The word church in the New Testament has a different meaning than that ascribed to it today by most Christians. In the New Testament, church never meant building. The word meant an assembly, group or community of believers--the veritable body of Christ. Wherever human beings were with the indwelling God, there was the Church. When Paul wrote to the Church at Ephesus, he was certainly not writing to a building, but rather the little assemblies throughout the city which comprised the Church. The same connotation is found in the term church in the wilderness. Moses led the community of believers (i.e., Israel) through the wilderness.

But the Jew associates the word church with an idolatrous, heathen temple. For that reason, most Jews do not wish to visit a church.

Missionary is one of the most hated words in Hebrew. The Jewish person reasons as follows: "The Christians have tried to exterminate us for 2,000 years. Finally, we have found our way back to our own land with God's help, and what happens? The Christians follow right after us and tell us we should not be Jews anymore. We should convert to Christianity." The Jew feels this is an attempt to exterminate the Jewish race, and that it is as deadly as any form ever used. Occasionally, when an Israeli did become a born-again believer, he also, unfortunately, learned how to be a good Western Christian. Bacon and eggs began to taste better than gefilte fish. Soon he felt foreign to his land and his people. He, therefore, asked to immigrate to the United States or Europe.

Incidentally, Messianic Jews in Israel have substituted the word shaliach (pronounced shah-LEE-ah, with a guttural "h" on the last syllable) for the term missionary. Shaliach means a "sent one" and, in modern Hebrew, refers to an ambassador, emissary or delegate. In the New Testament, shaliach is the only appropriate word available in Hebrew to translate the Greek word for apostle.

To a Jewish person, convert means to turn his back on his nation, people, God and Scriptures and become a part of a Gentile religion. Thus, the term converted Jew is an anathema.

This connotation of convert is certainly not based on Scripture. The King James Version of the Bible uses the word convert in place of the exact Hebrew and Greek words meaning repent. (The meaning of this word is more fully considered later.) For example, the phrase in Matthew 18:3, "...Except ye be converted..." is more properly rendered "unless you repent." In many modern versions of the Old and New Testaments, convert is replaced by the closer meaning repent.

I would never use the word convert to a Jew, because he does not know the King James meaning of the word. Paul said that if meat offended his brother, he would eat no meat as long as the world stands (I Cor. 8:13). Surely we, upon realizing how a Jew understands this word, will not use it to confuse him and hinder him from finding God. I would hate to think that I kept someone from the kingdom of God because of my vocabulary.

In the sense that the Jewish person understands the word, he certainly must not convert--that is, stop being a Jew and go over to another religion. He must instead turn around and go back to the God of his fathers that he has left.

Furthermore, many Jews who have converted to nominal Christianity, usually to marry, have rarely repented of their sins. So, the meaning is further muddled. On the other hand, a believing Jew or Messianic Jew is one who has repented.

For further information or to receive I Became as a Jew, you may call 1.800.856.7060. Or, email your request to maoz@onramp.net.

Back to I Became as a Jew Index Page