What We Believe

We believe that the Hebrew Scriptures and the Apostolic Writings are divinely inspired and are of supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and life. The Bible is our written source of truth. This means the Tanakh and Brit Chadashah are the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 1:23-25; Hebrews 4:12).

The Torah is good and holy and is God’s eternal Word. The Mosaic Law was given to the Children of Israel. We make room for any and all who strive to keep Torah as the Lord leads them, remembering to keep the Spirit of unity and the bond of peace (Exodus 20, Romans 14, Acts 15, Ephesians 4:3). For more on Torah, see the section below called “Torah.”

We believe in one God, existing from all eternity as the Father, the Son, and the Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit). See a more detailed statement below.

The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is the one and only living and true God.  He has always existed in eternity past, present, and future.  He is the Creator of heaven and earth.  He has revealed Himself to mankind in many ways, but three distinct persons are: God the Father (Abba), God the Son (Yeshua HaMashiach), and God the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) (Deuteronomy 6:4; Genesis 1:1; Matthew 3:16-17; John 1:1-3).

We believe God is Echad (One) and Triune at the same time. We do not get hung up on the use of the word Trinity. God is Three Persons and yet One in name, nature, deity, essence, character and attributes, yet distinct as to their Persons. While the Three Persons share Oneness, there exists within Elohim a hierarchy of position and authority.

We believe in the Words of the Shema that declare our God is one, but we also recognize that there is a plurality in the use of the word Echad for “one.”

We believe that Yeshua is the Messiah.

We believe that in the fullness of time, the Divine Son, the eternal Word and Wisdom of God, became a human being, Yeshua the Messiah, a true and perfect Israelite and a fitting representative and one-man embodiment of the entire nation, born of a Jewish virgin, Miriam (Mary) of Nazareth.

We believe that He lived as the consummate holy tzaddik (righteous man), fulfilling without blemishing the mitzvot (commandments) of the Torah and bringing to perfection the human expression of the Divine image.

We believe that He died as a once-for-all sacrifice and atonement for the sins of Israel and of the entire world, was raised bodily from the dead, and ascended to heaven; and that He will return in glory at the end of the age to judge the world, to save those who belong to Him, and to accomplish the final Tikkun Olam (Restoration of the world) (Isaiah 53; Isaiah 60; Matthew 1:20-23; Luke 1:27-32; John 1:1-3; John 1:14; 1 John 4:9).

By His death, He made it possible for all who believe and follow Him to be reconciled and united with God for all eternity (Luke 23:46; Romans 5:8; Galatians 1:4; Hebrews 9:26).

God’s Appointed Times are a part of our annual lifecycle.

We observe and honor each of the 8 feasts as described in Leviticus 23: Shabbat (Sabbath), Pesach (Passover), Matzot (Unleavened Bread), Bikkurim (First Fruits), Shavuot (Weeks), Yom Teruah (also Rosh Hashanah or Day of Trumpets), Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement), & Sukkot (Tabernacles).

All of these feasts have both historical and prophetic intent.  We see their prophetic fulfillment in Yeshua and see festival celebration described in Scripture and in eschatology (last things).

We encourage all of Beth Messiah to celebrate the Moadim in this age (Zechariah 14:16-19, Luke 1:26:38, Luke 2:21, Luke 23:46, Acts 2:1).

We believe that salvation is a gift and offered to all who believe by faith in the work of Yeshua on the cross.

We believe that forgiveness of sins, spiritual renewal, union with Messiah Yeshua, the empowering and sanctifying presence of the indwelling Ruach HaKodesh, and the confident hope of eternal life and a glorious resurrection are now available to all, Jew and Gentile, who put their faith in Yeshua, the Risen Lord of Glory. Through obedience to His word, all who repent and confess Yeshua as Lord are joined to Him and His Body through that same trust in His saving work. It is faith that saves us, but obedience follows. This includes identifying with the death, burial, and resurrection of Yeshua through Messianic Tevilah (Immersion) as a symbol and sign of our obedience. Yeshua is the Mediator between God and all man, and no one can come to the Father except through Him.

Yeshua, by virtue of His miraculous birth and sinless life, voluntarily gave Himself as the perfect atoning sacrifice as the Lamb of God for the sins of Israel and all mankind. By His death, He made it possible for all who believe and follow Him to be reconciled and united with God for all eternity (Luke 23:46; Romans 5:8; Galatians 1:4; Hebrews 9:26).

After His death on the cross, Yeshua was buried, rose from the dead on the third day as He had prophesied (which occurred on Bikkurim), was seen by over 500 people, and 40 days later ascended into heaven. He is now seated at the right hand of the Father as our Intercessor and Advocate, the only mediator between God and man (Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 18:33; Luke 24; John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:15).

Forgiveness of sins can come only through a blood atonement (Leviticus 17:11). All mortal men are sinners by the first Adam and in need of salvation, which can only be accomplished by confession (turning away from sin) in Yeshua HaMashiach through His perfect blood atonement, death and resurrection (Romans 3:23-25; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 Peter 1:18-19).

We believe in the distinct and mutually beneficial purposes of the Messianic Jewish Synagogue and the Gentile Christian Church.

We believe that the Body of Messiah is a community chosen and beloved by God, a marriage of two equal but not identical parties, the Messianic Jewish Synagogue and the Gentile Christian Church, united in a common acknowledgement of Yeshua as Adonai (Lord), Redeemer of Israel and the Nations.

We believe this one community existing in two forms is called to a life of mutual support and encouragement, and to sacrificial service and public testimony to Yeshua. Its unity and love is a sign of God’s purpose in Messiah for Israel and the Nations, and a confirmation of Yeshua’s role as the One sent by the Father.

We believe that the Messianic Jewish Synagogue is an essential part of national Israel, and as such lives in accordance with the Jewish traditions and customs and participates in the wider life of the Jewish people. As Israel’s Messianic firstfruits she is a prophetic sign to the Jewish People of its ultimate destiny in history – salvation in Yeshua.

We believe that the Gentile Christian Church becomes part of an enlarged multinational Commonwealth of Israel through union with Yeshua, and comes alongside Messianic Jewry as One New Man under the banner of Messiah (Ephesians 2:14-16).

We believe the Gentile Christian Church is now part of a holy, priestly people, a renewed eschatological Kehilah founded on Yeshua’s twelve chosen Emissaries, and participates in the fulfillment of Israel’s mission to be a light to the nations. At the same time, neither the Gentile Christian Church nor the Body of Messiah as a whole is a replacement for national Israel (the Jewish people), nor does the Gentile Christian Church inherit fully the promises given to national Israel.

We believe that the Torah of Moses, which serves in all its particularity as the Word of God that sets Israel apart (the Jewish people), does not function as the fundamental rule of life for the Gentile Church, though it does provide spiritual nourishment as a witness to Messiah and essential life principles that are of universal application.

We believe that committed support of our local congregation with our time, giftings, talents, and finances is vital to the wellbeing and growth of a healthy body of believers. Though we are no longer under the Levitical priesthood (Psalm 110:4 & Hebrews 5:5-6), we believe in the biblical principle of tithing and physical support of our local congregation, though we are not legalistic about it. We believe God loves a cheerful giver (1 Chronicles 29:14, 2 Corinthians 9:6-11, Proverbs 11:25).

We believe in community, and that as a congregation, we are determined to live according to the words of Yeshua in Matthew 22:37-40 (TLV):

And He said to him, “You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The entire Torah and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

The calling of Israel is irrevocable. Both the physical and spiritual restoration of God’s chosen people and national Israel in 1948, is a miracle in our time and will lead to the complete fulfillment of Israel’s destiny, and national salvation of the Apple of God’s Eye (1 Chronicles 16:17; Proverbs 7:2; Ezekiel 16; Ezekiel 37; Hosea 2:21; Romans 11).

The Hebrew people (physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob, whether through matrilineal or patrilineal descent), who place their trust on Yeshua Ha Mashiach, continue to be Hebrew (Jewish) according to the Scriptures. Gentiles become spiritual sons and daughters of Abraham and are branches grafted into a Jewish Olive Tree with Yeshua as the root. All of God’s promises to Israel are still valid and Biblical Judaism is the faith of the first century believing community under Yeshua. The New Covenant Messianic Community (the Body of Messiah) is composed of both Jews and Gentiles together who have received Yeshua as their promised Redeemer (Romans 1:16; Romans 2:10; Romans 3:23).

The covenant upon which the Law of Moses is based is a broken covenant. There is no temple for sacrifices and most Jewish people live outside of Israel today, and many of these laws apply only to life in Israel. Therefore, it is impossible to keep all the laws of the Mosaic Covenant today. The laws that are part of the covenant mediated by Moses are still extremely valuable and relevant.

The Torah continues to inform and guide the lives of the Jewish people. It teaches us the right things to do and gives us a good way to live. It helps us live an authentic Jewish lifestyle. It helps us remain part of the Holy People. The issue of assimilation is a major problem for Messianic Jews.

Rabbi Paul commands Messianic Jews to not become uncircumcised (1 Corinthians 7:18), which means not to seek assimilation into the prevailing Gentile culture but to continue their Jewish way of life.

The Torah is more than the Mosaic Covenant. All of the Word of God, including the New Covenant, is “Torah” (literally, “teaching” or “instruction”). The early Messianic Jews had a favorable view of the Torah, and many were zealous to live in accordance with it. (See Acts 21:20-26.) History documents that Messianic Jews continued to live a distinctly Jewish, Torah-based lifestyle for centuries after the arrival of Messiah Yeshua. There is no incompatibility with being “zealous for the Torah” and being a Messianic Jew.

Therefore, we are pro-Torah…

…Understanding the Covenant made at Sinai is a broken covenant.

…Because there is great wisdom to be found in the Torah.

…Understanding that all believers in Yeshua in some sense are to fulfill the Law (Romans 8:4) but not that all of us are obligated to fulfill the same requirements of the Law (Gentiles do not need to be circumcised for example).

…Understanding that no person can be saved by the works of the Law.

…Understanding that Messiah Yeshua’s teachings help return us to the Torah’s original intent regarding issues like a man being married to only one woman.

…Understanding that one of the main purposes of the Torah is to point us to Messiah.

…Accepting the fact that Messianic Jews who choose not to keep every aspect of the Law, particularly the ceremonial laws, do not lose their salvation.

…We encourage Messianic Jews to identify with and embrace their Jewish heritage, which in large part is based on the Torah; and we encourage Messianic Jews to be gracious to each other regarding others’ level of Torah observance.

… We encourage our Messianic Gentiles to come alongside our Jewish believers knowing we are in a Jewish cultural and contextual space. However when it comes to halachah for the non-Jewish believer in their life regarding the Mosaic Law, a good rule is “permitted but not required” (Acts 15:19-21).