Shammash Ariel
Messianic Synagogue
What We Believe
Statement of Faith
•There is one God, as declared in the Shema (Deut.6:4) who is infinitely perfect, existing eternally in unity as three personages: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. •Yeshua Ha-Mashiach (Jesus the Messiah) is true God and true Man. He was conceived by the Ruach Ha-Kodesh (Holy Spirit) and born of the Virgin Mary. He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust, as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of sacrifice. He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures. He is now at the right of the Majesty on high as our great Kohen Gadol (High Priest). He will come again to establish His Kingdom of righteousness and peace and will reign from Jerusalem over all the Earth. •The Ruach Ha-Kodesh (Holy Spirit) is God and is sent to indwell, guide, teach and empower the believer, and to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. •The Tanakah and the B’rit Chadasha (Old and New Testaments) are inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of humanity. They constitute the divine and only rule of Messianic faith and practice. •Man is created in the image and likeness of God. He fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All men are born with an evil inclination and are separated from God, and can be redeemed only through the atoning work of the Adonia Yeshua Ha-Mashiach. (Lord Jesus the Messiah) The prospect of the impenitent and unbelieving person is existence forever in conscious torment, and that of the believer in Messiah is everlasting joy and bliss. •Redemption has been provided for through Yeshua Ha-Mashiach for all men Jew and Gentile alike, and those who repent and believe in Him are born again of the Ruach Ha-Kodesh, receive the gift of eternal life, and become the children of God. •It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the Ruach Ha-Kodesh and be separated from sin and the world and become fully dedicated to the will and Law of God, thereby receiving power for holy living and effective service. •Provision is made in the redemptive work of Adoni Yeshua Ha-Mashiach for the healing of the mortal body. Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil are taught in the Scriptures and are privileges for the Believers in this present age. •The body of believers consists of all those who believe in the Adoni Yeshua Ha-Mashiach, are redeemed through His sacrifice, and are born again of the Ruach Ha-Kodesh. Messiah is the Head of the Body, the Believers, which has been commissioned by Him to go into the entire world as a sheleachs (witness) preaching to all nations. The local congregation is a body of believers in Messiah who are joined together for the worship of God, edification through the Scriptures, prayer, fellowship, the proclamation of the Messiah and his Torah, keeping the observances of Holydays and the ordinances of Mikvah.
Messianic: What Does It Mean?
Shammash Ariel is a Messianic Synagogue. Within Judaism, a Messianic is one who believes in the coming of Messiah. Within Christianity, a Messianic is one who believes Yeshua (Jesus) is the Messiah and continues to live a very Jewish life. A contemporary usage of the term also refers to one who follows a “Biblical” lifestyle, including incorporating many of the worship and celebration practices of Judaism into his/her life. Within the Messianic Movement, the term may also refer to either a Jewish or a Gentile Believer in Yeshua.
Are Messianics Jews Or Christians?
Many people outside Messianic circles have asked: Are Messianics Jews or Christians? The answer is YES! Messianics are Jews or converts to Messianic Judaism. We must remember that for the first 200 plus years after the death and resurrection of the Messiah, the “First Believers” were Jews or converts to Judaism who were Torah observant and Messiah-following. Though Messianics share much of the same theology as Christians about the Messiah; our practices, lifestyle and identity is based in Judaism. Acts 21:19-20 - Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the Torah.
Why, if it is Judaism, are there Gentiles?
From the very beginning, there have always been Gentiles numbered with the Jews, starting with Abraham when he was commanded to circumcise his household. His household included not only the natural born, but also those who were acquired from foreigners. Genesis 17:11-14 - You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised, including those born in your household or bought with money from a foreigner -- those who are not your offspring. Whether born in your household or bought with your money, they must be circumcised. My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male, who has not been circumcised in the flesh, will be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant." (NIV) When Moses left Egypt, a large number of Gentiles participated in the Exodus because they had joined themselves to the Jewish people. Because of this, the Torah repeatedly declares that the Law is for the native and for the Gentile who chooses to join them. Leviticus 18:26 - But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable things, (NIV) In the Major and Minor prophets, we see G-ds calling out to the “Nations” to come to him. In fact, every Epistle of the Brit HaDashah (New Testament) is written to a congregation outside of Israel, and all of them are mixed congregations of both Jews and Gentiles. In Mark Nanos’ commentary on the book of Romans, he declares that the Congregations in Rome were 20% Jewish and 80% Gentile. This appears to have been the normal congregational breakdown outside of Israel. The last and probably the most powerful statement affirming the presence of Gentiles among Jews is found in the book of Zechariah, where the L-rd himself declares that people from all the “NATIONS” will be gathered unto himself. The word “NATIONS” is Goyim, which always refers to the Gentiles. Zechariah 2:10-12 - "Shout and be glad, O Daughter of Zion. For I am coming, and I will live among you," declares the LORD. "Many nations will be joined with the LORD in that day and will become my people. I will live among you and you will know that the LORD Almighty has sent me to you. (NIV) Zechariah 8:20-23 - This is what the LORD Almighty says: "Many peoples and the inhabitants of many cities will yet come, and the inhabitants of one city will go to another and say, `Let us go at once to entreat the LORD and seek the LORD Almighty. I myself am going.' And many peoples and powerful nations will come to Jerusalem to seek the LORD Almighty and to entreat him." This is what the LORD Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, `Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.'" (NIV)
Why Keep Jewish Traditions?
Anyone who has seen “Fiddler on the Roof” realizes that, to the Jew, “tradition” is a serious subject. However, the term tradition, in reference to any sect of Judaism, is often misunderstood by the outsider. The term does not mean a quaint custom, as it might in other groups. To the Jew, tradition may be defined in two ways: The first way of defining a tradition is as a “Mitzvah”, or a commandment of the scriptures. Examples of such mitzvahs are keeping the Passover, or keeping the Feast of Trumpets and so on. These “traditions” are far more than just customs, they are acts of obedience. The second definition for “tradition” or “Halacha” as it is called, are the specifically expressed means and guides by which the scriptural commandments are to be carried out. For example, it is tradition that tells us how to place the Mezuzah on our doorpost, or shows us how to keep the commandment concerning the binding of commandments upon the head and hand, as found in the book of Deuteronomy, chapter six. Deuteronomy 6:5-10 - Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (NIV) Without these historical traditions, we would have no concept of how to carry out many of the Biblical mandates in a historically correct manner. Tradition and its history guide us in our Biblical expression in keeping G-d’s commandments. However, tradition carries with it both value and danger. The value of traditions becomes evident when we are given clear historical insight to the scriptures, as well as the culture of our people. The danger comes when we allow tradition to become more than it should, when it becomes a form of legalism that enslaves rather than clarifies. Mark 7:8-9 - You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to the traditions of men. "And he said to them: "You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions! (NIV) The best rule of thumb is to ask yourself, “Does this or that tradition help me to understand, or to carry out any of the Biblical mandates? Does it assist in drawing closer to the will of G-d.?”