Messianic - a tension from living in two worlds

Shalom,

Life for a Messianic Believer involves an added tension, or dynamic not experienced inthe traditional Church or Synagogue.

Dr. David Stern points this out very well in his classic work - Messianic Jewish Manifesto.

To most in the Church and traditional Judiasm, one is either a Christian/Messianic, or a Jew, never both. This comes from a common misunderstanding of the meaning of Chrisitan and Jew.

The world is divided into distinct spheres: Jew or Gentile, Believer or non-Believer. thus 4 possibilities emerge:
1. Gentile Believer - This is a Christian Gentile (also Messianic, see below)
2. Gentile non-believer - This is a non-Christian Gentile
3. Jewish Believer - This is a Messianic Jew
4. Jewish non-believer - This is a non-Messianic Jew.

So -
What is a Messianic Jew - (not to be dogmatic but the best definition seems to be) - a person of Jewish descent who has accepted Yeshua as Messiah and lives a substantially Jewish Lifestyle.

What then is a Messianic Gentile? I suggest the following definition: a person of non-Jewish descent who has accepted Yeshua as Messiah, desires to be identified with the seed of Abraham (the Jewish people) and lives a substantially Jewish Lifestyle.

Note:I prefer to use the term Messianic vs. Messianic Gentile since there is only one body in Messiah. A person accepting Messiah is a spiritual descedant of Abraham and no longer a Gentile in my mind, but part of the commonwealth of Israel. This does not make the person Jewish, but does make them fully part of the family.

For more details on Messianic Beliefs go to House of the Messiah

Baruch BeShem Adonai Yeshua - Blessings in the name of L-rd Yeshua.