Firstly, here's Nelson's Bible dictionary on the term:
JUDAIZERS
[joo dee EYE zurs]-- early converts to Christianity who tried to force believers from non-Jewish backgrounds to adopt Jewish customs as a condition of salvation. Evidence of this movement within the early church first emerged about A. D. 49, when "certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, 'Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved'" <Acts 15:1>.
The apostle Paul denounced this idea, insisting that only one thing is necessary for salvation: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ <Acts 15:1-29>. In the letter to the Galatians, Paul continued this same argument, insisting that the believer is justified by faith alone. To become a new person in Christ is to be set free from the requirements of the Jewish law: "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation." (Gal.6:15)
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Every true Christian who loves our Lord Jesus Christ needs to understand what the Judaizer working is about. I'm not trying to single out those who call themselves Messianics, Jews for Jesus, or any others of Israelite birth which believe on Jesus of Nazareth as God's promised Savior. The Judaizer matter is not just about Jewish converts to Christ. It's about 'supposed' converts to Christ that come in as spies, with the intention to take over and place us back into bondage to their OWN traditions and beliefs.
Gal 2:4-6
4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
6 But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man's person
for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me:
(KJV)
When Paul went up to Jerusalem by revelation, he noted a group of "false brethren unawares brought in". Their purpose was as SPIES, so as to bring Christians into bondage like Paul said there. What bondage? Bondage to the very traditions of the Pharisees' religion which Paul left. What traditions?
Those traditions of the scribes and sects like the Pharisees began with Judah's return to Jerusalem after the seventy years Babylon captivity. The duty of keeping and studying God's Holy Writ and preaching to the people of Israel was specifically the priest's job. But either during the Babylon captivity, or right after, the scribes began taking over that duty, as copyists of manuscripts, editors, and teachers of the Mosaic law. The scribe was required to go through a regiment of study in their youth which continued till age 40. And then they could become teachers and INTERPRETERS of the Old Testament and law, judges, etc. This is why our Lord Jesus called them "lawyers" in Luke 11:46. One of the works that would come out of that Babylon captivity era among Judah was the Babylonian Talmud. It's a work of sage-like interpretations of political and religous traditions based on the Mosaic law from The Bible.
One of the reasons why our Lord Jesus gave the scribes and Pharisees such rebuke was because of their creating their own set of religious traditions and interpretations which was shackling the people of Israel, into bondage. An example of what that bondage does would be like a small 2 year old child that in ignorance takes a piece of fruit off a cart, and because the law says all theives must have their right hand cut off for stealing, that 2 year old gets its hand amputated. The scribes and Pharisees began to command much respect and power because of their position, and lot of them abused it among the people (Matt.23). They saw our Lord Jesus as a 'seditionist' come to overthrow their little playhouse, so naturally they followed Him around trying to find something to convict Him of.
A great important matter of note, is those scribes and sects like the Pharisees made up their 'own' religious system and traditions only BASED on God's Word of The Old Testament Books. This is why Apostle Paul would say he persecuted the Church because of his ignorance from following "the Jews' religion" (Gal.1:13). This is to say that many of those traditions and interpretations by the scribes and Pharisees ONLY began in Jerusalem AFTER Judah's Babylon captivity, when those scribes began overtaking priest's duties in Israel. Essentially, they formed a new religion by many of their Talmudic traditiions.
That is what is meant by a Judaizer, one that will convert to Christianity, but actually serve as a spy among us trying to bring us into bondage under their control, "spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you", "clouds they are without water", "trees whose fruit withereth", "without fruit", "twice dead, plucked up by the roots." (Jude 1). This is why it's very important to recognize their working among us in the Churches today, and why it's even more important that we verify in God's Word what we are taught. And the bigger the Church organization is, the more one should expect to find their working of bondage to traditions that are often totally outside the Christian Doctrine which Apostle Paul gave us in Romans and Galatians (both foundation doctrine Books of Christianity).
JUDAIZERS
[joo dee EYE zurs]-- early converts to Christianity who tried to force believers from non-Jewish backgrounds to adopt Jewish customs as a condition of salvation. Evidence of this movement within the early church first emerged about A. D. 49, when "certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, 'Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved'" <Acts 15:1>.
The apostle Paul denounced this idea, insisting that only one thing is necessary for salvation: faith in the Lord Jesus Christ <Acts 15:1-29>. In the letter to the Galatians, Paul continued this same argument, insisting that the believer is justified by faith alone. To become a new person in Christ is to be set free from the requirements of the Jewish law: "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation." (Gal.6:15)
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)(Copyright (C) 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Every true Christian who loves our Lord Jesus Christ needs to understand what the Judaizer working is about. I'm not trying to single out those who call themselves Messianics, Jews for Jesus, or any others of Israelite birth which believe on Jesus of Nazareth as God's promised Savior. The Judaizer matter is not just about Jewish converts to Christ. It's about 'supposed' converts to Christ that come in as spies, with the intention to take over and place us back into bondage to their OWN traditions and beliefs.
Gal 2:4-6
4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
6 But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man's person
for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me:(KJV)
When Paul went up to Jerusalem by revelation, he noted a group of "false brethren unawares brought in". Their purpose was as SPIES, so as to bring Christians into bondage like Paul said there. What bondage? Bondage to the very traditions of the Pharisees' religion which Paul left. What traditions?
Those traditions of the scribes and sects like the Pharisees began with Judah's return to Jerusalem after the seventy years Babylon captivity. The duty of keeping and studying God's Holy Writ and preaching to the people of Israel was specifically the priest's job. But either during the Babylon captivity, or right after, the scribes began taking over that duty, as copyists of manuscripts, editors, and teachers of the Mosaic law. The scribe was required to go through a regiment of study in their youth which continued till age 40. And then they could become teachers and INTERPRETERS of the Old Testament and law, judges, etc. This is why our Lord Jesus called them "lawyers" in Luke 11:46. One of the works that would come out of that Babylon captivity era among Judah was the Babylonian Talmud. It's a work of sage-like interpretations of political and religous traditions based on the Mosaic law from The Bible.
One of the reasons why our Lord Jesus gave the scribes and Pharisees such rebuke was because of their creating their own set of religious traditions and interpretations which was shackling the people of Israel, into bondage. An example of what that bondage does would be like a small 2 year old child that in ignorance takes a piece of fruit off a cart, and because the law says all theives must have their right hand cut off for stealing, that 2 year old gets its hand amputated. The scribes and Pharisees began to command much respect and power because of their position, and lot of them abused it among the people (Matt.23). They saw our Lord Jesus as a 'seditionist' come to overthrow their little playhouse, so naturally they followed Him around trying to find something to convict Him of.
A great important matter of note, is those scribes and sects like the Pharisees made up their 'own' religious system and traditions only BASED on God's Word of The Old Testament Books. This is why Apostle Paul would say he persecuted the Church because of his ignorance from following "the Jews' religion" (Gal.1:13). This is to say that many of those traditions and interpretations by the scribes and Pharisees ONLY began in Jerusalem AFTER Judah's Babylon captivity, when those scribes began overtaking priest's duties in Israel. Essentially, they formed a new religion by many of their Talmudic traditiions.
That is what is meant by a Judaizer, one that will convert to Christianity, but actually serve as a spy among us trying to bring us into bondage under their control, "spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you", "clouds they are without water", "trees whose fruit withereth", "without fruit", "twice dead, plucked up by the roots." (Jude 1). This is why it's very important to recognize their working among us in the Churches today, and why it's even more important that we verify in God's Word what we are taught. And the bigger the Church organization is, the more one should expect to find their working of bondage to traditions that are often totally outside the Christian Doctrine which Apostle Paul gave us in Romans and Galatians (both foundation doctrine Books of Christianity).
