Back to The Way

A time has been coming when the Jew will not be marginalised, misunderstood or maligned (and this is just the ‘m’s), but a supernatural veil will be lifted from Jewish people and Jesus will be revealed to them and another veil will be lifted from the Church, and there will be the appointed time to show favour on Zion. Read Romans 11, for the full script and explanation. This needs a change in heart, a true repentant attitude by Gentile Christians. And it’s our best chance of real, authentic revival! It’s not a clever formula, you can’t fool God. Those who promote the “prosperity gospel” promote the idea of giving to God purely to get a blessing in return (whether 10- fold, 100- fold or 1000- fold). God is not a divine lottery of blessings. A change in heart attitude is needed first and foremost and the rest is up to God.

So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the LORD. (Psalm 102:21-22)

For the peoples and kingdoms to assemble together to worship the Lord is surely the hallmark of revival. To do this, the name of the Lord will be declared by Jewish people, in Jerusalem, in Israel. The Jewish people are very possibly the keys to revival, in the context of a partnership with Gentiles in the Body of Christ, as our One New Man. Meditate on this, particularly in the context of this article and let it seep into your spirit.

Back to the title of the book where this article first appeared, How the Church lost The Way? We read about the early Church, when it was known as The Way, in Acts 24. Here Paul makes a declaration:

However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. (Acts 24:14-15)

Here Paul has been accused of creating a sect, yet he affirms that this faith in Jesus is simply a natural progression of the faith of his fathers, the Jews of the Old Testament. This was all it was meant to be, the faith as proclaimed by the words of the Bible, not seen as two different stories, the Old and the New Testament, but as a seamless whole, one story, the story of God and His people.

 How the Church lost The Way … and how it can find it again. Yes, we can find it again, we can return to that pure faith of the Scriptures. We just need to be willing to look for it.

And so I end this story. There is much here that is probably new to you. What I am proposing is not a new revelation or secret doctrine uncovered, it is a sincere desire for the Church to return to its true Jewish roots so that the One New Man can arise and bless the World.

If I were asked to summarise the whole thrust of my argument in these articles, it would be for every sincere Christian to take personal responsibility. Don’t get blown hither and thither by every new “revelation” that passes by, but instead get into the Scriptures with fellow spiritual sojourners. Be Bereans and test everything, discuss everything and move forwards anchored in the certainties of the revealed Word of God. Examine the Bible through the eyes and experiences of the early Jewish believers, rather than the contact lens of Greek philosophy and re-evaluate your image of God and your attitude to worship and fellowship.

This is not a license to go it alone, to leave your Church or fellowship and stop listening to your vicar, pastor or minister. It is simply an encouragement to go deeper in your faith, using your God-given gifts alongside others to build up the Body of Christ, rather than as a casual observer. And, at every possible opportunity pray to God to light up your path and lead you into all truth. There are exciting times ahead for those who will pick up this gauntlet and run with it.

If this works for you, if it makes sense and draws you closer to God and helps you in your witness to the world, then let’s move forward together. If any or all of what I have said does not sit comfortably with you then just take what you can and stay on the path you are already on. Perhaps our paths will cross in the future? We are still brothers and sisters in the Lord, we still work out our salvation with fear and trembling, none of that changes.

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)

Steve Maltz
April 2013

(This is an abridged extract from Steve’s book How the Church Lost the Way: And How it Can Find it Again)