Judaism Vs. Biblical Christianity Series

Judaism vs. Biblical Christianity

Intro

Slide

Good Morning.

We are in week 3 of our series called Faithology.

We are examining some other religious faiths and comparing them to Biblical Christianity so we can have a deeper understanding of Biblical Christianity and a basic understanding of some of the various faiths of the world so we can

better understand the differences and that they are different and

communicate truth with those who hold these other beliefs and

share with them the good news of Jesus Christ so their lives can be changed and

so they can experience eternity in relationship with the One Ture God.

I will tell you that these past weeks has shown me that this series is vital for us at this juncture in history. I hear more and more people, Christians even, who do not have a proper understanding of their own faith and are being led astray by the false teaching that different faiths are worshiping the same God, just in different ways.

I believe they have become confused between the role and the person of God.

You see different religions may have a similar understanding of the role of God – Creator, sovereign, Supreme, etc – but they still could be worshiping very different entities they believe hold that role – but those entities they worship are not really God.

This is the problem I think that many are challenged with, especially regarding Islam, Judaism and Christianity – which all hold to a view that there is one God, who is Creator of all things and is sovereign. They have similar views of the role of God.

But the “god” that each faith believes is in that role is very different. They do not have the same characteristics. They do not reveal themselves to the human race the same way. They truly, are not the same God.

So the question becomes if they are not the same, which is correct, if any?

Because while one may be correct, it is logically impossible for all of them to be correct given the very different characteristics of the gods they are worshiping.

Christians need to understand and know this if we are going to walk in the truth and assurance of our own faith and be able to communicate the gospel to people who hold different views. Because if we do not understand this, what is the point of sharing the gospel? If I believe, falsely, that other faiths are worshiping the same God as me, just in a different way, then why should I share this good news of Jesus with them?

This is exactly what Satan wants people to believe. Do not believe it. Search out truth. Know why you believe what you do. Know the differences between the different religions so you can not only be assured of your own faith, but so that you can be used by the One True God to communicate good news and have an eternal influence on the lives of people for their good and God’s glory.

Transition

So far in this series, we have looked at the essentials of Biblical Christianity – the gospel and the implications of the Gospel Message and last week we looked to get a basic understanding of Islam and how the beliefs of Islam compare to Biblical Christianity to see that the god of Islam is not the same God that is worshiped by those who are believers in the Christianity that is taught throughout the Bible.

This week we are going to consider Judaism.

Slide

Now for many people, they see a close relationship between Christianity and Judaism.

They recognize some of the same prophets of God, some of the writings they believe are the word of God overlap, there is a recognition that some of the same people that are important to their faith spoke with the One True God.

Certainly then, the Jews of today and Biblical Christians are worshiping the same God, right?

Transition

Well, we are going to seek to answer that question today, but first, I want to begin by taking a look at what todays Jews believe.

Now there are at least a couple of branches of Judaism – Orthodox and Reformed. The basic difference, as I understand it is the approach to the Torah.

As I researched Judaism and talked to people who know more than I do, here is what I understand as the difference in their approaches to the Torah.

Orthodox Jews believe that the Torah comes directly from God and cannot be changed, while Reformed Jews view the Torah as a Holy document, but that it is rooted in the past and sees Judaism evolving in their understandings and helping people relate to God in their own way.

http://www.reformjudaism.org/what-most-fundamental-difference-between-reform-judaism-and-orthodox-judaism#sthash.FNym3tp7.dpuf

That is from a reformed Jewish website and being that their view of their own writings is a little looser and seen as evolving, it is quite difficult to pin down what they believe specifically. With that being the case, we are going to just look at the beliefs as understood from an Orthodox Jewish view of things.