Training Wheels Pt IV

We read the words of the Law inLeviticus 11 that expressly prohibit the eating of certain foods, they are declared unclean. Yet Jesus tells a crowd of observant Jews to ignore this command!

Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.'
Matthew 15:10-11

How then are we to account for Jesus words about the Law in the Sermon on the Mount?

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:17-20

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Jesus is 'fulfilling the Law' yet also seemingly breaking the Law and even encouraging others to set aside what it says, at least one specific portion of it...

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If you have ever been around someone who has mastered some skill, albeit a sport, painting, a musical instrument, woodworking, or cooking, you will see the same thing. I am not talking about someone who is good, or even great among their peers, but rather, a practitioner that stands as a giant above the generations before and since.

Think Albert Einstein, Claude Monet, Florence Nightingale, or Thelonious Monk, I am personally familiar with wrestlers John Smith (2x Olympic Gold Medalist) and Stephen Abas (3x NCAA Champion). These were people that in some sense 'broke the rules' of their craft, setting aside the decades, or even centuries, of wisdom from previous practitioners, and yet, in doing so they were not setting aside the craft itself, but rather somehow extending it, making it better, and more true to itself. We could easily add to the list of names...

What these individuals possessed was a mastery of craft that actually exceeds the craft itself! They were each able (in the case of science, painting, medicine, music, and wrestling) to take the craft and learn it, understand the rules, the guidelines, the practices, the craft itself, to such a degree that they were able to move beyond the rules, guidelines and practices, yet remain true to the craft itself!

This is precisely what Jesus is with respect to the Law.

He is a Master of the Law, a Master of Righteousness, a Master of Love. The course of righteousness to which the Law is a guide is the constant path of Jesus' feet, and even without the Law to guide them, those feet would stay the course...

Jesus is the 'fulfillment' of the Law.

Training Wheels Pt III

So the Law was given to point towards righteousness, and in fact is the path of righteousness, but does not itself give us the power to be righteous nor enable us to walk the path. Rather, righteousness (or more specifically agape love) fulfills the requirements of the Law. Righteousness is the ability to walk the path.

It is with this understanding that we begin to talk about improvisation upon the Law.

The training wheels that keep a small child from falling over are taken off of the bike as soon as possible, but why not keep them on? Professional speed-cyclists can get their bikes outside of the range that would be allowed for by training wheels. On slanted tracks these cyclists can get going fast enough to get their bicycles nearly horizontal; BMX riders do tricks with their bikes that would not be possible if the training wheels were still on the bike. Even normal riders would feel hampered by training wheels if they remained on the bike.

In the same way the Law is not the same thing as love, and when operating from a place of love and righteousness we are able to move beyond Law, and at times even perform acts that might be seen as breaking that Law if seen only from the perspective of the Law itself, and not from the perspective of the righteousness to which the Law points.

This is why Jesus (operating from true righteousness) could set aside portions of the Law in certain circumstances, and even revise whole portions of it in others, while at the same time proclaiming that He was not doing away with it.

Training Wheels Pt II

because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.
Romans 8:2-4

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Previously we quoted Dr Willard saying, "the Law is, has been, and always will be, the course of righteousness..."

However, he finishes that sentence by saying, "but the Law is not, never has been, and never will be, the source of righteousness!"

Training wheels are not the source of bike riding skill, or the ability to travel from point A to point B, or to navigate a route. Those skills come from some other place. The training wheels are a guide, pointing towards 'upright.'

The Law performs a similar function. It is not able to create people of righteousness, people cannot become good by obeying the Law, but by obeying the Law they are kept from 'falling over.' It is a way of staying alive long enough to actually learn righteousness. You will not learn how to ride a bike if you cannot stay upright, and training wheels are an aid to this; you cannot learn to be righteous if you are breaking the Law, and so obedience is an aid to righteousness, but not its source...

Christ is the source, the Law is the course. Jesus is the method for making men righteous. He transforms hearts by His Spirit, He 'writes the law on the tablets of our hearts.'

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For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, " YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF."

But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Galatians 5:14, 18, 22-26

Training Wheels Pt I

We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious; for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
1 Timothy 1:8-11

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The Law is like a set of training wheels. They are for people who don't know how to ride a bike, not for people who do. The Law is for people who are unrighteous, not for the righteous.

This, of course, doesn't mean that 'the righteous' can break the law, anymore than people who know how to ride a bike should try to tip over sideways now that the training wheels are no longer in the way. Rather, 'the righteous' will live according to the law without trying! There is no 'obedience' necessary for those whose natural course of action is 'righteousness,' just as one who knows how to ride a bike will remain upright without the training wheels to hold them up.

As Dr Willard says, "The Law is, has been, and always will be, the course of righteousness..."

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Until the time when we were mature enough to respond freely in faith to the living God, we were carefully surrounded and protected by the Mosaic law. The law was like those Greek tutors, with which you are familiar, who escort children to school and protect them from danger or distraction, making sure the children will really get to the place they set out for.
Galatians 3:23-24

Apples, Oranges, and Live Birds

Do we think apples (unified whole) or oranges (dissected parts)?

Do we dissect the bird to understand it? Or seek to discover it in its natural environment?

How do we approach the Scriptures? God Himself?

NT Wright meets Dallas Willard

Paul

"Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor..."

From his letter to the Church of Rome

Thanks Kyeunghi