Errors of the Hebrew Roots Movement
The Hebrew Roots movement is not a monolithic set of beliefs, but it does have certain errors of doctrine in common within the movement.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_Roots
I know church elder whose sister (non-Jewish, attended church all her life), now attends a Messianic fellowship. She believes it's improper to say "Jesus". She calls Him "Yeshua". Her fellowship worships God using words and phrases that I remember from my youth in synagogue which I attended with my parents as a Jew. Instead of "blessing", she says "b-racha". Instead of "Old Testament" she says "Tenach". Instead of "Christ" she says "Moshiach". What's really different is that though she believes Jesus is Savior and Lord, she thinks it's not proper to use traditional Christian terminology.
Another example: I know a minister (very conservative) whose brother (not ethnically Jewish) is the same way. He keeps kosher, and think that eating pork and shellfish is actually sinful for Jews who believe in Jesus. He attends "church" (He doesn't call it church) on Saturdays and think that Sunday is the wrong day to celebrate the Sabbath. Their pastor wears a traditional Jewish "tallis" (prayer shawl), and he's called "Rabbi" by the congregation. Another minister I've known for years (born and raised nominally Jewish, who hardly ever attended synagogue as a youth) now officiates in a Messianic synagogue that resembles the real ones I attended for worship before I became a Christian. He teaches that it's obligatory to keep all the Jewish holidays, But he adds Jesus to this variation of Judaism, and his congregation looks forward to the rebuilding of the third stone temple in Jerusalem, the return of all Jews to Israel, the removal of the Arabs from an expanded "Holy Land" stretching from the River Euphrates to the border of Egypt, which would include all of Lebanon, all of Jordan, most of Syria, and half of Iraq, And why? Because this was the land promised to Abraham's descendants (Gen 15:18) And who are they, according to him? The Jews. Not Christian gentiles, but Jews, regardless of their faith affiliation with Jesus of Nazareth. Their church contributes money to relocate Jews to Israel to help further things along so that Messiah Jesus will set up His kingdom in Jerusalem and the Jews will en mass, accept Jesus as their Messiah and then be seen by all the world to be the Chosen People once again, in a kind of "most-favored nation" status with God. This particular minister is concerned that God is angry with America because of its flagging support of the current state of Israel.
Now admittedly, Jewish-Christians (or Christian Jews or Messianic Jews, whatever they prefer to call themselves) do not all believe the same things. But there is a range of Judaistic beliefs prevalent among certain professing born-again Christians. And while there are variations within this range, it's definitely a spiritual movement, carrying with it various hybrid movements and mutations in its wake: Here are just a few symptoms of this spiritual malaise:
1) Insistence on Hebrew terms as being more spiritual/more correct than the historically-used Greek terms of the New Testament.
2) Insistence on keeping a kosher diet as being more spiritual than obeying the liberty to eat all foods, as allowed in Acts 10:15 3)
3) Elevating the customs and ceremonies of the Jewish people as still mandatory for Jewish believers in Jesus.
4) Gauging one's support or opposition to the current State of Israel as a metric for genuine spirituality.
Here's the point: if you have relatives or friends involved in this, we can help. We've had a lot of experience. Go to www.chaim.org, then "Articles Online", then access "Reforming Jewish Ministry" (I) and (II), "Clearing Up Confusion About the Ceremonial Law" and "Understanding Ceremonial Law".
Hope this helps someone ...
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