Salvation in Old Testament Times

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Written by Larry Rich

On what basis could salvation be obtained in Old Testament times? Jesus was not yet born, and the New Testament affirms that there was no other way to the Father except through Jesus (John 14:6). What about all those Old Testament believers? Was there a way for them?

In Samuel Schultz’s book, The Gospel According to Moses, it is noted that salvation has never been by works, but has always been by grace through faith. The Old Testament sacrificial system was a means of providing a temporary “covering” for sin, but not a permanent “removal” of our sin. The means of salvation, both then and now, was trusting in God’s gracious provision of One who would remove sin.

Salvation as Interpreted by Judaism

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Written by David Sedaca

It is not uncommon to see on top of a church building a sign that read simply JESUS SAVES. Just by placing a sign with these simple two words these churches are stating what their fundamental belief is: the need for salvation and that Jesus is the one who provides it. And this is precisely a point of friction with traditional Judaism, namely, that there is a need for a savior, and that that savior is Jesus.

We need to go back to the earliest biblical texts to understand the Jewish concept of salvation. Based on God’s unique relationship with the people of Israel as presented in the Tanach (Old Testament), salvation is almost always understood as collective and national, not personal and individual. Thus, the Lord hears the cries of the children of Israel and delivers them from bondage.

Jesus is the Only Way to Be Saved

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By Dr. Michael Brown

From Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: Vol. 1 – General and Historical Objections

Is it arrogant to claim that Jesus is the only way to be saved?

Objection 2.15 – “Christianity is just another great world religion, like Islam, Hinduism, or Buddhism. But it is certainly not the true Messianic faith and the only way to find God. In fact, I find it to be the height of arrogance that Jesus claimed to be the only way to the Father. This is small-minded conceit at its worst.”

At first, it would seem to be the height of arrogance and intolerance to claim that people can come into right relationship with God only through Jesus. After all, there are sincere, moral, deity-fearing people in every religion of the world. Why must Christians think their religion alone is right? Why not follow the teachings of traditional Judaism that the righteous among every nation – not just Israel, or in this case, the church – have a place in the world to come?

Book Review: To the Jew First

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By Alan Shore

To the Jew FirstTo the Jew First, which takes the Apostle Paul’s proclamation in Romans 1:16 as its organizing principle, is a collection of papers that were offered at a series of conferences of the same title in New York City and Florida in 2000 and 2001. Contributors from a variety of learning institutions and theological perspectives considered the mandate for Jewish evangelism from three viewpoints: biblical, theological and missiological.

In the first section, the scholars wrestle with the meaning and application of the Bible itself with regard to Israel and Jewish evangelism. It includes “For the Jew First: Paul’s Nota Bene for His Gentile Readers” by Mark A. Seifrid, “Jewish Evangelism in the New Millennium in Light of Israel’s Future (Romans 9-11)” by Walter C. Kaiser, “The Book of Acts and Jewish Evangelism: Three Approaches and One Common Thread” by Darrell L. Bock, “Jesus’ Denunciation of the Jewish Leaders in Matthew 23 and Witness to Religious Jews Today” by David L. Turner and “The Message of the Prophets and Jewish Evangelism” by Richard E. Averbeck.

Sharing the Gospel with Jewish Young People

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Written by Ryan K.

1. Recognize that we do not convince anybody of the Messiahship of Jesus; we simply present the evidence and implore them to consider it. God is the true changer of hearts.

2.  Remember that young Jewish people tend to be more skeptical about many of the things they have been told that may have been commonly accepted in previous generations. They might challenge the idea of Judaism or any religion at all. They may value the sciences and hold them higher than the idea of God or the Scripture’s account of history. If they believe in “God,” they often tend towards an idea of universalism that reduces God to a mysterious power that can be sought through a variety of ways, religions, and actions; it often does not match the God of the Bible. With all of these possibilities, sometimes one cannot even begin to share the Gospel from the Old Testament with a Jewish young person because of their skepticism toward God and Scriptures in general. If the God of Moses is not real to them, then Moses’ words will not have much impact.

Jewish Evangelism on College Campuses

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Interview with Doug P.

Of the sixty universities in North America with the largest Jewish student bodies, eight are in New York City, accounting for roughly 32,000 graduate and undergraduate students.* This large number represents a vibrant mission field, one in which Chosen People Ministries’ staff member Doug P. has faithfully served for a number of years, making contacts through book tables and one-on-one conversations. Staff writer Alan Shore caught up with Doug for an interview and the answers to several timely questions.

Facts About the Jewish Community in New York City

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September 2005

The Jewish community in New York City is still as important as ever and continues to be the largest concentration of Jewish people in the world!

There are 1,412,000 Jewish people in the eight counties that compose New York and its environs. To this, however, one may add over 350,000 Jewish people in New Jersey and 50,000 in southern Connecticut, many of whom live in suburbs and bedroom communities that still look to New York City as their center.

One of the major changes in the fabric of Jewish life in New York City and the area immediately surrounding it is the dramatic rise in intermarriage. Recent statistics show that 22% of couples in New York are intermarried-a high percentage, although still well below the national average. This includes married couples who were wed at a time when intermarriage was relatively rare. From 1998-2002, however, that number rose to 36%. This represents over a four-fold increase in the past thirty years.

The Lord’s Harvest Around the World

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Last month, the Jewish people celebrated the High Holy Days, which include the autumn harvest festival, Sukkot (Feast of Booths). This month, we want to give thanks for another kind of harvest – a harvest of Jewish souls that the Lord has reaped through the prayers of His people and through the evangelistic work of Chosen People Ministries’ staff members around the world.

Join us as we take a brief tour across the globe to visit the various corners of the Lord’s vineyard where the Gospel is bearing fruit among the Jewish communities that we seek to serve.

Jewish Population of the World

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There are approximately between 13 and 14 million Jewish people in the world today. However, this figure is an educated guess. One reason for this lack of precision is that there is disagreement as to what constitutes Jewish identity.

Prof. Sergio Della Pergola, head of the Institute of Contemporary Jewry at the Hebrew University, identifies four basic groupings within this population:

• “Traditional” Jews who consistently perform Jewish traditional ritual practices: Two million.

• “Ethnic” Jews who, while not necessarily religious, forge their bonds through Jewish religious and social institutions: Six million.

Birobidzhan: The Soviet Jewish Homeland

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The Jewish Autonomous Region of Birobidzhan, Josef Stalin’s solution to his “Jewish Problem,” was established in 1934. After the Russian Revolution, the Jewish people-many of whom had harbored high hopes for the rise of Communism-found themselves mired in the same crushing poverty and persecution as before.

Stalin decided to kill three birds with one stone: make the Jews into cheerful and hardy agricultural workers, populate a buffer zone that would keep China and Japan in check, and score a diplomatic coup by giving the Jewish people their first homeland in almost 2,000 years. The region of Birobidzhan was the solution-an area in Far East Russia about twice the size of New Jersey. At its height in the late 1930s, the population of the region was 109,000.