PULL UP A CHAIR: Stories on Teach

For a summary of what I’m hoping to accomplish in this blog series (in the fourth week of every month of 2018), I recommend reviewing my explanation here.

Tom Neyhart is the Lead Campus Minister for Impact Campus Ministries in South Bend. I love to watch Tom grow in his passion for discipleship; he is a model campus minister in his work to develop his young student leaders and teach them how to do the work of leadership. When I thought of ICM's commitment to TEACH, I immediately thought to ask Tom to share his thoughts on the idea here.

I love working with college students! They can sometimes be frustrating, but more often, I am simply amazed as they grow in their faith. Our mission statement focuses on three things: pursuing God, modeling that pursuit in front of others, and teaching students in furthering the discipleship process. In many ways, this is like the ripple effect when you drop a stone in a still pond: the rings continue moving outward, one after another. When we instruct others to further the discipleship process, the idea of pursue, model, and teach continues to grow outward.

But if we leave the Teach out of the process, then we lose the ripple effect and we have a crucial problem. We end up with “disciples” who may grow in their own faith, but that is where it seems to end because of a struggle to apply and integrate their faith on a consistent basis. For me, vulnerability is a key aspect. How do I walk with a student through their current struggles if I am not willing to be vulnerable enough to let them see how I walk through mine? I believe those whom we disciple need to see us walking through the fire while relying on God and relying on spiritual disciplines to keep us moving forward in our own faith. It also requires us to show them our failures, even though it is uncomfortable. I have learned more lessons from my failures than my successes.

It is really a matter of understanding more than just knowing how to study and read biblical Text, how to pray, or engage in other spiritual disciplines; it’s also knowing why it is important and how to take the truths discovered in it into everyday life. It will not do much good if my students only know how to read the Text and it doesn’t filter into their lives.

There is another aspect to Teach that is crucial to our vision. If my students can’t further themselves in the discipleship process, they will not have much impact on students around them (impact the U) or have a lasting impact when they move beyond their campus (impact the world).

When I meet with students, I usually ask some leading questions that allow them to break down their day or week. What was good? What was bad? Where are you in your reading or what have you been reading this week? Usually they will talk pretty freely about what has affected them in school, at home, or at work, which gives an opportunity to bring it back to the biblical Text.

A few weeks ago, we were on a weekend retreat when one of the students I disciple, Spencer, had an opportunity to speak into the life of another student. It was unplanned, but God opened a door and Spencer took an approach similar to what I have often used in listening and allowing this student to share his heart and struggles. More importantly, he built a bond with another student, shared a bit of life with him, and was able to encourage him. Spencer took an opportunity to positively encourage and influence another student from another campus. That is exactly what I want to happen! When students start to grasp the pursuit for themselves, they begin to model it and connect to other students in a way I will never be able to as a 49-year-old Campus Minister.

GALATIANS: Set Free to Be Free

After four chapters of pretty direct argument for these Gentile believers, we have taken a visual look at Paul’s arguments. While the context of Galatia is incredibly foreign to us, hopefully we have a better understanding of the argument Paul is making. Whether or not the Jews should follow the law is not up for discussion. This was never a problem for the New Testament community. It was obvious to them that Jews would carry the miqsat ma’asay haTorah — that was their role in the world and had been for generations.

The fiery debate was whether or not the Gentiles were free from that calling. Paul has made it quite clear to the Gentile believers in Galatia that if they cave into the pressure of converting to Judaism, they would be destroying the gospel (particularly for that region at that point in time). They needed to be walking billboards for the good news of Jesus and the inclusion of all people into the family of God. Now that we have this understanding for the book of Galatians, listen to one of the more popular passages from the letter:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.

You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!

Suddenly the ending of the letter swings into context and has clarity that we didn’t appreciate before. Paul’s argument through the whole letter has been that they, as Gentiles, have been called to be free from the miqsat ma’asay haTorah; it is this very freedom that shows the world what the gospel is. In the same way that the Jews have been called to be set apart for the work of God in the world, the Gentiles have been set apart in freedom to make clear to the world that everybody is invited! If they let themselves be yoked to a system of rules, the Gentiles lose the essence of their call.

For many of my readers (Gentiles), it is important to realize your freedom from the “works of the Law” is essential to the body of Christ putting the gospel on display. You must observe that freedom, celebrate that freedom, and use that freedom well — use that freedom to show the world what God is like!

But some will cry that this freedom is just a license for sin; it’s a free-for-all promoting a “nothing-really-matters-and-everybody-is-invited” universalism. But this isn’t the case and it’s where Paul turns his attention next.

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

Paul says that in order to use your freedom to show the world the risen Christ, you cannot use it for self — you must use it for others. This, by the way, happens to be (according to Jesus) the very essence of the Law itself. This is what the “pedagogue” was supposed to teach us from the beginning. Torah showed us how to walk according to the Spirit and not our own fleshly desires.

Of course this raises a question: Fine, Paul, but how do I know if I’m doing that right? If there is no law for me to follow and I’m to walk in freedom, how do I know if I’m walking according to the flesh or the Spirit? Paul will say (sounding strangely like Jesus when he does) that the test case for your walk is the fruit it produces.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh 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.

Paul says it’s obvious to know when you are walking in the Spirit. If the product of your walk is anger, rage, debauchery, division, and a lack of self-control, you are using your freedom for yourself. But if what’s coming out of your life is love and joy, peace and patience, kindness and goodness… well, those can only come from one place.

Jews, we have been called to show the world what it means to walk according to the Spirit of God; not according to the flesh and our every desire, but how to use our desires appropriately to “bless all nations.”

Gentiles, you have been called to freedom later in the story; now that we all know what faithfulness looks like, you are invited to take those principles of grace and extend them to everyone that you meet.

But in Christ, neither one of our calls is a call for self. Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female — we are all called to lay our lives down for the other. To pray for our persecutors. To love our enemies. The world could use a model of grace, love, forgiveness, mercy, and hospitality. 

And I think it should start with a group of people who do that — Jew and Gentile — together.

GALATIANS: the Pedagogue

We are left with this nagging question: If God’s story has always been about the promise and not the Law, why then would God have given the Law in the first place?

Paul moves on to answer this very question.

Why, then, was the law given at all? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come. The law was given through angels and entrusted to a mediator. A mediator, however, implies more than one party; but God is one.

Paul immediately says there was something about how the promise of God had to be realized through the seed. However, until that day could come, the Law was given to a mediator. I always see and hear a reference to Moses as God’s mediator between God (whom Paul says is one party) and His people.

Is the law, therefore, opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law. But Scripture has locked up everything under the control of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe.

One might notice how essential this reading is to make this chapter of Galatians consistent. For many who have felt as though we were stretching the logic of “the law is not based on faith,” you may now see the dilemma created if we presume such a statement means the Law runs contrary to faith. In fact, Paul is intentional when he points out that the Law is not opposed to the promises of God. However, if a law could accomplish the same thing as a promise, it would have been given at the beginning. But it cannot; instead, the Law was given for a supplementary purpose that helped the promise of God find its culmination in the Seed.

Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.

Paul now introduces a new concept to the teaching. The English here uses harsh language, such as “custody” and “locked up,” making the reader think of prison. In fact, this is not the case at all. The Greek word Paul uses for “guardian” is paidagogos and translates as “pedagogue.” Understanding this idea will make the teaching from Paul explode with relevant meaning.

Many of us (like myself when I first heard the term) may be completely unfamiliar with the term ‘pedagogue’; others may have heard it before. In our western context, the idea of a ‘pedagogue’ is usually the idea of a teacher (the KJV translates this as “schoolmaster”). But in the first century, the idea of a pedagogue was much different than that of a teacher. The pedagogue was a guardian (hence the translation) who was hired when a young individual came upon his or her inheritance (for any number of reasons) before they were old enough to claim that inheritance legally. For example, if we had an 8-year-old boy come upon his inheritance because of the death of his father, he would be too young to legally see his inheritance realized. There would be a pedagogue hired to serve as the boy’s guardian. This role is not the role of teacher; it is the role of protector. It is the pedagogue’s responsibility to see to it that the boy arrives at his inheritance safely and is able to realize its consummation.

Paul just said the Law was given because the time had not yet come for the promise to be realized through the Seed. In the meantime, God needed a guardian who would help get his people to the place where they could realize the consummation of God’s promise. It was the pedagogue of God’s people. But now that faith has come — now that the promise has been realized — there is no need for a pedagogue. Once the child matured, he would lay claim to his inheritance and the role of the pedagogue would be complete.

Paul’s larger point is now that we know God’s promise has been realized (“all nations will be blessed through you”; i.e., salvation has come to the Gentiles), we would no longer subject ourselves to being led by a guardian. The inheritance of Abraham has been claimed. Now, some would use this same logic to argue the Jews should now come out from under the pedagogue and quit following the Law as well, but this would be to take Paul’s teaching metaphor and pull it out of its context, applying it in a way he never intended (this is clear through references to Paul’s kosher lifestyle throughout the New Testament). Lancaster elaborates on this point well in his book.

Now that we have some key context, let’s finish this key section.

So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

What I am saying is that as long as an heir is underage, he is no different from a slave, although he owns the whole estate. The heir is subject to guardians and trustees until the time set by his father. So also, when we were underage, we were in slavery under the elemental spiritual forces of the world. But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

Knowing the context now makes this teaching come to life. It is no longer riddled with confusion. God has brought the story to its day of inheritance. We now see the promise of God find its fulfillment and the whole world being invited to redemption.

So now we must turn our attention to what is happening with these Galatian theosabes and their desire to usurp God’s promise.