From the Christian perspective, are modern day Christians actually the Jews of the Old Testament?

Question

From the perspective of Christians, are Christians actually the Jews? Meaning that Christians are the inheritors of all of the covenants, responsibilities, and promises from God in the Old Testament? The only difference being the added, new Covenant is present, having been brought by Christ?

There are many Evangelical Christians groups that support the nation of Israel. They preach that Israel is important in prophecy and the fact that the Jews are there is significant and might indicate something about unfolding prophecy. But aren't modern day Christians, in fact, Jews themselves?

I realise that Christianity is an 'offshoot' of first century Judaism, but it would seem that from an historical perspective Christians are no less Jews. I know this could be a controversial question as the next glaring question would then be: what is the status of modern day Jews? But of course this would be no different a question for Christians looking at any other religion.

Your thoughts?

In general, Christians view Christianity as the fulfillment and successor of Judaism, and Christianity carried forward (and still does albeit in slightly modified form) much of the doctrine and many of the practices from that faith, including monotheism, the belief in a Messiah, and certain forms of worship (such as prayer, and reading from religious texts). Other beliefs around original sin atoned for by God giving his son, or the Son (who is God) coming down to earth for the sake of humanity, and a subsequent sacrifice of that Son, and the belief in the Trinity of God, are essential differences introduced in Christianity that have no counterpart in Judaism.

Answer 1

No, we are not actually the Jews of the Old Testament. We are Gentiles grafted in to become sons of Abraham through the perfect sacrifice and priesthood of Jesus Christ who brought judgment to the Gentiles.
You seem to be very confused. Many people are confused as to the fact that the old testament civil laws were largely for the nation of Israel, a theocracy, and had a purpose for protecting them from diseases and to bring justice for victims. Many of their laws have been used by other civilizations including America's as the basis for their judicial systems. Then there were ceremonial laws that were types and shadows of things to come and which Christ fulfilled with His sacrifice and Priesthood and as the testator of the new covenant, his death brought about the new and the old waxed away. There are no more sacrifices for sin in the temple now but a new and better way and we have become kings and priests in Christ Jesus who have accepted remission of sins through Him. Then you had man's laws added which Jesus rebuked and so we have to understand which laws that are still applicable today (God's laws) namely to love God with all your heart soul mind and strength and your neighbor as yourself. Christ fulfilled the law.

We are Jews inwardly by faith in Jesus Christ and so our promises of inheritance are not the same as one who is a literal Jew. Circumcision of the heart before God and doing His will is what matters. Many Jews have lost their lineage and become intermarried with other nations as recorded several times in the Bible account.

No, Christianity is not an "offshoot" of Judaism. Many Jews, including teachers and Levitical priests of that day believed on Christ. Those who never accepted Him as the Messiah and are still living under the old law yet not abiding by it fully, still expect a Messiah and when they rebuild their temple, they expect to offer sacrifices again. This is against Christ - (anti-Christ) because He has already become the propitiation for sins and His blood is sufficient for all who will repent. The reason many Jews beleived then and ever since is because He fulfilled many prophesies they were quite familiar with in Isaiah and other scriptures and some of the priests recognized His spirit as being the same one they felt either behind the veil of the temple or somewhere in the vicinity. Also, everything about the tabernacle/temple worship, those carnal ordinances that were nailed to the cross, pointed to Christ's coming. I mean, aren't you glad that we are under grace? An adulterous woman is no longer stoned to death but may recieve pardon and the instruction to go and sin no more! What love and forgiveness and lifechanging power is in Jesus!
Everything prophesied concerning this people has taken place and will take place. The promise applies to both Jews and to Christians that in blessing them you will be blessed and in cursing them you will be cursed. It pays to be allied with them because history bears out that no matter what the odds are, when God makes them a promise, He will fulfil it even if it's on behalf of one of His servants that lived thousands of years ago and only in a certain family line.
Their status with God is the same as all nations and individuals as to how they/we will be judged. The Bible forbids Christian Gentiles to claim to be literal Jews. I do however have the royal blood of Jesus Christ (a Jew!) flowing through my veins and have become an heir of the promise of life more abundantly and eternal life if I'm faithful until the end. The status could mean you want a discourse on prophesy concerning them as a nation? Christians aren't looking for another Christ. John asked whether or not Jesus was the one or should he look for another and Jesus repeatedly told folks "Before Abraham was, I AM". We needn't look for another because Jesus was and is the annointed one and is still fulfilling His mission today in hearts of men, women, boys and girls everywhere. The Messiah has already come and soon will be coming back again. Don't be decieved by another Christ who is false.

Answer 2

It doesn't seem to me that u know a lot about Christianity hence your question and the phrasing. Go to the link below and read Romans 11. It explains a lot of what you're asking.

Christians are not Jews but gentiles if you read the reference - very, very clear distinction.

Christians live under grace, same as Abraham lived under grace and that was long before Jews as a people came to be or before Israel became a nation (Old Testament). The Jews have only known the law given to them through Moses and are therefore still living under the Old Testament until they are set free to live under grace (Romans 4) by accepting that the New Testament fulfills the Old Testament, not negate it. The Israelites do not become 'unchosen' and are still the 'chosen'. They are also key players of God's future for this world if you would refer to the book of Revelation (see 2nd link).

All the best to you in your search.

Additional:
The OT reveals in patterns and typology. The NT and OT are not unrelated.

Answer 3

Catholic here. If I'm not mistaken, the old covenant with the Jews was the promise of a savior, a redeemer. That promise was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. His arrival ushered in a new covenant for all people. If she's speaking of the Ten Commandments, then yes, those are still in force. However, salvation is through Jesus Christ. Him and Him alone. The Church does take into account that not all people on earth were able to learn about and accept Jesus. Think of babies. They die everyday, and they were too young to learn about Jesus. We believe they go to heaven and are judged by what they know, by their heart. The same would be true of adults that never learned the Faith. Modern day Christians would be descendants of the Jews in a spiritual sense. Our Christian roots come from Judaism. Jesus, however, died for all, Jew and Gentile. The new covenant is that all who believe in Him and follow His teachings have the hope of being saved. It is a promise for all people. God bless.

Answer 4

Absolutely, the new covenant is based on Jesus so it only makes sense that the followers of Christ are the NT Jews.

In the OT, the name Israel first was applied to a man and later to a whole nation with twelve tribes. Unfortunately, the old covenant failed. Read Hebrews, faulty promises, faulty tabernacle, faulty blood, faulty priests, faulty resurrection, etc. OT Israel failed to live up to the expectations God had for them.

Jesus was victorious in every area, step by step, where OT Israel was unfaithful. Jesus became the NT Israel, and those who follow Him the NT Jews, 12 disciples instead of 12 tribes. Jesus tore down the wall that separated the Jews from the Gentiles so that they could become one man with the head as Christ. TV evangelists are trying to rebuild that wall.

The followers of Christ will inherit the promises that were originally planned for OT Israel, not because we are any more faithful than OT Israel, but because Christ was faithful. Better covenant, better Priest, better promises, better tabernacle, better blood, better resurrection. etc.

Now, all people, physical Jews and physical gentiles can be saved in the same way, through belief in Christ. Together, they make up Spiritual Israel. The Church is made up of Jew and Gentile. In fact all 3000 baptized into the church on Pentecost were Jewish, as were the 120 in the upper room.

Physical Israel has nothing to do with endtime Bible prophecy. Those prophecies refer to Spiritual Israel.

Answer 5

The chosen ones so to speak were the children of Israel, although they were Jews Jesus was referring to all mankind. You have to remember that the geographical and cultural layout is a lot different now than it was back then. Christianity simply means followers of Christ so in the "now times" not only do Christians and Jews have different beliefs they also have different cultures which can directly effect their beliefs. I hope this made some sort of sense and possibly helped a little. GOD BLESS!!!

Answer 6

No they are not but you are correct as some denominations believe that linking themselves to Judaism means they are also the chosen ones,this is flawed thinking because;
Christianity is the completion of the Jewish religion. Had all of the Jews of Jesus’ time accepted him as the Messiah and entered the Church, there would have continued to be one true religion. But because Jesus of Nazareth was not accepted as the Messiah by the majority of the Jews of his time, a split occurred. Pre-Christian Judaism was the true religion; post-Christian Judaism is an incomplete religion because it lacks recognition of the Messiah it anticipates.

Answer 7

I believe that Jews are jews themselves and Christians are followers of Christ( Jesus) and are mostly protestants and catholics. Jews dont accept that Christ( the messiah to them) is Jesus.

Details:

Jews:

The Jews have a 5,750 year history, tracing their origins to Biblical times. Evolving out of a common religion, the Jewish people developed customs, culture, and an ethical system which identified them as Jews regardless of their individual religious attitudes. The ancient Jews were both conquerors and the conquered. But they were among only a handful of ancient peoples to survive, despite centuries of persecution, massacres, and their dispersion amongst all of the world's nations. Where other peoples assimilated, the Jews adopted some local customs and folkways, but held onto the basic tenets of their religion and culture.

This chapter describes the history, religion, customs and culture of the Jewish people. An understanding of "who are the Jews" is a prerequisite to understanding the roots of anti-Semitism, which, in its most vile form, sowed the seeds of the Holocaust which had as its ultimate objective the total annihilation of the Jewish people.

Judaism

Judaism is the religion of the Jews. There are an estimated 14 million followers of the Jewish religion around the world. Most of the world's Jews are concentrated in three countries: the United States (six million), Israel (3.7 million), and the Soviet Union (2.5 million). Other nations with significant Jewish populations are France (650 thousand), Great Britain (400 thousand), Canada (300 thousand), Argentina (300 thousand), and Brazil (150 thousand).

Judaism was the first religion based on monotheism, the belief in one God. All of the major Western religions found their roots in Judaism.

A central tenet of Judaism is that God, the Creator of the World, made a special agreement called a covenant (berit in Hebrew) with Abraham, from whom the Jewish people descended. The covenant provided that the Jews would be blessed with God's love and protection if they remained true to God's law and faithfully worshipped Him, and be accountable for sins and transgression against God and His laws. The Jewish People have often been referred to throughout history as the "Chosen People" because of the belief that the Jews were singled out among all of the ancient peoples to receive God's laws and His blessings. According to Judaism, the Jews were chosen to be His servants although God is the universal Creator of all humanity.

Jews traditionally do not encourage converts, although converts are accepted after they demonstrate knowledge about the faith and their sincerity in accepting its laws.

The tenets of Judaism include a belief in a coming Messiah (derived from the Hebrew, meaning, "the anointed one") who will unite the Jewish people and lead them under a Kingdom of God on earth and bring peace and justice to all mankind.


Christians :

The definition of who is a "Christian" varies among different Christian groups. Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and many Protestants define a Christian as one who is a member of the Church, which one enters through the sacrament of baptism. In these churches, infants who are baptized may be considered Christians. Some denominations teach that adult baptism is necessary for salvation — the transition from non-Christian to Christian (see Baptismal regeneration). They define a Christian as one who has been baptized as a repenting adult. Others, including many who use the term "born-again Christians" (John 3:3), believe that a Christian is one who believes and follows Jesus and repents of their sins.

Within countries where Christianity is the historical majority religion, the term is also used by some in a casual generic sense to indicate that they are not members of nor affiliated with any other religion – therefore considering themselves Christians by default.

As the identification of "Christ" with Jesus is not accepted within Judaism, in the Hebrew language Christians are called "Nazarenes" (Natsri), because Jesus is described in the New Testament as being from the province of Nazareth.

In Arabic and other languages influenced by Muslim culture, two words are commonly used for Christians: Nasrani, again referring to Nazareth, and Masihi meaning followers of the Messiah. Where there is a distinction, Nasrani refers to people from a Christian culture and Masihi means those with a religious faith in Jesus. In some countries Nasrani tends to be used generically for non-Muslim white people. Another Arabic word sometimes used for Christians, particularly in a political context, is Salidi; this refers to Crusaders and has negative connotations. [4]

Answer 8

No, the Christians of today are not Israel of the 'Old Testament' (Tanakh).

There is only one way to be a part of Israel and share in the promises given only to them.

You must repent of your rebellion and worship of false mighty ones and begin to obey the rules, mandates and requirements from the Tanakh as also Yisrael/Yahudaism must also do.

You cannot be a Christian and be any part of Yisrael and not be in idolatry and rebellion.

Answer 9

I know that Christians regarded the Jews as the enemies of Christ for many centuries. Christians had demonized the Jews & persecuted them in many occasions for many centuries.

It was sometime in the 20th century when Christians had radically changed & we began to see them admitting that Jews are God’s chosen people. We began to hear stuff like "the Judeo-Christian tradition", Or Christians say, "God is Jewish", “What are Christians, but Jews who accepted Jesus”.

I think if we remained alive for the centuries to come, we will see Christians saying good things about the Muslims. Christians would at least admit that the word “Allah” is the Arabic word of “God”, & it’s the God of Abraham for that matter. Christian Arabs know that for sure. They see it all over the pages of the Arabic bible.

Answer 10

No, only in a symbolic sense. Just as Egypt in the Exodus is a symbol of our old sinful lives and going through the Red (Reed) Sea represents our baptism. I don't consider us Jews but a spiritual counterpart only.