. But they had no right. Many decisions are yours to weigh, build a conscience around, and make. But, this freedom must be wielded with care. There are a couple of important laws that should govern you, even when you have the biblical right to do something, even when others cannot tell you not to. What are they? Let's dig in on one, the most vital one, today, and come back next week for the second. 

In the face of pressure from the Judaizing sect of the new way of Christianity to have converts to Jesus conform to the Law of Moses, a council is convened at Jerusalem. The conclusion was a temporary compromise whereby Gentiles would only be advised to adhere to a few basic Levitical rules—enough to satisfy the Circumcision Party but not too burdensome for them, and no doubt Paul was satisfied with the irenic decision. The most important point in all this is that grace, not law, is that by which we are saved. Law does not add the finishing touches to the work of the cross. To put it another way, Moses does not compete what Jesus begins. The Mosaic Law and Ten Commandments have therefore nothing to do with the believer or the sinners to whom the gospel is preached.

(Galatians 2:16-20) Fr. Anthony kept close to his notes this week so as to avoid last week's “hostage situation.” He addressed the temptation to recreate the Old Testament Law using The Way of Orthodoxy. This would be similar to the Judaizing and Babelizing temptation he warned against last week. Enjoy the show!

Galatians 6:11-18. In today's episode, Fr. Anthony jokes that this homily might get him fired. He drew on St. John Chrysostom's homily on these verses to make the case that what Circumcision is to Judaizing, Nationalism is to Babel. Both the Jewish law AND the division of people into nations have lost their justification thanks to the Incarnation and Pentecost. (Note: both Judaizing and ethnophylatism are heresies). Even though his point could have been made in half the time, and he gets lost in the weeds a few times, he made some important points, glory to God!  Enjoy the show!

This is an attempt to try to capture some of the richness of Passover and bring elements of this into the meal that has now become known as Communion. It's important to know some of the theology that existed around the first century and how Passover spoke into that - as it helps us understand how Jesus inserts himself into this thinking. But, we do this without overly Judaizing the whole thing too! As a result, this episode offers an understanding of things without overstating all the various details that others have dedicated entire volumes to over the years! Hopefully it sums things up in a helpful way for you!

Paul expressed his deep concern that the Galatians were being persuaded by Judaizing error (cf. Galatians 4). He demonstrated the irony in such by showing their decision to turn to the Old Law put them right back where they were before Christ. Spiritual power and riches are only in Christ, not in physical things.

One's identity frequently serves as a cornerstone for one's sense of belonging, often intertwined with their traditions and heritage. The case of Iberian Jews compelled to convert to Christianity, underscores their remarkable duality and resilience required to uphold their traditions and beliefs. These covert observances, deemed as Judaizing, were punishable by severe penalties, including execution by Inquisitional authorities in Spain and Portugal. The legacy of these Crypto-Jews persists in their descendants to this day.

The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!Whatever the origins of our English word Easter — and they are apparently too ancient and complicated to trace with certainty, even for Encyclopedia Brittanica — Easter has come to function for us today as a two-syllable designation for “Resurrection Sunday.” That's six syllables down to two.Easter is the highest day in the church calendar, the one Sunday that we specially celebrate the reality which we seek to live in light of every day of the year: that Jesus, the eternal Son of God, who lived on earth in full humanity, and died on the cross on Good Friday, rose again bodily, on Sunday morning.And this Easter we find ourselves at the halfway point of Philippians. In meditating on these verses, with Easter in view, I've paused over this word safe in verse 1. What does Paul mean that his “writ[ing] the same things . . . is safe”?As I was pondering Easter safety this week, I started seeing the word everywhere. Apparently, we are a people very conscious of safety, and very interested in safety, and perhaps hardly realize how much. In the news just this week was more of the Boeing “safety crisis.” And I saw headlines that read, “Eclipse safety: NYS task force has been working since 2022 to prepare for April 8”, “Senators say Meta's Zuckerberg is slow-walking child safety inquiries.”And I found appeals to safety in my own inbox: The city of Minneapolis directed me to get an HVAC “safety check” as part of a home inspection. I saw a message from SportsEngine with the call to action: “Keep your athlete safe.” And I received unwanted marketing emails that offered the option to “Safely Unsubscribe” (in small print at bottom).Some of our constant pursuit of safety is, of course, shallow and misguided and overly fearful. Our modern lives can be filled with petty and disordered desires for safety. And at the same time, there are wise, holy, reasonable desires for safety. That's what Paul appeals to in verse 1:“Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.”Easter JoyBefore we focus on “Easter safety,” which will be our theme this morning, let me first say something about “Finally” at the beginning of verse 1. I know there's a preacher joke here. “Just like a preacher! Paul says ‘Finally' when he's only halfway done!”However, this “finally” is actually a loose connecting phrase that can mean “finally” in some contexts, but in others, it can be “so then” or “in addition” or “above all.” The key here is that Paul just mentioned joy and rejoicing in 2:28–29. And before then, he mentioned gladness and rejoicing, twice each, in 2:17–18. And before that, he made a double mention of his own rejoicing in 1:18. Have you noticed how often Paul not only talks about joy in Philippians, but does it in pairs? We'll see it again in 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” It's like he just can't say it enough. To say it just once doesn't seem to do it. He needs to say it again.And Paul is aware of how often he's talking about rejoicing, and doing so in pairs, and so after saying “rejoice in the Lord” in 3:1, he adds a little bit of a defense for it. He wants his readers to know he's aware he might sound like a broken record, but he means it, in the best of ways. He's not being lazy, or simple-minded. He doesn't want to bore them, but to help them, to make them safe. He overcomes whatever dislike or distaste he might have for obvious repetition, and says, “To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you.”It's safe to keep saying, Rejoice in the Lord. It's for your good. You can't overdo rejoicing in the Lord. Now, you can underdo all sorts of other things, while rejoicing in the Lord. You can underdo sorrow and grieving. You can underdo seriousness and playfulness. And you can overdo all those. You can overdo all sorts of good things. But joy in Christ, rightly understood, truly experienced, you cannot overdo. You cannot overdo rejoicing in Jesus.Three SafetiesOur question this morning on Easter is, Safe from what? What does Easter joy, the double joy, repeated joy, the great joy of the resurrection of Jesus, which is the beating heart of the joy of Christianity, what does joy in the risen Christ give safety from and how?I see three threats in these verses, and so three safeties for us in the Easter joy of rejoicing in the risen Christ.1) Easter joy gives us safety from foes.To be clear, foes, or opponents (1:28), in and of themselves, are the least concern of these three threats. Still real, but the least troubling on their own. So, Paul says in verse 2:“Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.”So, who are these “dogs” nipping at the Philippians' heels?My family and good friends will tell you I'm not a dog person. I recognize that many of you are dog people. I can respect that — to a degree. Sometimes when dogs come up, I like to say, with a smile, “Well, you know what the Bible says about dogs, don't you?”Let's just say the picture is very negative — but it does have a twist. Dogs were the scum of ancient cities. They were unclean and nasty, like we think of rats today. Dogs would devour dead flesh and lick up spilled blood. And perhaps related to this, the Jews came to associate “Gentiles” (non-Jews) with dogs. Gentiles were unclean, according to the old covenant; they were outsiders. You may recall Jesus's interaction with the Canaanite (Gentile) woman in Matthew 15 (and Mark 7), where he says, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. . . . It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs” — the Gentiles.For Paul, there is an insightful irony in calling these foes “dogs,” because they presume that they are the insiders, and that Gentiles, like the Philippians and us, are the outsiders. We're the dogs, unclean and unsafe, they think — unless we add old-covenant law-keeping (marked by circumcision) to faith in Jesus.We call these opponents “Judaizers.” They tried to Judaize Christianity; they tried to put Christ-believing Gentiles back under old-covenant Judaism, rather than letting them just be Gentile Christians in the new covenant without the baggage of the previous era. These Judaizers went around telling Gentile Christians that, essentially, they needed to become Jews physically in order to be truly saved, and safe. And these Judaizers often dogged Paul's ministry. They followed him around. After he'd bring the gospel to Gentiles, and move on to the next town, they'd sweep in and try to get new Gentile Christians to think they needed to add Judaism to their faith.So, when Paul calls them “dogs,” he's not aiming to insult them but to use instructive irony for the sake of his readers. He's turning the tables to make the point that believing Gentiles are actually the true Jews (spiritually), and these Judaizers have become the new Gentiles, the outsiders, the dogs. Now Christ has come, and been raised, and inaugurated a new covenant. With Easter Sunday, old is gone; behold, new has come. And these Judaizing foes might think of themselves as doing good works, according to the old covenant, but in fact they are “evil workers.” In trying to circumcise Gentile flesh in obedience to the old covenant, they are, in fact, mutilators of the flesh. They have missed how Good Friday and Easter have remade the world.So, how does Easter joy, rejoicing in the risen Christ, make us safe from such foes, these and a thousand others? Specifically, rejoicing in the real Jesus fortifies our souls against trying to add anything to the grounds of our rejoicing. In rejoicing in him — in who he is, in what he accomplished for us at the cross, in his rising back to life, and in that he is alive today and our living Lord on the throne of the universe — we come to know a fullness of joy that will not be flanked or supplemented by anything else. Being satisfied in the risen Christ keeps us from being deceived by other shallow appeals to joy, and keeps us from temptations to try to add to him.Rejoicing in Jesus is practical. Are you seeking to rejoice in him? Do you aim at this, and pray for this? When you open the Bible? When you pray? When you gather with fellow Christians, and when we come to worship together on Sunday mornings, and when you go to work, and when you live the rest of life, are you seeking to rejoice, to be satisfied, to be happy in the risen Christ?So, Easter joy gives us safety from foes.2) Easter joy gives us safety from our own flesh.This is a greater concern — the danger of self-ruin, the threat of our own sinful hearts, various habits and patterns that would lead us to trust in ourselves for salvation. Or, we might say, the way that foes are a real threat to our souls is through our own sin. Foes harm us by deception. Then, being deceived, we move to trust in ourselves. Verse 3:“For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh.”Remember from verse 2 these Judaizing foes — who claim to be God's true people, his Israel, the circumcision — they are actually the dogs, the new Gentile outsiders. Because, Paul says, in verse 3, with emphasis, we are the circumcision. We Christians, both Jews like Paul and Gentiles like the Philippians, who — and this is such an important “who” with the sequence that follows. Here we get to the heart of the Christian life, which is the human heart. Oh get this clear on Easter Sunday. Get this heart. Get what it means to be God's new-covenant people. Circumcision of the flesh is not what makes and defines us. Human deeds and efforts and abilities do not make us and define us. Rather, what circumcision of the flesh had been pointing to all along is circumcision of the heart. That is, a new heart, new desires. A born-again soul. New creation in you. God opens the eyes of your soul to the wonder of his risen Son. He changes your heart to marvel at Jesus and rejoice in him. So, here in verse 3 we get three marks of what it means to really be a Christian.One, we “worship (live, walk, serve) by the Spirit of God.” That is, God has put his own Spirit in us. He dwells in us. We have the Holy Spirit. Can you believe that? If you are in Christ, you have the Holy Spirit. God himself, in his Spirit, somehow “dwells in” you. We saw it in 2:13: “it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” What power against sin! What power to rejoice in the risen Christ! What power for taking the initiative to love and serve others and gladly do what Christ calls us to do. The risen Christ has poured out his Spirit, and ushered in a new era of history following Easter. Now, God's people are no longer under the tutelage of the old-covenant law, but have his own Spirit at work in us. We do not worship and live in the old era but in the new, with God's own Spirit dwelling in us.And so, two, we “glory in Christ Jesus.” Which is more joy language, but elevated. “Glory” is literally “boast” — we boast in Christ Jesus. “Boasting” is tricky in English because it has negative connotations. So the ESV translates it “glory” (as in 1:26). What makes boasting, or glorying, good or bad is its object. And so we boast, The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!True Christians are those who glory in Christ Jesus as the sole grounds of our full acceptance with God. So, when someone asks, How do I get right with God? Or, how can I be truly safe — not in the little trivialities of this life but forever? We boast in Christ. “On my own, I'm ruined. But I glory in the risen Christ. I boast in the one who died for me and rose again. He is worthy. I glory in him!”So, “boasting” or “glorying” is stronger language for the rejoicing of verse 1. This is Easter joy. This is double joy. This is joy intensified, joy magnified, joy heightened, joy expanded, joy enriched, joy elevated, joy resurrected.Which means, third, by contrast, Christians are people who “put no confidence in the flesh.” We boast in the risen Christ, not self, for ultimate safety. And if you wonder what “flesh” means here, Paul will make it clear in verses 4–6, as we'll see next week. In sum: putting “no confidence in the flesh” means not trusting in ourselves or any mere human effort or energy to get and keep us right with God. Not any privilege of our birth, nor any natural ability, nor hard work, nor achievement, nor human wisdom — nothing in us or related to us, whether who we are or what we've done. Rather, we glory in Jesus.Which leads then to one last safety that's implicit beneath the first two. So, Easter joy gives us safety from foes and from our own flesh, and . . .3) Easter joy gives us safety from God's righteous fury against our sin.This is the greatest threat of all: omnipotent wrath. The offense of our sin against the holy God is the final danger beneath the other dangers. The reason foes could be a danger is they might deceive us to put confidence in ourselves and our actions. And the reason putting confidence in ourselves is a danger is that this discounts the depth of our sin and leaves us unshielded, unsafe before the righteous justice of God against our rebellion.When Paul says that rejoicing in the Lord “is safe for you,” what's at bottom is ultimate safety, final safety, eternal safety, safety of soul, safety from the divine justice that our sin deserves.But Easter joy keeps us safe from the righteous fury we deserve, because rejoicing in the risen Christ is the way we take cover in the Son of God who came, and died, and was raised, to deal with our sin and usher us safely with him into the very presence of God. You might put it this way: the safest soul in all the universe is the one that rejoices in the risen Christ.Rejoicing in the Lord is a place of great safety, shielded from every real threat, even the greatest. God will not destroy those who delight in him. Delight in him is a stronghold (Nehemiah 8:10), a fortress, a safe place, because God always preserves those who delight in him.So, Cities Church, rejoice in the risen Christ! To say it again is no trouble for me, and safe for you. The Lord is risen! The Lord is risen indeed!Seeds of Joy at the TableAs we come to the Table, let's address a question some of us have on a high feast day like Easter, and in a book like Philippians that accents the importance of rejoicing in the Lord. What if you're not feeling it? What if you don't feel happy in the risen Christ? Perhaps you want to rejoice in Jesus, you want to glory in him, but you're a sinner, your heart's not where you want it to be. One answer, among others, is this Table.This Table is not only for those who are boiling over with Easter delight, overflowing with joy in Jesus. It's also for those who feel their hearts to be sluggish, and know they're not rejoicing in the Lord like they want to, or like they should. And yet, in the ache of that desire is the seed of joy. In the longing. In the wanting is the seed of Easter joy that we come to nourish and strengthen at this Table.If you would say with us this morning, “I claim the risen Christ. However high or low my rejoicing, I know myself undeserving. I put no confidence in my flesh. But I do put my confidence, for final safety, in the risen Christ.” Then we would have you eat and drink with us, for joy.

Judaizing has been a problem in the Church from the beginning. Even St. Peter fell prey to the Judaizers and their attempt to import into Christianity the false beliefs of Judaism. Today, Judaizing takes a number of forms. In this episode, we will cover circumcision, the use of “Yahweh” (and “Yeshua”), and several related matters. As Christians, we must always ask ourselves both what the source of the thing is and what the purpose of the thing is. When it comes to Judaizing, the source is not God and the purpose is from Satan. The Jews do not have a special relationship with God or even any relationship with God, because they rejected His Son, and the Word of Scripture is clear: No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Why would we, as Christians, who have the Son by Faith, ask the Jews, who reject the Son and therefore do not have the Father, anything about religion? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes “Circumcision's Psychological Damage” — one article among many Twitter Thread on “Yahweh” If you do not have Twitter, click here. See Also Old Lutheran Synod: “Do You Renounce Jewish Unbelief and Blasphemy?” The old baptismal rite of the LCMS, which included explicit renunciation of certain, enumerated heresies, including Judaism. Further Reading Parental Warnings We have a frank discussion about circumcision, including some technically ‘explicit' language, in this episode — you may wish to screen it before listening to it with your children.

In this episode of EMJ Live, Dr. Jones goes into detail about Ron DeSantis and his Judaizing being the ultimate cause of his political demise. Dr. E. Michael Jones is a prolific Catholic writer, lecturer, journalist, and Editor of Culture Wars Magazine who seeks to defend traditional Catholic teachings and values from those seeking to undermine them. REC 11-10-2023 ——— NOW AVAILABLE! The Holocaust Narrative: https://www.fidelitypress.org/the-holocaust-narrative E. Michael Jones Books: https://www.fidelitypress.org/ Subscribe to Culture Wars Magazine: https://www.culturewars.com Donate: https://culturewars.com/donate Follow E. Michael Jones: https://culturewars.com/links

The rise of Christian nationalism, first in England and then in the United States, has always been linked to Christian Zionism, which is now killing Palestinians, including Palestinian Christians. Ironically this is linked to Romans 11, where Paul sets forth the purposes of Israel to Christ, and refutes any eternalizing importance of the law or of ethnic Israel. Become a Patron! If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider donating to support our work.

Today's program: ITW Season 5 Ep# 882: Galatians 1:11-2:10 - Paul Shares His Personal Testimony Of Conversion To Faith In Jesus & Of His Defense Against The Judaizing Heresy. Join us today at www.IntoTheWord2020.com or via your favorite podcast platform. Distributed by www.ReSermon.com.

Today's program: ITW Season 5 Ep# 881: Galatians 1:1-16 - Paul Is Shocked That Some Of The Galatians Have Caved To The Heresy Of Judaizing. Join us today at www.IntoTheWord2020.com or via your favorite podcast platform. Distributed by www.ReSermon.com.

Today's program: ITW Season 5 Ep# 881: Galatians 1:1-16 - Paul Is Shocked That Some Of The Galatians Have Caved To The Heresy Of Judaizing. Join us today at www.IntoTheWord2020.com or via your favorite podcast platform. Distributed by www.ReSermon.com.

Today's program: ITW Season 5 Ep# 879: Acts 15:22-41 - The Inspired Letter Of Response To The Heresy Of Judaizing Delivered To Antioch, Syria. Join us today at www.IntoTheWord2020.com or via your favorite podcast platform. Distributed by www.ReSermon.com.

Today's program: ITW Season 5 Ep# 878: Acts 15:13-29 - The Jerusalem Decree Regarding The Heresy Of Judaizing. Join us today at www.IntoTheWord2020.com or via your favorite podcast platform. Distributed by www.ReSermon.com.

Today's program: ITW Season 5 Ep# 877: Acts 15:5-20; Galatians 2:1-10 - The Apostolic Leadership Response To The Heresy Of Judaizing. Join us today at www.IntoTheWord2020.com or via your favorite podcast platform. Distributed by www.ReSermon.com.

I have the ebook on Amazon, but I am going to publish the audio/video of the book here. This writing is made up of 8 Lectures given by F W Grant. The Prophetic History of the Church or, "Some evils which afflict Christendom and their remedy, as depicted by the Lord's own words to the seven churches." (Rev. 2 and 3.) by F. W. Grant. New York: Loizeaux Brothers, Bible Truth Depot, 63 Fourth Avenue. Lecture 1. Spiritual Decline and the Judaizing of the Church Lecture 2. Nicolaitanism or, the Rise and Growth of Clerisy Lecture 3. Establishments, and a Money Basis Lecture 4. The Woman Jezebel, and the Voice of the Church Lecture 5. "Ye have reigned as kings without us." Lecture 6. Sleeping Among the Dead Lecture 7. Christ's Word and His Name Lecture 8. What Brings the Time of His Patience to an End

I have the ebook on Amazon, but I am going to publish the audio/video of the book here. This writing is made up of 8 Lectures given by F W Grant. The Prophetic History of the Church or, "Some evils which afflict Christendom and their remedy, as depicted by the Lord's own words to the seven churches." (Rev. 2 and 3.) by F. W. Grant. New York: Loizeaux Brothers, Bible Truth Depot, 63 Fourth Avenue. Lecture 1. Spiritual Decline and the Judaizing of the Church Lecture 2. Nicolaitanism or, the Rise and Growth of Clerisy Lecture 3. Establishments, and a Money Basis Lecture 4. The Woman Jezebel, and the Voice of the Church Lecture 5. "Ye have reigned as kings without us." Lecture 6. Sleeping Among the Dead Lecture 7. Christ's Word and His Name Lecture 8. What Brings the Time of His Patience to an End

I have the ebook on Amazon, but I am going to publish the audio/video of the book here. This writing is made up of 8 Lectures given by F W Grant. The Prophetic History of the Church or, "Some evils which afflict Christendom and their remedy, as depicted by the Lord's own words to the seven churches." (Rev. 2 and 3.) by F. W. Grant. New York: Loizeaux Brothers, Bible Truth Depot, 63 Fourth Avenue. Lecture 1. Spiritual Decline and the Judaizing of the Church Lecture 2. Nicolaitanism or, the Rise and Growth of Clerisy Lecture 3. Establishments, and a Money Basis Lecture 4. The Woman Jezebel, and the Voice of the Church Lecture 5. "Ye have reigned as kings without us." Lecture 6. Sleeping Among the Dead Lecture 7. Christ's Word and His Name Lecture 8. What Brings the Time of His Patience to an End

I have the ebook on Amazon, but I am going to publish the audio/video of the book here. This writing is made up of 8 Lectures given by F W Grant. The Prophetic History of the Church or, "Some evils which afflict Christendom and their remedy, as depicted by the Lord's own words to the seven churches." (Rev. 2 and 3.) by F. W. Grant. New York: Loizeaux Brothers, Bible Truth Depot, 63 Fourth Avenue. Lecture 1. Spiritual Decline and the Judaizing of the Church Lecture 2. Nicolaitanism or, the Rise and Growth of Clerisy Lecture 3. Establishments, and a Money Basis Lecture 4. The Woman Jezebel, and the Voice of the Church Lecture 5. "Ye have reigned as kings without us." Lecture 6. Sleeping Among the Dead Lecture 7. Christ's Word and His Name Lecture 8. What Brings the Time of His Patience to an End

I have the ebook on Amazon, but I am going to publish the audio/video of the book here. This writing is made up of 8 Lectures given by F W Grant. The Prophetic History of the Church or, "Some evils which afflict Christendom and their remedy, as depicted by the Lord's own words to the seven churches." (Rev. 2 and 3.) by F. W. Grant. New York: Loizeaux Brothers, Bible Truth Depot, 63 Fourth Avenue. Lecture 1. Spiritual Decline and the Judaizing of the Church Lecture 2. Nicolaitanism or, the Rise and Growth of Clerisy Lecture 3. Establishments, and a Money Basis Lecture 4. The Woman Jezebel, and the Voice of the Church Lecture 5. "Ye have reigned as kings without us." Lecture 6. Sleeping Among the Dead Lecture 7. Christ's Word and His Name Lecture 8. What Brings the Time of His Patience to an End

I have the ebook on Amazon, but I am going to publish the audio/video of the book here. This writing is made up of 8 Lectures given by F W Grant. The Prophetic History of the Church or, "Some evils which afflict Christendom and their remedy, as depicted by the Lord's own words to the seven churches." (Rev. 2 and 3.) by F. W. Grant. New York: Loizeaux Brothers, Bible Truth Depot, 63 Fourth Avenue. Lecture 1. Spiritual Decline and the Judaizing of the Church Lecture 2. Nicolaitanism or, the Rise and Growth of Clerisy Lecture 3. Establishments, and a Money Basis Lecture 4. The Woman Jezebel, and the Voice of the Church Lecture 5. "Ye have reigned as kings without us." Lecture 6. Sleeping Among the Dead Lecture 7. Christ's Word and His Name Lecture 8. What Brings the Time of His Patience to an End

A century after being expelled from Portugal, cryptoJews in Mexico, false converts to Christianity, could not speak of their beliefs for fear of becoming embroiled in the imprisonment, torture, and death in flames that characterized the Inquisition. Without written texts, the Jewish liturgy lost, clans of cryptoJews created a unique body of religious poetry, connecting them to the Laws of Moses, seeking redemption from sin, or hoping for an escape from their embittered lives. The Carvajal clan was led by Luis el Mozo, an alumbrado, a mystic, and his Judaizing sisters. Once discovered to be secretly practicing Judaism, years of suffering at the hands of the Inquisitors were meticulously recorded in the transcripts of their long demeaning trials. The Carvajal's friends, spouses, children and grandchildren were implicated as Judaizers, with many being reconciled by the Church to secular authorities to be burned alive at massive public ceremonies. The burning of Luis and his sisters was the main attraction for cheering crowds at the auto de f of 1596 in Mexico City. The cruelty of the Inquisitors was matched by their attention to legal detail and testimonies made at trial. Buried within thousands of pages of transcripts, hiding in library special collections of rare books around the world are the only remnants of the religious poetry that sustained cryptoJews hiding in Mexico. Mark A. Schneegurt's Anthology of Religious Poetry from the Mexican Inquisition Trials of 16th-Century CryptoJews uncovers these hidden treasures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

A century after being expelled from Portugal, cryptoJews in Mexico, false converts to Christianity, could not speak of their beliefs for fear of becoming embroiled in the imprisonment, torture, and death in flames that characterized the Inquisition. Without written texts, the Jewish liturgy lost, clans of cryptoJews created a unique body of religious poetry, connecting them to the Laws of Moses, seeking redemption from sin, or hoping for an escape from their embittered lives. The Carvajal clan was led by Luis el Mozo, an alumbrado, a mystic, and his Judaizing sisters. Once discovered to be secretly practicing Judaism, years of suffering at the hands of the Inquisitors were meticulously recorded in the transcripts of their long demeaning trials. The Carvajal's friends, spouses, children and grandchildren were implicated as Judaizers, with many being reconciled by the Church to secular authorities to be burned alive at massive public ceremonies. The burning of Luis and his sisters was the main attraction for cheering crowds at the auto de f of 1596 in Mexico City. The cruelty of the Inquisitors was matched by their attention to legal detail and testimonies made at trial. Buried within thousands of pages of transcripts, hiding in library special collections of rare books around the world are the only remnants of the religious poetry that sustained cryptoJews hiding in Mexico. Mark A. Schneegurt's Anthology of Religious Poetry from the Mexican Inquisition Trials of 16th-Century CryptoJews uncovers these hidden treasures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

A century after being expelled from Portugal, cryptoJews in Mexico, false converts to Christianity, could not speak of their beliefs for fear of becoming embroiled in the imprisonment, torture, and death in flames that characterized the Inquisition. Without written texts, the Jewish liturgy lost, clans of cryptoJews created a unique body of religious poetry, connecting them to the Laws of Moses, seeking redemption from sin, or hoping for an escape from their embittered lives. The Carvajal clan was led by Luis el Mozo, an alumbrado, a mystic, and his Judaizing sisters. Once discovered to be secretly practicing Judaism, years of suffering at the hands of the Inquisitors were meticulously recorded in the transcripts of their long demeaning trials. The Carvajal's friends, spouses, children and grandchildren were implicated as Judaizers, with many being reconciled by the Church to secular authorities to be burned alive at massive public ceremonies. The burning of Luis and his sisters was the main attraction for cheering crowds at the auto de f of 1596 in Mexico City. The cruelty of the Inquisitors was matched by their attention to legal detail and testimonies made at trial. Buried within thousands of pages of transcripts, hiding in library special collections of rare books around the world are the only remnants of the religious poetry that sustained cryptoJews hiding in Mexico. Mark A. Schneegurt's Anthology of Religious Poetry from the Mexican Inquisition Trials of 16th-Century CryptoJews uncovers these hidden treasures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/latin-american-studies

A century after being expelled from Portugal, cryptoJews in Mexico, false converts to Christianity, could not speak of their beliefs for fear of becoming embroiled in the imprisonment, torture, and death in flames that characterized the Inquisition. Without written texts, the Jewish liturgy lost, clans of cryptoJews created a unique body of religious poetry, connecting them to the Laws of Moses, seeking redemption from sin, or hoping for an escape from their embittered lives. The Carvajal clan was led by Luis el Mozo, an alumbrado, a mystic, and his Judaizing sisters. Once discovered to be secretly practicing Judaism, years of suffering at the hands of the Inquisitors were meticulously recorded in the transcripts of their long demeaning trials. The Carvajal's friends, spouses, children and grandchildren were implicated as Judaizers, with many being reconciled by the Church to secular authorities to be burned alive at massive public ceremonies. The burning of Luis and his sisters was the main attraction for cheering crowds at the auto de f of 1596 in Mexico City. The cruelty of the Inquisitors was matched by their attention to legal detail and testimonies made at trial. Buried within thousands of pages of transcripts, hiding in library special collections of rare books around the world are the only remnants of the religious poetry that sustained cryptoJews hiding in Mexico. Mark A. Schneegurt's Anthology of Religious Poetry from the Mexican Inquisition Trials of 16th-Century CryptoJews uncovers these hidden treasures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies

A century after being expelled from Portugal, cryptoJews in Mexico, false converts to Christianity, could not speak of their beliefs for fear of becoming embroiled in the imprisonment, torture, and death in flames that characterized the Inquisition. Without written texts, the Jewish liturgy lost, clans of cryptoJews created a unique body of religious poetry, connecting them to the Laws of Moses, seeking redemption from sin, or hoping for an escape from their embittered lives. The Carvajal clan was led by Luis el Mozo, an alumbrado, a mystic, and his Judaizing sisters. Once discovered to be secretly practicing Judaism, years of suffering at the hands of the Inquisitors were meticulously recorded in the transcripts of their long demeaning trials. The Carvajal's friends, spouses, children and grandchildren were implicated as Judaizers, with many being reconciled by the Church to secular authorities to be burned alive at massive public ceremonies. The burning of Luis and his sisters was the main attraction for cheering crowds at the auto de f of 1596 in Mexico City. The cruelty of the Inquisitors was matched by their attention to legal detail and testimonies made at trial. Buried within thousands of pages of transcripts, hiding in library special collections of rare books around the world are the only remnants of the religious poetry that sustained cryptoJews hiding in Mexico. Mark A. Schneegurt's Anthology of Religious Poetry from the Mexican Inquisition Trials of 16th-Century CryptoJews uncovers these hidden treasures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/jewish-studies

A century after being expelled from Portugal, cryptoJews in Mexico, false converts to Christianity, could not speak of their beliefs for fear of becoming embroiled in the imprisonment, torture, and death in flames that characterized the Inquisition. Without written texts, the Jewish liturgy lost, clans of cryptoJews created a unique body of religious poetry, connecting them to the Laws of Moses, seeking redemption from sin, or hoping for an escape from their embittered lives. The Carvajal clan was led by Luis el Mozo, an alumbrado, a mystic, and his Judaizing sisters. Once discovered to be secretly practicing Judaism, years of suffering at the hands of the Inquisitors were meticulously recorded in the transcripts of their long demeaning trials. The Carvajal's friends, spouses, children and grandchildren were implicated as Judaizers, with many being reconciled by the Church to secular authorities to be burned alive at massive public ceremonies. The burning of Luis and his sisters was the main attraction for cheering crowds at the auto de f of 1596 in Mexico City. The cruelty of the Inquisitors was matched by their attention to legal detail and testimonies made at trial. Buried within thousands of pages of transcripts, hiding in library special collections of rare books around the world are the only remnants of the religious poetry that sustained cryptoJews hiding in Mexico. Mark A. Schneegurt's Anthology of Religious Poetry from the Mexican Inquisition Trials of 16th-Century CryptoJews uncovers these hidden treasures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A century after being expelled from Portugal, cryptoJews in Mexico, false converts to Christianity, could not speak of their beliefs for fear of becoming embroiled in the imprisonment, torture, and death in flames that characterized the Inquisition. Without written texts, the Jewish liturgy lost, clans of cryptoJews created a unique body of religious poetry, connecting them to the Laws of Moses, seeking redemption from sin, or hoping for an escape from their embittered lives. The Carvajal clan was led by Luis el Mozo, an alumbrado, a mystic, and his Judaizing sisters. Once discovered to be secretly practicing Judaism, years of suffering at the hands of the Inquisitors were meticulously recorded in the transcripts of their long demeaning trials. The Carvajal's friends, spouses, children and grandchildren were implicated as Judaizers, with many being reconciled by the Church to secular authorities to be burned alive at massive public ceremonies. The burning of Luis and his sisters was the main attraction for cheering crowds at the auto de f of 1596 in Mexico City. The cruelty of the Inquisitors was matched by their attention to legal detail and testimonies made at trial. Buried within thousands of pages of transcripts, hiding in library special collections of rare books around the world are the only remnants of the religious poetry that sustained cryptoJews hiding in Mexico. Mark A. Schneegurt's Anthology of Religious Poetry from the Mexican Inquisition Trials of 16th-Century CryptoJews uncovers these hidden treasures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/poetry

A century after being expelled from Portugal, cryptoJews in Mexico, false converts to Christianity, could not speak of their beliefs for fear of becoming embroiled in the imprisonment, torture, and death in flames that characterized the Inquisition. Without written texts, the Jewish liturgy lost, clans of cryptoJews created a unique body of religious poetry, connecting them to the Laws of Moses, seeking redemption from sin, or hoping for an escape from their embittered lives. The Carvajal clan was led by Luis el Mozo, an alumbrado, a mystic, and his Judaizing sisters. Once discovered to be secretly practicing Judaism, years of suffering at the hands of the Inquisitors were meticulously recorded in the transcripts of their long demeaning trials. The Carvajal's friends, spouses, children and grandchildren were implicated as Judaizers, with many being reconciled by the Church to secular authorities to be burned alive at massive public ceremonies. The burning of Luis and his sisters was the main attraction for cheering crowds at the auto de f of 1596 in Mexico City. The cruelty of the Inquisitors was matched by their attention to legal detail and testimonies made at trial. Buried within thousands of pages of transcripts, hiding in library special collections of rare books around the world are the only remnants of the religious poetry that sustained cryptoJews hiding in Mexico. Mark A. Schneegurt's Anthology of Religious Poetry from the Mexican Inquisition Trials of 16th-Century CryptoJews uncovers these hidden treasures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

A century after being expelled from Portugal, cryptoJews in Mexico, false converts to Christianity, could not speak of their beliefs for fear of becoming embroiled in the imprisonment, torture, and death in flames that characterized the Inquisition. Without written texts, the Jewish liturgy lost, clans of cryptoJews created a unique body of religious poetry, connecting them to the Laws of Moses, seeking redemption from sin, or hoping for an escape from their embittered lives. The Carvajal clan was led by Luis el Mozo, an alumbrado, a mystic, and his Judaizing sisters. Once discovered to be secretly practicing Judaism, years of suffering at the hands of the Inquisitors were meticulously recorded in the transcripts of their long demeaning trials. The Carvajal's friends, spouses, children and grandchildren were implicated as Judaizers, with many being reconciled by the Church to secular authorities to be burned alive at massive public ceremonies. The burning of Luis and his sisters was the main attraction for cheering crowds at the auto de f of 1596 in Mexico City. The cruelty of the Inquisitors was matched by their attention to legal detail and testimonies made at trial. Buried within thousands of pages of transcripts, hiding in library special collections of rare books around the world are the only remnants of the religious poetry that sustained cryptoJews hiding in Mexico. Mark A. Schneegurt's Anthology of Religious Poetry from the Mexican Inquisition Trials of 16th-Century CryptoJews uncovers these hidden treasures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A century after being expelled from Portugal, cryptoJews in Mexico, false converts to Christianity, could not speak of their beliefs for fear of becoming embroiled in the imprisonment, torture, and death in flames that characterized the Inquisition. Without written texts, the Jewish liturgy lost, clans of cryptoJews created a unique body of religious poetry, connecting them to the Laws of Moses, seeking redemption from sin, or hoping for an escape from their embittered lives. The Carvajal clan was led by Luis el Mozo, an alumbrado, a mystic, and his Judaizing sisters. Once discovered to be secretly practicing Judaism, years of suffering at the hands of the Inquisitors were meticulously recorded in the transcripts of their long demeaning trials. The Carvajal's friends, spouses, children and grandchildren were implicated as Judaizers, with many being reconciled by the Church to secular authorities to be burned alive at massive public ceremonies. The burning of Luis and his sisters was the main attraction for cheering crowds at the auto de f of 1596 in Mexico City. The cruelty of the Inquisitors was matched by their attention to legal detail and testimonies made at trial. Buried within thousands of pages of transcripts, hiding in library special collections of rare books around the world are the only remnants of the religious poetry that sustained cryptoJews hiding in Mexico. Mark A. Schneegurt's Anthology of Religious Poetry from the Mexican Inquisition Trials of 16th-Century CryptoJews uncovers these hidden treasures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A century after being expelled from Portugal, cryptoJews in Mexico, false converts to Christianity, could not speak of their beliefs for fear of becoming embroiled in the imprisonment, torture, and death in flames that characterized the Inquisition. Without written texts, the Jewish liturgy lost, clans of cryptoJews created a unique body of religious poetry, connecting them to the Laws of Moses, seeking redemption from sin, or hoping for an escape from their embittered lives. The Carvajal clan was led by Luis el Mozo, an alumbrado, a mystic, and his Judaizing sisters. Once discovered to be secretly practicing Judaism, years of suffering at the hands of the Inquisitors were meticulously recorded in the transcripts of their long demeaning trials. The Carvajal's friends, spouses, children and grandchildren were implicated as Judaizers, with many being reconciled by the Church to secular authorities to be burned alive at massive public ceremonies. The burning of Luis and his sisters was the main attraction for cheering crowds at the auto de f of 1596 in Mexico City. The cruelty of the Inquisitors was matched by their attention to legal detail and testimonies made at trial. Buried within thousands of pages of transcripts, hiding in library special collections of rare books around the world are the only remnants of the religious poetry that sustained cryptoJews hiding in Mexico. Mark A. Schneegurt's Anthology of Religious Poetry from the Mexican Inquisition Trials of 16th-Century CryptoJews uncovers these hidden treasures. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

The book The Tribunal of Zaragoza and Crypto-Judaism 1484-1515 sheds light into the histographical proof of the Crypto-Jewish experience of certain individuals summoned by the Inquisition in the 15th Century. During that time period the inquisitorial tribunal tried and prosecuted countless “Catholic” heretics for the crime of Judaizing. Ms. D'Abrera profound understanding of the subject exposes the social and political issues connected with this crucial part of Jewish history as well as the controversies that are part of this academic field. In page 172 she defines their negative belief system which is seen by the Inquisition as heresy, according to the 1484 Valencian Edict of Grace: “… if you have believed, taught or said you believe something against the Catholic faith or if you know anyone who has blasphemed. “Ms. D'Abrera not only addresses how the Inquisition persecuted the anusim systematically, but her research adds important facts to the limited resources on this subject. Her scholarly approach documents and explains the sources thoroughly corroborating her findings. The book exposes the Inquisition record, and lets it speak for itself something other scholars fail to do in many cases. She addresses many important issues not dealt with by other scholars, such as Ben Zion Netanyahu, Norman Roth and Henry Kamen. They view Conversos not as Crypto-Jews, but as sincere Catholics who were falsely accused of practicing Judaism due to their Jewish lineage. On the other hand Haim Beinart and Fritz Baer, using multiple sources, portray them show Crypto-Jews as Jewish martyrs who died honoring Torah. D'Abreira is part of the new generation of scholars who study the Inquisition records to find clues which point to a real Crypto-Jewish community. These findings are not based on a preconceived agenda, but build a case based on the historical evidence. She writes”…the inquisitors' questions and conduct throughout the trials indicate that they were far more interested in the religious behavior of the defendant after he or she had been received into the Church, rather than presuming to judge whether the conversion had been genuine or not.” (P. 51)AdvertisementsREPORT THIS ADShe also contends with contemporary scholars such as Henry Kamen who “believes that the inquisitors possessed minimal understanding of Jewish religious practices” and were not able to adequately document Jewish practice, something she shows to be contrary to the available evidence (P.57) The inquisitors posessed books such as Directorioum inquisitorioum, which assisted them in being able to distinguish Jewish practices from false accusations during their trial by Christian Anti-Semites from the community who resented the conversos (P.57-58)D'Abrera's conclusions are that the anusim in Christian Spain, specifically Zaragoza experienced in captivity to an alien creed many challenges, an that the doubt raised by some scholars of their historical legitimacy is driven by their own philosophical perspectives.  To her Benzion Netanyahu's elaborate theory not only undermines their Jewish practices as real but gives the inquisitors the power to falsify their testimonies for political purposes. This challenges the existence of sincere Crypto-Jews and builds a case against their halachic status. Netanyahu bases his arguments on the negative view toward Crypto-Jews by some Posekim of that time. The Rabbis (either in either exile or from other communities not affected by the persecution) saw them as meshumadim (willing converts) rather than anusim (forced ones). They were not able to fathom that Jews would partake in Christian idolatry and embrace the supersessionist theologies of the Catholic Church. D'Abrera shows how in Valencia in 1484 the inquisitors “received substantial assistance from Jewish communities , some of which may have been particularly antagonistic toward the conversos, whom they saw as traitors.” (P.

We've completed our fourteen-part series on the Book of Galatians.  But one question remains unanswered.  What happened after Paul sent his letter to the churches in Galatia?  In Acts 15, we get our answer.  The Judaizing heresy became an issue of concern far beyond Galatia.  In response, the Apostles and elders of the Jerusalem church convene a church assembly–known to us as the “Jerusalem Council.”  The assembled churches and their leaders wanted to hear from Paul about the great success of the Gentile mission.  But they must also address the controversy in the churches which arose precisely because so many Gentiles were coming to faith in Jesus Christ.  The question was being asked in many churches where there were also Jewish converts to Christianity present.  Must Gentile converts live as Jews?  How does the law of Moses apply to the people of God in light of the gospel?  Although Paul addressed these matters in his Galatian letter, the issues raised by the Judaizers were being debated throughout Judea and especially in Antioch, where Paul and Barnabas were currently ministering.  It became necessary for the collective churches to meet in Jerusalem and respond to on-going the Judaizing controversy.   In this episode I'll also answer listener questions and offer a first-take critique of N. T. Wright's new commentary on Galatians.https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/the-blessed-hope-podcast

In the sixth and concluding chapter of Galatians, Paul addresses the fallout caused by the Judaizers spying on those throughout the region exercising their liberty in Christ.  It should not come as a surprise that the Judaizers would find people engaging in sinful conduct, shame them, and use them as examples of why Paul's gospel supposedly leads to license and sinful behavior.  Paul instructs the leaders of the churches of Galatia to bear with those struggling with sin and work to restore them–not shame nor leave them to the Judaizing wolves.  Paul describes the actions of the Judaizers as sowing to the flesh and warms them that if they sow to the flesh, well then, then they will reap from the flesh.  God is not deceived.  Christians are to bear one another's burdens and do those things which benefit their neighbors, especially those in the household of faith. https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/the-blessed-hope-podcast

INTRODUCTION As the people of God, we are partakers of Christ's sufferings. Because of this, we are partakers of one another's sufferings. And because of that, we are partakers in one another's comforts. But in order to receive the comfort that we ought to receive, the apostle's doctrine here requires some unpacking. THE TEXT “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ. And whether we be afflicted, it is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual in the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer: or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation and salvation. And our hope of you is stedfast, knowing, that as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall ye be also of the consolation” (2 Cor. 1:3–7). SUMMARY OF THE TEXT This is a passage that is saturated in comfort. Paul begins by blessing God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (v. 3). By way of apposition, this God is called the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort (v. 3). As the God of all comfort, the Father comforts Paul and his company so that they might be able to pass on that comfort to those who are in any kind of trouble (v. 4). The comfort that is passed on is explicitly identified as the comfort that was received (v. 4). It is the same comfort. Paul then says that as the sufferings of Christ abound, so also his consolations abound (v. 5). Paul then presents a very interesting line of thought. If the apostolic band is afflicted, it is for the Corinthians' “consolation and salvation.” If the apostolic band is comforted, that too is for the Corinthians' “consolation and salvation” (v. 6). This can work because the afflictions and the comforts are the same for Paul and for the Corinthians (v. 6). Paul's hope concerning the Corinthians was therefore steadfast, because as they were partakers of the suffering, they would also be partakers of the consolation (v. 7). THE RABBINICAL BLESSING In the first century, the first of the nineteen synagogue blessings began this way: “Blessed art thou, O Lord our God and God of our fathers, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, and God of Jacob . . .” He is also called the Father of mercies. What Paul is doing is taking those words and recasting them in order to rejoice in God as the God of all comfort. This recast synagogue blessing also appears elsewhere (Eph. 1:3; 1 Pet 1:3). Remember that Paul is dealing with some Judaizing adversaries here, and so he is showing Christ as the fulfillment of the Old Testament, not a continuation of it. Simeon and Anna both were waiting for the consolation of Israel (Luke 2:25). The Messiah Christ was the promised comfort of Israel (Is. 40-66). This sets the stage for the comfort that Paul is talking about. It is an explicitly Christiancomfort. PRESENCE OF COMFORT This short passage accounts for about one third of all the New Testament references to comfort. The word is used here in both noun and verb forms, and it is a peculiar kind of gospel comfort. We are servants of the suffering servant, after all, and a servant is not greater than his master (John 13:16; 15:20). A few verses earlier (John 15:18), John says that if the world hates us, we should know that it hated Christ first. In the verses immediately following in this chapter, Paul records his gratitude at being delivered from a deadly peril in Asia (2 Cor. 1:8-11), which we will get to soon enough. But he was also greatly encouraged by the good news that Titus had brought back from Corinth (2 Cor. 7:6-7). The revolt at Corinth had been quelled, and Paul was comforted in that as well. AUTHENTIC MINISTRY The charge against Paul is that he must not be a genuine apostle. How could he be? If he had been a genuine apostle, he wouldn't be getting into so much trouble, would he? And certainly, by any reasonable measurement, the apostle Paul appeared to be genuinely snake bit. He lived on the lip of perpetual death—“For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Cor. 4:11, NKJV). This was a ministry that was constantly on hairpin turns at high speeds on two wheels. That's right. Authentic ministry careening down Rattlesnake Grade. What had Paul endured? He goes into it in depth later in this epistle (2 Cor. 11:23-30).  Flogged five times. Beaten with rods three times. Stoned. Shipwrecked. Hungry and thirsty, cold and naked. Jail time in various places. Should we put all this in the glossy prospectus that we send out to prospective donors? If you were on a pastoral search committee, what would you do with an application like this? If you were looking for a spokesman for your church, is this the man you would send out to the cameras? THAT OLD DEVIL RESPECTABILITY If we are biblical Christians, we should always want to maintain in our own ministries the same tensions that were in evidence in biblical ministries. On the one hand, we are told that an elder must have a good reputation with outsiders (1 Tim. 3:7). But then Jesus tells us that there is a kind of honor and respect that is a stumbling block. “How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?” (John 5:44). The apostle Paul told the Galatians that he wished that the false advocates of circumcision would go whole hog and cut the whole thing off (Gal. 5:12). But in the very next verse, he urges them “by love [to] serve one another” (Gal. 5:13-15). And he told the Philippians that he wanted them to have their love abound more and more in knowledge and in all judgment (Phil. 1:9). This was shortly before he called the false teachers he was dealing with evil workers and dogs (Phil. 3:3). We are servants of a crucified Messiah. This did not happen because Jesus got along so well with the established authorities. And if we accompany Him in the pathway of His sufferings, as we are called to do, we are invited to partake of all the comforts that the God of all comfort might offer.

Paul's question to those listening to the agitators in Galatia is simple but profound.  “What has happened to all of your joy?”  Paul is referring to that joy the Galatians had experienced together with Paul when he first preached the gospel to them.  These people were Paul's spiritual children.  He loved them, and he thought they loved him.  They took him in when he had been felled by illness.  The Galatians received the gospel with great joy.  There was Christian liberty.  But then the Judaizers came.The spoiled fruit of such legalism is not only a loss of Christian liberty, but also the loss of the assurance of salvation.  The agitators turn the church into a court–a contentious place of charges, complaints and accusations.  How can I eat with so and so?  They still eat pork.  They do this, and they don't do that.  They don't care about Moses or his law.  Paul describes the Judaizing legalism as a return to the elementary principles of the world, in effect, a return to the slavery of sin–putting back on the shackles of works of law after they were removed by the cross of Christ.Paul reminds the Galatians that God sent his Son and his Spirit, so that the Galatians can call God their father.  Why would anyone wish to give up such wonderful freedom and liberty?  Why replace freedom with works of law and go back to the basic principles of this world?  This is our subject for this edition of the Blessed Hope podcast.https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/the-blessed-hope-podcast

Paul has made his case that all believing Jews and Gentiles are children of Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ.  Paul has also made the point that the giving of the law at Mount Sinai does not annual the prior covenant God made with Abraham.  But, at some point in his Galatian letter, Paul must address the question, “why then did God give the law?”  The law, he says, was given for a particular period in redemptive history (from the time of Moses to until the coming of Jesus Christ) and plays a vital role (to expose sin).  The law, Paul says, functions as a guardian until Christ comes.  The law exposes and incites sin.  But once faith has come, God's people enter into a new era in redemptive history–the new covenant, in which the promises to Abraham have been fulfilled.  It is only after the coming of Jesus Christ that we can understand the law's true purpose.Since the Judaizers have denied the true meaning of circumcision, Paul must explain how baptism replaces circumcision as sign and seal of God's gracious covenant.  The Apostle will also point out the consequences of Judaizing divisions in the churches of Galatia along racial and social lines, since baptism is a sign of the unity of Christ's church (all those who believe).So join us as Paul teaches us how to read and understand the Old Testament.https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/the-blessed-hope-podcast

Paul identifies all those who believe his gospel as “sons of Abraham”–which includes both Jews and Gentiles.  But he does not include those who seek to be right before God on the basis of works of the law, which Paul has declared, do not justify.The Judaizers have been spying on the Galatians Christian liberty.  Gentile Christians in these churches do not follow a kosher diet, they do not observe the feasts of Israel, and there is no requirement that Gentiles be circumcised in order to be justified, or declared “right with God.”  Jews and Gentiles worship together, they eat together, and they embrace the same gospel, without, according to the Judaizers, proper observance of the law of Moses; the reason why they were so vocally challenging Paul's authority and his gospel.In response, Paul turns to the account of Abraham, who, as we read in Genesis 15:6, believed God and was reckoned as “righteous.”  Paul appeals to the story of Abraham to refute the Judaizing idea that those justified before God, are such, because of “works of the law.”  Abraham is the “man of faith” and the spiritual father of all who believe Paul's gospel, which Paul says, YHWH had preached to Abraham and which was foretold through the Scriptures.How can uncircumcised Gentiles be identified as “children of Abraham,” Paul is about to tell us.To see show notes, https://www.kimriddlebarger.com/the-blessed-hope-podcast

An unexpected fusion of two major western religious traditions, Judaism and Christianity, has been developing in many parts of the world. Contemporary Christian movements are not only adopting Jewish symbols and aesthetics but also promoting Jewish practices, rituals, and lifestyles. Becoming Jewish, Believing in Jesus: Judaizing Evangelicals in Brazil (Oxford University Press, 2021), is the first in-depth ethnography to investigate this growing worldwide religious tendency in the global South. Focusing on an austere "Judaizing Evangelical" variant in Brazil, Manoela Carpenedo explores the surprising identification with Jews and Judaism by people with exclusively Charismatic Evangelical backgrounds. Drawing upon extensive fieldwork and socio-cultural analysis, the book analyses the historical, religious, and subjective reasons behind this growing trend in Charismatic Evangelicalism. Interviewee: Manoela Carpenedo is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. Host: Schneur Zalman Newfield is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York, and the author of Degrees of Separation: Identity Formation While Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism (Temple University Press, 2020). Visit him online at ZalmanNewfield.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/religion

An unexpected fusion of two major western religious traditions, Judaism and Christianity, has been developing in many parts of the world. Contemporary Christian movements are not only adopting Jewish symbols and aesthetics but also promoting Jewish practices, rituals, and lifestyles. Becoming Jewish, Believing in Jesus: Judaizing Evangelicals in Brazil (Oxford University Press, 2021), is the first in-depth ethnography to investigate this growing worldwide religious tendency in the global South. Focusing on an austere "Judaizing Evangelical" variant in Brazil, Manoela Carpenedo explores the surprising identification with Jews and Judaism by people with exclusively Charismatic Evangelical backgrounds. Drawing upon extensive fieldwork and socio-cultural analysis, the book analyses the historical, religious, and subjective reasons behind this growing trend in Charismatic Evangelicalism. Interviewee: Manoela Carpenedo is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. Host: Schneur Zalman Newfield is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York, and the author of Degrees of Separation: Identity Formation While Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism (Temple University Press, 2020). Visit him online at ZalmanNewfield.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

An unexpected fusion of two major western religious traditions, Judaism and Christianity, has been developing in many parts of the world. Contemporary Christian movements are not only adopting Jewish symbols and aesthetics but also promoting Jewish practices, rituals, and lifestyles. Becoming Jewish, Believing in Jesus: Judaizing Evangelicals in Brazil (Oxford University Press, 2021), is the first in-depth ethnography to investigate this growing worldwide religious tendency in the global South. Focusing on an austere "Judaizing Evangelical" variant in Brazil, Manoela Carpenedo explores the surprising identification with Jews and Judaism by people with exclusively Charismatic Evangelical backgrounds. Drawing upon extensive fieldwork and socio-cultural analysis, the book analyses the historical, religious, and subjective reasons behind this growing trend in Charismatic Evangelicalism. Interviewee: Manoela Carpenedo is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. Host: Schneur Zalman Newfield is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York, and the author of Degrees of Separation: Identity Formation While Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism (Temple University Press, 2020). Visit him online at ZalmanNewfield.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/christian-studies

Each week, here at A Jew and a Gentile Discuss, we receive emails giving us feedback, suggesting topics and asking questions. And we love it. So, keep ‘em coming. They’ve looked through a bunch of questions and found several semi-related ones for Carly to put to Ezra to answer. Here’s what you’ve asked and what this episode answers: Are the Jewish holidays part of the Mosaic Law, and if so, is it a form of idolatry to observe them? How does a Jewish person explain away Isaiah 53? What is Ezra’s rationale for the statement, “Messianic Jews are not simply Christians”? Ezra, do you feel like you’re an exile in America? Do you believe all Jews are called to return to Jerusalem or just certain tribes? When did Jews stop sacrificing animals for forgiveness of their sins, and what do they do now? What does the phrase “one new man” mean? Along the way Along the way, Ezra touches on some helpful, clarifying bits of information, including: Identifying what “idolatry” means What it’s called when someone tells you, a Gentile Believer, that you need to keep the Mosaic Law The difference between a Jewish obligation unto obedience and an obligation unto righteousness before God A shocking bit of information about Isaiah 53 and Jewish Bibles The reason some Jewish people can read Isaiah 53 and not recognize it’s talking about Jesus What Paul means by “the fullness of the Gentiles” Biblical meaning of Paul’s teachings about there being no difference between Jew and Gentile What Jewish “chosenness” means and doesn’t mean An interesting spinoff quote based on John 3:16 Insight into the meaning of the word “exile” when it comes to Jewish people Words you might learn in this episode Torah, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Chanukah, Purim, Minor Feasts, olam, Mosaic Covenant, Noahic Covenant, Judaizing, Zehra, Ashkenazi, Diaspora, Eretz Israel Scriptures referenced in this episode Romans 7:1–6, Leviticus 23:41, Acts 15, Romans 3:23, Isaiah 53 (whole chapter, especially 53:1, 5, 9–10), Psalm 16:10, Romans 9:10–11, Genesis 12:3, Deuteronomy 4:25, 27, Ezekiel 40–47, Revelation 11, Leviticus 17:11, Hebrews 9:22, 1 Corinthians 5:7, Revelation 13:8, Ephesians 2:14–16, John 17, ◦◦◦ Win! Want a free bag of amazing Ethiopian coffee? Enter our monthly drawing at www.ajewandagentilediscuss.org, and you could win a free bag of Lost Tribes Coffee Co. coffee. Support The only way we’re able to continue providing these engaging conversations is through listener support. If you like tuning in to A Jew and A Gentile Discuss, would you consider supporting the podcast with a financial gift? Any amount – small or large – helps. Subscribe and Review You can subscribe to A Jew and A Gentile Discuss wherever you get your podcasts. Leaving a review will help others know to tune in too. Share Share the podcast with people you know to spread the word about the podcast. Follow and Engage Follow and engage with us on social media under the handle A Jew and A Gentile Discuss. Feedback

In this foundational episode, Ezra and Carly discuss Messianic Judaism and Christianity and identify some of the key ways Messianic Judaism differs from Christianity and why. They unpack the topic that some listeners might be wondering about ­– “Why use different names? Aren’t we all Christians?” – to give a fuller understanding of what Messianic Judaism is and what it isn’t. Using a question and answer format, Ezra and Carly ask each other questions coming from their own perspective and aimed at the other’s background and faith practices. Their discussion includes: Carly defines Christianity Ezra defines Messianic Judaism Is Messianic Judaism for all people or only for Jews? Similarities and the major differences in practices Are Messianic Jews trying to convert Christians to become Jews? Are Christians trying to convert Jews into Christians? What about a Messianic Jewish worship service would be the strangest thing to me as a Christian? And vice versa? Does Messianic Judaism do missions like the Church does? What does the outreach ministry of a Messianic Jewish congregation look like? Are there denominations in Messianic Judaism like there are in the Christian Church? Carly also asks Ezra how he defines himself when people ask him about his religion, which gets at the heart of why Messianic Jews don’t call themselves Christians. They also discuss how the “good news” is an Old Testament concept that appears in Scripture long before the New Testament. Ezra explains how Messianic Judaism typically presents the Gospel in a way that “fills in some blanks” of the way many Christians share it. You’ll also learn Ezra’s enlightening take on when “Messianic Judaism” really started. Ending on a light, fun note, Carly and Ezra ask each other what their favorite holiday is on the other’s religious calendar. Words you might learn in this episode: protoevangelion, seed, besora, evangelion, holy one, Mashiach, Shabbat, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shema, Judaizing, convert, missiology, Baruch haba b’shem Adonai, hosanna, hoshiana, hamantashen If you want to hear more from A Jew and A Gentile Discuss, subscribe to the podcast anywhere you get your podcast content or go to www.ajewandagentilediscuss.org. And we’d love to hear from you. Leave us feedback. Ask us questions. We want to improve, and we want to hear what topics you want to explore as someone who is searching for things related to Israel and the Jewish people. Go to www.ajewandagentilediscuss.org, where there’s a place for you to get in touch.

Passover and the Lord's table are eternally linked; the re-Judaizing of Jesus is an important current event. Christine explains how Jesus instituted a new meal at his Last Seder.