I’ve noticed that many people misunderstand and misinterpret many things in the book of Acts when they don’t have some foundational understandings of a few simple terms used in Acts. Here they are:
Jews: from the word Judah, Israelites descended from the southern kingdom. Religious and cultural usage
Hellenists, Greek Jews, Grecian Jews: Jewish people who have scattered to the ends of the Greek (Roman) world after the return from the exile in Babylon and Persia. They either did not return to Israel or left sometime afterwards. They spoke as their primary language Greek or some other tongue; Hebrew was a second language to them.
Converts to Judaism: Gentiles who chose to believe in Yahweh. They were circumcised and followed all the customs of Judaism. They were by blood Gentiles but in every other way Jewish.
God-fearing Greek, worshippers of God: Gentiles who chose to believe in Yahweh but not assimilate to Jewish customs or laws; uncircumcised.
Gentile: NOT Jewish in any way.
Why Do These Definitions Matter?
This matters because most readers of Acts are Gentiles, but all the beginning events happened to Jews. In fact, the first true Gentile convert to Christianity was Cornelius in Acts 10. Every single believer before that was either a Jew or a convert to Judaism. Many people mistake a few Gentile-sounding names earlier in the book for Gentiles when in fact many of the believers who joined the church early on were Hellenistic Jews; Jews by birth but with Greek culture. They had Greek names, spoke Greek and came from the Greco-Roman world and were in Jerusalem for Passover and Pentecost.
I view this as a big deal because Gentiles today take for granted what truly happened early on. If it weren’t for God taking Peter to Cornelius’ house and the conflict in Antioch that led to the Jerusalem council in Acts 15 we’d all be expected to convert to Judaism to be Christ-followers. Every single Gentile who followed Jesus before Acts 10 was a convert to Judaism. Every single one.
If we hope to ever bring Jews into the fold of Christianity, we must understand that we Gentiles are “grafted in” to this tree that has always belonged to them. There are a different set of rules for Jews and Gentiles. Not for salvation–Acts makes it clear that salvation only comes through faith in Jesus for both Jew and Gentile, but for obedience. Gentiles are not bound to obey the Law, Jews are. Again, they aren’t bound to obey the Law to be saved–Paul makes it clear that obeying the Law never saved anyone.
No, Jews are bound to obey the Law because they always were, and still are, God’s chosen people. They are called to be holy (set apart) so that the world would come to know their creator through them.
So I hope these definitions help. I know they will probably change the way you understand Acts, or at least the first 15 chapters. The Hellenistic widows in Acts 6 weren’t Gentiles, but Greek-speaking Jews. Steven wasn’t a Gentile, but a Jew with a Greek name. And it matters because we Gentiles are playing in the Jews’ back yard; not the other way around.
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Question- I don’t see the following question explicitly answered in your post. Are Jewish converts to Christianity bound to the Law? I am quantifying the Law in terms of the full and complete revelation that is provided to us in the New Testament. For example- You could say that Jewish converts are still bound to the Sacrificial Laws even though that may sound contrary. They would obey the Sacrificial Laws by believing in and accepting the blood sacrifice of Jesus of whom was prophesied to be the final and perfect blood sacrifice in the Old Testament. But I’m not neglecting the other parts of the Law in my question such as dietary, ceremonial, special observances, etc.
Jeremiah,
I’m no expert on this (from a Messianic Jewish perspective), but I believe the decisions made by the apostles in Acts seem to say Jews are still bound by the ceremonial, dietary and holiday observances. With that said, no one can be justified by the Law, whether Jew or Gentile. Levitical sacrifices were never intended to justify even the Jews, as Paul points out. Faith in the God behind the sacrifices was their salvation then and faith in the One Sacrifice for All is our salvation now.
Jesus didn’t abolish the Law; He said He came to fulfill it. He took the place of the sacrificial system but not the other aspects of Jewish culture and law. The discussions in Acts always center around the Gentiles’ responsibility to the customs, etc. but not the sacrifices. They were principally concerned with circumcision, etc. but no one ever argued that the sacrifices were still valid. Jesus replaced them once and for all.
It seems pretty clearly to me in that way: Gentiles are not bound by any of the ceremonial, etc. requirements but Jews are. I think a good Messianic Jew would be able to provide a more sophisticated answer, though. Jesus said that “anyone who teaches others not to do these things will be called least in the kingdom of heaven” in regards to the ceremonial laws. The apostles in Acts said that didn’t apply to Gentiles, so I’m going to hold Jesus’ line when it comes to Jews because I’m not interested in being called least in heaven.
Jeremiah,
I’m no expert on this (from a Messianic Jewish perspective), but I believe the decisions made by the apostles in Acts seem to say Jews are still bound by the ceremonial, dietary and holiday observances. With that said, no one can be justified by the Law, whether Jew or Gentile. Levitical sacrifices were never intended to justify even the Jews, as Paul points out. Faith in the God behind the sacrifices was their salvation then and faith in the One Sacrifice for All is our salvation now.
Jesus didn’t abolish the Law; He said He came to fulfill it. He took the place of the sacrificial system but not the other aspects of Jewish culture and law. The discussions in Acts always center around the Gentiles’ responsibility to the customs, etc. but not the sacrifices. They were principally concerned with circumcision, etc. but no one ever argued that the sacrifices were still valid. Jesus replaced them once and for all.
It seems pretty clearly to me in that way: Gentiles are not bound by any of the ceremonial, etc. requirements but Jews are. I think a good Messianic Jew would be able to provide a more sophisticated answer, though. Jesus said that “anyone who teaches others not to do these things will be called least in the kingdom of heaven” in regards to the ceremonial laws. The apostles in Acts said that didn’t apply to Gentiles, so I’m going to hold Jesus’ line when it comes to Jews because I’m not interested in being called least in heaven.