What is a Judaizer in the New Testament?
A Judaizer was a believer that Jesus was the Christ, saved under the kingdom gospel, but who did not comprehend God's grace or that the law had been satisfied and set aside. Judaizers followed Paul, insisting his converts must also practice Judaism—be circumcised and keep the law—to be saved.
Les explains that a Judaizer was a believer that Jesus was the Christ, saved under that kingdom gospel, but they still did not comprehend the grace of God and that the law had now been satisfied and totally set aside. The Judaizers constantly followed in Paul's footsteps, telling his converts they could not be saved on just Paul's gospel alone; they still had to practice Judaism, be circumcised, keep the law, and so on. This just about drove the apostle up the wall, and Paul suffered because of that, defending his apostleship so the Gentiles could get the message of grace.