HADAVAR MESSIANIC MINISTRIES
SCHOOL OF BIBLICAL AND JEWISH STUDIES
"The HaDavar
(The Word) school is geared to provide high quality Biblical
and Jewish studies to any Christian who wants to
grow in the Word of God." It offers extensive
low cost live studies at Irvine Community Church,
Irvine, California and invites you to contact them at
Hadavar Messianic
Ministries.
The Association of
Messianic Congregations is privileged to present the complete
set of online studies offered by the HaDavar School of Biblical
and Jewish Studies. Links to previous studies in the series may
be found in our
Library
and
Sound
Doctrine pages.
SECTION 1:
GETTING TO KNOW GOD
STUDY 4:
PRESENTING THE BIBLE
FROM A JEWISH PERSPECTIVE
By Robert Morris
"Not one of the
witnessing courses I have taken has
prepared me to witness to Jewish people."
The Problem
In our evangelical churches, we train believers to
present the Gospel. However, not one of the witnessing courses I
have taken has
prepared me to witness to Jewish people.
The Need
When you present the Gospel to Jewish people, there is a
special consideration that you should keep in mind. The Jewish
person
will not consider the New Testament authoritative. He or she
will consider the New Testament to be a Gentile book that
teaches
about the Gentile “god” and is not for the Jew.
The Mistake
The mistake is presenting the Gospel using the New Testament
alone. Put yourself in the shoes of a Jewish person by
considering
this scenario. A Mormon presents to you his beliefs out of the
Book of Mormon. He has struck out before he begins because you
do not consider his book to be the truth. Likewise, the Jewish
person feels the New Testament is unreliable.
The Solution
The solution is to present the Gospel from the Old
Testament. The “Good News” is clearly evident within its pages.
The Presentation
The following is a suggested presentation of
the “Good News” from the Old Testament. Your Jewish friend has
no choice but to
accept this presentation authoritative because it is from his
own Bible.
1. All have sinned
|
The Lord
has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men to
see if there are any who understand, who seek after
God. They have all turned aside, together they have
become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not
even one.
~ Psalm 14:2-3 ~ |
2. The consequence of sin is death
|
Behold,
all souls are Mine; the soul of the father as well
as the soul
of the son is Mine. The soul who sins will die.
~ Ezekiel 18:4 ~ |
3. The sinner can escape punishment if a substitute dies in his
place
|
For the
life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given
it to you on the altar to make atonement
for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the
life that makes atonement.
~ Leviticus 17:11 ~ |
4. Messiah is the ultimate substitute
|
All of us
like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned
to his own way;
but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to
fall on Him.
~ Isaiah 53:6 ~ |
5. To receive forgiveness personally, we must trust God the way
our father Abraham did
|
Then he
(Abraham) believe in the Lord; and He reckoned it to
him a righteousness.
~ Genesis 15:6 ~ |
At this point, move to the New Testament
6. Today, the only proper object of our trust
is Messiah Yeshua
|
But as
many as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become
children of God, even to those who believe in His
name.
~ John 1:12 ~
For God
so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have
eternal life.
~ John 3:16 ~ |
As you can see, the “Good News” is absolutely Biblical and
Jewish as well. Have fun, and may God be with you.
|
In 1981, Robert
Morris established the Beth Ariel Center in Seattle,
Washington, and served as its director for three years.
In 1988, he completed a Masters of Divinity program with
a concentration in Jewish ministries at Western
Conservative Baptist Seminary. In 1989, he planted
Kehilat Ha-Mashiach (Congregation of the Messiah), a
Messianic Jewish congregation in Portland, Oregon, and
watched it grow from 15 to 140 people over a period of
seven years while seeing a steady number of Jewish
people come to faith in Yeshua. During that period, he
also served as a Bible camp director/teacher and as a
conference speaker in the United States, Russia,
Germany, and Israel. In 1997, Robert become Ariel
Ministries Executive Director where he reorganized the
ministry, began and directed Ariel’s Department of
Missions and Training, and served as an Ariel Field
Representative. In March 2001, he founded HaDavar
Messianic Ministries in Irvine, CA., where he serves as
pastor while simultaneously supporting evangelistic
activities on college campuses and training local
Messianic fellowships, Messianic congregations, and
conventional churches.
HaDavar's home page is at
www.hadavar.org.
|
Return to Home Page
