This evening concludes the observance of Yom Kippur by those who are members of the Jewish culture. In English it is called the Day of Atonement. Jews still await the coming of their Messiah. Christians declare that Jesus Christ is the Messiah that has already come.
In Romans 2: 28, 29 Paul writes from both perspectives, as a Jew and as a Christian. He makes a point to differentiate between those who call themselves Jews on the outside and those who are in reality Jews on the inside. Those on the outside are ones who observe the Jewish culture. Those on the inside are those who are Jews following the faith displayed by Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Theirs was more of a concern about their relationship with God than that of fulfilling rituals.
It would seem that these verses would have been very difficult for Paul to write. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee of the Pharisees. In his day sincere believers held too much to their former Jewish life. That needed to be corrected. The truth is that only those following the faith of Abraham can rightfully be considered Jewish. Keep in mind that Abraham was considered righteous by his faith (so said in the Torah or Genesis) and that the Mosaic law had never existed in his lifetime. We can offer a couple of descriptions of Jews on the inside.
When religion is observed only for the sake of religion, it becomes a hindrance. It does not draw strength from the right source. God is at the center of the matter, not law. He is the person of honor, glory, and Revelation. In Colossians 2: 6, 7 Paul describes the person of faith. He says that person is rooted, built up, and established. This is not a matter of religion. It is a matter of a deep concern to have a healthy relationship with Jesus Christ.
Paul wrote further in Colossians 2: 10, 11 that the key signature of Judaism was circumcision. However, when a person accepts Jesus as Savior, they experience a spiritual circumcision that is of Christ. Even traditional Judaism admits that it’s impossible to keep the law because it is so easily broken. The problem for the unbeliever is that God’s mercy is despised by being rejected. We must be careful to deal with the problems of the soul rather than cultural and religious pretenses that are so easily demonstrated.
This article is not to cast a critical evaluation of Jews. God forbid! Anyone that believes that they are acceptable to God through law and ritual needs to reevaluate where they stand spiritually. It so happens that for centuries traditional Jews have declared that there is good in everyone. Jesus debunked that thought by coming as a Savior to pay the price for sin. Therefore, the call of this article is for anyone (Jew or a member of other religions) that is relying on their history as a nation and their culture to dispense with that and individually submit themselves to the need for the Savior.
As a result, and looking at the many Scriptures in the Bible, the person who accepts Christ through faith in him is in essence a spiritual Jew, a Jew on the inside. How wonderful!
Christian Writer 