What Is Judaizing and Does It Still Happen Today?

The Book of Ecclesiastes has the refrain that there is nothing new under the sun, meaning that sin and evil are uncreative, and the same evils will appear consistently. After the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 500 people witnessed Him alive around Jerusalem, and many were evangelized at Pentecost. The first people to accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah were Jewish, but began to share the good news of salvation with Gentiles, or people of non-Jewish heritage.

In part because of ignorance and confusion (although later for the sake of forcing them to conform to specific behaviors) many Jewish people began to pressure Gentile believers into conforming to Jewish customs and the law. This practice is known as Judaizing, or encouraging Gentile Christians to conform to Jewish customs, practices, and the Old Testament law.

While it manifests differently, this practice is something that still happens today, often in cult-like situations and unhealthy churches. Recognizing it and understanding that Christians of all backgrounds have been set free from the law is a good way to protect oneself and fellow believers from false doctrine, and possibly reach others with the truth of the power of the cross.

What Is Judaizing and Where Is It Mentioned in the Bible?

In Christianity, Judaizing is when a believer is pressured or told they must participate in Jewish customs or keep some or all of the Law in order to earn and/or maintain their salvation. While this term has been used in other contexts at certain points in history, in the Bible it is this behavior this term describes.

No one group was responsible for Judaizing. Some Jewish believers did it, and some Gentile believers did it. Today, Judaizing often manifests in unhealthy Gentile churches or in cults that use Judaism and Christianity as the basis for false beliefs.

One of the struggles that early Christians had was sincere, and something that Jesus Christ himself had to clarify. The first believers were Jews who had to redefine their relationship with God in light of the revelation of the death, burial, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. For millennia, they had been following the Law given to Moses, and for several centuries they had been practicing certain cultural habits developed after the exile to Babylon. There had been political and military struggles to maintain Jewish identity and culture against foreigners as well. It was a challenge to grapple with all of these challenges to their identity, and then begin integrating with people groups that had historically been culturally, religiously, and ethnically separated.

The first hint of the tension between Jewish believers and Gentile believers was over food. The Apostle Peter was zealously sharing the Gospel. Jesus had clarified much of how He fulfilled the Law, and therefore those who were saved through faith in Him did not have to remain under it before His Ascencion. Some points still had to be clarified though, including the diet. Jews were forbidden under the law from eating certain things which were unclean. Luke recorded in the Book of Acts:

“And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth. In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. And there came a voice to him: ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But Peter said, ‘By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.’ And the voice came to him again a second time, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven” (Acts 10:10-16).

Peter was on his way to share the Gospel with a Gentile, and Jesus made it clear to His apostle that Peter could eat their food. Despite this encounter, later Paul had to rebuke Peter for not eating with Gentile Christians. Over time, this tension evolved from awkward relationships between Jewish and Gentile Christians to Jewish believers trying to uphold the Law themselves and pressure their non-Jewish brothers to do the same.

The Book of Galatians was a letter that Paul wrote to the church at Galatia, clarifying to them they did not have be circumcised, to make the sacrifices, or to eat according to the Old Testament Scriptures. He boldly wrote, “’If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?’ We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified” (Galatians 2:14b-16). It is clear some of this tendency towards Judaizing came from ethnic tensions, and some theological confusion.

Are We Still under the Law?

When God first called the Hebrew descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He implemented a law for them to follow as a people. The Law, as outlined in the books of Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy, served as a way for them to live, as a way to keep a right relationship with God, a way to atone for sin, and a way to point other people to the true God. Sin kept people – even the Jews – separated from God, and the Law helped bridge that gap. But it wasn’t a full and perfect system.

When Jesus died on the cross, this changed the way people could approach their Creator. Blood only needed to be shed once to pay the price for all sin, negating the need for sacrifices. The Holy Spirit can now indwell those who have been redeemed by grace through faith, negating the need for a temple and a Holy of Holies, as well as for a High Priest to enter that sacred space. For all people who have put their faith in Jesus Christ and are saved by His blood, whether they are of Jewish descent or not, they are free from the constraints of the Law.

Books of the Bible that affirm this truth well are Romans and Galatians, which include the following verses on this topic, though there are more:

Romans 8:2-3 - “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.”

Galatians 3:13 - “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us — for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’”                 

Galatians 5:18 - “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”

Is There Anything from the Law Christians Should Study?

Some Christians, particularly in the west, have pushed back against Judaizing so much they have even rejected the idea of studying the Old Testament. They do not see value in it, since the most important thing to understand for salvation is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, in the Old Testament, there are many proofs that point to Jesus as the Messiah, as fulfilling prophecy, outlining His lineage, and showing the need for a Savior. Not studying the Old Testament denies Christians the opportunity to have a deeper relationship with the Lord, to learn about God’s character, and to truly understand the amazing way God illustrated His love for humanity.

With regards to the Law specifically, Jesus Himself said, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matthew 5:16-18). Being studied on the Old Testament can help Christians understand just how Jesus fulfilled the Law, and set us free from it.

What Is Freedom in Christ?

When examining the law, it is a prescriptive set of rules that primarily outline what people cannot do in order to avoid sin, to remain clean, and to try to live righteously. No one can live righteously in their fallen sin nature, which can only be transformed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Because the Lord died for our sins, the price has been paid and those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior no longer have to uphold the law. They have the freedom to live righteously, empowered by the Holy Spirit to do so.

People are free from the judgment of their sin, and no longer have to live burdened by it, though they will always struggle with it during this life. Paul encouraged the Galatians, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. … For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Galatians 5:1-3, 13-14).

Freedom in Christ is being able to resist sin, to grow in the Fruits of the Spirit, and the live free from the burdens of the law, knowing the price of sin is fully paid, and that God forgives.

5 Warning Signs of Judaizing

Some warning signs that someone or a group – whether actively or passively – may be falling into Judaizing include: 

1. Requiring or encouraging the celebration all of the Levitical feasts
2. Requiring or encouraging the celebration Jewish holidays including Yom Kippur or Channukah
3. Following some or all of the food restrictions outlined in the Levitical law
4. Requiring or encouraging grown men to be circumcised
5. Stating that salvation comes through Jesus Christ plus some or all aspects of the Old Testament law

Understanding the Old Testament law can be help build up a believer’s faith, but when the Law becomes a part of the message of salvation, it diminishes the power of what Jesus Christ did on the cross. When He declared, “It is finished!”, it meant that He fulfilled the Law, and those who follow Him do not need to be subject to it. Today, Judaizing is most common among churches with bad theology and cults, and recognizing it can help a believer avoid subjecting themselves to the burden of the Law.

Sources

Holcomb, Justin. Know the Heretics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014.

Moo, Douglas J. Galatians. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2013. 

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Tetra Images

Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer who uses her passion for God, reading, and writing to glorify God. She and her husband have lived all over the country serving their Lord and Savior in ministry. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com.