A Scriptural Examination of Salvation by Grace Alone through Jesus Christ
The term “born again” is often misunderstood, particularly among those who attempt to merge Old Testament Law with New Testament grace. Messianic Jews—those who profess Jesus (Yeshua) as the Messiah yet continue to adhere to the Law of Moses and Old Testament rituals—fall into this theological error. While their intent may be sincere, Scripture is clear that Salvation is by grace through faith or not at all. The Apostle Paul makes an uncompromising distinction between Law and Grace, works and faith, and between the Old and New Covenants. One cannot dwell on both simultaneously.
This article employs Scripture to contend that Messianic Jews adhering to Old Testament law do not experience genuine rebirth. From God’s Word, we will show that Salvation is a complete and finished act of grace by the Lord Jesus Christ and is received apart from works, rituals, or legalistic observances.
1. Salvation Is by Grace Through Faith Alone
The cornerstone of New Testament theology is that Salvation is not earned but received through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles and former Pharisee, declared this truth unequivocally:
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.” — Ephesians 2:8–9
Here, Paul shuts the door to any notion that human effort contributes to Salvation. God’s grace is a divine gift, and any attempt to earn or supplement it by the works of the Law nullifies it.
“And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise, work is no longer work” — Romans 11:6
This point of grace is a key argument against Messianic Judaism’s theological framework. By adhering to Torah observances (such as dietary laws, Sabbath keeping, feast days, and circumcision), they attempt to preserve a system that Christ fulfilled and rendered obsolete.
2. The Law Was a Shadow—Christ Is the Fulfillment
God designed the Law to be temporary. It was a schoolmaster, a shadow, pointing to Christ, the substance.
“Therefore, the Law was our tutor to bring us to Christ so that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.” – Galatians 3:24–25
Paul makes it plain that the purpose was to reveal sin and point to the coming Savior. But once Christ came, the schoolmaster’s role ended. Holding on to the Law after embracing Christ is comparable to keeping the scaffolding after the building is complete—it hinders the experience of true freedom and fulfillment in faith.
“Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that were against us… and taking them out of the way, nailing them to his cross.” — Colossians 2:14
“Let no man, therefore, judge you in meat, drink, or respect for a holiday, the new moon, or the Sabbath days, which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” — Colossians 2:16–17
The continued observance of Old Covenant rituals among Messianic Jews, therefore, is not an act of faith but a denial of Christ’s finished work.
3. Paul’s Rebuke to the Galatians Applies to Messianic Jews Today
The New Testament contains its strongest rebuke for the Galatians, who, similar to Messianic Jews, attempted to combine grace with the Law. The text refers to them as “foolish” and questions whether they received the Spirit by obeying the Law or hearing with faith.
“O foolish Galatians! Who has swayed you to disregard the truth, portraying Jesus Christ as crucified before you? 2 I want to learn from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are you so foolish? After starting in the Spirit, are you achieving perfection through the flesh? — Galatians 3:1–3
Messianic Judaism is guilty of the same error: beginning in the Spirit and attempting to be perfected by the flesh—by rituals, laws, and traditions that God no longer requires or accepts as part of the salvation covenant.
Paul warns them again:
“You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace.” — Galatians 5:4
Messianic Jews face a significant challenge in that they may inadvertently distance themselves from grace by attempting to earn or maintain their Salvation through the observance of the Law. It is essential to recognize that the New Covenant has superseded the Old Covenant.
The Book of Hebrews, addressed to Jewish believers tempted to revert to the Law, details the New Covenant’s superiority.
“By saying, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish” — Hebrews 8:13.
“But Christ being come a high priest of good things to come… by his blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.” — Hebrews 9:11–12
The Old Covenant, established between God and Israel, served as a temporary framework for understanding divine law and the nature of sin. It was preparatory in that it pointed toward a greater fulfillment through Jesus Christ and was inherently symbolic, representing more profound spiritual truths through rituals, ordinances, and animal sacrifices. With Jesus’s sacrificial death and resurrection, the Old Covenant has been definitively replaced by a New Covenant, establishing Him as the sole and acceptable path to reconciliation with God. This new covenant renders previous practices—such as animal sacrifices and ceremonial laws—obsolete and irrelevant for believers. To revert to these outdated practices is to undermine and deny the all-sufficient work of Christ on the cross, which secured our redemption and relationship with God once and for all.
5. The Law cannot bring about righteousness.
Messianic Judaism is mistaken in believing that observance of the Law equates to Righteousness. However, the Bible clearly states that the Law does not justify anyone.
“Therefore, by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” — Romans 3:20
“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” — Galatians 2:21
The Law exposes sin, but it cannot cleanse from it. Only the blood of Jesus can do that.
6. The “Born Again” Experience Is Exclusive to the New Testament
Jesus declared,
“Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” — John 3:3
To be born again is regeneration by the Holy Spirit—not through ritual but faith. It is a work of God, not man.
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.” — Titus 3:5
New Testament salvation includes believing in Jesus Christ, repentance, water baptism in His name, receiving the Holy Spirit (often with the evidence of speaking in tongues), and joining a Spirit-filled local church.
“Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” — Acts 2:38
Acts 2:38 is the whole pattern of Salvation under the New Covenant. Observing feast days, keeping kosher, or practicing circumcision has no place in the New Testament experience.
7. A Divided Allegiance Nullifies Grace
While Messianic Jews may profess faith in Jesus, their observance of the Law divides their loyalties. Jesus warned,
“No man can serve two masters.” — Matthew 6:24
The Apostle Paul affirms this concept spiritually:
“Or do you not know, brethren (for I speak to those who know the Law that the Law has dominion over a man as long as he lives? 2 For the woman who has a husband is bound by the Law, her husband as long as he lives. However, when her husband passes away, the Law releases her from her husband’s obligations. 3 So then, if she marries another man while her husband lives, she will be called an adulteress. Still, if her husband dies, she is free from that Law, and she is no adulteress. However, she has married another man. 4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the Law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.” — Romans 7:1–4
To be in Christ is to be dead to the Law, and those who live under both systems commit spiritual adultery. There can be no dual-covenant theology. It is Christ alone or not at all.
Conclusion: Christ Is Sufficient—Faith Alone Saves
Messianic Judaism, while claiming Jesus, denies His sufficiency. By attempting to hold on to the Old Covenant, they ultimately reject the very grace that saves. Paul’s letters resound with urgency against this deception. Salvation is not Jesus plus the Law. It is Jesus alone.
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” — Romans 5:1
Romans 10:9-“That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Salvation is a complete and finished act of grace by the Lord Jesus Christ. Lost souls must receive Salvation without rituals, feast days, Sabbath laws, and circumcision. A sinner’s journey to Christ includes believing, repenting, baptism, receiving the Holy Spirit, and joining a local, Spirit-filled church as one body.
To be born again is to be made new—not by blending two covenants, but by dying to the old and rising with Christ in the new.
