The Jew/Gentile Question
- Ron Cantor
- Aug 31, 2023
- 2 min read
President of Shelanu TV
Tel Aviv, Israel
This may be one of the most important blogs I’ll ever write. There is so much confusion when it comes to the Jew/Gentile question. Who does God love more? We all know the answer—God loves all his children equally. However, we don’t always act like it.
Some Jewish believers act superior to Gentile believers.
Some Gentile believers feel inadequate because they are not Jewish, and they wish they had Jewish ancestry.
Some Gentile believers believe that God has rejected Israel in favor of the Church, which is called Replacement Theology or Supersessionism.
All of the above statements are wrong! The truth is, “God is not one to show favoritism” (Acts 10:24, TLV). He doesn’t love someone more because they are a man, woman, Jew, priest, Levite, etc. The verse that proves this is often misunderstood and misused to destroy the idea of different roles or callings after coming to faith.
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female—for you are all one in Messiah Yeshua” (Galatians 3:28 TLV).
Generic Believers?
The wrong interpretation, which has been adopted by Replacement or Fulfillment Theology, is that there is absolutely no difference between Jewish and Gentile believers. Once you come to faith, you are a generic being. In fact, some would say that when a Jewish person receives Yeshua, he or she is no longer Jewish, but is merely part of the body of Messiah.
Clearly Paul is not saying that after salvation there are no longer any physical or cultural distinctions. The correct interpretation of Paul’s words is that despite our different roles or callings, when it comes to intimacy with Yeshua and the receiving of salvation, there is no favoritism or nepotism. It is NOT easier for Jews to approach Yeshua. God doesn’t give Jewish believers special access to His presence.
Equality Before Distinctions
Here is where the offense begins. We focus on the distinctions before focusing on the fact that we are equal. I once heard a pastor friend say:
“Only after we accept the fact that we are equal can we appreciate our differences.”
Something jumped in me when he said this! Distinctions without equality lead to racism, control, manipulation and abuse. The point of Galatians 3:28 is that we are all equal before God at the most basic level. You can’t appreciate distinctions of male, female, peoplehood and calling among us before first understanding that basic equality.
Originally posted Jan 5, 2020
