The Presence of Faith

In Your presence, thats where I am strong
In Your presence O the Lord my God
In your presence that's where I belong
Seeking Your face
Touching Your grace
In the cleft of the rock
In your presence O God.

Words and Music by Lynn DeShazo
Performed by Paul Wilbur
1995 Integrity's Hosanna! Music

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.” Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. -Matthew 8:5-10

Back to Basics Tour, Part 2

I'm trying to find some of those things in the Bible that everyone in the Messianic and Christian communities have in common without stepping on toes and tails. Issues of defensiveness and divisiveness often characterize the larger "Messianic movement", especially in the eyes of the greater body of Christian believers, and these arguments tend to discredit our chosen method of worship, even discrediting the Jews in Messianic Judaism. What do we have in common with our Christian brothers and sisters? How can we all say together that we are disciples of the Messiah?

I ask that question, though technically a Christian, as one who is off, slightly to one side, since my perspective on many matters favors Israel and Jewish worship styles rather than what you would find in a traditional church. As a Christian man married to a Jewish woman who keeps a Jewish home, my perspective and orientation tends to be more "Jewish". But see, even now, I can easily find ways in which the different members of the body of believers are different and apart.

But how are we together?

I just quoted the words of the Master as recorded in Matthew 8:5-10 and he said something amazing. He recognized the faith of a Roman centurion, a non-Jew, and praised the depth of his faith. The Jewish Messiah even held up this Goy's faith as an example to his Jewish disciples and followers. Can the Messiah of the Jews acknowledge the faith of a Gentile as an authentic faith?

I ask that last question somewhat tongue-in-cheek, because Yeshua's (Jesus's) words are plain. Jewish faith isn't of superior quality or better accepted by God than Gentile faith. We can agree that the Jews are God's "treasured, splendorous people" and nothing removes their status before Him, yet we who are not Jewish are not unloved by God. Paul said "neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor freeman, neither male nor female; for in union with the Messiah, you are seed of Abraham and heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3:28-29 CJB) Can we agree on that, or am I speaking in vain?

In Romans 11, Paul describes faith as the "glue" that attaches both the natural Jewish branches and the alien Goyim branches to a common root. Even an alien branch can be grafted in to the source by faith and even a natural branch can be knocked off because of lack of faith. It's the same glue.

It's easy to forget that we all have this in common, each and every one of us who acknowledge Yeshua as Messiah, Lord, and Master. Regardless of how we may view each other, there is only one "type" of faith that we have accessible to each of us. How we express faith and worship may vary between Jew and Christian, between one congregation and the next, between one tradition and the next, but the ineffable essence and quality of faith is the same. I pray no one sees this as incorrect.

There is also a need for persistence and endurance of faith as recorded in the following parable:

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. He said: “In a certain town there was a judge who neither feared God nor cared what people thought. And there was a widow in that town who kept coming to him with the plea, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’

“For some time he refused. But finally he said to himself, ‘Even though I don’t fear God or care what people think, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she won’t eventually come and attack me!’”

And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” -Luke 18:1-8

The "birth pangs" of the re-association between Jewish Messianics and Gentile Christians is painful indeed and we're just seeing the start of it. I don't believe that God intends for our two communities, which are "united" by a single shepherd, to remain totally estranged and isolated forever, and we are someday to have fellowship in Him. Yet, looking at the entire continuum containing the various congregations of the Messiah, it would be easy to lose faith. Certainly mine has been significantly dampered in recent weeks and months, and I can see how the "Son of Man" can ask "will he find faith?"

There's so much confusion between who we are, what we do, what "Torah" to obey between Jews and Christians, and issues of faith. It's easy to confuse or substitute form for substance. Paul wrote about this:

..even so, we have come to realize that a person is not declared righteous on the ground of his observance of Torah commands, but through the Messiah Yeshua's trusting faithfulness. Therefore, we too have put our trust in Messiah Yeshua and become faithful to him, in order that we might be declared righteous on the ground of the Messiah's trusting faithfulness and not on the ground of our observance of Torah commands. For on the ground of observance of Torah commands, no one will be declared righteous. -Galatians 2:16 CJB

We need to define, not just what separates us, but what binds us. If we can't do that, we have no hope. We might as well continue to operate in two separate camps, being distinctive, and unique, and perserving our identities at the cost of the desires of the Messiah to also make the Gentiles into disciples (Matthew 28:18-20). We have all been (and I believe this means all of us, not just Jews and not just Gentiles) commanded to love one another as the Master's disciples (John 13:34-35) and it's by this love that the rest of the world will know we belong to Yeshua.

This is a command we don't obey very well. However, love is even more important than faith in the Messianic realm:

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. -1 Corinthians 13:8-13

As Paul says, we don't see very clearly yet. That's probably why all the different denominations and factions in Christianity and the Messianic movement seem so confused. When Messiah comes, much more will be revealed, including how we have succeeded and how we have failed in matters of love and faith. I can only hope and pray that we all consider these words and question our own "self-righteousness" in how we treat our fellow disciples, no matter how different they may be from us.

There's a quote uttered by actor Harrison Ford in the film Air Force One (1997):

Peace isn't merely the absence of conflict, but the presence of justice.

Adapting the quote, I'd like to believe that righteousness isn't just the absence of sin, but the presence of faith. We can only be persistent in our faith and love if we are attached to the Master. In his own words, apart from me, you can do nothing (John 15:5).

In His Presence, we are strong, and we are the body of the Messiah...all of us.

The road is long and often, we travel in the dark, ignoring the light of the world. Look for the lamp who lights your path or you may become lost in the dark forever.

"A Jew never gives up. We're here to bring Mashiach, we will settle for nothing less." -Harav Yitzchak Ginsburgh