The other day I had the opportunity to interact with someone who seemed to be involved with Hebrew Israelism.1 Interestingly enough, in my personal study I had been reading Galatians, and although I didn’t make this fact known to that individual at the time, I saw the damaging case that Paul made against not only Hebrew Israelism but all Hebrew Roots Movements (HRM).2 Any return to Judaism, or a law-centric covenant of works-for-righteousness, is utterly repudiated by Paul in Galatians.3 As such, in order to have a sound defense and a clear understanding of the law and Gospel, Christians should have a solid grasp of the theological implications of the Epistle to the Galatians. Here are five key things that Galatians teaches us regarding Hebrew Roots Movements (HRM).
1. Close Doesn’t Count
Upfront, Paul lets us know that there is only one gospel, one message of hope and redemption. Every other “almost” gospel, “not quite” gospel, or “gospel-plus-something-else” gospel is not the gospel at all (rf. Gal. 1:6-9). This crushes any mixture of keeping the law salvifically (for salvation) and trusting in Jesus by faith. Though not fully expressed in the referenced passage, Paul is addressing Judaizers (rf. Gal. 2:11-14), or those who came into the Christian assemblies in the province of Galatia seeking to impose OT standards and rituals. Paul calls these infiltrators’ message a gospel distortion that doesn’t qualify as gospel at all. The same is true of any Hebrew Roots Movement.4
2. Salvation Can’t Be Earned
Could there be a more clear, definitive, and unwavering statement on the means of salvation than the one provided in Gal. 2:15-16? In it, Paul declares that no one can be justified (δικαιοῦται) by the law. This word (transliterated dikaioo) means to be counted or declared righteous. Having its connection to jurisprudence, this word is one from which we derive the Christian doctrine of justification. The biblical doctrine is found here and in Romans, and it teaches that the Christian, though guilty, is legally declared righteous because of Jesus’s perfect, atoning sacrifice on the cross. This righteousness is appropriated to the believer upon their repentance of sin and faith towards Christ. HRM groups that teach salvation through Jesus and law-keeping are wrong. They have more in common with the Judaizers of Paul’s day than the orthodox Christianity of today.
3. Righteousness by Faith is the “Before and After” of the Law
The law was fully established with Moses at Mount Sinai (whether reviewing the Torah/Pentateuch alone or the later, complete Hebrew Scriptures/Tanakh). Since the concept of righteousness being imputed and conferred upon an individual by faith (a.k.a. justification) was established with Abraham (predating Moses), it has priority. Paul argues this in Gal. 3:15-18. The “inheritance” (salvation) cannot come by the law because the promise was given long before the law. This is key when dealing with HRM groups and represents a strong argument by Paul. The law, and the covenant associated with it, was an interim measure to distinguish and guide the people of God to Christ (Gal. 3:23-25). The NT teaches righteousness by faith, and therefore, righteousness by faith is “before” and “after” the law. Righteousness, Paul argues, was always meant to come through faith in Christ.
4. Christians (Essentially) Fulfill the Law Through Love (and the Spirit)
This concept reiterates a teaching of rabbis that was endorsed by Jesus (Mt. 22:39). Having addressed the law and its slavish weight upon sinful beings (see Hagar v. Sarah in Gal. 4:21-31), Paul calls believers to true freedom that’s found in loving service to one another because love for one’s neighbor is the summarized essence of the law (Gal. 5:13-14; see also Lev. 19:18). This idea illustrates to readers that the law has purpose and is instructive for the believer; it’s simply not binding or salvific in nature, as mentioned earlier. In general, HRMs preach some form of OT law-abiding. Even if only the Hebrew calendar-based festivals and rituals, Paul denounces it in Galatians (see 4:10). The point is then made evident. Christians are free from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13), and the law is not inherently evil, but it is optimally fulfilled by Christians through biblical love (Gal. 5:14) and according to the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:18).
5. Law Keepers Still Break the Law
Arbitrarily choosing which laws you’ll follow is incompatible with the Bible. A person cannot earn God’s favor through law keeping. HRM groups get this wrong, very wrong, and Paul pointed it out. He clearly states that the Judaizers of his time didn’t keep or obey the law (Gal. 6:13). They couldn’t! Attempting to obey one aspect of the law salvifically, e.g. circumcision, requires wholesale and absolute obedience to all of it (rf. Gal. 5:3). This is most impossible! If man was capable of obtaining righteousness through law-keeping, then Christ did not need to die (Gal. 2:21).
Conclusion
Much more could be said about the covenants based on texts from Galatians and the Bible as a whole. However, this succinct treatment should help Christians think more critically about their salvation and the implications of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins. God planned this out perfectly; He knew our weaknesses and limitations. He knew we’d need a redemptive plan that was superior to the old one. So the next time you encounter an HRM group, the next time you’re studying the NT, or the next time you’re explaining the OT v. the NT to your children, make sure that you have a grasp on why we don’t live as an OT Jewish person. Christ has indeed set us free—no, not so that we can sin more (Gal. 5:13) but so we can live and honor Him more fully by His Spirit.
1. Members of this group as recently as 2016 would openly identify as Black Hebrew Israelites. Now, however, it’s considered offensive to refer to these groups as “Black” Hebrew Israelites. For this reason, I’ve referred to them as “Hebrew Israelites” (NOTE: Quotes are used to distinguish these groups from religious, national, and ethnic Jews. This is consistent with one of the foremost apologists on Hebrew Israelism, Vocab Malone).
2. In this post, I use “Hebrew Israelism” to refer to any “camp” of Hebrew Israelites. This group believes that those of African descent are superior to other ethnicities because they are the true descendants of Jacob. They usually emphasize the Transatlantic slave trade (in light of Deut. 28:68) being a key component of their beliefs.
In contrast, I use Hebrew Roots Movement more generally. It includes Hebrew Israelism and any sect of professing Christians that hold to OT law—e.g. keeping the Jewish sabbath or festivals—as a binding requirement for followers of the “I AM” today.
3. The NT’s Book of Hebrews provides a fine treatment of Jesus and the OT v. NT, but for the sake of this post, I’m only focusing on Galatians for its succinct address on OT covenant practices being incompatible with the new covenant. Moreover, various objections to the HRM are found in the NT (e.g. Col. 2:16-17).
4. Some involved in Hebrew Israelism may not regard Galatians or may show a clear unwillingness to follow the biblical author’s argument. This is likely because Galatians is so damaging to Hebrew Israelism and HRM in general.