Did Israel all speak the same language?

Question: Was Israel of one language? Did the nation of Israel all speak the same language? Thank you. Answer: Israelites spoke Hebrew. After the captivity, Aramaic was spoke a good bit and portions of the Old Testament are written in Aramaic. During Jesus’ day, Aramaic was the common language and Hebrew was the “religious” language,…

Read More

The Gospel of the Circumcision and the Uncircumcision

https://www.lavistachurchofchrist.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/GospelOfTheCircumcisionAndTheUncircumcision.mp3 Text: Galatians 2:1-10   I.         I suppose a casual reader could read verse 7 from our text and come away with the idea that two different messages were being taught.             A.        One being taught to the Gentiles and a different message being taught to the Jews.             B.        Yet the goal of the gospel was to unite Jews…

Read More

Was Abraham a Gentile or a Jew?

Question: Was Abraham a Gentile or a Jew? I heard that he was first a Jew, but I also heard that He was a Gentile before and then a Jew. Answer: “Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for…

Read More

Will Jews be judged under the law or the new covenant?

Question: Will Jews be judged under the law or the new covenant? Answer: There is only one covenant in effect today. “Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Everyone is judged according to Jesus’ teachings. “He…

Read More

What is the difference between Hebrew, Israel, Jew, Canaan, etc.?

Question: God promised to bring the people of Israel to the promised land, and the Jews went to the promised land, but wasn’t there more people in Israel than just the Jews? Answer: I’m having trouble with your question because I think there are some problems with definitions. Hebrew This was the term to refer…

Read More

Are Jews a race or a religion?

Question: Are Jews a race or a religion? Answer: In the Bible, the concept of “race” does not exist. The Bible talks about nationalities, but not “race.” See How did the different races come about? for more details. The word “Jew” is a derivation of “Judah.” When the kingdom of Israel divided, the ten northern tribes continued…

Read More

Why did God choose the Jews?

Question: “Why did God choose the Jews?” is what a lady in Bible study asked me recently. My first thought was, “Why did God make the sky blue?” recognizing that the people which became the Israelites were completely made that way by the laws of God, not by themselves (the people thus an arbitrary point).…

Read More

Did an Israelite have to be born again under the Old Law?

Question: I have two questions: Did the Old Testament believers’ experience being “born again” or “regeneration” as experienced with the New Testament believers through Jesus Christ? Are born again believers still considered to be “sinners” or “saints” and why? Answer: There are several passages that use the allegory of birth to explain the change that…

Read More

How can one become a Jew?

Question: In Esther 8:17, how can one become a Jew? Answer: “And in every province and city, wherever the king’s command and decree came, the Jews had joy and gladness, a feast and a holiday. Then many of the people of the land became Jews, because fear of the Jews fell upon them” (Esther 8:17).…

Read More

Will only black people and Israelites be saved?

Question: So what’s this I hear that only Black people and Israelites are going to be saved? Answer: I don’t know your sources, but it is obviously false. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And…

Read More

Were proselytes considered Jews?

Question: Were proselytes considered “Jews”?  For instance, would a proselyte have been welcome in the temple or synagogue? Answer: A person who converted to Judaism was considered equal to those born under Jewish law. Yes, they were welcomed into the synagogue. When Paul was teaching in the synagogue, there were proselytes there. “Now when the…

Read More

Are Christians considered to be Israelites?

Question: Are those who are now under the new covenant, Christians, considered to be Israelites now? Are we the part of the nation of Israel? Figuratively speaking, of course. Answer: Christians are not physically Israelites, but we are the spiritual equivalent. “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that…

Read More

Why didn’t the Jews believe Jesus?

Question: Why didn’t the Jews believe Jesus? Answer: It is a curious thing, is it not, that the Son of God came to live among men (John 1:14), and yet he is rejected by the very people who had been expecting his arrival for thousands of years. “He was in the world, and the world…

Read More

Do Jews and Christians both follow the teachings of the Old Testament?

Question: Do Jews and Christians both follow the teachings of the Old Testament? Answer: The Old Testament was given solely to the nation of Israel. “And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: “Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be…

Read More