The Heart of Covenant: A Response to 'Should Messianic Gentiles Convert to Judaism?
- Charles
- Jul 30
- 16 min read
In response to the thoughtful video exploration "Should Messianic Gentiles Convert to Judaism?" I'd like to offer some additional covenant perspectives that Scripture reveals. The creator's sincere heart for covenant truth and rejection of the Israel/Church divide provides excellent foundation for deeper covenant examination. These thoughts are offered in the spirit of iron sharpening iron, building upon the biblical framework already established.
Fair Use Notice:
This image is a still frame from the YouTube video Should Messianic Gentiles Convert to Judaism? and is used here under the Fair Use provisions of U.S. copyright law (17 U.S.C. §107) for the purposes of commentary, theological analysis, and educational discussion. This use is non-commercial and transformative, adding new context to the original work. The original video can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bsTJMDqZuM&t=54s. All rights remain with the original creator.
The Heart Question Behind Conversion Desires
The opening question posed at [00:00:00] resonates with genuine covenant hunger: "Should I convert to Judaism?" This inquiry emerges not from shallow cultural fascination but from a profound recognition that "Jesus, Yeshua, was not a Christian, but a Jew. That the Bible didn't emerge from Rome, but from Jerusalem." This awakening represents the Spirit drawing believers back to covenant foundations, away from later ecclesiastical developments that obscured Hebrew roots and biblical timing.
However, the question itself reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of covenant structure. The issue is not ethnic identity but covenant participation. When the video states at [00:00:43] that "this isn't really about ethnicity. It's about covenant," it touches the core truth but requires deeper covenant framework to understand what this participation actually entails.
The covenant narrative of Scripture reveals that YHWH's relationship with humanity operates through divine proposal, acceptance, blood ratification, and fellowship meal. This pattern begins clearly in Genesis 12 with the Covenant of Promise to Abraham and finds its ultimate expression in Messiah's blood ratification of the New Covenant (Luke 22:20; Hebrews 9:15-17).
Covenant Inclusion: The Isaiah 56 Paradigm
The speaker's appeal to Isaiah 56:3-6 at [00:01:33] demonstrates covenant insight: "The foreigner doesn't become an Israelite by ethnicity. He becomes a participant in the covenant through devotion to the God of Israel." This aligns with the biblical understanding that covenant entry occurs through faith, as revealed in Genesis 15 where YHWH alone passes between the sacrifice pieces, taking upon Himself the covenant death penalty should either party break the agreement.
However, the passage requires deeper covenant analysis. When Isaiah declares that foreigners who "keep the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant" will receive "a name better than sons and daughters" (Isaiah 56:4-5), this points to covenant participation in the eternal vows. The Sabbath here represents more than a day—it embodies the covenant rhythm of grace and rest that finds its ultimate fulfillment in Messiah's completed work.
The phrase "holds fast my covenant" specifically refers to the covenant core—the Ten Words (Aseret HaDevarim) as eternal vows between YHWH and His Bride. These foreigners aren't adopting ethnic identity markers but embracing the heart covenant that Jeremiah prophesied: "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts" (Jeremiah 31:33). Paul echoes this in 2 Corinthians 3:3, describing believers as "a letter from Christ...written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts."
The Olive Tree: Covenant Continuity, Not Replacement
Paul's olive tree metaphor, referenced at [00:02:24], provides crucial covenant understanding when properly examined. The natural branches represent ethnic Israel's covenant calling, while wild branches represent Gentiles grafted in through Messiah's blood. Both draw life from the same root—the Covenants of Promise made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Romans 11:17-18 warns against covenant arrogance: "Do not be arrogant toward the branches. Remember, it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you." This establishes covenant humility—Gentiles participate in existing covenant promises rather than replacing or superseding them. The grafting doesn't change the wild branch's nature; it connects it to covenant life through the Bridegroom's blood ratification.
The Galatians 3:28-29 passage cited at [00:02:24] requires covenant clarification. When Paul declares "there is neither Jew nor Greek," he's not erasing ethnic distinctions but establishing covenant equality. All who are "Christ's" become "Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise"—not through ethnic transformation but through covenant participation in the eternal vows now written on hearts by the Spirit.
This understanding resolves the tension between maintaining ethnic identity and participating in covenant promises. The covenant doesn't eliminate diversity but unites it under the blood of Messiah, creating "one new man" (Ephesians 2:15) without destroying the distinctiveness of its components.
Apostolic Covenant Decisions: The Jerusalem Council Framework
The apostolic handling of Gentile inclusion, discussed from [00:03:09] forward, demonstrates covenant wisdom that transcends surface-level cultural accommodation. The case of Titus, who "was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek" (Galatians 2:3), represents more than pragmatic flexibility—it establishes covenant principle.
Circumcision in this context represented formal conversion to ethnic Judaism, complete with obligation to the entire Mosaic Law as national covenant. Paul's refusal to circumcise Titus declared that Gentile covenant participation occurs through the eternal vows written on hearts, not through adoption of Israel's national covenant obligations.
The Jerusalem Council's decision in Acts 15:19-20, mentioned at [00:04:28], requires covenant interpretation beyond the video's "ethical and spiritual essentials" explanation. The four requirements—abstaining from food sacrificed to idols, blood, meat from strangled animals, and sexual immorality—directly address violations of the eternal covenant core found in the Ten Words:
Idolatry prohibition (Exodus 20:3-4): No other gods, no graven images
Blood sanctity (Exodus 20:13): Respect for life's covenant foundation, as "the life of the flesh is in the blood" (Leviticus 17:11)
Sexual purity (Exodus 20:14): Covenant faithfulness reflecting the marriage imagery between YHWH and His people
Covenant loyalty (Exodus 20:7): Avoiding practices that profane YHWH's name through association with pagan worship
These weren't minimal requirements but covenant essentials—the heart of the Ten Words that the Spirit writes on all covenant participants. James's statement that "Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues" (Acts 15:21) indicates that fuller understanding would come through continued exposure to Scripture, not that these four points exhausted Gentile covenant obligations.
Royal Torah vs. Mosaic Law: Covenant Distinction
The video's Torah discussion from [00:05:18] onward demonstrates appreciation for divine instruction but lacks a critical covenant distinction. When the speaker quotes Psalm 19:7 ("The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul") and Psalm 119:97 ("Oh how I love your law!"), this testimony specifically applies to the eternal covenant core—the Ten Words as divine vows.
Scripture reveals two distinct but related concepts often translated as "law." The Book of the Covenant (Sefer HaBrit) in Exodus 24:7 refers to the Ten Words that YHWH spoke directly to His Bride, Israel (Exodus 19-20; Deuteronomy 5:4). These represent the only recorded instance of YHWH speaking His covenant vows directly to the entire assembly. The Book of the Law (Sefer HaTorah), while fully inspired, was "added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made" (Galatians 3:19).
This distinction resolves apparent tensions in Scripture. When Yeshua declares, "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" (Matthew 5:17), He addresses both aspects: fulfilling the eternal vows through perfect obedience and sealing them in His blood, while completing the temporary tutor's witness to breach and restoration.
The eternal vows—what we might call the Royal Torah—apply to all covenant participants through the Spirit's internal work. The temporary applications that served Israel's unique role as covenant mediator nation find their fulfillment in Messiah's work and the Spirit's guidance of New Covenant believers.
Dietary Laws: Covenant Identity vs. Heart Purity
The kosher discussion beginning at [00:07:36] illustrates the need for covenant framework clarity. The video correctly notes that Leviticus 11's dietary laws served as "Israel's visible separation from the nations" and that Acts 15 didn't require full dietary observance from Gentiles. However, it misses the deeper covenant purpose revealed in the distinction between eternal principles and their temporal applications.
Clean and unclean animals represent covenant discernment—the ability to distinguish between what honors and what profanes the covenant relationship. Leviticus 11:44-45 reveals the purpose: "For I am the Lord your God. Consecrate yourselves therefore, and be holy, for I am holy." The principle of holiness—separation unto YHWH—operates universally, but its applications vary across covenant phases.
For ethnic Israel under the national covenant, this operated through external markers as part of their calling to be "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:6). For New Covenant participants, both Jew and Gentile, the principle operates internally through the Spirit's guidance: "But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth" (John 16:13).
The Acts 15 prohibition against blood and strangled animals wasn't arbitrary cultural accommodation but covenant principle. Blood represents life's sanctity under the eternal vows—respect for YHWH's creative authority and covenant order. Genesis 9:4 establishes this principle with Noah: "But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood." This applies universally because it reflects the eternal covenant heart, not merely ethnic Israel's ceremonial obligations.
Peter's vision in Acts 10:9-16, where he sees clean and unclean animals and hears "What God has made clean, do not call common," has nothing to do with dietary laws. Peter himself interprets the vision's meaning in verse 28: "God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean." The vision was given purely to prepare Peter to accept Gentiles into the Commonwealth of the Covenants of Promise (Ephesians 2:12). The animals in the vision represent the nations—Gentiles whom Peter had considered "unclean" for covenant participation. God's declaration about cleansing refers to Gentiles being made covenant-clean through Messiah's blood, not to dietary permissions.
Messiah's Covenant Identity: Fulfillment, Not Replacement
The discussion of Yeshua's Jewish identity from [00:11:34] requires covenant amplification. The video correctly emphasizes that "Yeshua wasn't just born into a Jewish family. He came as the fulfillment of promises made to the patriarchs of Israel." However, covenant framework reveals the deeper significance of His ethnic identity and covenant mission.
Yeshua's circumcision on the eighth day (Luke 2:21), His Torah observance, and His feast participation weren't mere cultural practices but covenant fulfillment. He perfectly embodied the eternal vows—the Ten Words—that the Father intended to write on all hearts. His blood ratifies the New Covenant precisely because He fulfilled both sides of the covenant marriage: representing the faithful Bridegroom (YHWH) and the responsive Bride (Israel).
Hebrews 7:14 notes, "For it is evident that our Lord was descended from Judah," emphasizing that His Jewishness wasn't incidental but prophetic necessity. The covenant promises required fulfillment through Abraham's seed (Genesis 22:18), David's line (2 Samuel 7:12-13), and Judah's tribe (Genesis 49:10). His ethnic identity validates His covenant authority.
Moreover, Yeshua's ministry followed the appointed times (moedim) as covenant markers, revealing His identity through feast fulfillment:
Passover: Revealed and slain as the Lamb (John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 5:7)
Feast of Weeks (Shavuot): Spirit outpouring completing covenant renewal (Acts 2:1-4)
Feast of Booths: Promise of living water and divine dwelling (John 7:37-39; Revelation 21:3)
These patterns apply to all covenant participants while respecting diverse expressions across ethnic backgrounds.
The Continuing Covenant with Israel: Understanding the Full House
The video's discussion of Israel's ongoing significance from [00:12:21] requires deeper covenant foundation and proper identification of who constitutes Israel. Paul's declaration in Romans 11:28-29 that ethnic Israel remains "beloved for the sake of their forefathers" because "the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" establishes covenant continuity, but we must understand the full scope of Israel's identity.
The covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), confirmed by oath in Genesis 22:16-18, includes both universal blessing ("in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed") and particular promises to Abraham's seed through Isaac and Jacob. However, Israel's identity extends beyond the remnant of Judah that currently bears the name "Jewish."
Scripture reveals the crucial distinction between covenant roles assigned to Judah and Joseph's sons. Genesis 49:10 declares that "the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples." Judah received the kingly line and governmental authority, ultimately fulfilled in Messiah.
However, Jacob's blessing in Genesis 48:15-16 reveals that the sons of Joseph—Ephraim and Manasseh—alone obtained the right to bear the national name "Israel": "The angel who has redeemed me from all evil, bless the boys; and in them let my name be carried on, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth." Jacob explicitly states in verse 16 that his name—Israel—would be perpetuated through Joseph's sons, not through Judah.
This distinction becomes critical when understanding biblical prophecy. The divided kingdom saw Judah retain the scepter and throne (maintaining Davidic succession), while the northern kingdom of Israel/Ephraim carried the national name and birthright. After Assyrian conquest in 722 BC, the House of Israel was scattered among the nations (2 Kings 17:6), while Judah remained in the land until Babylonian exile.
Ezekiel 37:15-22 prophesies their reunion: "Take a stick and write on it, 'For Judah, and the people of Israel associated with him.' Then take another stick and write on it, 'For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with him.' Join them one to another into one stick, that they may become one in your hand." Note that Ephraim/Joseph carries the designation "all the house of Israel," confirming the national name belonged to them, not to Judah.
This prophecy reveals that the current Jewish remnant represents Judah (with Benjamin and portions of Levi) who retained the scepter and temple service, while the scattered House of Israel/Ephraim—bearing the national name—remains among the nations as covenant heirs awaiting regathering. Hosea 1:9-10 describes their condition: "Call his name Not My People, for you are not my people, and I am not your God. Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' it shall be said to them, 'Children of the living God.'"
James addresses "the twelve tribes in the Dispersion" (James 1:1), acknowledging their continued existence though scattered. Paul's statement about "all Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:26) refers to both houses reunited, not merely ethnic Jews.
This understanding reveals that modern Jews are no more inherently "chosen" than any other descendants of the scattered tribes or believing Gentiles responding to the covenant call. Jeremiah 31:31 promises the New Covenant with "the house of Israel and the house of Judah"—both houses together. The "sojourner" who "joins himself to the Lord" (Isaiah 56:6) becomes part of this covenant restoration alongside both houses of Israel.
The regathering involves both physical descendants of all twelve tribes and covenant participants from every nation, creating one people under the New Covenant as Ezekiel 37:24 declares: "My servant David shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd."
One Tree, Many Branches: Covenant Unity in Diversity
The concluding olive tree discussion from [00:14:00] approaches covenant truth but needs fuller development. Paul's warning against arrogance (Romans 11:18) establishes covenant humility, but the deeper issue is covenant understanding of unity without uniformity.
Natural branches represent ethnic Israel's ongoing covenant calling, while wild branches represent Gentiles grafted in through covenant faith. Both sets of branches receive nourishment from the same covenant root—the promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that find their fulfillment in Messiah's blood ratification of the New Covenant. This creates unity without uniformity, covenant participation without ethnic transformation.
Ephesians 2:14-16, referenced at [00:16:14], reveals the mechanism: "For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two." The dividing wall wasn't the eternal covenant vows but the "law of commandments expressed in ordinances"—the Book of the Law (BoL) with its ceremonial and civil regulations that marked ethnic boundaries and separated Israel as covenant mediator nation.
The eternal vows remain intact, now written on hearts of all who believe. The temporal applications that marked ethnic boundaries give way to internal Spirit guidance that produces covenant obedience through love rather than external compulsion. As Paul explains in Romans 8:3-4, "God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son...he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."
Covenant Faithfulness: The True Question
The video's reframing at [00:15:30] approaches covenant clarity: "The real question is this: Are you walking in covenant faithfulness with the God of Israel through the Messiah he sent?" This touches the biblical emphasis that covenant obedience flows from grace-empowered love as the Spirit writes divine requirements internally.
However, covenant faithfulness requires understanding what constitutes the covenant core. The Ten Words as eternal marriage vows provide the framework, as evidenced by their placement inside the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:21; Deuteronomy 10:5), declaring YHWH as keeper of both sides of the covenant agreement. These aren't arbitrary commands but expressions of YHWH's character and His desire for covenant relationship.
When written on hearts by the Spirit, they produce love-motivated obedience that transcends ethnic boundaries while honoring covenant foundations. Yeshua summarized them in the Great Commandments: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39), showing that the eternal vows center on love relationship.
This sequence proves essential: grace through faith leads to Spirit regeneration, which writes the eternal vows on hearts, producing freedom to love. This order prevents both legalistic external observance and antinomian dismissal of covenant standards. Gentiles participate fully in covenant life not by adopting ethnic markers but by receiving the eternal vows on their hearts through the Spirit's regenerating work.
The Fellowship Meal: Covenant Proclamation
The video touches communion briefly, but covenant framework reveals its central significance as more than memorial. When Yeshua declared, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20), He identified the meal as covenant ratification ceremony. Paul's warning in 1 Corinthians 11:27-30 about unworthy participation bringing judgment demonstrates the meal's covenantal seriousness.
"Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (John 6:53) reveals participation in His Body and Blood as covenant necessity, not optional observance. The meal proclaims His death "until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:26), functioning as covenant affirmation that anticipates the Wedding Feast of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9).
This covenant meal is taken in the presence of YHWH through the indwelling Spirit, making it true fellowship with the Bridegroom. Yeshua's declaration, "I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom" (Matthew 26:29), identifies this meal as betrothal pledge pointing to covenant consummation.
Grace Producing Covenant Love
The transformation theme emphasized throughout the video [00:16:14] requires covenant framework completion. Transformation occurs through the Spirit writing eternal vows on hearts, producing covenant love that naturally expresses itself in obedience. This isn't ethnic transformation but heart transformation—regeneration that connects all believers to the same covenant foundation while respecting their diverse cultural expressions.
Paul's instruction in 1 Corinthians 7:17-20, referenced at [00:10:50], establishes this principle: "Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him." Covenant participation doesn't require cultural transformation but heart transformation that produces covenant faithfulness within existing ethnic and cultural contexts.
The unity described in Ephesians 2:19-22 creates "fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone." This household includes both Jew and Gentile without erasing their distinctiveness, creating covenant family rather than ethnic uniformity.
Walking in Covenant Identity
The covenant response to the conversion question ultimately affirms that Gentiles need not seek ethnic transformation to participate fully in YHWH's covenant purposes. Through Messiah's blood, the eternal vows are written on hearts by the Spirit, creating covenant unity that transcends ethnic boundaries while honoring ethnic diversity.
The moedim provide interpretive framework for understanding Messiah's work and ongoing covenant relationship. These appointed times reveal covenant pattern applicable to all believers while allowing for diverse cultural expressions of covenant faithfulness.
Rather than conversion to Judaism, Gentiles are called to covenant faithfulness—walking in the reality of hearts circumcised by the Spirit (Romans 2:29), bearing the eternal vows as marriage commitment to the Bridegroom who sealed the covenant in His blood. This produces transformed lives that honor both the covenant foundation and the cultural contexts in which believers live, creating the "one new man" that encompasses all nations while maintaining their distinctiveness in covenant service.
Heart of Covenant: An Inductive Study
Preface: Royal Torah and Imposed Torah
Scripture uses the word “Torah” in two distinct ways that are often blurred together. The Royal Torah (Book of the Covenant) consists of the Ten Words (Ten Commandments) and the covenant vows YHWH spoke directly to His people at Sinai (Exodus 19–24). James calls this the “Royal Law,” and Yeshua refers to it as the “weightier matters” of covenant life. These are the eternal vows written on hearts in the New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:33; 2 Corinthians 3:3).
The Imposed Torah (Book of the Law) was added after Israel’s breach of the covenant at the golden calf (Galatians 3:19). It served as a tutor and administrator, containing priestly, ceremonial, and national regulations until Messiah came to fulfill its witness. The New Covenant restores believers to the Royal Torah as the eternal marriage vows between YHWH and His Bride, while the Imposed Torah gives way to the Spirit’s internal work that produces covenant obedience from the heart.
Observation
Isaiah 56:3-6 – What does YHWH promise to foreigners who “join themselves to Him” and “hold fast His covenant”? How does this passage connect to the Royal Torah as the eternal vows written on hearts?
Romans 11:17-18 – What does Paul’s olive tree metaphor reveal about the relationship between natural and wild branches rooted in the Covenants of Promise?
Acts 15:19-21 – What four requirements were given to Gentile believers, and how do they align with the covenant core of the Royal Torah rather than the national obligations of the Imposed Torah?
Jeremiah 31:31-33 – What does the promise of the New Covenant reveal about the Royal Torah (the Ten Words) being written on hearts by the Spirit?
Ezekiel 37:15-22 – What does the joining of the two sticks of Judah and Joseph show about covenant unity under the Royal Torah?
Interpretation
How does Isaiah 56 clarify that Gentiles enter covenant life through the Royal Torah and not through conversion into the national identity tied to the Imposed Torah?
In Romans 11, why does Paul warn Gentiles not to be arrogant toward the natural branches, and how does this reflect the continuing life of the Royal Torah?
How does Acts 15 demonstrate that Gentile covenant entry rests on the eternal vows of the Royal Torah, without requiring submission to the temporary administration of the Imposed Torah?
Why is it significant that Jeremiah 31 speaks of the Royal Torah being written on hearts while the Imposed Torah served as a tutor until Messiah fulfilled its witness?
What does Ezekiel 37 reveal about YHWH’s plan to reunite both houses of Israel and sojourners under the covenant vows of the Royal Torah?
Application
How does understanding the difference between the Royal Torah written on hearts and the Imposed Torah as a temporary tutor shape your covenant identity?
What daily practices help you live out the Ten Words of the Royal Torah as the foundation of your walk with Messiah?
How does this distinction help you honor Judah’s calling as natural branches and Gentiles as wild branches without arrogance or replacement thinking?
What does it mean to take the covenant fellowship meal as affirmation of the Royal Torah sealed in Messiah’s blood?
How can you teach others to rightly divide between the Royal Torah and the Imposed Torah so they walk in covenant truth with clarity?
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