© 08 Colin Melbourne
How can a Jew get to Heaven?
Q: Are Jews under the Law, or are they made righteous by faith? Do Jews need salvation to go to Heaven? Maria
A: The Old Covenant ended when Christ died; the Temple curtain was rent, and God left the Temple.
The Lamb of God fulfilled the Law, and offered His own Blood in the Holy of Holies in Heaven, sealing the New Covenant.
The Blood Covenant began on Earth on the Day of Pentecost.
It is sealed with the Blood of the Jewish Messiah.
Think long about that.
All the Jewish Law, sacrifices, offerings, rules, and celebrations are obsolete. Heb. 8:13, 10:9, Eph. 2:15, Col. 2:13-15.
They were merely shadows pointing to the reality we now have in Christ Jesus, the Son of God. Heb. Ch.10, Gal. 3:23-25.
It’s tragic that the Jews are blind to this Gospel truth, and are still attempting to do the impossible.
Nobody has ever kept the Law perfectly, except Christ, who fulfilled it.
No-one ever gets to Heaven by keeping the Law, because everyone fails. That is why each of us needs the Saviour: Jew and Gentile alike. Gal. 2:15-16.
Those Jews who die trying to keep the Law, (in effect they choose to keep themselves under the obsolete Law) will be judged by that Law at their Judgment.
They will die in their sins, and be cast into Hell because they rejected their Messiah. Gal. 2:15-21, Jn. 3:18, 8:24.
There’s only one Gospel for Jew and Gentile alike, and one way for anybody to be made righteous: By faith in the LORD Jesus Christ. Each Jew must be born again by receiving The Messiah as their LORD. Gal. 2:15-16 KJV.
We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
There’s more on this here: Messianic Jews.
Make sure you understand the crucial difference between faith in Christ, and the faith of Christ.
Triumph over Satan and demons: By using the authority Christ has given believers.
Am I Jewish?
Q: Once a Gentile is born again, are they considered Jewish as well? I wear a Star of David, and get asked a lot if I am Jewish. Mona
A: That’s a new thought! I can see your line of reasoning; in-grafted branches (Ro. Ch. 11, 9:6), and Abraham’s seed (Gal. 3:29).
A terrific way of witnessing amongst Jews, using the interplay between the natural and the spiritual Israel; circumcision in the flesh, foreshadowing the circumcision by the Spirit of God.
They see the familiar emblem and button-hole you as a “fellow Jew”. You then have the perfect way to gently introduce them to their Messiah, and His way of making one people out of two.
So, don’t let anything you read here inhibit you.
A saved Gentile does become part of the true Israel, the spiritual one, but not the natural Israel. Eph. 3:6, Gal. 6:16, Rev. 3:9.
So the answer to your question is, no; Gentiles don’t become Jews when they are born again, they become children of God. Jn. 1:12.
The glorious message of the Epistle to the Galatians is that any believer in Christ; Jew or Gentile, becomes a member of God’s household, a citizen of the true Israel. That’s far better than being Jewish isn’t it Mona?
Remember, in Christ there’s neither Jew nor Gentile, we are all one in Christ. Gal. 3:28.
There’s a dangerous pitfall Jews must avoid once they are saved.
There are many Judaizer groups; they claim to believe in Christ as the Messiah, but also insist Jews must follow the traditions of Judaism.
They prattle about getting “back to their Hebrew roots”, and perform Jewish rituals and ceremonies. Gradually the person has effectively turned God’s grace back into Law.
This is precisely what the Holy Spirit condemned so emphatically in Gal. 5:12 KJV; I would they were even cut off which trouble you.
Unless a new Jewish believer has a clear understanding of the Gospel of redemption, they are easily swayed into trying to keep the Jewish Law, in order to be saved. This is a snare for Jewish Christians. Even Peter fell into it, and Paul had to pull him out with a sharp public rebuke. Gal. 3:11-21.
© 08 Colin Melbourne
