Messianic Jewish Congregations

Jewish and non-Jewish believers in Yeshua who worship in Jewish forms, as the Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations, the MJAA and the IAMCS describe themselves.

UMJC Statement of Faith (adopted by delegates 19 July 2012), Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

Defining Messianic Judaism: Basic Statement and Expanded Statement, UMJC Theology Committee (affirmed by delegate vote 20 July 2005)

Frequently Asked Questions, Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

Why Join the Union? (Congregational Membership), Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

Our Values, Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

New Ideas (resources for educators), Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

Education (Ashreinu School), Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

Rabbi Barney Kasdan Completes 2nd Term (3 October 2026), UMJC news

Meet the Union's New Executive Director (9 July 2026), UMJC news

Statement of Faith, Messianic Jewish Alliance of America

Messianic Movement, Messianic Jewish Alliance of America

About Us, Messianic Jewish Alliance of America

What We Believe, International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues

Who We Are, International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues

One Law, Two Sticks: A Critical Look at the Hebrew Roots Movement, a position paper of the IAMCS Steering Committee (15 January 2014)

Daniel C. Juster, Legitimate Congregational Models and Messianic Judaism (undated paper)

Introduction to the Thought and Theology of Mark Kinzer (Lutterworth Press, 2012), quoting Kinzer's Postmissionary Messianic Judaism with page numbers

Mark A. Kellner, review of Postmissionary Messianic Judaism, Christianity Today, March 2006

Jamie Cowen (UMJC President), Introduction to the Issue of Gentile Conversion, Kesher (2 July 2005)

John Fischer, The Conversion of Gentiles, Kesher (7 July 2005)

MJS Program Jewish Life Stance, The King's University Messianic Jewish Studies program (2024)

Our History, Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

About the Union (learn), Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations

Hillary Kaell, "Messianic Judaism (United States)," World Religions and Spirituality Project (24 February 2019)

Kai Kjær-Hansen, "Josef Rabinowitz: The Herzl of Jewish Christianity," Mishkan 14 (1991)

David H. Stern, Wikipedia (last resort: dates and titles only)

Messianic Judaism in its present form is young. Its roots are in the Hebrew Christian missions of the nineteenth century and the Hebrew Christian Alliance of 1915. It took its present shape in the late 1960s and 1970s, when Jewish believers began to form congregations of their own with Jewish worship. The UMJC was formed in 1979, and its two chief statements were adopted in 2005 and 2012.

A Hebrew Christian congregation in Kishinev

Joseph Rabinowitz, a Jew of Kishinev in Bessarabia who came to faith in Jesus by reading the New Testament, holds the first assembly of his "Israelites of the New Covenant" on Christmas Eve 1884. He is baptized in Berlin in March 1885. The historian Kai Kjær-Hansen counts him a forerunner; it is not a Messianic Jewish body in the modern sense.

The Hebrew Christian Alliance of America

The MJAA says it was "Founded in 1915." It began as the Hebrew Christian Alliance of America, which Juster also names as the older body, and it later took the name Messianic Jewish Alliance of America (see 1975).

Jewish believers form their own congregations

Juster names the congregations from the early 1970s that continue to this day: Beth Messiah in Cincinnati, Beth Immanuel in Encino, Adat Ha Tikvah in Chicago and Beth Messiah in the Washington area. He says there was "an influx of Jews from the Jesus movement," and that the early leaders expected the congregations to stay mostly Jewish.

Hebrew Christian becomes Messianic Jewish

The Hebrew Christian Alliance of America is renamed the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America. Hillary Kaell traces the change to the many young Jews who came to faith in the late 1960s, most of them drawn to the charismatic evangelicalism of the "Jesus People" in California. The older members were loath to leave the churches they belonged to, and the newcomers wanted congregations of their own. "In the end, the younger wing won the day."

The UMJC is founded

The leaders of nineteen North American congregations, from Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, Toronto, Columbus and other cities, gather in Pennsylvania and form the Union, "the first congregational association among Jewish followers of Yeshua." Daniel Juster, John Fischer, Leslie Jacobs and Jeffrey Adler are elected to its first Executive Committee.

The first Messianic rabbis are ordained

After launching a yeshiva program to train leaders, the Union ordains its first Messianic rabbis. By 1998, 79 congregations have joined it.

The UMJC rules against converting Gentiles

The UMJC publishes a position paper with two views, a majority against converting Gentile believers to Messianic Judaism and a minority for it. In the words of the UMJC President in 2005, "since 1983 the UMJC does not recognize conversion of Gentiles within Messianic Judaism."

The IAMCS is formed

The International Alliance of Messianic Congregations and Synagogues is formed as a body of congregations under the Messianic Jewish Alliance of America.

A majority Gentile movement

Juster writes that "From a majority Jewish movement in the 80s, we became a majority Gentile movement by a good percentage a decade later." Gentiles came, he says, "not just to learn about the Jewish roots of their faith ... but to join Messianic Jewish congregations and live in a Jewish pattern of life." Some congregations then asked what that meant for their Jewish identity, and the question is still argued.

Defining Messianic Judaism; the conversion debate

On 20 July 2005 the UMJC delegates affirm the Basic Statement and Expanded Statement of the Theology Committee. The same summer the UMJC's journal Kesher devotes an issue to a plan by Messianic leaders in the Northeast to convert Gentile members. The UMJC Executive Committee says it "does not endorse or recognize this process."

The Statement of Faith

On 19 July 2012 the UMJC delegates unanimously adopt a Statement of Faith, the Union's first full confession.

The IAMCS answers One Law

On 15 January 2014 the IAMCS Steering Committee issues "One Law, Two Sticks," a position paper against the teaching that all believers, Jewish or Gentile, must keep the Torah. This is the clearest statement of how an association relates Gentile members to the Law, and it is firm that they are not bound to it.

Change of leaders in the Union

On 24 June the delegates of the UMJC member congregations affirm Deborah Pardo-Kaplan as Executive Director. On 1 October Rabbi Barney Kasdan completes his second consecutive two-year term as President.

David H. Stern

An American-born Messianic Jewish theologian who lived in Israel from 1979. He wrote the Messianic Jewish Manifesto (1988), later revised as Messianic Judaism: A Modern Movement With an Ancient Past (2007), and translated the Jewish New Testament and the Complete Jewish Bible. His own words were not available to this chart, so no teaching is attributed to him here.

Daniel C. Juster

One of the four the UMJC's history names on its first Executive Committee in 1979, and a leading teacher who writes as a leader of the Tikkun network of congregations, and whose paper speaks of "the model for most Tikkun congregations." He writes of the early congregations from memory and argues for several kinds of congregation (Jewish-member only, majority Gentile, "twin," "dual expression" and "dual heritage"), so long as Gentile members are in the right place for the right reasons. His views are his own, not the UMJC's.

Mark Kinzer

The author of Postmissionary Messianic Judaism and a theologian whose "bilateral ecclesiology" holds that the one ekklesia is made of two corporate subcommunities, a Jewish branch and a Gentile branch. Mark Kellner's review in Christianity Today (March 2006) says that his ecclesiology has raised concerns among many Messianic evangelicals. His views are his own and are disputed in the movement.

Barney Kasdan

Leader of Kehilat Ariel Messianic Synagogue in San Diego. He is the longest-serving president of the Union, and completed his second consecutive two-year term on 1 October 2026.

Deborah Pardo-Kaplan

Named Executive Director of the UMJC by the Executive Committee, and affirmed by delegates on 24 June 2026. She has served in the Messianic Jewish community for more than thirty-five years.

How the associations relate. The associations are not in dispute over the Messiah, the Trinity or the Bible. They differ over how far Jewish religious practice, and the Jewish tradition outside Scripture, should shape a congregation, and over the place of non-Jewish members.

What this chart leaves out. Other movements use "Messianic" or "Hebrew roots" for the teaching that all believers, Jew and Gentile, must keep the Torah. The UMJC and the IAMCS reject that teaching by name, and this chart does not treat it as Messianic Judaism.

The Tanakh and the New Covenant writings are the final authority. The UMJC adds Jewish tradition as a source for a Messianic Jewish way of life.

All three associations put Scripture first. The UMJC's Statement of Faith says the Tanakh (the Old Testament) and the Brit Hadasha (the New Covenant writings) are "of supreme and final authority." The UMJC then says that Jewish tradition "serves as the living link" to the biblical past and that the Christian theological tradition "offers riches of insight." Its Definition says that Messianic Jewish halakhah, the way of walking, is "rooted in Scripture" and "also draws upon Jewish tradition," and that it "is and must be dynamic." The MJAA and the IAMCS say the Bible is "the only infallible and authoritative word of God."

The Union asks member congregations to agree with its Statement of Faith and its Definition.

They are of supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and practice.

Messianic Jewish halakhah is rooted in Scripture (Tanakh and the New Covenant writings), which is of unique sanctity and authority. It also draws upon Jewish tradition, especially those practices and concepts that have won near-universal acceptance by devout Jews through the centuries.

is the only infallible and authoritative word of God

The UMJC's Statement of Faith closes with a paragraph on tradition: "The Jewish tradition serves as the living link that connects us as contemporary Jews to our biblical past and provides resources needed to develop a Messianic Jewish way of life and thought."

The IAMCS has a paper titled "The Non-Torah: Exposing the Mythology of Divine Oral Torah." The movement's teachers do not agree on the Oral Torah, which is the Jewish tradition of the rabbis. Mark Kinzer defends it in an essay, and the IAMCS lists a paper against it.

Forgiveness and new life come by faith in Yeshua. A believer is joined to him through immersion.

The UMJC says forgiveness, renewal, union with Messiah and the hope of resurrection are "available to all, Jews and Gentiles, who put their faith in Yeshua." Those who believe and "in obedience to His word" are "joined to Him and His Body through immersion." The IAMCS says salvation "has always been 'by faith'" and that "works of law ... have never saved anyone." The MJAA says redemption is through the atonement and that "by grace we are saved through faith." The MJAA quotes Acts 2:38 as a call to repent and be immersed, though it quotes it under the Holy Spirit and does not say what immersion is for. No association says in its own words that immersion is for the forgiveness of sins.

Forgiveness of sins, spiritual renewal, union with Messiah, the empowering and sanctifying presence of the indwelling Ruach Ha Kodesh, and the confident hope of eternal life and a glorious resurrection are now available to all, Jews and Gentiles, who put their faith in Yeshua, the Risen Lord, and in obedience to His word are joined to Him and His Body through immersion

We believe that salvation has always been "by faith," and that works of law, or righteous acts, have never saved anyone

For by grace we are saved through faith, it is a gift of God

The UMJC says a believer is sustained in union with Messiah through his remembrance meal. Its pages give no day or frequency; a scholar reports that most congregations keep it monthly.

The UMJC's Statement of Faith names the Lord's Supper once, as "Messiah's remembrance meal," and cites 1 Corinthians 11:23-27. It says a believer is joined to Messiah through immersion and "sustained in that union" through the meal. The MJAA and IAMCS statements do not mention the Supper, and the UMJC's pages give no day, frequency or rule on who may take part. Juster, writing of the shape of worship, says that "The liturgy for the Lord's Supper (Communion or Eucharist) was derived from the early Jewish Temple and synagogue liturgy" and elsewhere that Passover "was the time of the Messiah's death and resurrection."

The nearest thing to a description of practice comes from outside the associations. The scholar Hillary Kaell, writing of United States congregations in general, says communion "is common and is usually celebrated monthly," and that it "is often viewed as having real and efficacious power," though what that power is, she says, is seldom spelled out. That is a scholar's summary of many congregations, not a UMJC rule.

sustained in that union through Messiah’s remembrance meal

The liturgy for the Lord's Supper (Communion or Eucharist) was derived from the early Jewish Temple and synagogue liturgy.

Congregations are led by rabbis and elders. Member congregations join associations that ordain, credential and vote, and no association is a hierarchy.

The Statement of Faith says spiritual life is "grounded in godly family units within the relational framework of congregations," and that congregations "are called to connect in Messianic Jewish associations, where they will find mutual enrichment and accountability." The UMJC is run by delegates: each member congregation votes, and the Union elects its officers, its policies and its budget by that vote. It trains and credentials rabbis, and its pages name "rabbis, cantors, officers, elders, and educators" among congregational leaders. It also keeps a Rabbinic Counsel for "consultation, counseling, and specialized teaching." The IAMCS says it "is not designed to be a denominational structure" and credentials leaders for its member congregations. Juster speaks of a congregation's "eldership" deciding questions of practice. The UMJC's pages do not describe how a typical congregation is governed day to day.

The Union is Delegate-driven, with a democratic leadership structure. Every single member congregation votes on every single issue, including elections of officers, policy proposals, theology statements

Messianic Jewish congregations are called to connect in Messianic Jewish associations, where they will find mutual enrichment and accountability.

The IAMCS is not designed to be a denominational structure, but rather to be an instrument in promoting Messianic revival and to provide for the needs of its members, whatever their affiliations.

Worship follows the synagogue pattern on Shabbat, in Hebrew and English, with a Torah service and the Jewish holy days.

The MJAA describes a Messianic Jewish expression of faith as "often" meaning "worshiping in Hebrew, following Mosaic Law, dancing as King David did before the Lord, and keeping Biblical holidays such as Pesach, Sukkot, or Shavuot." The IAMCS says "We observe and celebrate the Jewish Holy Days given by God to Israel, with their fulfillment in and through the Messiah Yeshua." The UMJC's educators' pages describe a Shabbat service with a Torah procession and a Torah service. Christ is worshiped as God: the IAMCS says "The Son is God (Deity), and is worshipped as God," and the MJAA says the same. On whether non-Jews wear the prayer shawl (tallit) or head covering (kippah), Juster "take[s] no position" and leaves it to each congregation's eldership. No association says whether instruments are used. Kaell, writing of the movement in general, says the worship in many congregations, "but especially in charismatic ones," is "very lively, featuring dancing, shofar-blowing," and "upbeat music," and that Messianic music has "a strong orientation towards Christian contemporary music."

Every congregation is different, but this expression often means worshiping in Hebrew, following Mosaic Law, dancing as King David did before the Lord, and keeping Biblical holidays such as Pesach, Sukkot, or Shavuot.

We observe and celebrate the Jewish Holy Days given by God to Israel, with their fulfillment in and through the Messiah Yeshua.

all children involved walk around in the Torah procession and then go up and stand around the bima for the Torah service.

The Spirit was poured out on Messiah's community and indwells believers. The statements do not say whether miraculous gifts continue.

The UMJC says "God poured out the Divine Spirit on the community of Yeshua's followers, so that they might be joined intimately to the Messiah as His Body." The MJAA says the Spirit "empowers us," seals believers, and that "His indwelling enables us to live a godly life." The IAMCS and MJAA both quote Acts 1:8. None of the three associations says whether tongues, prophecy or healing continue today. Some leaders are charismatic: Juster writes of a "modern charismatic orientation" in one model of congregation and says that in the 1990s he "believed God spoke to me about the priestly meaning of the Tallit." That is his own account, not the UMJC's.

God poured out the Divine Spirit on the community of Yeshua’s followers, so that they might be joined intimately to the Messiah as His Body and become the preliminary representation of the New Covenant fullness promised to Israel.

His indwelling enables us to live a godly life.

Jewish traditional expression and mainstream Christian expression merge in a modern charismatic orientation.

Messiah will return to Jerusalem to rule on David's throne and restore Israel. The dead will rise, the saved will live forever, and the wicked will be judged.

The UMJC says Messiah Yeshua "will return to Jerusalem in glory at the end of this age, to rule forever on David's throne," will restore Israel "in fullness," raise the dead, save all who belong to him and judge the wicked. The MJAA and IAMCS add that the "re-establishment or rebirth of the State of Israel" is the greatest miracle of the day, according to prophecy, and the IAMCS speaks of Israel's national restoration and the restored Davidic Kingdom. The IAMCS holds "the resurrection of both the redeemed and the lost: the former to everlasting life and the latter to eternal separation from God." These are statements of belief about prophecy. They are not a position on any current political question, which this chart leaves out.

Messiah Yeshua will return to Jerusalem in glory at the end of this age, to rule forever on David’s throne.

The greatest miracle of our day has been the re-establishment or rebirth of the State of Israel according to prophecy

We believe in the resurrection of both the redeemed and the lost: the former to everlasting life and the latter to eternal separation from God, a state of everlasting punishment

The Torah as Israel's way of life

The Torah is God's gift to Israel and the constitution of the Jewish people, and Jewish believers remain responsible to live by it in the light of the New Covenant.

The UMJC holds that the Torah "serves as the constitution of the Jewish people and thus also of the Messianic Jewish community." Its Definition says Messianic Jews "embrace the covenantal responsibility of Jewish life and identity rooted in Torah." Its FAQ answers the question "Why are you still living under the Law?" by saying that in Acts 15 the Jewish leaders "never question the ongoing responsibility that Jewish followers of Yeshua have toward the Torah," and that "the Torah and its way of life remain the norm for Jewish followers of Yeshua."

The teachers go further or differently. Mark Kinzer holds that "all Jews (including Yeshua-believers) are not only permitted but are obligated to follow basic Jewish practice." The MJAA speaks of "following Mosaic Law." The three associations agree that the Law does not save and that it is not the same for Gentile members.

The Torah is God’s gift to Israel. It serves as the constitution of the Jewish people and thus also of the Messianic Jewish community, which comprises Israel’s eschatological firstfruits.

to fulfill the covenantal responsibility incumbent upon all Jews

that all Jews (including Yeshua-believers) are not only permitted but are obligated to follow basic Jewish practice

Or are ye ignorant, brethren (for I speak to men who know the law), that the law hath dominion over a man for so long time as he liveth? For the woman that hath a husband is bound by law to the husband while he liveth; but if the husband die, she is discharged from the law of the husband. So then if, while the husband liveth, she be joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if the husband die, she is free from the law, so that she is no adulteress, though she be joined to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also were made dead to the law through the body of Christ; that ye should be joined to another, even to him who was raised from the dead, that we might bring forth fruit unto God.

And to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, not being myself under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; to them that are without law, as without law, not being without law to God, but under law to Christ, that I might gain them that are without law.

But before faith came, we were kept in ward under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. So that the law is become our tutor to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a tutor.

For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

Credit is due first: a Jew who believes does not stop being a Jew, Paul kept a vow and "became as a Jew" among Jews, and the Union is right that the Law cannot save and does not bind Gentiles. But the Union speaks of "the covenantal responsibility incumbent upon all Jews," "embodied in the Torah," and the verdict is firm: no one, Jew or Gentile, is bound to the Law of Moses as covenant duty. Paul says so to Jews in particular. Writing "to men who know the law," he says "ye also were made dead to the law through the body of Christ" (Romans 7:1-4), and in the very sentence where he becomes as a Jew to Jews he adds "not being myself under the law" (1 Corinthians 9:20). A Jewish believer may keep his people's customs freely, as Paul did, but not as the terms of his covenant with God or the norm of a congregation.

Matthew 5:17-19. The Union's FAQ quotes it first. Jesus came "not to destroy, but to fulfil," and no jot shall pass "till all things be accomplished." The text binds the Law until its purpose is accomplished, and Jesus said what that purpose was: "all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the psalms, concerning me" (Luke 24:44). Christ is "the end of the law unto righteousness to every one that believeth" (Romans 10:4), and the law was a tutor "unto Christ" (Galatians 3:24). If verse 19 bound the whole Mosaic code, it would bind the sacrifices and the Levitical priesthood too, and no Messianic body keeps those. Hebrews 7:12 says why: the priesthood changed, so the law changed.

Acts 21:20-24. Here thousands of Jewish believers are "all zealous for the law." Paul purifies himself with four men under a vow, to show that he "walkest orderly, keeping the law." This is the best case for the Union, and it proves something real: a Jewish believer may keep Jewish custom, and Paul did not teach Jews to give up circumcision or the customs as such. But the text shows what Paul did, not what God required. The elders' worry was a rumor, and Paul's answer was the free conduct of 1 Corinthians 9:20. The same chapter keeps the Acts 15 letter for Gentiles (Acts 21:25), and it binds no Jew to anything. Paul's own letters, written to Jews as well as Gentiles, say the believer is "discharged from the law" (Romans 7:6). A custom kept by choice for the sake of others is one thing. A covenant duty laid on every Jewish believer is another.

Romans 11:29. The Union's Statement of Faith cites Romans 11:28-29 for the teaching that God gave Israel "the holy Torah as a covenantal way of life." Paul's words are "the gifts and the calling of God are not repented of." They are true, and they guard against the claim that God has cast off Israel (Romans 11:1). But the verse speaks of Israel's election, "beloved for the fathers' sake," and of the salvation still promised to them. It does not say the Sinai covenant still binds. In the same letter the Jew is "made dead to the law" so that he may be "joined to another" (Romans 7:4). God's calling of Israel stands, and it is fulfilled in Christ, not in the Law.

Where the teachers part. Kinzer's "obligated" is stronger than the Union's words. The MJAA's statement of faith has no article on the Torah, and this chart finds no MJAA paper that states a rule for Jewish members.

The Sabbath and the feasts

The Union worships on Shabbat and keeps the biblical holy days, with their fulfillment in Messiah. It does not require Gentile members to do the same.

Shabbat is the day of the main service, and the Jewish holy days are kept: the MJAA names Pesach, Sukkot and Shavuot, and the IAMCS says it observes "the Jewish Holy Days given by God to Israel." For Gentile members the associations are clear. The IAMCS says "We do not believe the Gentile church is called necessarily to observe Shabbat, the Levitical feasts, the laws of kashrut, and other Mosaic laws that are specific to Israel. We don't forbid anyone from doing those things, but we do not fault the church for not keeping them." The UMJC says the Torah "does not have the same role for Messianic communities from the nations, though it does provide spiritual nourishment as a witness to the Messiah." Juster, describing Gentile members, says "They keep the Sabbath and the Feasts."

We do not believe the Gentile church is called necessarily to observe Shabbat, the Levitical feasts, the laws of kashrut, and other Mosaic laws that are specific to Israel. We don't forbid anyone from doing those things, but we do not fault the church for not keeping them.

The Torah does not have the same role for Messianic communities from the nations, though it does provide spiritual nourishment as a witness to the Messiah.

They keep the Sabbath and the Feasts and are connected to Jewish roots.

Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a feast day or a new moon or a sabbath day: which are a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ’s.

One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let each man be fully assured in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord: and he that eateth, eateth unto the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, unto the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

but now that ye have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how turn ye back again to the weak and beggarly rudiments, whereunto ye desire to be in bondage over again? Ye observe days, and months, and seasons, and years. I am afraid of you, lest by any means I have bestowed labor upon you in vain.

And upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed with them, intending to depart on the morrow; and prolonged his speech until midnight.

Here the associations stand nearer the New Testament than the movements that bind the Sabbath and feasts on every believer, and the IAMCS paper deserves credit for opposing that teaching plainly and for following Acts 15. But Colossians 2:16-17 does not free only the Gentile. The sabbath, the feast day and the new moon are "a shadow of the things to come; but the body is Christ's," and a shadow binds no one once the body has come. A Jewish believer may rest on Saturday and keep Passover with his family as a free act of memory, for "He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord" (Romans 14:6), but he may not hold the day as Israel's covenant duty, or let it displace the first day of the week, when the church "gathered together to break bread" (Acts 20:7).

What is and is not charged. Meeting on Saturday is not itself the fault: the one command to assemble names no day (Hebrews 10:25). The faults are two. The Sabbath is held as part of the Torah that is the "covenantal responsibility" of every Jew, which is weighed under authority below. And the Supper, which the apostles kept on the first day, is kept, where it is kept, on another day and at another interval, which is weighed under the Supper. The worship placement does not count the day a third time.

Circumcision and conversion

Gentile believers are not to be circumcised or converted, and the UMJC does not recognize conversion. Some Messianic leaders disagree and convert Gentile members.

The UMJC studied the question in 1983 and, by a majority position, has not recognized the conversion of Gentiles within Messianic Judaism since. Its President said in 2005 that "the UMJC does not endorse or recognize" a conversion process begun by Messianic leaders in the Northeast, though some groups under the Union's umbrella do recognize conversion. The UMJC's majority paper said that "Gentile believers who feel a strong identity with the Jewish people may join Messianic synagogues, participate in congregational life, and thus express a high degree of identification without actually becoming Jews." The IAMCS says "Paul saw that circumcision was right and good for the Jewish believer in Yeshua, but made no sense for the Gentile." Juster reports that some congregations convert especially called Gentiles, and says that authority "is controversial given the apostolic ruling in Acts 15, the instructions of I Corinthians 7:18, and Galatians (especially chapter 5)."

The sources do not say whether the associations require the circumcision of Jewish sons. The IAMCS speaks of it as right and good for the Jewish believer.

since 1983 the UMJC does not recognize conversion of Gentiles within Messianic Judaism.

Gentile believers who feel a strong identity with the Jewish people may join Messianic synagogues, participate in congregational life, and thus express a high degree of identification without actually becoming Jews.

Paul circumcised Timothy, whose mother was Jewish, (Acts 16:3); but did not circumcise Titus, who was Greek. (Gal. 2:3). Paul saw that circumcision was right and good for the Jewish believer in Yeshua, but made no sense for the Gentile.

And certain men came down from Judæa and taught the brethren, saying, Except ye be circumcised after the custom of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

Now therefore why make ye trial of God, that ye should put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in like manner as they.

Behold, I Paul say unto you, that, if ye receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing. Yea, I testify again to every man that receiveth circumcision, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Ye are severed from Christ, ye who would be justified by the law; ye are fallen away from grace.

Was any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Hath any been called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; but the keeping of the commandments of God.

On the Gentile the associations are right, and they hold the apostolic line against those who would change it. The men from Judea said "Except ye be circumcised after the custom of Moses, ye cannot be saved," and the council refused, and Paul told the Galatians that "if ye receive circumcision, Christ will profit you nothing." The UMJC majority is therefore right to refuse to convert Gentiles, and those who would, such as the proposal Kesher printed in 2005, press on Gentiles what the council refused to bind. On the Jew the question is not the same, and the verdict is not the same. Paul had Timothy circumcised for the sake of the Jews, and he wrote "Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; but the keeping of the commandments of God" (1 Corinthians 7:19). Circumcising a Jewish son as a custom is therefore free. But Peter asked why the Jews should put a yoke on the Gentile, "which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear," and said "we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in like manner as they." The Law's covenant sign binds no one now.

Food laws (kashrut)

Gentile believers are not bound to the food laws. The associations' statements do not say what Jewish members must avoid, and practice varies.

The IAMCS says it does not believe the Gentile church is called to keep "the laws of kashrut" (the Jewish food laws), "We don't forbid anyone from doing those things," and the UMJC says the Torah is not the same for the nations. A teaching document from The King's University, which says it follows the stance of the UMJC, the IAMCS and Toward Jerusalem Council II, says the Jerusalem council gave Gentiles freedom from "boundary markers of Jewish identity," among them "Leviticus 11 dietary distinctions." The UMJC's FAQ says the Torah way of life is the "norm" for Jewish believers, but none of the associations' statements lists which foods Jewish members avoid. Kaell reports that individuals may choose to keep kosher, and that "a minority of Messianic congregations make kashrut a standard practice."

We don't forbid anyone from doing those things, but we do not fault the church for not keeping them.

the Torah and its way of life remain the norm for Jewish followers of Yeshua

And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Perceive ye not, that whatsoever from without goeth into the man, it cannot defile him; because it goeth not into his heart, but into his belly, and goeth out into the draught? This he said, making all meats clean.

And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common and unclean. And a voice came unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, make not thou common.

I know, and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself: save that to him who accounteth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.

forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth. For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it be received with thanksgiving: for it is sanctified through the word of God and prayer.

Gentile freedom is the apostolic ruling, and the IAMCS and the UMJC hold it. Their own wording that they "do not fault the church" is the right one: Paul says no one is to judge in "meat, or in drink." But the food laws are not a Gentile matter only. Jesus, "making all meats clean," spoke to Jews, and Peter, a Jew, was told three times "What God hath cleansed, make not thou common." Nothing in Scripture shows a Jewish believer bound to the Levitical table. He may abstain from conscience, and Romans 14 says to receive him; he may not make the table a mark of covenant faithfulness, or separate from Gentile brothers over it, as Peter was rebuked for doing at Antioch. Where the associations leave the Jewish rule unwritten, the chart cannot weigh a rule they have not stated, and it says no more than that the New Testament binds no one to it.

Jewish and non-Jewish members together

The UMJC asks for a core of Jewish members and welcomes Gentiles with a confirmed call to share in the life of the Jewish people. Kinzer would form two subcommunities.

The UMJC's Definition says Messianic Jewish groups "may also include those from non-Jewish backgrounds who have a confirmed call to participate fully in the life and destiny of the Jewish people," and its membership rule asks for "a committed core of Jewish congregants or members." Its Statement of Faith says "Messiah's community is a single community expressed in diverse forms within the Jewish community and among the nations." Its education page speaks of "Gentile children within the Messianic Jewish community" living "lives of dedicated partnership with the Jewish people and service to the Messiah." The IAMCS says Gentile believers are "grafted into" the Jewish olive tree. Juster says Gentiles "are called to join us if they have a special calling to the Jewish people and a desire to live their lives with Jewish people without displacing them or blurring their distinctiveness," and warns against the idea that these are "the ideal form of the Church." Kinzer holds that "the unity of Jew and Gentile does not imply the elimination of all distinction between the two, any more than the unity of husband and wife eliminates all gender differentiation."

Messianic Jewish groups may also include those from non-Jewish backgrounds who have a confirmed call to participate fully in the life and destiny of the Jewish people.

I do think that Gentiles are called to join us if they have a special calling to the Jewish people and a desire to live their lives with Jewish people without displacing them or blurring their distinctiveness.

the unity of Jew and Gentile does not imply the elimination of all distinction between the two, any more than the unity of husband and wife eliminates all gender differentiation

For he is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace; and might reconcile them both in one body unto God through the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

There can be neither Jew nor Greek, there can be neither bond nor free, there can be no male and female; for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus. And if ye are Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, heirs according to promise.

But when Cephas came to Antioch, I resisted him to the face, because he stood condemned. For before that certain came from James, he ate with the Gentiles; but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing them that were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that even Barnabas was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Cephas before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest as do the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, how compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?

But if some of the branches were broken off, and thou, being a wild olive, wast grafted in among them, and didst become partaker with them of the root of the fatness of the olive tree; glory not over the branches: but if thou gloriest, it is not thou that bearest the root, but the root thee.

The associations deserve credit for much here. They refuse the contempt of Jews that has marked parts of church history, they teach that a Jew does not stop being a Jew by faith in Christ, and they warn their Gentile members against pride. Paul does the same: "glory not over the branches," for "it is not thou that bearest the root, but the root thee" (Romans 11:18). They say Jews and Gentiles are one body. But a Gentile asked to take "a confirmed call to participate fully in the life and destiny of the Jewish people" has been asked for what the New Testament does not ask. Christ "made both one, and brake down the middle wall of partition," to "create in himself of the two one new man" (Ephesians 2:15). There is one body, and no one gets in by a Jewish call or by descent. A rule that a congregation needs a core of Jewish members, and Kinzer's design of two subcommunities, "each with its own" structures, rebuild a distinction in the assembly that the apostles removed. Peter was rebuked at Antioch for drawing back from the Gentiles, and Paul's word is "There can be neither Jew nor Greek … for ye all are one man in Christ Jesus" (Galatians 3:28).

The plumb line is the New Testament: what the apostles commanded, and what the churches practiced with their approval. Each position above is set against it, and the wall below shows how far each one stands from it. The UMJC and the associations that stand beside it hold the gospel plainly and deserve credit for it. Their questions are old ones: what Jewish believers are to keep, what Gentiles are to keep, and whether the two are one. The apostles answered them in Acts 15 and in the letters to the Galatians, Romans and Colossians, and the verdicts below rest on those answers.

Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work.

But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men. Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men.

Now these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes; that in us ye might learn not to go beyond the things which are written; that no one of you be puffed up for the one against the other.

The UMJC says Scripture is of "supreme and final authority," and the MJAA and IAMCS say the same. That is on the line. The Union then binds member congregations to a Statement of Faith and a Definition of its own, and it draws its halakhah from "Jewish tradition," especially practices with "near-universal acceptance by devout Jews." Jesus asked the Pharisees, "Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men." The Union also binds the Jewish believer to a Torah way of life, Sabbath and holy days included, that the apostles did not bind on him; that binding is weighed here, and not again under worship. The Statement of Faith puts Scripture over its own words, which is in its favor, but a creed written beside the text, with Jewish tradition as a resource, goes "beyond the things which are written."

And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name.

for by grace have ye been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, that no man should glory.

yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law: because by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Salvation by grace through faith, and baptism as the immersion of a believer, put these bodies near the line, and the IAMCS says it as well as any: "works of law ... have never saved anyone." Nobody is justified "by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ" (Galatians 2:16). The bodies' statements stop short of Acts 2:38 and 22:16: the UMJC makes immersion the means of being "joined" to the Body and does not say that forgiveness is found in it, and the MJAA quotes Acts 2:38 without saying what immersion is for. A believer, immersed, saved by grace is the New Testament pattern. The placement is one step off the line, and not on it, only because no association says that immersion is where forgiveness is received.

For I received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which he was betrayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, This is my body, which is for you: this do in remembrance of me. In like manner also the cup, after supper, saying, This cup is the new covenant in my blood: this do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink the cup, ye proclaim the Lord’s death till he come.

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a communion of the body of Christ? seeing that we, who are many, are one bread, one body: for we all partake of the one bread.

The evidence here is thin, and the placement is moderate because of it, not in spite of it. The UMJC keeps a "remembrance meal" and cites 1 Corinthians 11, but it publishes no day, no frequency and no rule of access. The one description of practice is a scholar's, Hillary Kaell's, for the movement at large: communion "usually celebrated monthly," and often thought to have an "efficacious power" that is seldom explained. Luke writes of the church at Troas, "upon the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread" (Acts 20:7), and the apostolic example binds the Supper to that day, every week. A monthly meal in congregations that assemble on Saturday misses both the day and the rhythm. What the associations have not published cannot be credited to them.

And when they had appointed for them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.

For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that were wanting, and appoint elders in every city, as I gave thee charge;

The elders therefore among you I exhort, who am a fellow-elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, who am also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according to the will of God; nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as lording it over the charge allotted to you, but making yourselves ensamples to the flock.

But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren.

The Union is a voluntary association of congregations, and each congregation votes. No association rules over the congregations, and the IAMCS says it is "not designed to be a denominational structure." That is nearer the New Testament than most hierarchies. Local eldership is named in the Union's leadership training and in Juster's paper. Against that, the pattern is a rabbi with an ordination and a credential granted by an association, and Jesus said "be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren." Appointing "elders in every church" (Acts 14:23) is the apostles' pattern, and an ordained rabbi over each congregation, with a Union that credentials and sets standards for the ordination, adds a clergy class and a layer above the congregation that the apostles did not.

speaking one to another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts unto God.

And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the prayers.

What is it then, brethren? When ye come together, each one hath a psalm, hath a teaching, hath a revelation, hath a tongue, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.

The Son is worshiped as God, and prayer goes to God, which is on the line. The New Testament names the assembly's music: "singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:19). To it the congregations add a set liturgy from the synagogue, with a Torah procession and Torah service, and, by the MJAA's account and Kaell's, dancing, shofar-blowing and music in the style of contemporary Christian worship. No association says whether instruments are used, and a placement cannot assume the favorable answer, so the course is set one step further out than the liturgy alone would put it. The Sabbath and holy days are not counted here: their binding is weighed under authority, and the Supper's day under the Supper.

But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.

how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? which having at the first been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed unto us by them that heard; God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders, and by manifold powers, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will.

Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. Now when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money,

The Spirit is poured out on Messiah's community, joins believers to the Body and empowers them. The associations are right, and they stand where the New Testament stands: "if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" (Romans 8:9). They do not state a position on the miraculous gifts, so the chart does not charge them with one. The miraculous gifts came through the apostles' hands, as Hebrews 2:3-4 and Acts 8:17-18 show, and ceased with the completed word (1 Corinthians 13:8-10). Where a leader teaches a charismatic expression or reports that God "spoke" to him about a custom, as Juster does, the claim of a new word to bind a practice goes past the text. It is his account, not the Union's, and so the placement is near the middle.

Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins he would set one upon his throne; he foreseeing this spake of the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he left unto Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are witnesses. Being therefore by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear.

And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After these things I will return, And I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; And I will build again the ruins thereof, And I will set it up: That the residue of men may seek after the Lord, And all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called,

For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in; and so all Israel shall be saved: even as it is written, There shall come out of Zion the Deliverer; He shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence.

The return of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment and everlasting life are on the line, and the associations state them plainly. They stand short in what they add: a return "to Jerusalem" to rule on David's throne, a restoration of Israel as a nation in the land, and the modern State of Israel read as prophecy fulfilled. Peter said that God swore to David "that of the fruit of his loins he would set one upon his throne," and that this was fulfilled when Jesus was raised and "by the right hand of God exalted" (Acts 2:30-33). James read the rebuilding of David's tent in Amos as the Gentiles' turning to the Lord. Paul's "all Israel shall be saved" is the fullness of the Gentiles and the deliverance by the Redeemer out of Zion, and it speaks of salvation, not of a national kingdom. "My kingdom is not of this world," Christ said. The placement is the same as that of other bodies that hold a future earthly reign.

The UMJC, the MJAA and the IAMCS hold the gospel in its center. They confess one God in three persons, and the Son as God, born of a virgin, who died for the sins of Israel and of the whole world, rose bodily and will come again. They hold Scripture as the final authority. They teach that no one is saved by the works of the law, and the IAMCS and UMJC say it in their own words. They keep faith with Acts 15: they will not bind the Law on the Gentile, they refuse to circumcise or convert him, and they oppose by name the movements that do. They honor the Jewish people, reject contempt for them and the old claim that the church replaced Israel, and warn their Gentile members against pride. Paul says "I say then, Did God cast off his people? God forbid." They keep the Lord's Supper and immerse believers.

The question the Union asks is a fair one: can a Jew who follows Jesus remain a Jew? The New Testament answers yes. Paul was a Jew to the end, and he called himself "an Israelite" and was not ashamed to keep a vow in the temple.

But the question the Union answers is a different one. It holds that every Jew bears "the covenantal responsibility incumbent upon all Jews," a responsibility "embodied in the Torah," that a Jewish congregation is shaped by a Torah way of life and by the traditions of the rabbis, and that Jews and Gentiles, though one body, keep distinct places in it. On these points the verdict is firm. What Christ fulfilled is no longer the covenant duty of anyone, Jew or Gentile. The free keeping of a custom is allowed, and the binding of it is not.

The apostles' word stands for both sides of the old wall: "neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature" (Galatians 6:15). The UMJC and its sister associations hold this for the Gentile. The same word is owed to the Jewish believer, who may keep his customs and who stands, with his Gentile brother, on grace.

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