YESHUA by Dr. Ron Moseley, Ebed Publications, Hagerstown, MD, 1996,198 pages, paperback, $13 plus S&H.

Reviewed by Brian Knowles

About the author: Ron Mosely has studied the Jewish roots of Christianity for the past ten years in both Israel and the United States. He has studied at Princeton Theological Seminary and the Jerusalem and Hebrew Universities. His bachelors degree is in religious Education from Luther Rice College. He also holds an M.A. in History from the same institution. He has done Hebrew Studies under Dr. Roy Blizzard at the University of Texas at Austin, and he holds a PhD in education from Louisiana Baptist University. Moseley is the founder and president of the Arkansas Institute of Holy Land Studies, a four-year college for students of Middle Eastern History. He pastors the Sherwood Bible Church in Sherwood, Arkansas.

I have sought a way of explaining to people what the implications of understanding the Hebraic background of the Church are for the discussion of Mosaic law. Any approach I took seemed to trigger visceral defense mechanisms which resulted in the degeneration of the discussion. The end product was more heat than light.

I even tried writing a book on it. Once I got into it, I found the subject far too daunting. I gave up.

Now, thankfully, someone has inadvertently come to my rescue and done it for me. Dr. Ron Moseley has written "Yeshua"—a book that simply and clearly deals with the issues I’d been wrestling with. "Yeshua" is endorsed by some of the top scholars in the Hebrew roots and Synoptic scholarship movements: Drs. Roy Blizzard, Brad Young, Ken Hanson and Marvin Wilson, to name a few.

Moseley covers the Jewish background of the early Church, Jewish idioms in Jesus’ teaching, and misconceptions concerning the law of Moses. He addresses Old and New Covenants and covers extensively the influence of the Pharisees on the early Church. At the end, Moseley includes a helpful glossary of terms used throughout the book.

When it comes to addressing the issue of Mosaic law and its application to Christians, Moseley does not take the standard Protestant approach to the subject. Nor does he take a Catholic position. Rather, he views the subject historically and Hebraically. He talks about what was going on in Apostolic times, instead of what was happening in Martin Luther’s day.

Moseley shows clearly that in the early Church there were two legal standards - one for Jewish believers, and a second for non-Jewish believers - both based upon Mosaic Law. Jews had to keep more of the Law of Moses than did gentiles. Why? Because they were Jews. Their covenant with God was, among other things, an identity covenant.

Non-Jews who came into fellowship with the Jewish Church were viewed as Noachides. They were required to keep the moral/ethical core of Mosaic Law, and to avoid any form of idolatry and its accompaniments (Acts 15:28-29). But they were not obliged to keep the laws that pertained specifically to being Jewish, circumcision being a prime example. Those who were circumcised became "debtors to do the whole law" (Gal. 5:3). In other words, they became Jews.

Earlier books, like "Paul the Jewish Theologian" by Brad Young, and "Paul and the Jewish Law" by Peter J. Tomson, have also set forth this understanding, but in less absorbable terms. Moseley comes right out and says it in plain language. Of course his lack of qualification of small points may provide a bone of contention for the hyper-critical. He does not always anticipate the objections that will be thrown his way, especially by those with a Armstrongian background, or by Evangelicals. This does not detract from the worth of the book.

Moseley makes an important point on page 61: "It is obvious," he writes, "that neither Jesus nor Paul ever renounced Judaism, deviated from the Jewish faith, or attempted to start a new religion."

He also writes, "Both the New Testament and ancient literature indicate that Jewish believers continued to keep the Jewish Law, with its many feasts and traditions, not for salvation, but to identify themselves as God’s Chosen People...There is not one instance where Jesus or Paul attacked the law or any of its ordinances, but in every case they supported the Law as the Word of God" (p. 57).

But did Paul seek to impose the fullness of Judaism with all of its observances upon the gentiles who were coming into fellowship with the first generation of Jewish believers? Not at all.

"While the Jews were expected to keep all of the six hundred and thirteen Laws of Torah, for identification as the Chosen of God, the believing Gentiles had a different system based on the Noachide Laws" (p. 54).

Moseley elaborates on these principles throughout the book, correcting the common use of terms like "Old Covenant," "New Covenant," "Law," "Grace," etc. etc. He shows historically how the current confusion over "law & grace" originated. He also provides us with a way out of it by taking us back to the historical situation and helping us get the discussion established on a solid footing.

The great value of Moseley’s book, to me, is that it upholds the glory and integrity of the Mosaic Law, while explaining clearly it’s correct application to two classes of people - Jews & Gentiles within the Church. I have long understood that the real issue is not law versus grace, but the correct application of law to specific classes of people. Clearly Paul taught that no amount of ergon nomos—works of law—will save anyone once they have sinned (and who hasn’t?), including Jews. Salvation is a matter of grace, not works. But this does not obviate the need for works of law.

Contrary to popular belief, the Jews have never believed in "salvation by works." They have always known that it is by grace we are ultimately saved. But they also realize that though we are not saved by works, we must still perform them for other reasons.

Those who have long tried to resolve the thorny issues of law vs. grace will find this book a lifesaver. It explains specifically what is required of non-Jews in terms of divine law. It makes it clear that there is a difference between requirement and permission. Non-Jews may keep all of the laws of Moses if they so wish—so long as they do it lawfully. But they are not required to keep all them. Jews are required to keep them (as they appropriately apply in any given situation).

This book is long overdue. It is written in a non-academic style so that everyone may have access to it. If you approach the book without prejudice, you will find that it clears up a lot of the cloudy issues that have long befogged Christian theologians.

Those readers who have been wrestling with the WCG’s adoption of Evangelical theology vs. the churches of God’s continuance in Armstrong theology, will find this book clarifying.

(The address of Moseley's organization is: Arkansas Institute for Holy Land Studies, 9700 Highway 107, Sherwood, AR 72120, phone orders: 800-617-6205.)