Apostate Christianity
What does ''Apostate Christianity'' mean? From a Messianic Jewish perspective, typically refers to ways that modern Christianity has departed from the original Jewish roots of the faith, the faith of Yeshua (Jesus) and his first followers, who were Torah-observant Jews. The apostles continued keeping Shabbat, the feasts, Kosher (dietary laws), and circumcision. They believed Yeshua was the fulfillment of the promises inside the Torah, not the abolition of it.
Acts 21:20 shows James saying: "You see, brother, how many tens of thousands there are among the Jews who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Torah.''
The Church, starting early (by the 2nd-4th centuries), rejected the Torah, meaning God's commandments and ways given to Israel, wrongly teaching that Torah was ''abolished'' by Jesus.
After the destruction of the Second Temple (70 AD) and especially after the Bar Kokhba revolt, relations between mainstream Judaism and Messianic Jews broke apart. God-fearing Gentiles believers increasingly entered the faith, but many came from Greek and Roman backgrounds. Early Church leaders like Ignatius of Antioch and Justin Martyr began teaching that: Christians should not keep the Torah. Sunday should replace the Sabbath. The Law of Moses was only for the Jews and now fulfilled and set aside by Christ.
Ignatius said in his letter to the Magnesians: "It is monstrous to speak of Jesus Christ and to practice Judaism.'' This is where you first see a clear move away from Torah.
In the 4th century official church doctrine against Torah:
Under Emperor Constantine, the Church became politically powerful and very anti-Jewish. The Council of Nicaea outlawed keeping Passover according to the Jewish calendar. Christians were commanded to celebrate Easter separately from Passover. Sabbath-keeping was strongly discouraged; Sunday became the official ''Lord's Day.'' Church Fathers like John Chrysostom preached harsh sermons against Christians who still wanted to observe Jewish practices.
Chrysostom said (late 300s): "The synagogue is not only a brothel and a theater; it is also a den of robbers and a lodging place for wild beasts. God has forsaken them.''
By this point, the Church had officially rejected Torah observance and cut ties with its Jewish roots.
Yeshua (Jesus) upheld the Torah, ''Do not think I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets,'' (Matthew 5:17), and Paul taught that Gentiles were grafted into Israel (Romans 11), not that Israel's calling was replaced or ended. Apostate Christianity thus abandoned the covenantal walk God intended for all believers.
SUPERSESSIONISM (REPLACEMETN THEOLOGY)
Messianic Jews sharply criticize the Church's long history of teaching that the Church replaced Israel as God's people. This idea fueled centuries of antisemitism and distorts Scripture, which speaks of Israel's enduring covenant with God (Jeremiah 31:35-37; Romans 11:28-29).
Apostasy is seen here as cutting off the faith from its very root (Israel), and misrepresenting God's faithfulness. Messianic Jews often point out how pagan customs infiltrated Christianity after it moved away from its Jewish base.
LOSS OF HEBREW IDENTITY OF THE MESSIAH
Yeshua (Jesus) was a Jewish rabbi from Galilee, living fully within the Jewish world. Messianic Jews grieve that much of Christianity portrays Jesus in a way that disconnects him from his Jewishness, sometimes even depicting him as opposed to Judaism. In apostate Christianity, Yeshua (Jesus) is made into a Roman or Greek figure rather than Israel's Messiah.
Faith in Yeshua must be firmly rooted in the covenants and promises given to Israel, not detached from them (Messianic Rabbi David Stern). The Church has often become a foreign plant uprooted from the soil of Israel (Messianic Jewish Manifesto). When the Church forgot that it was a branch, not the root, it fell into pride and heresy (paraphrasing Romans 11:18-22).
Messianic Jews and Gentiles view apostate Christianity as a tragic loss of the Jewish context of the Gospel, the misrepresentation of God's covenants, and often a distortion of Yeshua's true mission and teaching. However, God is awakening the Church to return to its Jewish roots and is restoring the ''one new man'' (Ephesians 2:15), Jews and Gentiles together in Messiah.
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