Conversion to Judaism or Christianity?

Unfortunately, the Armstrong Churches of God have confused Christian conversion with conversion to Judaism. In his booklet Just What Do You Mean...Conversion?, Herbert Armstrong wrote: I repeat: 'A Christian (a truly converted person) is one who has received, and in whose mind dwells the Holy Spirit of God.' But how does one receive the Spirit of God? On the day the Church of God was started, the Apostle Peter said, "Repent, and be baptized ... in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). Repent of what? Of sin. And what is sin? "Sin is the transgression of the law" (I John 3:4). What law? The law that the carnal mind, hostile to God, is not subject to the Law of God (Rom. 8:7). Again, we read of "the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to them that obey him" (Acts 5:32). In other words, for Armstrong and his followers, a truly converted Christian MUST obey the commandments of Torah!

This, of course, calls to mind what some of the Jewish Christians of the First Century were saying about conversion to Christianity. In the book of Acts, we read: And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and elders, about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through Phoenicia and Samaria, describing the conversion of the Gentiles; and they caused great joy to all the brethren. And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.” (Acts 15:1-5, NKJV)

Now, even from the distance of almost two thousand years, that sure sounds to me like these Jewish Christians were advocating conversion to JUDAISM, NOT CHRISTIANITY! Remember, God commanded circumcision for all of the male descendants of Abraham as a sign that they would OBEY him (Genesis 17:9-14). In Torah, we also read: And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: "Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them." (Deuteronomy 5:1) Even so, the Israelites were told that any Gentile who wanted to obey God and observe his Passover MUST be circumcised! (Exodus 12:43-49) In other words, males had to be circumcised before they could participate in obeying the commandments of Torah - ONLY then could they become real Israelites!

Interestingly, even in 2026, Jews still regard this as the proper formula for conversion to Judaism! In the article How to Convert to Judaism, CHABAD.org informs its readers that conversion makes the person fully Jewish - a part of the tribe. They go on to list four components of this conversion: (1) Accepting the yoke of the commandments. When you convert, you must verbalize your commitment to live in accordance with all of the Torah’s commandments as they are explained in Torah law. It is not enough to commit to some or even most of the precepts; a convert must commit to every single one of them. Also, this needs to be done out of a sincere desire to serve G‑d as a Jew, not because of any other motive, such as the desire to marry a Jewish man or woman. (2) Immersion in the mikvah. A mikvah is a pool of natural water, usually rainwater. At your conversion, you will dunk into this spiritually cleansing bath. It is at this moment that you will accept the Torah upon yourself. (3) Circumcision. If you are a male, you will need to be circumcised. If you were circumcised as a baby, a symbolic drawing of blood is all that will be done at this point. (4) When the Temple stood in Jerusalem, a convert would bring a special sacrifice to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. When the Temple is rebuilt—may it be speedily in our days—converts will again bring sacrifices.

Now, in terms of Christian conversion, Scripture informs us that belief or faith in Jesus Christ is the essential first step (John 3:16, Acts 16:31, Romans 10:9, etc.). On that first Pentecost after Christ had ascended to heaven, Peter told the crowd to repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38). Likewise, after  Philip preached to a certain Ethiopian about Jesus, we are informed that the eunuch declared "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." (Acts 8:26-37) The account continued: So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Notice please, that there is NOTHING in any of these accounts about first converting to Judaism! Indeed, many years later the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christian converts of Galatia that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified. (Galatians 2:16) 

What about you? Are you a Christian or a Jew?

Hope in the New Covenant

In his first epistle to the Christians of Corinth, Paul wrote that "Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love." (I Corinthians 13:13, NLT) This blog has discussed faith and love in some detail, but we haven't heretofore focused on hope very much. In this post, we will try to list some of the more pertinent passages of Scripture related to HOPE within the context of the New Covenant:

In the account of Peter's Pentecost sermon, we are informed that the apostle told those assembled that:

God knew what would happen, and his prearranged plan was carried out when Jesus was betrayed. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed him to a cross and killed him. But God released him from the horrors of death and raised him back to life, for death could not keep him in its grip. King David said this about him:

‘I see that the Lord is always with me.

    I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.

 No wonder my heart is glad,

    and my tongue shouts his praises!

    My body rests in hope.

 For you will not leave my soul among the dead

    or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave.

 You have shown me the way of life,

    and you will fill me with the joy of your presence.’

Dear brothers, think about this! You can be sure that the patriarch David wasn’t referring to himself, for he died and was buried, and his tomb is still here among us. But he was a prophet, and he knew God had promised with an oath that one of David’s own descendants would sit on his throne. David was looking into the future and speaking of the Messiah’s resurrection. He was saying that God would not leave him among the dead or allow his body to rot in the grave. (Acts 2:23-31, NLT throughout)

Paul realized that some members of the high council were Sadducees and some were Pharisees, so he shouted, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, as were my ancestors! And I am on trial because my hope is in the resurrection of the dead!” (Acts 23:6)

“But I admit that I follow the Way, which they call a cult. I worship the God of our ancestors, and I firmly believe the Jewish law and everything written in the prophets. I have the same hope in God that these men have, that he will raise both the righteous and the unrighteous. Because of this, I always try to maintain a clear conscience before God and all people. (Acts 24:14-16)

Now I am on trial because of my hope in the fulfillment of God’s promise made to our ancestors. In fact, that is why the twelve tribes of Israel zealously worship God night and day, and they share the same hope I have. Yet, Your Majesty, they accuse me for having this hope! Why does it seem incredible to any of you that God can raise the dead? (Acts 26:6-8)

Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. (Romans 5:1-5)

And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) (Romans 8:23-25)

We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. For even Christ didn’t live to please himself. As the Scriptures say, “The insults of those who insult you, O God, have fallen on me.” Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled. (Romans 15:2-4)

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. (Ephesians 1:18)

For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. (Ephesians 4:4)

For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God’s people, which come from your confident hope of what God has reserved for you in heaven. You have had this expectation ever since you first heard the truth of the Good News. (Colossians 1:4-5)

But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence [hope] of our salvation. (I Thessalonians 5:8)

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal comfort and a wonderful hope, comfort you and strengthen you in every good thing you do and say. (II Thessalonians 2:16-17)

This letter is from Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, appointed by the command of God our Savior and Christ Jesus, who gives us hope. (I Timothy 1:1)

We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed. He gave his life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us his very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds. (Titus 2:12-14)

When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence [hope] that we will inherit eternal life. (Titus 3:4-7)

Moses was certainly faithful in God’s house as a servant. His work was an illustration of the truths God would reveal later. But Christ, as the Son, is in charge of God’s entire house. And we are God’s house, if we keep our courage and remain confident in our hope in Christ. (Hebrews 3:5-6)

So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek. (Hebrews 6:18-20)

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation [lively hope], and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. (I Peter 1:3-5)

Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. (I Peter 1:21)

If you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. (I Peter 3:14-15)

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation [hope] will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure. (I John 3:1-3)

The Number Three in Scripture

The number three appears prominently in the Judeo-Christian canon. Some of the more important of those instances follow:

Noah had three sons (Genesis 6:10)

The ark was three hundred cubits long (Genesis 6:15)

God commanded Abram to sacrifice a three-year-old cow, female goat, and ram (Genesis 15:9)

Three men appear to Abraham (Genesis 18:1-2)

Joseph interprets Pharoah's cupbearer's and butler's dreams that their fate would be determined in three days (Genesis 40)

The baby Moses was hidden for three months (Exodus 2:2)

Three days journey into the wilderness to worship God (Exodus 3:18, 5:3 and 8:27)

Three days of darkness over Egypt (Exodus 10:21-23)

Three times each year a festival before the Lord (Exodus 23:14-17)

Three branches and three bowls on the candlestick (Exodus 25:32-33)

After planting fruit trees in the new land, the fruit was not to be consumed for 3 years (Leviticus 19:23)

The entire tithe every three years for Levites, foreigners, widows, orphans (Deuteronomy 14:28)

Three pilgrimage festivals at the central sanctuary (Deuteronomy 16:16)

Job had three friends to "comfort" him (Job)

Three Jews (Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego) refused to worship a statue (Daniel 3)

Daniel prayed three times each day (Daniel 6:10-13)

Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17)

Three wise men from the East (Matthew 2)

Satan tempted Christ in three ways (Matthew 4:1-11 and others)

Jesus to be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40)

Jesus, Moses, and Elijah appeared together (Matthew 17:4 and others)

Tear down the Temple and rebuild it in three days (Matthew 26:61 and others)

Peter denied Christ three times (Luke 22:54-62)

Do you love me? Feed my sheep three times to Peter (John 21:15-17)

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19)

Three thousand souls added to the Church on Pentecost (Acts 2:41)

Saul was blind for three days (Acts 9:9)

In Peters vision, the tarp of unclean animals lowered three times (Acts 11:10)

Paul reasoned with the people of Thessalonica three days in a row (Acts 17:1-2)

Faith, hope, and love (I Corinthians 13)

Three that bear witness on earth - Spirit, water, and blood (I John 5:8)

Three gates in each of the cardinal directions (Revelation 21:13)