Why I am a Jew

Romans 2:28 A man is not a Jew if he is only one outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. 29 No, a man is a Jew if he is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a man's praise is not from men, but
from God.

The gospel that Jesus brought was one in which He sought to describe the Kingdom of God/Heaven. John the Baptist proclaimed the Kingdom of God/Heaven is at hand. Jesus spoke numerous parables describing the Kingdom. The concept of the Kingdom was (and is) the cornerstone of His message. Jesus told us that we must be active in this cause of building the Kingdom. We have a role to play. He removed the barriers that have kept us at bay. He told us to mind the weightier elements of the law (justice, mercy and faithfulness). He told us to love our neighbor as ourselves and that to do so is the same as loving God. He told us to do this with all our hearts minds and souls.

Then, He took it a step further and laid His life down to become a sin offering on our behalf. He put actions with His words. He told us how to build a house using our lives as a building material and then, just to make sure we understood this was not merely an abstract teaching, he laid His life down as the foundation by which we should all build on.

What is it that makes a man a Jew … God’s chosen people? The Apostle Paul makes the case that a Jew is not a Jew because He knows the law or can trace His genealogy back to Abraham. A Jew is a Jew because He follows the law of God written on his heart. You see, ALL OF US have God’s law written on our hearts. A true Jew is one who lives by the law written on his own heart and not the ones recorded in books. God’s law is too extensive to be contained in a book. Therefore it lives within our hearts. The vast treasury of knowledge contained there is too much to parse with human understanding, so Jesus gave us His spirit to guide us in all truth.

Christianity today presents us with the same challenges. Maybe it is human nature to reduce all of life’s issues to a set of rules and regulations. To reconstruct God in a systematic theology, doctrine or dogma. Maybe by doing so we feel like we are in control. We take a God whose depth is unfathomable and whose grace is unimaginable and we recreate Him such that we can grasp and imagine who He is. This is idolatry. Once we start worshiping our new God, the life that the spirit brings is silenced and grieved. Paul talked to Jews about redefining what they understood a Jew to be. I think we as Christians should do the same. A REAL Christian is one who walks by faith, pays close attention to the spirit of God that dwells within them and lives a life marked by such devotion. One who walks in this path, as Paul says, is the true Jew. That is why I am a Jew.