"So the law was our schoolmaster until Christ came that we might be justified by faith."1
This word for schoolmaster is also translated as "guardian, tutor" it is from país, "a child under development by strict instruction" properly, a legally appointed overseer, authorized to bring up a child by administering discipline, chastisement, and instruction. Paul writes the Law was the schoolmaster until Christ. Under the Law punishment or chastisement was central to discipline and obedience, its power was through the fear of punishment. In the new covenant we are released from the old school master, Christ is Master, our new School Master, in Him we find justification by faith and the mastering of sin under Grace not under the letter of the law.
"who has made us sufficient servants of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."2
Proponents of the "letter," the letter referring to founding principles of the law, would say that teaching Grace is like giving people a license to sin. Their solution is the letter of the law but we see the letter of the law kills, the Spirit gives life. Paul writes by grace, not the letter of the law we will master sin. The school master did not help man to overcome the flesh. In the new covenant Christ is Master, such is a yoking to Him and a learning of obedience which begins with instructions of its highest elements; truth and grace. Further explained as faith, hope, and love; trust, unconditional love or favor. The focus is on relationship, growth not on performance, but such a focus creates vessels or workmanship for good works. Sufficient servant, Paul writes.
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."3
Sin takes opportunity to abound through the law. Of course for the believer, Jew or Gentile we are released from the Law. But what about the unbeliever? do we allow or put the school master, with her rules, the fear of punishment, condemnation, to master the people in the hopes they will be saved? Oh, you say, the school master will eventually lead them to Christ, that is her job. It is true full blown sin produces death.4
"then desire having conceived gives birth to sin and sin full blown brings forth death."5
The problem is not sin but desire, the basis of the new covenant the circumcision of the heart is to produce a desire in our inner being to God's righteousness. Paul writes the very thing that was to produce life, the law, instead produced death, because sin became full blown or as he writes sin took opportunity to abound. If sin takes opportunity to abound in the law, because of the weakness of the flesh, then if I put people under the law do I not cause sin to abound? if sin creates this idea that freedom is elsewhere, then has not the very thing I offer, freedom in Christ, now become evasive to them?
"Likewise my brothers, you also have died to the Law by the body of Christ, for you belong to another..."4
Paul refers to the law as being a tutor until Christ, he also uses the terminology of marriage, you belong to another. No longer are we married to the law but to Christ. The idea is of Judah having committed adultery and the just wife wants adherence to the righteousness of the law. The wife or law demanded justice, the punishment of adultery was death. What is to be done? only death would release Judah from his wife, one had to die. But God in his infinite wisdom chose grace instead, his Son died in Judah's place, thus releasing Judah from the Law and the dominion of the flesh.
A person under Law adheres to strict obedience to the letter of the law, this would have been Saul the Pharisee "teacher of the law" before he became Paul, "dispenser of grace." There were people in the early church that wanted to go back to this idea of schoolmaster. Paul refers to them as those of the "circumcision party." Those of the circumcision refer to these who wanted Christianity to have strict adherence to the letter of the law. Paul writes these sever themselves from Christ, fall from grace. The foundational teaching of the early church was of grace and faith, to keep them safe from this party,
"it is a safeguard for you, watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh."5
I had a teacher who carried a ruler with her and if you "crossed the line" she would hit the palm of your hand several times with that ruler. I was a good rule follower, I thought I would be rewarded for such but one day in the cafeteria I crossed the line accidentally, the boy next to me said it was time to put up our plates but it was not. I got my first and only hits with that ruler. I learned a few things from the school master that year, one was that there was absolutely no "common sense" involved, no mercy, it did not matter that it was not a deliberate breaking of the rules, and all the good I did meant nothing. The other thing I learned is that under such a system people would throw you "under the ruler" for their own selfish reasons.
There is a secular term for people who adhere to rules, it is called being "pedantic." A Pedant was an old English term for school master, so the idea of a pedantic is that of a school master who adheres to strict rules, like a slave master, except they carry a ruler. They judge you according to their rules, their standards of what is right and wrong. These want you to "conform" to their thinking and teaching, and it can happen without you even realizing it. These people go to great lengths to point out the faults of others because they depend upon their own self-rightness. And they go to great lengths to hide their own fault, excusing away their own sin. If they were to be measured back how they treat others it would be terrible for them. They will throw you "under the ruler" for their own personal gain, so it is difficult to trust them.
Some call being a pedantic an obsessive compulsive disorder, because these people are obsessive about picking out the faults of others. The definition of pedantic speaks to a person who overemphasizes rules or minor details, adheres rigidly to book knowledge without regard to common sense, and makes an excessive or inappropriate display of learning.6 "Teachers of the law" is what the name Pharisee means and we see how they or their spies would follow Jesus around, looking for some rule he broke. Of course their objective was not to correct or build up the people but some other agenda. Surely they put heavy burdens on the shoulders of men. Speaking truth in love some call it today.
The Pharisees were pedantic, rule upon rule. They wanted to convince the people that Jesus was evil because he did not adhere to their rules. Once Jesus healed a lame man on the Sabbath, the man got up with his mat to go home, but the Pharisee saw him on his way, carrying his mat, they asked him why. He told them Jesus had healed him and told him to, so they accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath. Then Jesus healed a blind man on the Sabbath, I bet they really had a hard time figuring out what rule he broke then because He had spat in the mud, making clay which he put on the man's eyes, then he told him to go to wash off in a pool. Now, did he "work" on the Sabbath? Their pedantic heads must have turned on that one.
"But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."7
Christianity is the only religion that finds pointing out the faults of others acceptable. Now, there is iron sharpening iron but such happens in brotherly love, not in being a pedantic. I believe this is one reason the Church is seen as hypocritical by many in the world. We say things like God hates their sin, but in context is not such to the Church? "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good."8 it is a fruit of a transformed person. As for the lost, if sin is their nature and I say God hates sin then am I not saying God hates them? We even teach others this is the correct way, the Roman Road, to salvation, it is part of the process to salvation, point out their faults, condemn them so they will be saved. Is not such saying the Law is still useful as a school master?
"so when you, O, man pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you disregard the riches of his kindness and the forbearance and the patience you despise, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance."12
The Pharisees passed judgment on others, they did not understand it was God's goodness that leads men to repentance. The school master has her power through rules and that enforcing element which is the fear of punishment. Break the rule be punished, if mercy is given it will be seen as a weakness therefore taking away the fear, thus power. Of course we see in the Pharisee, rule upon rule... if there was no clear indication of a violation of the rule, then the rule must be amended or a new one added to enforce this new violation, no mercy. What it produced was externally clean, non-transparent people who had a false pretense of piety. The issues of a pedantic person are clearly seen; self-righteous, judgmental, and hypocritical.
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love."5
The school master usually has a teacher's pet, one who is allowed to break the rules, such is seen as a reward for being obedient. One of the orphans would break this certain rule, he was very persistent in doing so, I at first thought this as being disobedient but when I talked with him he said this, if I allowed him to eventually break the rule it meant I liked him. This was learned behavior in the orphanage. Of course I told him about God's grace and how it is unconditional, you do not have to work for His acceptance, you could see his mind pondering such and then he smiled, he wanted to know this Jesus.
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."6
Our Master and Teacher, Christ came in the fullness of the Father, of Grace and Truth. As the School Master had power through the fear of punishment, the perfect love of Christ casts out fear. We are given a Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. Under the school master boys were powerless to deal with sin in the flesh but through the Spirit men have such power, "For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."9
"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..."10
The old school master produced obedience through fear, condemnation, but obedience under grace is perfected in love, such power is our hope. I learn as His child he is to be trusted and loved. John the beloved understood such, "We love because he first loved us."6 Transformed people love sincerely, and they find His will or obedience as good, acceptable, and perfect. Good bye old school master, thankfully you are not my tutor, I am under the Master.
How He Loves
This word for schoolmaster is also translated as "guardian, tutor" it is from país, "a child under development by strict instruction" properly, a legally appointed overseer, authorized to bring up a child by administering discipline, chastisement, and instruction. Paul writes the Law was the schoolmaster until Christ. Under the Law punishment or chastisement was central to discipline and obedience, its power was through the fear of punishment. In the new covenant we are released from the old school master, Christ is Master, our new School Master, in Him we find justification by faith and the mastering of sin under Grace not under the letter of the law.
"who has made us sufficient servants of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."2
Proponents of the "letter," the letter referring to founding principles of the law, would say that teaching Grace is like giving people a license to sin. Their solution is the letter of the law but we see the letter of the law kills, the Spirit gives life. Paul writes by grace, not the letter of the law we will master sin. The school master did not help man to overcome the flesh. In the new covenant Christ is Master, such is a yoking to Him and a learning of obedience which begins with instructions of its highest elements; truth and grace. Further explained as faith, hope, and love; trust, unconditional love or favor. The focus is on relationship, growth not on performance, but such a focus creates vessels or workmanship for good works. Sufficient servant, Paul writes.
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."3
Sin takes opportunity to abound through the law. Of course for the believer, Jew or Gentile we are released from the Law. But what about the unbeliever? do we allow or put the school master, with her rules, the fear of punishment, condemnation, to master the people in the hopes they will be saved? Oh, you say, the school master will eventually lead them to Christ, that is her job. It is true full blown sin produces death.4
"then desire having conceived gives birth to sin and sin full blown brings forth death."5
The problem is not sin but desire, the basis of the new covenant the circumcision of the heart is to produce a desire in our inner being to God's righteousness. Paul writes the very thing that was to produce life, the law, instead produced death, because sin became full blown or as he writes sin took opportunity to abound. If sin takes opportunity to abound in the law, because of the weakness of the flesh, then if I put people under the law do I not cause sin to abound? if sin creates this idea that freedom is elsewhere, then has not the very thing I offer, freedom in Christ, now become evasive to them?
"Likewise my brothers, you also have died to the Law by the body of Christ, for you belong to another..."4
Paul refers to the law as being a tutor until Christ, he also uses the terminology of marriage, you belong to another. No longer are we married to the law but to Christ. The idea is of Judah having committed adultery and the just wife wants adherence to the righteousness of the law. The wife or law demanded justice, the punishment of adultery was death. What is to be done? only death would release Judah from his wife, one had to die. But God in his infinite wisdom chose grace instead, his Son died in Judah's place, thus releasing Judah from the Law and the dominion of the flesh.
A person under Law adheres to strict obedience to the letter of the law, this would have been Saul the Pharisee "teacher of the law" before he became Paul, "dispenser of grace." There were people in the early church that wanted to go back to this idea of schoolmaster. Paul refers to them as those of the "circumcision party." Those of the circumcision refer to these who wanted Christianity to have strict adherence to the letter of the law. Paul writes these sever themselves from Christ, fall from grace. The foundational teaching of the early church was of grace and faith, to keep them safe from this party,
"it is a safeguard for you, watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. For it is we who are the circumcision, we who worship by the Spirit of God, who glory in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh."5
I had a teacher who carried a ruler with her and if you "crossed the line" she would hit the palm of your hand several times with that ruler. I was a good rule follower, I thought I would be rewarded for such but one day in the cafeteria I crossed the line accidentally, the boy next to me said it was time to put up our plates but it was not. I got my first and only hits with that ruler. I learned a few things from the school master that year, one was that there was absolutely no "common sense" involved, no mercy, it did not matter that it was not a deliberate breaking of the rules, and all the good I did meant nothing. The other thing I learned is that under such a system people would throw you "under the ruler" for their own selfish reasons.
There is a secular term for people who adhere to rules, it is called being "pedantic." A Pedant was an old English term for school master, so the idea of a pedantic is that of a school master who adheres to strict rules, like a slave master, except they carry a ruler. They judge you according to their rules, their standards of what is right and wrong. These want you to "conform" to their thinking and teaching, and it can happen without you even realizing it. These people go to great lengths to point out the faults of others because they depend upon their own self-rightness. And they go to great lengths to hide their own fault, excusing away their own sin. If they were to be measured back how they treat others it would be terrible for them. They will throw you "under the ruler" for their own personal gain, so it is difficult to trust them.
Some call being a pedantic an obsessive compulsive disorder, because these people are obsessive about picking out the faults of others. The definition of pedantic speaks to a person who overemphasizes rules or minor details, adheres rigidly to book knowledge without regard to common sense, and makes an excessive or inappropriate display of learning.6 "Teachers of the law" is what the name Pharisee means and we see how they or their spies would follow Jesus around, looking for some rule he broke. Of course their objective was not to correct or build up the people but some other agenda. Surely they put heavy burdens on the shoulders of men. Speaking truth in love some call it today.
The Pharisees were pedantic, rule upon rule. They wanted to convince the people that Jesus was evil because he did not adhere to their rules. Once Jesus healed a lame man on the Sabbath, the man got up with his mat to go home, but the Pharisee saw him on his way, carrying his mat, they asked him why. He told them Jesus had healed him and told him to, so they accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath. Then Jesus healed a blind man on the Sabbath, I bet they really had a hard time figuring out what rule he broke then because He had spat in the mud, making clay which he put on the man's eyes, then he told him to go to wash off in a pool. Now, did he "work" on the Sabbath? Their pedantic heads must have turned on that one.
"But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."7
Christianity is the only religion that finds pointing out the faults of others acceptable. Now, there is iron sharpening iron but such happens in brotherly love, not in being a pedantic. I believe this is one reason the Church is seen as hypocritical by many in the world. We say things like God hates their sin, but in context is not such to the Church? "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good."8 it is a fruit of a transformed person. As for the lost, if sin is their nature and I say God hates sin then am I not saying God hates them? We even teach others this is the correct way, the Roman Road, to salvation, it is part of the process to salvation, point out their faults, condemn them so they will be saved. Is not such saying the Law is still useful as a school master?
"so when you, O, man pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? Or do you disregard the riches of his kindness and the forbearance and the patience you despise, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance."12
The Pharisees passed judgment on others, they did not understand it was God's goodness that leads men to repentance. The school master has her power through rules and that enforcing element which is the fear of punishment. Break the rule be punished, if mercy is given it will be seen as a weakness therefore taking away the fear, thus power. Of course we see in the Pharisee, rule upon rule... if there was no clear indication of a violation of the rule, then the rule must be amended or a new one added to enforce this new violation, no mercy. What it produced was externally clean, non-transparent people who had a false pretense of piety. The issues of a pedantic person are clearly seen; self-righteous, judgmental, and hypocritical.
"There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. The one who fears has not been perfected in love."5
The school master usually has a teacher's pet, one who is allowed to break the rules, such is seen as a reward for being obedient. One of the orphans would break this certain rule, he was very persistent in doing so, I at first thought this as being disobedient but when I talked with him he said this, if I allowed him to eventually break the rule it meant I liked him. This was learned behavior in the orphanage. Of course I told him about God's grace and how it is unconditional, you do not have to work for His acceptance, you could see his mind pondering such and then he smiled, he wanted to know this Jesus.
"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."6
Our Master and Teacher, Christ came in the fullness of the Father, of Grace and Truth. As the School Master had power through the fear of punishment, the perfect love of Christ casts out fear. We are given a Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. Under the school master boys were powerless to deal with sin in the flesh but through the Spirit men have such power, "For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."9
"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus..."10
The old school master produced obedience through fear, condemnation, but obedience under grace is perfected in love, such power is our hope. I learn as His child he is to be trusted and loved. John the beloved understood such, "We love because he first loved us."6 Transformed people love sincerely, and they find His will or obedience as good, acceptable, and perfect. Good bye old school master, thankfully you are not my tutor, I am under the Master.
How He Loves