NA. Faith is very important in both Christianity and Judaism. Christians believe that faith and salvation comes from believing that Jesus Christ died on the cross for their sins. This would be a cut off from a Jew because they don’t believe that Jesus Christ died for their sins. A way to avoid this cut off would be to tell them ahead of time and ask them if it would be alright if you share where your faith and salvation comes from.
In the book, Witnessing to Jews, by Moishe and Ceil Rosen, they suggest that if the person feels secure enough you could ask a question about Jesus. The example question that they offered is “Have Jewish people changed their thinking with much regard to the person of Jesus Christ? (104).” This would give the Jewish person the opportunity to express how they feel about Jesus, before they hear what you feel about Jesus. If they are not open to hearing about Jesus, then they are not open to hearing about what God’s grace did for them, and so anything that is about Jesus will be a cut off. Speaking about Jesus even if they don’t believe it, is already planting the seed for the Holy Spirit.
Judaism believes that their salvation is found through following the Torah, not by faith. In the book, To Faces of Torah by Stephen M Wylen says “One acquires salvation through the observance of the commandments in the Torah, not through faith (67).” This is a cut off because they receive salvation through good works, but it is also a bridge because the person who is witnessing to them can tell them that Salvation comes from God, not from good works. That no human being could ever keep every commandment and so God out of grace, substituted his son so that all people would be able to enter the kingdom of God.
In talking to a Jewish believer about their salvation, the Rosen’s say “you can begin by describing our human need for salvation as a way of escape. We must be free from our imperfections before we can arrive at a position of acceptance before the perfect and righteous ruler of the universe (119).” What they are saying is stress God’s power that gives all of us our gift of a new life. Also stress that salvation is God’s victory is the gift for his children to be able to enter a new relationship with him. It is a bridge because it connects that no one is perfect enough to be able to achieve salvation through works, and that is why God’s salvation is so wonderful, because he gave us the gift of new life.
Judaism also believes that they already have a relationship with God. In the book, Why the Jews Rejected Jesus, by David Klinghoffer, he says “The Lord is one. He desires the love of his people. This love is expressed through fulfilling commandments, which are the language in which the Jews act out their relationship with God (29).” This is a misunderstanding because they feel they already have a relationship with God so why would they need Jesus? It is a misunderstanding because their relationship with God is done through performance and the performance in trying to get blessed by God, but it is also a bridge because when Jesus died on the cross he restored our relationship with God, so that we would be able to have Salvation and have new life.
The Rosen’s give a great idea on how to explain salvation by using a bible verse from the Gospel of John. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life (John 3:16).” They went on to explain how our human condition dominated the spirit and that by the New Birth we are born again to see the kingdom of God and have an active spirit, because when Jesus Christ rose from the dead he gave us the gift of his spirit for him be active in our hearts.
Judaism believes that there are divine spirits that are among them when more than one person reads the Torah together. Wylen says “These Jews believe in the saying in Pirke Avot that when two Jews get together and words of the Torah pass between them, the Shekinah, the Divine presence, makes a third among them (42).” This is a handle because just like in Judaism, when two or more people get together to pray, Jesus is with them. So this is a handle because it shows a similarity with what Judaism believes and Christianity believes, and it relates it to Jesus.
Salvation is the gift of God that gives us a New Life with him. Judaism might have a hard time believing that God gives gifts freely without having to work for them, because they are used to working for God. By witnessing and sharing the Gospel with Jews the Holy Spirit is able to work in them, and so the job of a Christian is to just plant the seed and let God make it grow.
Works Cited
Holy Bible NIV Bible. John 3:16. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1985.
Klinghoffer, David. Why the Jews Rejected Jesus. New York: Doubleday, 2006. 29.
Rosen, Moishe, and Ceil Rosen. Witnessing to Jews. San Francisco: Purple Pomegranate Productions, 1998. 104-119.
Wylen, Stephen M. To Faces of Torah. 2005. 42-67.