Appendix E

How to Witness to the Jews

        Originally the gospel was commissioned to go to the "...Jew first and also for the Greek" (Rom. 1:16, cf. Acts 1:8). By her actions, today's church, whether inadvertently or not, has reversed this command to read, "to the Greek first and, if at all, the Jew last." So to begin with, in order to reach the Jews, we must recognize the present priority of taking the gospel to the Sons of Israel. This should not take too much persuasion when we consider the debt we owe to the Jewish nation. As Paul documents:

Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory [the Shechinah], the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen" (Rom. 9:4-5 NIV).

Love, Love, Love

The greatest Christian virtue is love (1 Cor. 13:13). If we are heavyweight champions doctrinally, but lack a loving spirit, we are "nothing" in God's sight. "Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself...(1 Cor. 13:4). It's incumbent on all who profess allegiance to Jesus to manifest God's love to all. One should expect negative responses especially from religions that are particularly hostile to Christianity. We should especially anticipate negative reactions from Jews who have suffered ill treatment from false Christians. We have a lot of bad press to undo by loving actions.

So don't force yourself on anyone. If you offer a Jewish person a tract and he rejects it, saying, "I don't want that trash," don't allow yourself to be provoked. Respond sincerely with, "God bless you, have a nice day." By responding this way you sow seeds of love that can melt resistance in even the stoniest heart. He will be more likely to take a tract or be engaged in dialogue if approached again by someone else. If you respond with some negative epitaph, you will only confirm his belief that Christianity is hypocritical.

Be Prepared

The Jewish Christians of the first century were known for their bold, public proclamation of the gospel. Because they had the truth and were prepared to defend it from the Scriptures, they welcomed the opportunity to meet the anti-missionaries in public debate. The Christians "...vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah" (Acts 18:28; cf. 19:1-6; Matt. 22).

In order to insure the same boldness and success, it is mandatory that we be well-versed in Scriptural argumentation. Failure to do so will lead to your being refuted by your opponents which, as we noted in the preface of this book, can prove fatal to the faith of immature Christians. So preparation is the key. Get all the information you can from books like this one, tracts, and your own personal study of the Scriptures.

If you find yourself in over your head with a skilled anti-missionary whose arguments you can't answer, do not panic. Also, do not be pressured into giving a feeble, off-the-top-of your-head response, which may put your credibility in question. Simply record their argument and promise to get back to them with a reply. If the anti-missionary is a sincere truth seeker, he will welcome and commend your attitude.

Approach

Knowledge is of no value, unless we can share it in a loving, diplomatic way. Learn to ask non-threatening questions that open people up for further dialogue. In my door-to-door work, I often break the ice by asking: "We are going through the neighborhood asking people about their religious beliefs. Do you have time to answer a few questions?" If the answer is "no," I offer them some tracts. If the answer is "yes," I usually ask what faith they ascribe to (in the neighborhood I preach in, about 50 percent of the people are Jewish). If they say "I am Jewish,” I ask whether they are a practicing Jew. If yes, I ask, "Are you Orthodox, Reformed or Conservative?" Then I ask whether they believe in the coming of a personal Messiah. (Reformed and Conservative Jews usually do not believe in the coming of a personal Messiah, but rather a Messianic age where peace prevails.) Then I ask the big question, "What do you know about Jesus' claim of being the Messiah? or "Why do you reject Jesus' claim of being the Messiah?" Asking questions like these accomplishes at least three things: One, they help the other person see that you are willing to let them speak. Two, it shows them that you respect them as a person. Three, it smoothly opens the door for you to preach. For example, if in answer to the question, "Why do you reject Jesus' claim of being the Messiah?" they say, "Because He did not bring world peace," you can answer their objection directly by introducing the concept of the suffering Messiah from Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22.

Tact

        Many Messianic Jews advise the avoidance of certain offensive words like "Christ," "Christian," and "church" when evangelizing. Instead, they use "Messiah," "disciple" and "congregation," respectively. Some anti-missionaries say that this practice is deceitful. But this charge is not justified. It is a common practice to avoid offensive terminology when working with any group. If most Jews knew the distinction between true and false Christians, this practice would be wholly unnecessary. If I introduce myself as someone who goes to "Christ's church," I might immediately be equated with the "Christian" Crusaders of the past, or the Nazi "Christians" who killed their relatives in the Holocaust. If we can disassociate ourselves from Christian impostors by merely saying, "I believe Yeshua is the Messiah," instead of, "I believe Jesus is the Christ;" what wrong have we committed?

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