First Things First...

1 Corinthians 15:3-4, emphasis added For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures…

John 3:16-18 For G-d so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For G-d did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the Name of G-d’s one and only Son.

Before I get too deep into confessions and discussions, I want to take some time to reaffirm the core Gospel that all Christians (by definition) must believe in. Sometimes, when we’re surrounded by so many different philosophies and living in a world that espouses moral relativity, it’s easy to lose sight of the truth:

The core of the Gospel is that G-d’s one and only Son, Jesus Christ (Yeshua HaMashiach), died to save sinners and resurrected three days later. Everything else is just doctrine.

Maybe this is easier for me to accept than other Christians. I spent most of my youth in Catholic schools, where I studied Catholic theology and doctrine. I grew up in Baptist churches, where I learned to think critically about the Word for myself. I heard my grandparents from both sides of my family—all rather charismatic believers—pray and worship in tongues. And by the middle of my college career, as I searched for my own doctrinal and/or denominational identity, I landed quite nicely on Messianic Judaism.

All these experiences highlighted what I already knew: that denomination or church affiliation is not nearly as important as a personal relationship with G-d through the Messiah.

Of course, there is a caveat here—and a rather significant one, at that. Don’t be fooled by groups who claim to be Christians and yet deny the basic truths of Scripture, particularly regarding the Person of Yeshua. Some groups, such as Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses, deny the deity of the Messiah and believe that He is a created being or that He somehow became G-d’s Son; they don’t believe that He was, is, and always will be co-equal, co-existent, and co-eternal with G-d the Father and the Holy Spirit. For this reason, they cannot be considered “Christian” in any meaningful sense of the word. If any group approaches you and tries to share a new doctrine or interpretation of Scripture (myself included!), TEST IT against what the Bible actually says and see if it holds up to scrutiny.

While I spend a lot of time discussing Torah-observant doctrine, I recognize that such beliefs are secondary to the core truth of the Gospel. You may disagree with my doctrine. I may disagree with yours. In regard to our doctrines, we might both have some things right, and we might both have some things wrong. But at the heart of all our beliefs—assuming that you and I are both Christians—is the Messiah.

Even if you don’t agree with everything I post on this blog… can we at least agree on that?