ExGens (ExGentiles) adheres to the basic understanding of what we believe the Apostolic Writings (New Testament) confirm regarding the doctrine of first century believers in Yeshua (Jesus), the Jewish Messiah. The most prolific writer of the Apostolic Writings, Sha’ul (Paul), clarified the concept for us in Ephesians 2:11-12, written some 30 plus years after Yeshua went to the execution stake – (Complete Jewish Bible): “Therefore, remember your former state: you gentiles by birth – called the Uncircumcised by those who merely because of an operation on their flesh are called the Circumcised – at that time had no Messiah. You were estranged from the national life of Isra’el. You were foreigners to the covenants (plural!) embodying God’s promise. You were in this world without hope and without God.”

Former state: gentiles. As in, no longer gentiles. Ex-gentiles. ExGens. I like it! If I’m no longer a stranger to the national life of Isra’el, then I am grafted into Isra’el, and as such no longer a foreigner to the covenants God made with Isra’el.

Obviously I added (plural!) just to make sure you’re paying attention, because a) it really is plural in the original text, and b) Historic Christianity teaches differently; in many cases people teach that the previous covenants were done away with; I added (plural!) to the text because Historic Christianity has overlooked the fact that the Avrahamic covenant as well as the Mosaic covenant (the Torah) are foundational to understanding how we are to relate to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob… and also, the One and the same God of Moses and Yeshua… ditto, the God of King David, Isaiah and the prophets, and the list goes on and on.

God did not abandon His people to replace Isra’el with a new group or new religion. It’s OK, we aren’t left out, us ExGens were included way back in Genesis 12 before there was an “Isra’el”. I hope I have piqued your interest and challenged you to go read it for yourself – Genesis 12:1-3. God never intended for Judaism to be exclusive, but rather inclusive – He has always been the God of adoption – but He also didn’t intend for everyone to reinterpret His Word at will and end up fractured and splintered into so many denominations. The Bible is the story of a house, a family and a piece of land (thanks to Brad Scott for that visual)… and it is an on-going story that includes us today. One House. One family. One piece of land.

Why are the covenants important to our foundation? For starters, the only path to a relationship with God is through covenant. The Avrahamic covenant keeps intact our understanding of how we are justified or made righteous. It is not through works of our own, but rather by the blood of the Lamb. Ancient Isra’el wasn’t saved when they received the commandments on Mount Sinai; they were “saved” or delivered when they applied the blood of the sacrificial lamb to their doorposts, and may I point out… yeah, I have the floor here… that from the very beginning Isra’el was a mixed multitude, not a pure ethnic group derived only from Jacob’s descendants.

Receiving the commandments is a means to sanctification, not salvation. The apostle Yochanan (John) said it best in I John 5:3 – keeping God’s commandments (the Torah) is a way of expressing love to God and keeping the Torah (without man’s religious additions and subtractions) is not burdensome, but rather echoes what Yeshua Himself asked of His followers in the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verse 15: “IF you love Me, keep My commandments”. The Father and the Son are echad (unified), you cannot separate the Father and Son into different theological camps. IF you don’t love Yeshua, then I guess it follows that you should just do whatever is right in your own eyes… but in doing so, you forfeit the right to claim you haven’t been told, so proceed with caution. Eternal separation from God is a real thing and it is not God’s will for you to be separated from Him, but you have to choose Him (understanding that He first chose you.)

God is the same – yesterday, today and forever, so it follows that our faith should be the same today as those who were practicing Apostolic Judaism… we are all a work in process, being sanctified as we apply the Word of God to our lives and living it on a daily basis. Thinking we are released or exempt from the sanctification process is dangerous and counterproductive. Yeshua tells us so in Matthew 24 when He prophesies that Torahlessness (Lawlessness) will be prevalent in the times preceding His return. But Sha’ul doesn’t stop there… he includes the Messianic covenant (or Renewed covenant) as being imperative because without Yeshua’s sacrificial giving of His life for us, there is no atonement for the sins of man.

So then, where to begin? We will focus on the teachings of Yeshua – the plumbline of our faith. A plumbline is defined as a reference to ensure a structure is centered. I want my faith walk to be centered, to be grounded, to be productive – and rather than make our initial focus on what Sha’ul or Kefa may teach, we should first begin with the Master’s teachings because He is our cornerstone. Only then we can follow up with how Sha’uls, or Kefa’s or Ya’akov’s (James) instructions once we get a handle on what Yeshua taught. Yeshua is our Rabbi – our Great One, and He alone is the source of all doctrinal Truth (Matt. 23:8).

We will revisit from time to time the application of covenant life as Yeshua lived it and taught it, and straight from the pages of your Bible rather than the complicated theology of man. Historic Christianity came forth in the fourth century AD as we know it, and we will revisit that from time to time as well so that the picture will be clearer going forward.

First century believers in Jerusalem and elsewhere continued to practice a Biblically sound Apostolic Judaism as taught by the sect known as Ha Derech (The Way) as noted in Acts 9:2, Acts 18:26 and II Kefa (Peter) 2:2 and over the course of time came to understand much of what Yeshua taught regarding the inclusion of non-Jews into the Kingdom of God.

Even after his third missionary journey, the Apostle Sha’ul (Paul, circa 60 AD) identifies himself as a worshipper of God through the methods of the Jewish sect Ha Derech, continuing to believe that which is in accord with the written Torah’s instruction and everything written in the Prophets (Acts 24:14). An important aspect of the first century believers’ methodology of practicing their faith was the adoption of a non-rabbinical posture on the teaching of Moses, associating Yeshua’s commandments with the teaching of Moses.

It was Yeshua’s unique take on Moses’ teaching, not adding to or subtracting from – that the Apostles were commissioned to structure their new theological footings upon. The goal: to make disciples from people among the nations (Matthew 28:19-20). It is important to note that Yeshua specified the apostles teach only what He taught them as the message spread to the nations. Yeshua taught Torah – practical understanding of Moses’ instructions. Yeshua never released a believer from being obedient to the Word of God – He did however, release believers from following man-made doctrine which is burdensome.

Contrary to what many people think or have been taught, first century believers in Jerusalem and elsewhere continued to practice a Biblically sound Apostolic Judaism as taught by the sect known as Ha Derech (The Way) as noted in Acts 9:2, Acts 18:26 and II Kefa (Peter) 2:2 and over the course of time came to understand much of what Yeshua taught regarding the inclusion of non-Jews into the Kingdom of God.

Acts 21:20 clearly denotes that myriads (tens of thousands) of believers in the land of Judea were zealous for the Torah (teaching of Moses) and believed Yeshua was the long awaited Messiah. When you let the Word of God speak for itself instead of how Historic Christianity has taught us to interpret, you get a completely different impression of how they walked out their faith.

You see, it took some time for even the disciples who walked the land of Isra’el with their Messiah to absorb the weight of Yeshua’s teachings. The event marked in Acts 10 of Kefa going to witness to Cornelius may have happened as much as eight or nine years (circa 38 AD) after Yeshua went to the execution stake. That event marked the historic shift first promised to Avram (before His name was changed to Avraham) in Genesis 12:3, meaning that every family in the earth could be included in the covenants Elohim makes with Isra’el if they come to faith in the same manner as Avram – believing the promises and acting upon it, in other words, putting their faith into practice.

Even after his third missionary journey, the Apostle Sha’ul (Paul, circa 60 AD) identifies himself as a worshipper of Elohim through the methods of the Jewish sect Ha Derech, continuing to believe that which is in accord with the written Torah’s instruction and everything written in the Prophets (Acts 24:14). An important aspect of the first century believers’ methodology of practicing their faith was the adoption of a
non-rabbinical posture on the teaching of Moses, associating Yeshua’s commandments with the teaching of Moses.

It was Yeshua’s unique take on Moses’ teaching, not adding to or subtracting from – that the Apostles were commissioned to structure their new theological footings upon. The goal: to make disciples from people among the nations (Matthew 28:19-20). It is important to note that Yeshua specified the apostles teach only what He taught them as the message spread to the nations. Yeshua taught Torah – a practical understanding of Moshe’s instructions. Yeshua never released a believer from being obedient to the Word of God – He did however, release believers from following man-made doctrine which is burdensome.

A different doctrine for Gentiles? No. A different covenant from which to build relationship with Elohim? No. Those come from the ideas of man, not from the Messiah Himself.

Here is how Matthew records the Messiah’s statement:

Matt 28:19 Therefore, go and make people from all nations into talmidim (disciples), immersing them into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you always, yes, even until the end of the age.” (CJB)

Next time… what commands did Yeshua give His followers?