Meditation and The Purpose of the Law

/ W. Keith Brenton / 3 Comments

One of the few places that I think the translators of the New International Version and The Message have come up with a wimpy rendition of the writer’s original intent is their wording of Galatians 3:24:

So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith.

“Put in charge” was the verb form that they agreed upon to translate a noun that just doesn’t easily translate to English. That’s too bad, because taking the term from a noun to a verb strips it of the personification that Paul’s original poetry here intended.

Various other translations give it to us as “schoolmaster” (KJV), “tutor” (NASV, ASV, Darby), “guardian” (ESV), “teacher” (Contemporary) and “trainer” (Amplified). Maybe my favorite is “child-conductor,” the term that Young’s Literal Translation creates for a position in society that we no longer have.

A footnote in the Holman Christian Standard Bible argues that “In our culture, we do not have a slave who takes a child to and from school, protecting the child from harm or corruption. In Gk the word paidogogos described such a slave. This slave was not a teacher.”

“School bus driver” certainly doesn’t do it.

Even “child-conductor” makes me think of the principle character voiced by Tom Hanks in the movie The Polar Express.

I wonder if perhaps the better image is that of Boothby, the gardener/groundskeeper at Star Trek‘s Star Fleet Academy: an observer, a mentor, an advisor, a life coach helping cadets wrestle with their challenges. Never the faculty, always the staff. Valuing wisdom above knowledge; experience above rote. The paidogogos.

That’s Boothby.

What’s Boothby got to do with meditation?

Meditation on the law – I believe – was part of what God intended for Israel to do with it when He gave it. Rather than just saying to themselves, “The law’s the law; you don’t question it; you just obey it,” I think God truly wanted His people to question it.

Questions like “Why should I have to do this?” or “Why can’t I do that?” should have been legitimate. If you meditate on them, the answers inevitably lead to the conclusion: “Because God loves you. He wants the best for you. He wants you to survive, and thrive, and mature and grow closer to others and to Him your whole life. He wants you to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. He wants you to love your neighbor as yourself. He wants you to seek out His ways, His will and His nature in His words, creations and His actions.”

The Lord told Moses’ successor Joshua:

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. ~ Joshua 1:7-8

And the opening Psalm in the collection declares:

Blessed is the man
who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked
or stand in the way of sinners
or sit in the seat of mockers.
But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night. ~ Psalm 1:1-2

Psalm 119 recommends the practice, not once, not twice, but eight times: on God’s precepts (twice), decrees (twice), ways, wonders, statutes and law. After meditating on God’s law, it becomes written on your heart (Psalm 37:31, 40:8, 119:30, Isaiah 51:7, et al.

Meditation – as well as obedience – was how the law functioned as a paidogogos.

The law was meant to bring God’s people to maturity, to wisdom, to that time when His law would be written not so much on tablets of cold stone nor leaves of perishable papyrus – but on their hearts:

“This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time,” declares the LORD. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” ~ Jeremiah 31:33

Paul says that the day when obedience through heart-devotion to God’s law has come, even to the Gentiles:

All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous in God’s sight, but it is those who obey the law who will be declared righteous. (Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. ~ Romans 2:12-16

And that naturally leads to the context of the quote above with that elusive word paidogogos (and here I will switch to the ESV and substitute the original term):

Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary. Now an intermediary implies more than one, but God is one.

Is the law then contrary to the promises of God? Certainly not! For if a law had been given that could give life, then righteousness would indeed be by the law. But the Scripture imprisoned everything under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our paidogogos until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a paidogogos, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. ~ Galatians 3:19-28

So, I have to ask you: has the purpose of Law been completely fulfilled? Have God’s people matured to faith in Christ Jesus, with His law written on their hearts; having put on Christ and become sons of God? Is there complete equality among followers of Christ, without artificial divisions because of race, social status, or gender? Now that Christ has come, is there nothing further that we can learn of God from His original covenant that men did not keep?

In the Star Trek mythos, Boothby knew his place and never left it. When a cadet graduated from the Academy, Boothby’s job was done.

But from time to time, an officer would return from the far-flung stars to see him, to thank him, to seek his wisdom.

Maybe it wouldn’t hurt for us to go back and meditate on God’s law from time to time; to seek His wisdom and nature there. Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to search out what it means and what is required to worship Him … what He has given and what He has taken away … whether He can use slaves (like Joseph) as well as kings (like David), one race (like Ruth) as well as another (like Esther), and women (like Deborah) as well as men (like fill-in-the-blank) to do His work in this world.

Perhaps we need to revisit Boothby.

Let Me Be Blunt

/ W. Keith Brenton / 13 Comments

Because I need to hear this – bluntly – as much as anyone else does.

Jesus, the Christ of God, did not promise we would be blessed when people compliment us, tell us we’re cute, and truthfully say all kinds of nice things about us.Matthew 5:11-12

He did not die on a cross so that we might have wealth, and have it more abundantly.John 10:10

He did not sacrifice Himself so that we might take up a collection and follow our hearts.Mark 8:34

And if you hear people or churches or preachers saying that He did, you can be sure that they’re following someone.

But it’s not the Son of God.

If You Were Caught In A Sin …

/ W. Keith Brenton / 6 Comments

Would it be more helpful to you if the one who caught you came to you privately to talk to you about it, and put an arm around your shoulder, and offered to pray with you about it and shared a weakness of his/her own and asked you if you both could be accountable to each other before God about the sins that challenge you both … or would it be more helpful to you if that person went to your boss, your dean, your spouse, your minister, or your elders and told them what you had done?

“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

“I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

“Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” ~ Matthew 18:15-20

Before you respond with 1 Corinthians 5, let me concede that God can and often does make good results come of wickedness exposed for what it is.

Look what He did with a crucifixion.

Then consider the possibility that a single sin observed does not necessarily indicate a life proudly steeped in its stink and still calling itself Christlike – the kind of situation that Paul is dealing with in Corinth.

Then return to my original question: If you were caught in a sin … how would you want to be treated?

Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load. ~ Galatians 6:1-5

No, there’s no excuse for not following the directions. It’s not acceptable to say, “I’m not spiritual, so it’s the job of someone else to restore gently.” You’re a child of God if you’ve received His grace and His Spirit lives in you: you’re spiritual.

It’s not acceptable to say “I’m justified in judging this person because I haven’t committed that sin.” That’s comparing one’s self to someone else – when neither of you is sinless.

It’s not acceptable to say, “I wasn’t sinned against; it was himself/herself/the church/God that was sinned against.” If you are a part of that person’s church family, the sin brings reproach upon the family name of your Savior.

It’s not acceptable to say, “I don’t know what to do; I’ll just turn it over to someone else.”

Jesus told his followers what to do (above). He gave us step-by-step instructions on the matter because He knows exactly what we need and He knows this is the only way that works.

If we love the other person as a fellow sinner, we fully follow the steps in the order that they are given, as necessary. How we would want to be treated if caught in a sin is going to be how others want to be treated, too. That’s not a guarantee that pursuing it will immediately yield a melted and penitent heart – which is why there is more than one step to the process. Even loving, respectful confrontation may well lead to anger, denial, hateful words, accusations, or worse.

If Jesus had never outlined the steps, we should have known them in our hearts – because we know how we ourselves would want to be approached when guilty. (Not that anyone of us would really want to be approached about it at all!)

And if for no other reason than the golden rule (what I believe to be the “law of Christ”), then we owe it to each other – in view of God’s grace through Christ – to take the steps.

In order.

Not skipping any.

Humbly.

Cautiously.

Prayerfully.

Spiritually.

Visualize Whirled Peas

/ W. Keith Brenton / 6 Comments

I’m kind of tired of seeing that bumper sticker.

If we really want whirled peas, we’re going to have to:

  • Plant the peas
  • Water the peas
  • Weed the peas
  • Pick the peas
  • Shell the peas
  • Put the peas into a blender
  • And turn the blender on.

Just visualizing them ain’t a gonna make ‘er happen.

That’s Just Sad

/ W. Keith Brenton / 10 Comments

I can’t remember now whether presidential candidate Ross Perot ever actually uttered those words, or whether mimic Dana Carvey just said them so convincingly “in-character” that we all thought he did.

You know what’s just sad to me?

When people have to close the comments of their blog – or even restrict their readership to those who have signed up and signed in each time – because of the unChristian acts and words and motives of a few.

Some of my casual blog reads have “disappeared” into Privacy World as a result of such selfishness on the part of visitors.

I have been the recipient of a great deal of grace in being able to keep this blog open, and though I have seen flashes of conflict and occasional ungraciousness in the comments on it, for the most part I have seen an extraordinary amount of lovingkindness shown to the different opinion and the one who holds it.

I guess I just wanted to take the opportunity to say thank you to all of you who read and comment here; for the grace you show me and each other and for a generally loving and accepting spirit displayed in your words.

I am grateful to God for each and every one of you.

Salvation in Two Parts for Duet

/ W. Keith Brenton / 19 Comments

I will tell you what I think.

I think salvation comes in two parts.

The first part Jesus accomplished at the cross, and by walking away from the tomb. There is absolutely nothing you can do to earn it, buy it, achieve it, deserve it, or merit it. It is finished. It is an overture that has been written. You just accept it as a gift and become immersed in its music. It is eternal, and it begins at that moment. It is life without end, life in God’s presence, life free of sin and guilt and death.

The second part you work out in partnership with God. You allow Him to do His work through you, and it matures you in Him – because you are not finished, and the draft of your libretto has rough edges. There is absolutely no limit to the potential that the partnership can achieve if both parties are willing. You do your share in gratitude for what He has done for you by His Son and through His Spirit. Some parts are recitative. Some are arias. Both carry the strong themes of the overture. This salvation song is temporal; it begins with physicality and continues in metaphysicality when Jesus takes you home. It is life in the maturing, life in the growing awareness of God’s presence, life in which sin and guilt are constantly overcome and increasingly conquered, displaced by the occupation – the passion – of singing His Story in this world.

Jesus wrote the melody with His life, His death, His resurrection. He invites you to sing a wondrous, improvisational duet with the harmony of your life, your death to sin, your resurrection to an endless life that He provides.

Together, you sing a life-lyric that praises God and gives Him glory for all eternity, where it joins in chorus with millions of voices, all tuned to the same chords and harmonies.

That’s what I think.

What do you think?

How Many Churches Are There?

/ W. Keith Brenton / 11 Comments

How many churches did Jesus say He would build on this rock?

How many churches did He establish on Pentecost?

How many churches did He establish after Pentecost?

How many churches did He give His lifeblood to redeem?

If there is only one true church, which one is it?

How many names did it have in century one?

How many names does it have in century twenty-one?

Do names given to that church by man mean anything to the One who knows the name of each soul in it and how many hairs each has on his/her head?

If we can believe that God is three Persons yet One, is it impossible that there may be many churches yet one Church?

Does a church have to get every item of doctrine completely perfect in order to follow Christ and do His work in this world?

Does a soul seeking God have to be part of a church which gets every item of doctrine perfect in order to be saved?

If a church has a perfect doctrine, say, about baptism – but its members don’t clean up their act about sexual purity or what they enjoy watching on tv or at the movies or what they like to listen to on their car radios … is that still the one true church washed in Jesus’ blood?

If a church has a perfect doctrine, for example, about the Lord’s Supper – but doesn’t feed the hungry; doesn’t sell its possessions and give to the poor so that none will be in need … is that church still dining with Christ?

If a church has a perfect doctrine about, let’s see, church governance – but its members do not govern themselves in their conduct or demeanor toward others … is that church still ruled by the King of kings?

If a church has a perfect doctrine regarding, oh, divorce – but it doesn’t care for widows and orphans in their desperation … is that church still part of God’s family?

These are hard questions.

But when the tests of life are graded, will it make any difference to the Teacher that we thought all the questions would be on doctrine and that they would all be true/false?

What If You Couldn’t?

/ W. Keith Brenton / 11 Comments

Suppose – just suppose – for a few moments that you couldn’t worship in a gathering of Christ-followers anymore.

I don’t know why. War. Disaster. Takeover by a totalitarian foreign government. Imprisonment in an iron lung. Eighty-eight-dollar-a-gallon gasoline. Doesn’t matter. You can’t worship while gathered with Christians anymore. Just suppose.

What would that mean to you?

Would the quality of the singing or the sermons or the temperature of the worship center still be important to you? How about the paltry class offerings or the cold decor of the church or the ministry staff’s salary? Would the style of the worship or the hat of the lady who always sat in front of you or the fidgety teens in the back still ruffle your feathers?

Could the length and redundancy of the prayers still tick you off? Or the guy who parked across two spaces? Or the little children running among the old folks?

Would the teacher who had always hinted around at what you consider heresy and false doctrine still stoke your smoldering wrath?

How about the deacon who kept pestering you to teach, or help with benevolence, or take communion to shut-ins?

Or all the fundraising drive and charity event flyers that people kept tacking to the crowded bulletin board?

Or the broken step at the back of the church building that nobody ever bothered to fix?

Or the babies crying that parents were slow to remove to the nursery?

Would you be glad to be rid of the songs you don’t like?

Would you miss the cranky old people?

Would you miss Jesus?

Would you still worship alone, your way, the way you like, the way that speaks to you, the way God must like because He made you in His image and that’s the way you like it?

Would you like it better alone? Would you bother to worship at all?

What if you couldn’t?

If You’re Here Today …

/ W. Keith Brenton / 11 Comments

It’s one of those things preachers say.

Without thinking.

“If you’re here today, and you haven’t obeyed the gospel ….”
“If you’re here today, and need the prayers of the church ….”
“If you’re here today, and you wish you weren’t ….”

Okay, I’ve never actually heard a preacher say the last one – but I’ve heard a hundred or more variations of the first two, even from preachers who are really good and who ought to know what they’re doing.

“If you’re here today”? In the days before recording sermons on cassette and then CD and then MP3 for podcasting, who was a preacher talking to when saying that? The folks who were there, of course. They already knew they were there. And if they weren’t there, they weren’t listening. So why say it?

And it’s always a hanging “if,” even today. If you’re not here today, what do you do? Forget it? Sit there and feel suicidal? Shake it off and try to do better next time?

Well, that’s my advice for preachers: ditch the phrase “If you’re here today.” Trust me. We are.

And if we aren’t, and we’re still listening, it’s because we wanted to be there that day and ordered the cassette or the CD, or downloaded the MP3.

It’s not world-class advice like the stuff at Milton Stanley’s outstanding Transforming Sermons, but maybe it’ll make a couple of you out there re-think the standard closer phrasing a bit.

That is, if you’re here today ….