The Slippery Slope of Spiritual Merit
Live music caught our attention as my Life in Messiah colleague and I stepped out of the convention center in downtown Vancouver. Looking across the open square, we saw a large group, ranging from children to middle-aged adults, performing a folk dance.
Curious, we approached their booth and were quickly engaged in conversation by a man and woman. Explaining what the dancing group was all about, the pair cited Acts 2:44: “And all believers were together and had all things in common; and they would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need.” They beamed as they described their way of life.
“I live in a house with 50 other people,” the man said proudly. “We live like the early church, sharing all things in common.”
The woman smiled gently. “We’re learning to love each other and not be selfish,” she said.
Thirty seconds into this conversation, my colleague and I were certain we were talking to members of a cult.[1] They explained how they’d found all the answers in this community, how if only they’d known sooner, they wouldn’t have lost their children to the world; how wonderful life was now that they were living it God’s way. Unlike the fallen institution known as the church, their community was truly embodying what God had always meant the church to be.
We listened, feeling trapped, knowing we could say nothing to help them. From their perspective we were outsiders – fallen and deceived people who needed the answers they were offering. When we spoke, the world spoke through us, and this community had left the things of the world behind.
Eventually my colleague graciously excused us and we resumed our original goal of finding a place for lunch.
The encounter left me pondering how an idea straight from the Bible could be used to create something so wrong. Can anyone who starts with biblical principles end up in the same place? If so, how can I – and others in ministry – avoid making the same mistake?
As I researched the cult over the following weeks, what stuck out to me was their interpretation of Acts 2:44 as an imperative – as the verse to interpret all others, the principle delineating the faithful from the fallen. This group had forgotten the Source of life in their zeal for a way of life. Something other than the gospel had become their compass.
All believers, including those involved in Jewish ministry, must regularly examine our hearts to ensure the gospel remains foremost. Yeshua (Jesus) needs to be the center of our daily lives, our spiritual lives, our ministry, our theology, and our motives.
As an organization, Life in Messiah exists to reach the Jewish people with the gospel and to equip the church to do the same. Our message? That God loves and desires a personal relationship with each individual, and this relationship can only happen through Yeshua.[2] Our focus? We want everyone to hear the gospel, but we have a special burden for the Jewish people.
There is benefit in understanding and appreciating Jewish thought, values, and traditions; this understanding is key to communicating the gospel with sensitivity. However, we must be vigilant not to lose sight of Messiah in our love for His people.
As concrete beings living in a concrete world, we crave certainty. This human trait makes us vulnerable to a particular brand of deception that legalism, the Prosperity Gospel, and religious cults all share. Each of these iterations presents faith as a divine recipe, offering a list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions that, carefully followed, will yield the desired benefit: health and wealth, God-fearing children, moral purity, etc.
Some of us are drawn to the tradition and structure of Jewish culture, which is steeped in ancient tradition. Indeed, celebrating Passover, observing Shabbat, or attending a Messianic congregation may impart spiritual benefit, enriching our understanding of Scripture and the context it was written in.
However, we must not conflate spiritual benefit with spiritual merit. Being Jewish or connected with Jewish culture or customs does not earn us extra favor with God. Referring to God by His Hebrew name does not make us closer to Him. Jewish believers are not somehow more saved than Gentile believers; we are all saved by the blood of Messiah. Each of these good things is subordinate to God Himself.
God made it clear to Moses that making Israel His chosen people was an act of grace. God told Moses,
The Lord did not make you His beloved nor choose you because you were greater in number than any of the peoples, since you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His faithfulness to a thousand generations for those who love Him and keep His commandments (Deuteronomy 7:6-16).
The focus of this passage isn’t on who God’s chosen people are, but on who God is: He is loving, He is faithful, He keeps His promises to a thousand generations!
God did not choose the Jewish people because they are special; they are special because He chose them. Just as you and I (speaking as a Gentile) are chosen by Him. “Therefore, as you have received [Messiah] Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith” (Colossians 2:6-7).
In Colossians 2, Paul makes it clear that keeping Jesus the center of our lives and beliefs is vital to our faith. He warns us not to be taken captive by philosophy, deception, human tradition,[3] customs regarding food and drink, festivals, the Sabbath,[4] decrees, self-made religion, or asceticism,[5] which are “of no value against fleshly indulgence” (Colossians 2:23). Rather, he passionately urges his readers to “[hold] firmly to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God” (Colossians 2:19).
Anything – good or bad – that supplants the Head [Yeshua] in our lives is a danger to our souls. As soon as our eyes stray from the gospel in favor of another good thing, that good thing becomes a trap.
Therefore, if you have been raised with Yeshua, keep seeking the things that are above, where Yeshua is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Yeshua in God. When Yeshua, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4).
Written by Miriam, Life in Messiah Communications Assistant
Read Colossians 2 in full. What are you tempted to prioritize above the gospel? Being aware of these personal tendencies informs our prayers and helps us stay alert.
Have you seen others drawn off course by something that appeared good? What Scriptures might have helped them stay focused on Jesus?
What draws you to ministry, and Jewish ministry in particular? Ask God to maintain in you a gospel-centered love for those whom you are serving.
Pray for people caught up in religious cults. Ask God to open their eyes to the truth, provide support systems to help them reintegrate into society, and draw them into true relationship with Himself.
Endnotes:
[1] Lest this sound a snap judgment, I have since researched the group, confirming my initial impression that they are members of a cult. Their self-proclaimed philosophy and practices match most of the characteristics of cult behavior described by cult and coercion expert Dr. Janja Lalich.
[2] John 14:6: Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.” This was spoken to Jewish people.
[3] Colossians 2:8: “See to it that there is no one who takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception in accordance with human tradition, in accordance with elementary principles of the world, rather than in accordance with [Messiah].”
[4] Colossians 2:16-17: “Therefore, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food and drink, or in respect to a festival or a new moon, or a Sabbath day – things which are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to [Messiah]. Take care that no one keeps defrauding you of your prize by delighting in humility and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind….”
[5] Colossians 2:20-23.