Page 156 - Attractive Deception - The False Hope of the Hebrew Roots Movement

“Well, we stayed about a year and a half,” he replied. “But then I began to be troubled by what I
observed, and Fran was equally troubled.”

“By what?” I asked.

“Well, from a theological point of view, it seemed as if they were concentrating on emulating rabbinic
Judaism with a Christian vocabulary rather than focusing on the finished work Jesus did on the
cross. This thereby encouraged Gentiles to do things that Gentiles were never required to do in
Scripture. We Gentiles never had to wear yarmulkes (head coverings) or tallits (prayer shawls) ot
tsitsit (fringes on our garments). Yet the implication was that if we wanted to belong, we had to wear
them. And there were so many Gentiles in attendance! More than eighty percent of those who came
each week were not Jewish. Why did they have to do these things?...

Then Fran jumped into the conversation. “The Gentiles who attended seemed to be worshiping
symbols of Judaism. Isn’t that idolatry?” she asked. “And I know of a Gentile couple who went to
an Orthodox rabbi and converted to Judaism. The husband was circumcised, and they try to keep a
kosher home. And for others, there seemed to be an identity crisis. Some of the Gentiles I met began
to search their family tree in order to find a Jewish relative. They wanted to be Jewish, and they tried
to live by the Law... If you want to know what really did it for me and why I insisted that we leave that
congregation, I’ll tell you. I was filled to overflowing with all the ‘wannabes’ and the ‘Pharisees’!”...

“Jean” is a young Jewish mother of two beautiful children. She attended a church before she met her
future Jewish husband, but when they decided to marry, he convinced her to attend his Messianic
synagogue. She agreed to do so, and for several years they rarely missed a service. Then things began
to change. When I asked Jean what it was that disturbed them, she said, “I want to be very careful
about how I answer that question, so let me put my thoughts in writing to you.”

A few weeks later, Jean wrote to me:

I have been agonizing as I have relived the experiences we had at the Messianic synagogue and why
we left. Simply stated, I was at once saddened and angry by the way many of my Gentile brothers and
sisters - who made up about 85 percent of the congregation - showed almost a contempt toward God
by despising what He had made them to be. I felt they did this when they dressed as Jews and adopted
all sorts of religious traditions that they convinced themselves they were obligated to practice.

Week after week I would anguish over the emphasis on Jewishness rather than “Jesusness.” Gentiles
were changing their names to Jewish-sounding ones and calling themselves Jews.
[Ibid]

Brothers and sisters, being “Christ-like” does not mean one has to act Jewish. It certainly does not
require that one embrace rabbinic practices that are not found in the Bible. Becoming Christ-like is
a matter of character, not external custom or religious practice. Do not be deceived by those who
would put style before substance. The kingdom of God does not come with outward signs to be
observed. The kingdom of God is within you.

May you be blessed with peace and understanding in these days.