The Seven Baptisms: Water Baptism for the Gentile - Part 4 of 8
Posted: Sunday, July 13, 2008
by Teresa Ortiz
Freelance writer/Speaker
During our study of John's baptism, we noted the importance of his message and that was the message of repentance to prepare the way for the Messiah.
In this study, we will see an important shift in the message--from Repentance to Salvation, and in the timing of water baptism. This baptism is physical and most notably, comes after the message of salvation is received and after the Holy Spirit is given to the one who receives the message.
Looking back for a moment, we remember that John said he baptizes with water unto repentance(which will lead to the remission of their sin) , but He (Jesus) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." And so it was, that each Jew (Israelite) who received the message of preparation, and was baptized in water, later received the Holy Spirit after the death of Jesus.
So why the shift and why is it important? Because this baptism takes place after the death and resurrection of Jesus, and the message of salvation was opened to the Gentiles (Any peoples who are not Jews). Furthermore, in my opinion, it tells us that water baptism is not a requirement to receive the Holy Spirit, thus salvation, as many teach and believe.
The book of Acts is a book commonly referred to as a book of transition. It records for us the transition from the Old Covenant into the New Covenant. Keeping this thought in mind, helps to keep the teaching on baptism in perspective and I believe, clarifies what seems to be a contradictory teaching.
The first of converted or "saved" Gentiles is recorded for us in the book of Acts. Let's go to Acts 8:26, where we pick up the story.
"Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip [a disciple], saying, "arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza."…And behold a man from Ethiopia, a Eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury had come to Jerusalem to worship…He was reading Isaiah the Prophet…So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" "How can I unless someone guides me?"
The place in the Scripture which he read was this: He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation, His justice was taken away, and who will declare His generation? For his life is taken from the earth." (Acts 8:26-33)
It goes on to say the Eunuch asked Philip of whom the prophet was speaking. At this, Philip began to share Jesus and the message of salvation to him as they walked along the road. The Eunuch responded to the message. Continuing their walk, the Eunuch saw water and asked Philip if there was anything to hinder him from being baptized.
"Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may". And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."…And they both went down into the water, and he baptized him." (Acts 8:37-38.)
We see here that the requirement for baptism is believing with all one's heart that Jesus is the Son of God. This is confirmed repeatedly throughout the New Testament. Interestingly, we never read again about a baptism of repentance. We only read of baptism that follows receiving the message of Christ. This again, is because the death and resurrection accomplished and fulfilled every law under the Old Testament in which the Jews were required to follow.
"But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart (that is, the word of faith which we preached): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." (Romans 9:8-10.)
The second example of a Gentile who was saved is in chapter 10 of the book of Acts.
God came to Peter with a vision to prepare him to go and preach to a Gentile. This God did, because he knew the hearts of his people were stubborn and couldn't imagine they should keep company with Gentiles (This is another story with many other lessons), but suffice it to say, unless God made it abundantly clear, Peter would not have gone, nor would have the men he chose to go with him.
Cornelius was a Gentile man who believed in God, prayed, and did the best he could with the information he had. God saw his heart and He chose to send Peter to preach the Gospel of Salvation to Cornelius and his family. (Read chapter 10 for the complete account.)
Peter goes to his home as commanded--where Cornelius was anxiously awaiting his arrival. Once there, Peter began to preach the message of salvation.
"And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He [Jesus] who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins." While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. And those of the circumcision [Jews], who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also…Then Peter answered, Can anyone forbid water, that these should not be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord." (Acts 10:42-48)
The account of the Eunuch and Cornelius reveal to us the transition that took place between the Old Covenant-which in short, is having faith in the coming Messiah and the requirements that follow, to the New Testament, which in short, is having faith and trust that Jesus was and remains the Messiah.
The Jews had to wait for the remission of their sins until Jesus resurrected; for those who believed after the resurrection, it was instant. It had nothing to do with baptism.
What can we conclude? It seems that water baptism follows a change of heart and putting faith and trust in Jesus. We also see that having faith in God is not enough. God made it clear to this wonderfully righteous man named Cornelius that He needed to receive the Holy Spirit as a seal and guarantee of salvation, by having faith in Jesus, the Son of God.
It also shows us that all who are sincere in their desire to know the truth about God, will be blessed with those who will help them. It was true for me. It is very encouraging to know that God will send us someone to lead the way to Jesus. The question is-will we respond?
These accounts of Gentiles being converted and baptized are a wonderful example of one of the many things God did by sending His Son to pay the price for the sin of mankind-that is he made a new race of people. He did this by breaking down the wall that separates Jews from Gentiles. For in Christ, there is neither Jew nor Gentile, only His children--the body of Christ. (Ephesians 2:1-21)
This subject will be addressed in The Baptism Into Christ - part 5 of this series which will follow shortly.
© Teresa Ortiz
This Article has been viewed 1,369 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
More commentsTeresa, I don't know where I've been to have missed Parts I-III but I will read them. You are an anointed Bible scholar. I enjoy Biblical history over any other. Thank you for your in depth research, knowledge and willingness to share for the edification of others. Bless you, my dear friend. Hugs 'n love!Hi Avis, thanks so much for the support--it is my favorite also. I love teaching and teaching in the form of an article is pretty new to me, so I hope I improve. I'm glad you were blessed. Yup, you'll have to go back and catch up :-)
Love and hugs right back to ya!For those who don't know what a "scholar" is... it's first required that one can understand the book/books being studied in the language they were written in.
I wouldn't accept a man from China as a Shakespearian Scholar who couldn't even understand English. The words "Biblical Scholar" have been thrown around so much they have lost their meaning.
Rabbi StanleyThanks for clarifying.
You are a very gifted Bible teacher. I have always loved the story of babtism. It reminds me of the same message Mark shared at church not long ago. Then to follow up, our Monday night Bible study was also on babtism. I too will have to go back and look at lesson 1-3. I hadn't been on SW for almost a year until the last month or so. As you can see, Mark does the SW writing in our family while I do more of the Praise and Worship. Speaking of tonite(Monday), better go get ready!Blessings.Hi Michelle, thank you. I'm so grateful the Lord has given me the ability to teach. Nothing makes me happier than to encourage and teach others in the ways of the Lord. May God bless your study tonight and may everyone come away closer to Jesus than when they first walked in the doors! I do have to confess, I do covet the gift of singing. I can muttle through, but definetly not my gift :-)Lord bless you!!
Wonderfully inspirational article. I loved it, Teresa. You sound like such a wonderfully sweet person. God bless you and yours. Sandra.Hi Sandra, what a sweet thing to say :-) You sound like a sweet,sweet person yourself. I love reading your stories :-)God bless you and yours as well. I am glad you like the article, I hope it the teaching was clear and understandable.
Great article Teresa, You laid it out and made it easy to follow and understand. I like that. I wholeheartedly agree with this statement: >>It also shows us that all who are sincere in their desire to know the truth about God, will be blessed with those who will help them.<< When I was thirty five years old and living on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, the Lord set up a situation and brought people to me that led me to Him. He will go to great lengths to find those who seek Him.Hi Jay, thanks for bearing witness to that statement. Praise the Lord for what he did for you and what he does for all who want to know Him. As He says "When you seek me with your whole heart, you will find me" Jeremiah 29:10-13 One of my fav's!
Lord bless you!
hi t,
i tried as hard as i could to understand the scripture parts, to no avail, but the way you wrote your article was wonderful. you have come a long way in being precise and direct, and honest, as well as spreading the word. keep doing it. i wouldn't change a thing,
my best,
sueHi Sue, thank you for the wonderful comment and for your support. It means a lot to me for many reasons. :-)
I just came back from the other house....I am telling my story right now, while it is on my heart :-) It probably won't show up until tomorrow!
You wrote..."God came to Peter with a vision to prepare him to go and preach to a Gentile. This God did, because he knew the hearts of his people were stubborn and couldn't imagine they should keep company with Gentiles (This is another story with many other lessons), but suffice it to say, unless God made it abundantly clear, Peter would not have gone, nor would have the men he chose to go with him."There’s many things I disagree with you on in this article but I’ll address this one. You have completely misunderstood the Jews and their culture as well as important Scriptural principles.It had absolutely nothing to do with “stubbornness”. The Gentiles were known for horrific practices including eating animals sacrificed to foreign idols. G-d had strictly forbidden His people to participate in eating from these kinds of sacrifices. The Jews had stopped eating in Gentiles houses for fear that they may unknowingly break one of G-d’s precious commandments. To say this was because they are a stubborn people is a slam and just another example of Anti-Semitic theology based on a misunderstanding of the First Century Church and Scripture.Rabbi StanleyHi Rabbi Stanley,Thank you for your comments.G-d himself called his people a stubborn people. In the Old Testament and the New Testament. He said he would provoke them to jealously by making salvation available to the Gentile. And the beautiful thing is he uses a Jew to do it.If you call me anti-semetic, then you also call G-d the same. The vision He gave Peter has many applications, but for this article, I used it in this context, it is clear from the book of Acts, that Peter needed this encouragment.I love, respect, and value the Jewish people and culture, G-d calls us to pray for the peace of of His people Israel and I do.By the way, I have never said Gentile were did not perform stubborn and horrific acts.My point in the article is that the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is was gives new birth, was given to Cornelius after he believed the word and before he was baptized. This is whole context of this article. Each part stands on its own. And It has been awhile, but I still have three parts to complete.Blessings and peace to you, TeresaHow convenient that you can call my people stubborn because G-d called His people stubborn. G-d is free to call me that. However, I'd like to point out that YOU are NOT my people so please refrain. It's a good thing that He did not call the Mexicans lazy isn't it? Yeshua called self righteous people "vipers" but that doesn't give me the right to say that to you does it? You should note that the Bible was written by Jews for Jews so it's one thing if my own people write that we are stubborn and quite another if you say such things.
I'm not saying that you are an anti-Semite but I am saying that you have an abundance of anti-Semitic theology in your writings as do most Christians. Please be sensitive with any sweeping generalizations concerning the Jews. I'm sure G-d would agree with that.
Rabbi StanleyHi Rabbi Stanley,I do not call all of your people stubborn. How else though, is one to share and teach the word of the Lord, without using Scriptures and quoting what Yeshua spoke?Also, as a matter of fact, there are a lot of lazy mexicans, I have no problem with that truth. I have a few of them in my family.I am not offended when a person of another culture/race notices this fact. truth is truth.Also, with all respect, you ask me and many others not to make sweeping generaliziations about your people but you yourself do the same thing to others. You assume all Christians feel the same way toward the Jewish people as a certain sect of Christianity does, yet even in that sect, not all feel the same.I appreciate your passion toward your people, however, in my opinion, your zeal causes you to sound hateful to all Christians. Remember, I am not accusing you of this, I am just saying it is what it sounds like in the way you write and the way you comment.I am fully aware of the place of a gentile believer and I have never taught that Christians replace or are higher than the Jew. I will try to say this clearly - Not all Jews were stubborn and rejected the Messiah, but some were. There is no denying this fact. However, it is no different the the stubborness and unrepentant heart of a gentile who believes that they can earn their way to heaven without surrendering to the grace and spritiual laws of God and walk in obedience. Faith and confession that Jesus is Lord activates God's grace to save us. We are either saved or not - no matter what our race and culture.Believe it or not, we are on the same side.I honestly think sometimes that you read things into what some people say, and make an issue about something that is not one. I am not attacking you, it is my experience and observation. I think our energies would be much better spent in talking about the different perspectives we have. Our Heavenly Father is a big God and he works in and through people in different ways.Anway, now I am rambling.Lord bless you. TeresaSince you feel so free to tell me what you think of me personally, I'll be just as free.
When you or anyone else says that the Jews were stubborn, you just called ALL of us stubborn. No different if I say the Mexicans are lazy. And you did say the Jews are stubborn... not SOME of the Jews are stubborn. I also think you're fooling yourself if you think there's no difference between you talking about your own people or relatives then if someone else ( who is not the same race as you) says the same things about your people or relatives.
Now let me ask you. Do you really think it's ok to take potshots at Jews because it's in the Bible but it's not ok for Jews to take pot shots at you? Is that really fair? I'll tell you this, I dont care if G-d or heaven or hell say something negative about my people, if you do it, I will defend them in every way I can. You can not hide behind the Scripture while you sling negative remarks about my race and then not expect me to not shoot back.
I understand that you think I'm making a big deal out of nothing. Has it occured to you that you feel that way because it is not a big deal to YOU? Let me challenge you to do a brief study on the persecution of Jews at the hands of Scripture. I've interviewed the grand dragon of the KKK in Texas and the number 2 man of the Aryan Nations and they just love to quote Scripture. Did you know that the Aryan Nations real name is "His Church Christian"? It is completly backed by the Bible. It is not a far reach from "Those stiff necked people" to "Christ killers".
I deal with anti-semitism in the church almost daily. How many times have you dealt with it? Get yourself out of your little Christian circle and try on someone elses shoes. If you can not see that a Jew might be offended by your remarks, then there's nothing I can tell you and you're simply oblivious.
Truth be told, I don't think you set out on this article to attack Jews. I'm guessing you may even have a Jewish friend. But I do think that you never took the time to think about what you're saying when you quote these particular Scriptures. I think you believe that if the Bible says it, you don't have to use any wisdom as to where or to whom you can quote it. The Bible uses the word "whore" too but you know what? I've never used that word when I used to do street ministry. I just used a little common sense and no one was offended... not even the "hypersensitive" ones.
Rabbi StanleyRabbi Stanley,You challenge me to do something I have already done and as I pointed out, I asked you for advice on how to write this piece in a non offensive way. I may be oblivious to some things, but I am not above learning.Again, you are not offering a solution, you are just continuing to lump me with a group of people I do not associate myself with.And I have more than a Jewish friend, I have Jewish family members who have family members that were in those concentration camps - so please, quit assuming you know anything about me.Again I will ask you for a solution to explaining biblical truths without quoting the scripture that pertains to the subject.I see your point in that I said "Jews" and not "some Jews" I will fix that, and remember to do so in future articles. So, I do apologize for this mistake, I did not consider it, but I am not perfect, nor all knowing, so you will have to extend a little grace when I fail to meet every standard you have.Perhaps someday, you will be willing to take a step back and see that you might need a little alteration in your approach as well. You do a very good job at pointing out others insensitivity, but it seems from my experience with you, that you do not consider your own use of language.You have a lot of knowledge which I respect and I really think we could serve others better to learn to unite the two perspectives, just as what our Lord prayed in John 17 and what his desire is according to Ephesians. and that we would remember that by His death and resurrection he made the two peoples one in Him.TeresaI also said that you can balance your writings. When you say that the "Jews are stubborn" then you can add "so are the Gentiles". When I deal with other Jews, I defend Christians all the time. On this site I have only had to defend the Jews. Why don't you do a search here on searchwarp on Jews and Israel and you'll quickly find there are many anti-semitic articles here. If you want a list of them I will send it to you as I've commented on every one of them. I'm tired of hearing that the Jews rejected Jesus and tired of hearing that they failed G-d. They fact is they've done neither. Are they stubborn, yeah, I'll give you that (it should be obvious to you by now that I also fall into that catagory) but I'll balance that out by saying that the Gentiles haven't done any better in the last 2,000 years that they have had the Gospel. The Jews had the Good News for what, one generation and they spread it all over the world. The Gentiles have had it ever since and you're losing ground.
Also just because your Jewish friends have put up with you going around saying that the Scripture says that they are a stubborn people and they don't say anything, don't expect that they aren't thinking the same thing I am.
Good luck,
Rabbi StanleyYou assume you know my friends, as I told you, I learned much from them, and they use the same wording I do when they teach. And I did acknowledge in the other comment I left you about seeing the bigger picture. I talk about disobedient Christians often. Because often, I am one of them. I always include myself in any instructional articles I write.If you read through my articles, most of them do not even deal with the jewish people as much as they do with what it walking in grace and practical application of the Scriptures. And I agree, there are some articles and some comments that are mean against the Jews but there are also alot of stabs at Christians too.It goes both ways, Rabbi.
Actually Teresa,When Paul was discussing confessing with one's mouth that Christ was the risen Messiah he was speaking in response to a sect that did not believe in the afterlife, and to those who preached that Christ was merely a man.Also, baptism ( water immersion for the repentance of sins ) was certainly nothing new to Jews, for the purity laws required them to immerse themselves in pools of water known as mikvahs. This was so commonly practiced that it became almost an obsession. In fact, in Hebrew, baptism simply means to immerse oneself or to go under.Also, I agree that saying that the hearts of Jews were stubborn in the negative sense of the word is unfair. They were obedient to G-d. G-d had instructed them to keep themselves a separate people. Even Jesus had said to the Samaritan woman " Salvation is from the Jew's " and told the apostles to at first appear only to the lost sheep of Israel.I'm studying the Hebraic origins of the Church and Judaism of the 1st century formerly at the moment ( I am getting my Master's in Religious Education and Middle Eastern History ), and it is quite a fascinating study. Many, many of the parables of Jesus came straight from the Talmud, for example.One of the most important things to keep in mind in exegesis is context: who was the Scripture being written to, and what exactly was it referring to. Often times, Paul changes his meaning of the word law and to which law he is referring to in his letters. If you read them very closely with this in mind, it will increase your understanding.ShalomThat's right. Without a complete understanding of the Mikva any theology following is shaky at best. Yohanan the Immerser was simply following Jewish practice and was carried out by the early Believers in the same manner after the death and resurrection of Yeshua. Baptisim in Churches today are performed incorrectly. Christian leadership needs to get back to the roots of the ritual bath in order that the true meaning of Baptisim is restored.Ha! I was just coming back here to say the exact same thing!Yes, if Christians put more emphasis on baptism as a ritual of purification: then this would deepen its meaning to them, and put it back into its proper context.Hi Jennifer,How are you today? Are you feeling better?If you read the introduction of this study, you will see that I explained purification and cleansing was nothing new to the Jews and that "baptism" in its basic sense of meaning, just means to immerse something in water.Remember, we had this conversation a few months back when we were discussing the importance of baptism ?As far as talking about the stubborness of the Jews in a negative sense - I think you know me better than that. However, if we get down to the bottom line, there is nothing positive about being stubborn. And that goes for anyone who rejects Christ as Messiah, no matter what the culture.And yes, context is everything, we talked about this on several occassions.I think its awesome that you are studying Theology, I know God , or if you now prefer G-d, is going to bring about some amazing things for you. We both know he already has.I would only ask you one favor, please do not start assuming that those who teach and speak as the Bible speaks of the stubbornish or rejection by the jews for the Messiah, are being disrespectful, arrogant, or unfair. It is a biblical and God revealed fact. We also had this conversation many times as well.My whole point in this particular article was to point out that beginning with Cornelius, the Holy spirit was given to a Gentile, before water baptism. It had significant meaning to the the jews, because the first thing they did was acknowledge that God indeed brought salvation to the Gentiles. The power of God is in His Spirit.It's good to hear from you, take good care!Love and hugs,TeresaPlease try to understand,We are not meaning to attack the writers in these articles..( I shouldn't even be commenting, I honestly don't have the time ).It is only what we fear that readers might infer from certain phrases, if however subconciously, as being disrespectful of the Jewish people, or failing to recognize their contribution to the whole development of the Church in the first place.So, and I think that Rabbi Stanley would agree, please don't take it personally. This is strictly commentary on certain wording that might be misunderstood. And as scholars of the origins of the Church, we are well aware of the misunderstanding that have led up to antisemetism, as if the Jewish people had no part in bringing the Church alive, which it was in all Truth, entirely comprised of the Jewish people: Jewish thought, philosophy, exegesis, and spirituality. Thereby, Jesus was the fulfillment of the very Jewish Scriptures.And I am not saying that you don't know this, Teresa. I know that you do. I only want others to know this as well because it is part of the Truth. And it is a beautiful thing.Shalom,JenniferHi Jennifer, thank you for clarifying, I can see how there is this fear from Jewish believers, and each person with differing perspectives need to be sensitive, I agree.But also, it helps when the commentor states this fear rather than assuming the writer is unaware of Scripture or is one who believes the church is the new Israel.I suppose there is hypersensitity on both sides, but some people are rather mean in their delivery and when that is addressed, even more apparant anger follows.I fully appreciate what you are doing in being a tool to bridge the gap for both sides. Thank you.Hugs,TeresaIt is not a fact that the Jews rejected the Messiah. 50% of the Jews during the Second Temple Period received Him. That is a higher percentage then any other nation then or ever since. If the Jews rejected Him then please tell me who accepted Him? Not the Romans who killed millions of Jews in the name of Christ? Not the Spanish who killed millions in the Inqusition? Not today's liberal Europe where drugs and prostitution are legalized. Not America where we kill millions of babies via abortions every year. Please, give me one nation that has "accepted" Him then I will concede that the Jews rejected Him. Otherwise, check your "facts"
Rabbi StanleyWe already covered this. Not all Jews rejected Christ , this is an obvious fact.Ok then we'll leave it at 50% of the Jews rejected Him and 90% of the Gentiles have too. I'm ok with that.
Good night,
Rabbi Stanleyworks for me :-)
I think any Jew would take it personally if they read these comments. I could hear them now saying, "Who does this person think she is by calling us names?" You wouldn't walk into an African American Church and say anything about Blacks so why aren't Jews given the same courtesy? you can call it hypersensitivity all you want but it's clear you are labeling us and using G-d to back it up. I'd say that should be addressed.Rabbi StanleyRabbi Stanley, I am not labeling all of you, just those of that time period who were specially having a hard time believing God would go to the gentiles.In all respect and humilty,How would you go about teaching this truth? Please give me an example. Would it be better to exclude certian Scripture. I would like to learn so that I would be sensitive if what you say is true.I have many Jewish friends and family and they have never taken offense, we have great conversations. Also, the worship leader in the congregation I used to attended in CA is Jewish and we learned a wealth of information from him. We fellowship with many Jewish believers and they teach this the same way I do. In fact, much of my teaching style comes from my studying my Jewish believers.You are the first I have encountered with such intensity against gentile believers.I look forward to an example of a better way to teach this truth. Thank you.Peace. Teresa
You know, it may not mean much to you but are you aware that before WWII that comments were made just like yours here. Martin Luther, the founder of the Lutherans, started out the same way and even used Scripture to back up his hatred towards the Jews. In his book "Of The Jews And Their Lies" he stepped it up a bit and went so far as to say that all the Rabbis should be burned alive. Hitler went on to quote him when preparing "The Final Solution". It all started out with, "God said the Jews are..." Hypersensitive? The Jews in Germany should've been so hypersensitive and we'd have a lot more of them around today.Hello again.I am aware, but I am not Martin Luther, and maybe you assume to much. I don't agree with a lot of what he had to say. You also assume I don't know anything about the Jewish culture.I don't hate Jews, why do you insist that people who read the Scriptures for what they say, hate the Jews? I don't deny many did and do, but not all. The Catholic Church and Martin Luther do not speak for all Christians. Admittingly, many, but not all. And not all Catholics and Lutherans agree with what their denomination did.And just because people call themselves a Christian does not mean they are.We could go around and round. Bottom line is Grace and Truth, may God lead us all in that direction.So far to my knowledge, I have never had a comment on any of my articles where someone acknowledged or build upon anti-semitism.Like I said, I think you are reading too much into my articles. If you think I have said hateful things, then you must look at your style of writing, you say things that come of very hateful you even call people names for believing the bible a certain way. I have never done that.I would just encourage you to look at yourself and examine your own style while you point out what you feel are errors in other peoples style.Maybe if you wrote or responded in an informative matter, stating the different perspective, than just telling someone they are being mean or that they are wrong will help to clear up confusion.I will be more sensetive to the way I phrase things so that it will not appear that I am being all inclusive.Blessings. TeresaLook, I don't hate real Believers who are Gentiles but I have no love in my heart for those who carelessly say negative things about Jews but have not once said anything negative about Gentiles. I can say things like, "The Jews rejected Yeshua" but if I don';t balance that with "and so did the Gentiles" then I have given a one sided statement. And this is exactly how I present Scripture, I make sure there is a balance. I do not hate un saved Gentiles either but I'm also keenly aware that Satan is bent on killing all the Jews if possible... and I promise you that wont come by the hands of other Jews.
I've examined myself on this topic at length for many years. I can assure you I've put more time into understanding anti-semitism then you have. Just as I'm sure you understand the Mexican culture vastly more then I do. I do radio shows that are broadcast coast to coast as well as speak globally on the issue and I get it from both sides believe me. Non-believing Jews say I'm a traitor and not a Jew and Christains say I'm a Jew and not a Believer. So I've taken a good hard look at this for a long time. Can you take a look at it now, question yourself and then tell me there's no better way to approach the negative quotes in the Bible and translations towards the Jewish people?
Rabbi StanleyBalance is my goal and my prayer. Always has been and always will be. I am still learning.Thanks for this conversation. I have learned, I hope you have too. Blessings, Teresa
It was a good article until..the sensitive people got involved...get realHi Corinth Ians, thanks for reading and for the comment. I suppose when this subject is discussed there is always the possiblity of tension. It's all in how we respond as the good Lord says :-) Blessings to you! Teresa
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