Quote:
Originally Posted by shag
What is a biblical Jew?
Or what defines a biblical Jew from the Bible?
Did that definition change when we came to the new covenant, or has the definition always been the same?
In the old covenant, what was the definition of a biblical Jew, (and vs now)?
Was the Rom. 2:28 “ Definition” The same in the old covenant as in the new?
Were people in the old covenant only a Jew if they had circumcised hearts? Or were they a Jew even if they did not have circumcised hearts?
How does that relate to Jer. 4:4?
Did biblical Jews cease to exist?
If so, why, as it relates to Rom. 2:28…?
Trying to sort this mess out…
Please and thank you :) |
Originally, a Judahite was a descendant of Judah and thus a member of the tribe of Judah. Then it was applied to any Israelite of the southern Kingdom of Judah in contrast to the northern Kingdom of Israel. Then in Roman times it was applied to either a citizen of Judea or a follower of the Judean religion.
Roman 2:28 is a logical argument based on the OT examples and concepts of being worthy of the title people of God.
The 10 tribed kingdom of Israel was declared "Not My People" in Hosea, thus their circumcision was reckoned as uncircumcision by God. Paul also argues that even though Abraham had several sons only one was reckoned as the promised son of the covenant. Likewise with Isaac's two sons. Thus mere ancestry (whether physical or cultural) is not enough to establish one's position as a child of God. One has to actually be righteous and faithful.
Regarding
Jeremiah 4:4, consider this:
Deuteronomy 10:14-16 KJV
Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the Lord's thy God, the earth also, with all that therein is. [15] Only the Lord had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day. [16] Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
And this:
Deuteronomy 30:4-6 KJV
If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee: [5] And the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. [6] And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
Heart circumcision is a metaphor for a genuine conversion to God, to be faithful and obedient to Him, to love Him as the supreme object of affection. Without that no physical circumcision, cultural heritage, or blood ancestry will prevail to establish a person as righteous before God.
The people generally known today as Jews are in fact not Jews, because they are not the tribe of Judah nor do they actually follow the Old Covenant, and they certainly aren't "true Jews" because they have not been converted to Christ.