No, becoming a Christian does not make a person a Jew.
Les Feldick is emphatic that a Gentile remains a Gentile after salvation. The believer is connected to Abraham spiritually through the same faith, but salvation never changes a person's physical bloodline or racial identity.
Romans 4:9-10 — Paul's question and answer show that righteousness by faith was accounted to Abraham in uncircumcision, not only to the circumcised.
Romans 4 shows Paul pressing the question of whether justification is only for the circumcised. He asks, "Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also?" (Romans 4:9). He then reminds the reader that Abraham's faith was "reckoned... for righteousness" and asks whether that reckoning happened "when he was in circumcision? or in uncircumcision?" (Romans 4:10). The answer implicit in the passage is that Abraham's righteousness was credited in uncircumcision, which opens the door for believing Gentiles. Ephesians 2:13 shows Gentile believers who were once far off being made nigh by the blood of Christ, pointing to a new standing that is rooted in the cross rather than in Jewish identity.
Les Feldick says many people are "way out in left field" when they think becoming a Christian makes them a Jew. He explains that believers become children of Abraham by virtue of the spiritual connection that Abraham was saved by faith plus nothing and we are saved by faith plus nothing. But he insists, "A Jew is a Jew. A Gentile is a Gentile." He uses his trademark humor about physical features to show that salvation does not change a person's racial identity. The connection to Abraham is spiritual and positional, and in Romans 11 Gentile believers feast on the root of Abraham without becoming Jews. Les also distinguishes between religious and racial Jewishness: a Gentile can embrace Judaism and become a Jew religiously but never racially.
Les says many people confuse this by thinking that becoming a Christian makes you a Jew. Instead, being a child of Abraham means being connected to him spiritually: Abraham was saved by faith plus nothing, and we are saved by faith plus nothing. In Galatians, children of faith are called children of Abraham, but that is a spiritual connection, not a racial one.
Paul's question in Romans 4:9 is whether the blessedness of faith counted as righteousness comes on the circumcision only or also on the uncircumcision. Romans 4:10 points out that Abraham was uncircumcised when faith was reckoned to him for righteousness. This shows that God's promise was not restricted to Jewish physical identity.
Les explains that while a believer does not become a Jew physically, there is a positional sense in which believers come into the privileged standing that Israel enjoyed. He says, "Now, spiritually, spiritually we come into that position with Christ that Israel enjoyed as a nation. I'll grant you that. It's a positional thing." But that standing never changes a Gentile's bloodline.
Romans 4's Circumcision/Uncircumcision Question
Les draws attention to the Holy Spirit's question in Romans 4:9-10: faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness, and the question arises whether that blessedness is for circumcision only or also for uncircumcision.
Salvation Does Not Make You a Jew
Les explicitly says people are 'way out in left field' if they think becoming a Christian makes them a child of Abraham and a Jew; a Jew is a Jew and a Gentile is a Gentile, though both are saved by faith plus nothing.
Gentiles Stay Gentiles
When someone asks if becoming a Christian turns you into a Jew, Les answers 'heavens no'; a Gentile is a Gentile and salvation does not make a Jew out of us whatsoever.
No Physical Transformation
Les responds to the question with his trademark humor: a saved person does not suddenly get the physical features of a Jew. He grants a spiritual, positional standing with Christ, but not a physical change into Jewish identity.
Affinity to Abraham, Not Physical Jewishness
Les says believers do have an affinity to Abraham and share his faith, but they do not physically become Jews at salvation.
Wild Olive Tree Does Not Change Identity
Using the Romans 11 picture, Les says Gentile believers feast on the root of Abraham and on the promises, but being grafted in does not make them Jews.
Religious vs Racial Jewishness
Les clarifies that a Gentile embracing Judaism can be a Jew religiously but never racially; Scripture keeps the distinction between Jew and Gentile.
Made Nigh by the Blood
Les points to Ephesians 2:13 to show that Gentile believers, once far off in paganism, are brought near by the blood of Christ, not by converting to Judaism.
Romans 4:9: Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
Paul frames the question of whether justification belongs only to the circumcision, directly relevant to whether salvation makes someone a Jew.
Romans 4:10: How was it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision? or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
Points out that Abraham's faith was counted while he was uncircumcised, showing the blessing reaches Gentiles.
Ephesians 2:13: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Shows Gentile believers who were far off are brought near by Christ's blood, not by becoming Jewish.
Galatians 3:7: Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
The verse Les references when explaining how believers are called children of Abraham through faith.
No. Les says a believer enters a spiritual position that parallels what Israel enjoyed, but that does not make a saved person a Jew. 'A Gentile is a Gentile, and our salvation doesn't make a Jew out of us whatsoever.'
It means they are connected to Abraham by faith, saved the same way Abraham was: by faith plus nothing. This is a spiritual connection, not a change from Gentile to Jewish identity.
Les says embracing Judaism can make someone a Jew religiously, but never a Jew racially. Scripture still categorizes them as a Gentile.
No. Paul asks whether the blessedness of righteousness by faith comes on the circumcision only or the uncircumcision also (Romans 4:9). Abraham's faith was counted while he was in uncircumcision, showing the blessing is not limited to Jews.
Watch the Teaching: Justified by Faith Alone — What Romans 4 Really Teaches