# Do Christians & Jews Worship the Same God?



## thistle93 (Jul 14, 2012)

Hi! I have got in a few debates with Christian's who say that Jews worship the same God as Christians. To which I respond no they do not, because they do not worship Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Without Jesus Christ, you cannot worship the Father. There are many verses that I could list on subject but the one that comes most to mind is: 

*No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 1 John 2:23 ESV*


Often hear we worship same God because Jews and Christians both worship the God of Abraham. My problem with that logic is that many Muslims also say the same thing, since Ishmael came from line of Abraham. Now I am not comparing Judaism with Islam but just saying that both claim allegiance to God of Abraham, though know very different theologies. This is also the same line the modern ecumenical movement uses to say that we all worship the same God. Now obviously the OT saints before the coming of Jesus Christ where saved by their faith in the coming of the Messiah and worshiped the same God as Christians today do and the Hebrew Bible (OT) is part of the inspired Word of God but now that the Messiah Jesus Christ has come one who rejects Him is not a true worshiper of Yahweh but worships another God.

Would like to hear your thoughts? 

For His Glory-
Matthew


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## PointyHaired Calvinist (Jul 14, 2012)

I agree wholeheartedly. The Jews as a whole abandoned the worship of Jehovah when He came in the flesh and was rejected. Christian/Messianic Jews are merely returning to the worship of the God they rejected. Indeed, Pharisaism and Sadduceeism were the Fundamentalism and Liberalism of the day, and both rejected the true God as He was revealed in the Scriptures for their own "image" of Him.

Jehovah is a triune God. The god of Judaism and Islam is unitarian, therefore false.


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## Covenant Joel (Jul 14, 2012)

Careful nuance is appropriate. If we are speaking of whether or not Jews worship and serve the One True God, then of course they do not. When they read Genesis, for example, and refer to "Elohim" or "adonai," the referent they have in mind is the same God we serve. There are really two questions in there, one of referent, and the other of worship.


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## Rich Koster (Jul 14, 2012)

In my mind, I see "Jews" offering strange fire before a true God, because they refuse to approach Him in the manner that He prescribed.


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## MarieP (Jul 14, 2012)

Rich Koster said:


> In my mind, I see "Jews" offering strange fire before a true God, because they refuse to approach Him in the manner that He prescribed.



I was about to say that myself!

And...I liked how you put Jews in quotes- ...I assume everyone means unbelieving Jews. Gloriously, some Jews DO worship the true and living God because they have believed upon Christ!


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## Alan D. Strange (Jul 14, 2012)

I would take off from what Rich says: they have a zeal for God (orthodox and not merely ethnic Jews) but not according to knowledge (Romans 10:2). Yahweh, whom they profess to worship, is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And with the revelation of the final word, all worship of the true and living God is to be offered in and only in Christ. Jews, however, being ignorant of the rigtheousness of God, go about seeking to establish their own righteousness, not submitting to God's righteousness, Christ, who is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes (Romans 10:3-5).

So, yes, orthodox Jews offer strange fire before the true and living God because they seek to worship Him through that which has passed away and do not revere and worship Jesus whom He has sent. The religious leaders knew the truth about the resurrection, because they never even attempted to refute the guards' account (though they concocted a lie for the people). Why then did they not yield to the unimpeachable evidence of the resurrection? In the face of it all they responded as if to say, "We don't care if He's risen or not...We will not have this Man to rule over us!" Jews will not receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, will not bow the knee to Him. They refuse to see who they are and how much they need Him. Thus they remain alienated from the God who is their God and ours. 

Peace,
Alan


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## py3ak (Jul 14, 2012)

This can be a thorny topic because of course we are both drawing on the OT for our understanding of God. So they will make many statements about God with which we agree; is that enough to state that it is the same God being worshipped? Paul can quote a pagan poet as also making a true statement about God, though the poet spoke of Zeus.
And when Hebrews 3:12,14 are compared, it would be easy to think that contemporary Jews are rather guilty of 1st than 2nd Commandment violations. Departing from Christ _is_ departing from the living God. If one rejects the God revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, how can one be left with a God that is anything other than one's own vain imagining? It would seem that the proper category for followers of Judaism is that of apostates from the living God.

And yet having said that, I also remember Paul's words, "Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you," to the Athenians, and the words previously quoted from Romans 10. Perhaps it is possible to say that we can use elements of their doctrine of God as a starting point for a clearer declaration, and in that way speak as though we had the same divinity in mind: can we say more on that basis?


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