Conversion to Judaism or Christianity?
Unfortunately, the Armstrong Churches of God have confused Christian conversion with conversion to Judaism. In his booklet Just What Do You Mean...Conversion?, Herbert Armstrong wrote: I repeat: 'A Christian (a truly converted person) is one who has received, and in whose mind dwells the Holy Spirit of God.' But how does one receive the Spirit of God? On the day the Church of God was started, the Apostle Peter said, "Repent, and be baptized ... in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). Repent of what? Of sin. And what is sin? "Sin is the transgression of the law" (I John 3:4). What law? The law that the carnal mind, hostile to God, is not subject to the Law of God (Rom. 8:7). Again, we read of "the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey him" (Acts 5:32). In other words, for Armstrong and his followers, a truly converted Christian MUST obey the commandments of Torah!
This, of course, calls to mind what some of the Jewish Christians of the First Century were saying about conversion to Christianity. In the book of Acts, we read: And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” (Acts 15:1-5, NKJV)
Now, even from the distance of almost two thousand years, that sure sounds to me like these Jewish Christians were advocating conversion to JUDAISM, NOT CHRISTIANITY! Remember, God commanded circumcision for all of the male descendants of Abraham as a sign that they would OBEY him (Genesis 17:9-14). In Torah, we also read: And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them." (Deuteronomy 5:1) Even so, the Israelites were told that any Gentile who wanted to obey God and observe his Passover MUST be circumcised! (Exodus 12:43-49) In other words, males had to be circumcised before they could participate in obeying the commandments of Torah - ONLY then could they become real Israelites!
Interestingly, even in 2026, Jews still regard this as the proper formula for conversion to Judaism! In the article How to Convert to Judaism, CHABAD.org informs its readers that conversion makes the person fully Jewish - a part of the tribe. They go on to list four components of this conversion: (1) Accepting the yoke of the commandments. When you convert, you must verbalize your commitment to live in accordance with all of the Torah’s commandments as they are explained in Torah law. It is not enough to commit to some or even most of the precepts; a convert must commit to every single one of them. Also, this needs to be done out of a sincere desire to serve G‑d as a Jew, not because of any other motive, such as the desire to marry a Jewish man or woman. (2) Immersion in the mikvah. A mikvah is a pool of natural water, usually rainwater. At your conversion, you will dunk into this spiritually cleansing bath. It is at this moment that you will accept the Torah upon yourself. (3) Circumcision. If you are a male, you will need to be circumcised. If you were circumcised as a baby, a symbolic drawing of blood is all that will be done at this point. (4) When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, a convert would bring a special sacrifice to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. When the Temple is rebuilt—may it be speedily in our days—converts will again bring sacrifices.
Now, in terms of Christian conversion, Scripture informs us that belief or faith in Jesus Christ is the essential first step (John 3:16, Acts 16:31, Romans 10:9, etc.). On that first Pentecost after Christ had ascended to heaven, Peter told the crowd to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38). Likewise, after Philip preached to a certain Ethiopian about Jesus, we are informed that the eunuch declared "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." (Acts 8:26-37) The account continued: So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Notice please, that there is NOTHING in any of these accounts about first converting to Judaism! Indeed, many years later the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christian converts of Galatia that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. (Galatians 2:16)
What about you? Are you a Christian or a Jew?
Miller Jones/Lonnie C Hendrix
Is there any record in the New Testament of these Judaizers or members of the circumcision party as they were alternatively called repenting of their beliefs and teachings that in order to become a Christian, one had to be circumcised and to keep the laws of Torah? James's edict, speaking on behalf of the Jerusalem Council was taken back to the Gentiles, and implimented by Paul, but there is no Biblical evidence that the Judaizers ceased and desisted from their belief and teachings as a result of what James had "bound and loosened". Over time, although Christianity was given "first unto the Jews", Jewish Christianity gradually disappeared as Christianity became a world class religion, shown to be applicable to and to work within a wide variety of cultures, and not just exclusively in Judaism. This is the byproduct of Paul's calling, understanding, life's work' and evangelistic efforts in the making of the next generation of disciples. The Gentile communities embraced Christianity in a massive way that the Jewish people never did. Paul actually mourned this even as he rejoiced in the conversion of the Gentiles!
ReplyDeleteThe fact that some, even today, do not consider James's plain words to have resolved the issue demonstrates that the topic is still in play and being debated, This speaks volumes about human nature and behavior with regard to beliefs. The words in the Bible are very plain, unless one uses Armstrongism to twist them!
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ReplyDeleteOne Bible has produced 45,000 Christian denominations and counting. I don't think it is just an Armstrong problem!
Romans 2:29 explains that we SHOULD be Jews. The controversy is over HOW we should do that.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't want to be a Jew, you cannot be a Christian. The catch is that you aren't a Jew by performing external rituals, but by being circumcised in heart, not genitalia. Paul made the bold statement that most of those who called themselves Jews because of their ritual-keeping and body mutilation were not in fact Jews, but that Christians were the actual Jews. So hate on Jews at your own risk, Christians!
Romans 2:25 For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. 26 So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 28 For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 29 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.
DeletePaul's message is that both Gentiles and Jews can be God's People - Christians. He went on to point out that the people who have scrupulously observed Torah and have traditionally been regarded as God's People are NOT necessarily God's people. In other words, without Jesus Christ, they are NOT really Jews!
I was always fascinated by this dichotomy even near the end of Paul’s ministry, he was battling this issue. Before the last few verses in Acts we read:
ReplyDeleteActs 28:28-29 “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves.
Then you have 70 AD happen, then John receives letters to the gentile churches in Revelation two decades later. So it’s a wrap. What Armstrong tried to do was bring back a 1st century of jewish Christianity. But it lacked the spirit and love. They had their own siege but it wasn’t via the Roman army.
Tank
The old covenant law was given exclusively to the Isrealites, The new covenant salvation by grace was opened up to every inhabitant of the Earth! Didn't Jesus say that he came to save the world not to condemn it!
ReplyDeleteBP8, I get your point, but I would say that we fallible humans have produced so many denominations, NOT the Bible. Having said that, I believe that Scripture is a joint project between the Divine and human, and ALL human communication is subject to interpretation by the one who receives the message from the sender.
ReplyDeleteJudaizing has always been a thing that has popped up in the Church from time to time. That is why there's several Epistles in the New Testament that deal with this issue. God foresaw that the Judaizers, both Jews and Gentiles, wouldn't give up their desire to bring Christians back under the law of Moses. For a good history of this age-old problem, read Jewish Influence On Christian Reform Movements by Rabbi Louis I Newman. The 'reform movements' his book are talking about are Judaizing movements. What is interesting is several of the groups cited by Newman are those the WCG's historian Hoeh, mentioned as Church of God ancestors. If you wish to get a copy of Influence, a medium to big city library might have a copy of it, and I brought a reprint of it on lulu.com several years ago.
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