Who are the spiritual Jews?
The word of God teaches us that we must be Jews if we want to be righteous in the eyes of the Lord. But before there is a misunderstanding, I am talking about spiritual Jews. Who can be spiritually Jewish? Those who follow the actions of their ancestors (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob), regardless of their nationality.
Was Abraham a Jew?
No, he wasn't. Judaism dates only from Abraham's grandson, Jacob. He was the first Jew and received the name from God: Israel (warrior of the Lord). Abraham was righteous in the eyes of the Lord before his circumcision. He received the mark of circumcision because God accepted him as righteous.
Romans 4:7-12
„"Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin." Is this blessing then only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We say that faith was counted to Abraham as righteousness. How then was it counted to him? Was it before or after he had been circumcised? It was not after, but before he was circumcised. He received the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. The purpose was to make him the father of all who believe without being circumcised, so that righteousness would be counted to them as well, and to make him the father of the circumcised who are not merely circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.”
So although Abraham was not Jewish fleshly, he was definitely Jewish spiritually. Therefore, he is not only the ancestor of the fleshly Jews, but also of all other nationalities who follow the faith and actions of Abraham.
Genesis 12:1-3
„Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed."
This is why Paul says that someone is not a real Jew because he/she is fleshly descended from Jews. We must be true Jews in our hearts.
Romans 2:28-29
„For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.”
But then what do we have to do?
We must not keep the Jewish traditions and customs, but all that God has asked of the Jews through His law. So do we have to keep the laws? Yes, there is no separate law for Jews and not for other nationalities. When they came out of Egypt under the leadership of Moses, many other nationalities joined them. They did not establish separate tribes, but everyone joined into a tribe of Israel, and became Jews.
Numbers 15:16
„One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you."”
Antal Farkas
(September 11, 2020)
