The Jewish Talmud is the record of rabbinic discussions concerning the Law. One of the stated aims of the Talmud was to “build a fence around the Torah.” One Jewish website describes that principle in this way:
For example, the Torah commands us not to work on Shabbat, but a gezeirah commands us not to even handle an implement that you would use to perform prohibited work (such as a pencil, money, a hammer), because someone holding the implement might forget that it was Shabbat and perform prohibited work. (http://www.jewfaq.org/halakhah.htm)
This fence consists of oral and written traditions, not part of the Law itself, but built around the Law. It was because of these traditions that Jesus and the Jewish leaders of his day often found themselves in conflict. Because the Pharisees and Jewish teachers often gave these traditions as much importance as the Law itself. (at least in practice) Jesus refused to follow their traditions, insisting instead on following God’s Law.
We have to be careful about creating a new fence around Scripture, creating traditions that become laws, laws which put us at odds with the teaching of the New Testament. God’s Word needs no fence; the concepts of freedom and grace tear down all manmade safety measures.
Great post Brother! I esp. love this point you made…
“We have to be careful about creating a new fence around Scripture, creating traditions that become laws, laws which put us at odds with the teaching of the New Testament. God’s Word needs no fence; the concepts of freedom and grace tear down all manmade safety measures.
Love it!!
Hi Tim,
I’ve been reading lots of Jaroslav Pelikan recently who, perhaps more than anyone else in the 20th century, vindicated Tradition in Christianity. I wonder if you have any thoughts on Tradition within the church in light of this post?
Best, Matt Dowling
Thanks Trent.
Matt, Pelikan has a quote that I love, something along the lines of “Tradition is the living faith of those now dead. Traditionalism is the dead faith of those still living.” Tradition is important; it provides us a guide and a sense of stability. To paraphrase a famous statement about money, “Tradition is a wonderful servant and a terrible master.” It is one thing to allow tradition to guide, another to allow it to legislate.
Grace and peace,
Tim Archer
Anytime you get two people together more than once, they’ll start forming traditions. That’s just how we’re wired, and there’s nothing wrong with it, as Pelikan recognizes.
And no one, at least in Protestant and free church circles, *says* that they give equal weight to tradition — which makes it more dangerous than in Catholic circles, where they at least admit that tradition plays a great role in doctrine.
Further, no one, (again, at least in Protestant and free church circles), writes down their traditions. Since they (verbally, anyway) don’t really matter, why would we write them down? That makes them more dangerous than in Pharisaic circles — at least they wrote them down, and in a separate book. (sometimes we pencil them in between the lines of our Bibles)
Jay Guin has done an excellent job displaying how so much of what we do in the brotherhood is borrowed from the traditions of the ECF. But since we don’t write anything down, and we tell ourselves that we have no tradition at all but only straight Scripture, we find ourselves in dangerous waters.
We’ve got to learn to hold to our traditions very lightly. Very few pictures frustrate me more than “native” Christian evangelists in foreign areas dressed like little American preachers from the ’70s — because we exported our tradition rather than the Gospel alone.
Tim I posted this on Church of Christ Yahoo groups this morning.
Some think I am radical. LOL
I guess I am. I was driven to the word as my disgust with division grew.
This is where I am now after 50 yrs in the coC.
Here’s my post:
The scriptures are inspired of God.
The conclusions of uninspired men are not.
The scriptures do not divide us.
Un-inspired men divide us.
We are to be led by the Spirit of God.
Un-inspired men would rather we follow them.
The body of Christ is united in spirit and in truth.
Un-inspired conclusions divide us in the flesh and in error.
I pray that we each would STOP listening to un-inspired men TELL
us what to conclude when reading the inspired word of God.
Your conclusions will be developed from within your own sincere
heart and renewed mind and you will be guided by God’s Holy Spirit through faith
and trust in God.
You will seek unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace with
ALL that call upon the Lord to be saved.
Some will linger back and continue to be divisive in their flesh arguing and
devouring one another over what their flesh must do,
or must not do, to be religious for one hour on a “special day”
They sincerely believe they are still under The Law that condemns them if they
do not follow this MAN MADE LAW.
They will have you believing that as well if you listen to them.
This is “MY” conclusion.
I too am UN-inspired.
I am unschooled and ordinary.
I do not get paid nor do I risk gainful employment.
So take it or leave it as you will.
BUT DO THIS at least?
Read a translation in modern English.
Read it several times.
If it doesn’t make sense today, read it again tomorrow and pray
with ALL of your heart and mind that God will guide you into all truth. Be
patient with your self. It would be well to flush your
mind before you begin this process. Pray and read, read and pray
and GOD WILL GUIDE YOU into Spirit and all truth.
Avoid those that are divisive over religion.
Love them and be patient with them and pray that they too will see the truth,
what ever it turns out to be.
What ever your decision, let it come from the inspired word based
on your own sincere conclusions of that inspired word.
Grace and peace Clay
Clay writes:
BUT DO THIS at least?
Read a translation in modern English.
Read it several times.
If it doesn’t make sense today, read it again tomorrow and pray
with ALL of your heart and mind that God will guide you into all truth. Be patient with yourself. It would be well to flush your
mind before you begin this process. Pray and read, read and pray
and GOD WILL GUIDE YOU into Spirit and all truth.
Nick here:
I would only add one thing to your list of recommendations — talk about what you are reading with your brothers and sisters in the family of God. We all share the same Spirit, and God is just as capable (and a bit more likely, I think) of using them to illuminate the text for us as he is to do it directly Himself. Remember Peter’s disdain for “private interpretations.”
Nick: The NYT had a series of articles last week written by a journalist who was taken captive in Afghanistan. One thing his captors pressed him about was information about the Christian’s magic neckwear. They refused to believe him when he said that ties were merely clothing; missionaries have been so insistent on their use that they knew it had to have superstitious meaning.
Clayton: I like what you wrote and also agree with Nick’s addition. I’ve come to value more and more the way God speaks to us at times through other Christians. The Bible was originally heard, not read, which means that it was learned in community.
Isn’t the so called “law of silence” so cherished by much of the CoC one of those “fence[s] around scripture”?
Grace and peace,
Rex
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A nice point! Thanks Tim.
Nick and Tim
I agree and fellowship is soooooooooooo important as we serve “one another” in love and let me also add, neither do I imply that there are no sins of the flesh that will condemn us.
It is our flesh that gets us in trouble with God.
I’m thinking the best thing to do with our flesh is to “KILL IT” and sacrifce it upon the alter of
daily living as an offering before God. Romans 12:1
If our flesh rears it demanding head and tells us “follow me it’s OK” reject it, beat it back into subjection and do not let it cause us to be soiled by the sins polution of the world.
Thanks for tweaking my commnets.
Grace and peace Clayton
I preached on this tendency to build “fence laws” often in my years of ministry … but we continued to build new (and observe the old) fences, regardless!
does anyone know of a place where I can get a list of the old fence laws of the Jews when Jesus was here on this earth…………thanks Doub
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