The Messiah Connection blog is run by Justin Bond with invaluable input and advice from his wife Elizabeth:-). I am the husband to a gracious, faithful and loving wife who “surpasses them all” and ”works to bring her husband good and not harm all the days of her life”. I am a father to a strong-willed and artful 5-year-old daughter Braylee and a very curious, rough and ready 3-year-old son Josiah. We live in the Dallas-Ft Worth metroplex of Texas. The primary purpose of this blog is to be a soundboard for Biblical thoughts and expressions of faith, drawn out of a background that includes Christian and Jewish Theology and experience. I welcome respectful, open, honest feedback and dialogue and I have no problem (well….maybe a little 
with views and/or convictions different from my own. I pray this blog may be a source of inquiry and encouragement to the body of Messiah.
2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, [1] a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
July 8th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Dear Justin, I have been looking at a few Messianic Judaism blogs, and I am simply trying to understand the difference between Messianic Judaism and the Sacred Name movement. I have been told there are clear differences but I simply cannot pin them down! I also saw on a blog some while ago certain people who talked about “Two House” and who also said Paul was NOT an authentic Christian teacher. Any help/advice would be much appreciated. Keep well.
July 9th, 2010 at 10:31 pm
Shalom Patrick,
I appreciate your openness and willingness to search these things out. As you’re probably well aware of, or are beginning to find out quickly, there is not a consensus on what a “Messianic” expression of faith or theology should look like. As with Christianity, there are many streams and denominations with their own particular “traditions of men”. This is unfortunate for both Christians and Messianics and creates a bit of confusion for those within the Body of Messiah and sure doesn’t help our witness to those outside of our faith. Etymologically speaking “Messianic” and “Christian” both mean the same thing; that is one who is a believer and follower of Messiah or Christ, albeit from a different mindset and culture of Hebrew or Greek. The reality, is that in Messiah we are being made into One New Man but that reality will not be fully realized until He returns. I think the main unifying factor for Messianic theology and in turn the primary distinction with mainstreem Christianity is the validity and ongoing effectiveness of the Torah (God’s Law). Though even within Messianic theology there are disagreements as to who the Torah applies to and how it is to be walked out day to day within our communities, there is agreement that it is relevant. I believe one of the greatest biblical principles is “the balance”, which is not to veer too far to the right or too far to the left but to find the middle ground. That is to “test all things and hold fast to that which is true” and to walk with understanding, grace and love with others who might not line up the same way you do, but who are still seeking and searching within the biblical framework. To be sure there are differences between Messianic Judaism, Sacred Name, Two-House and so on and I have friends and family who would fall within Messianic Judaism and Two-House. The main difference between Messianic Judaism and Sacred Name from my perspective would be the “Judaism” part. Messianic Judaism has a healthy respect for the “traditions of the fathers” of thier ancient faith and a desire to see Jewish people especially come to know Yeshua as The Messiah. Sacred Name seems to put an emphasis on using only the Hebrew forms of God’s names and titles and tends to be a bit “paganoid” about “traditions” that are not explicit in Scripture. I don’t know of anyone personally who is in the Sacred Name movement and I don’t mean to mis-represent if this is incorrect. I would definitely stay away from anyone teaching that Paul was not an authentic biblical teacher or those who don’t hold in some form or fashion to the continuity of Scripture and the whole counsel of God from Genesis to Revelation. I hope this helps you in some way on your journey. Below are some ministries and teachers who are Messianic with different philosophies that I respect and have gleaned a great deal from their teachings:
First Fruits of Zion (Divine Invitation) – http://www.ffoz.org
Torah Resource (One Torah) – http://www.torahresource.com
Baruch HaShem Messianic Synagogue (Messianic Judaism) – http://www.baruchhashem.com
The Wildbranch Ministry (Two-House) – http://www.wildbranch.org
May grace and shalom be multiplied upon you in the name of Yeshua the Messiah!
Justin