Law And Gospel Series

There is mystery enough in life without us adding unnecessary

mysteries of our own making. For example, like the woman who

evicted a man from her boarding house, and when she was asked

why she did it she said, "Something mysterious is going on when a

man hangs his hat over the key hole every time he comes in." She

created the mystery for herself by her own snooping. Others create

mysteries even by their attempts to help. Like the professor who

came upon the man setting in his car whose tire was going low. The

professor said, "I say, your tubular air container has lost most of its

rotundity." The motorist blankly replied, "What?" The professor

said, "The cylindrical apparatus which supports your vehicle is no

longer inflated." Again the motorist responded, "I beg your

pardon." The professor was determined to communicate his point,

and he said, "The elastic fabric surrounding the circular frame

whose successive revolutions bear you onward in space has failed to

retain its pristine roundness." As the motorist scratched his head a

little boy walking by shouted out, "Hey mister, you got a flat tire."

In spite of his vast vocabulary and comprehensive description of

the problem, the professor only added mystery upon mystery to

what was the simplest of problems. Truth is worthless as long as it

is hidden in the obscurity of language. One might just as well be

silent as to make sounds, which convey no meaning to the hearer.

What is even worst is if they sounds convey a false meaning, or one

which the speaker does not intend. This was the case with the

Mexican who was just learning to speak English. His friend told

him that a woman is pleased if you tell her how cool she looks. Not

realizing the significance of the words he thought it was the idea that

was important, and so he told his girlfriend she didn't look very hot.

He learned that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing very quickly.

It is dangerous because it assume too much. It over simplifies, and it

does not grasp the implication involved.

All of these illustrations are similar to what can happen in

theology when men like the boardinghouse owner begin to snoop

into what is none of their business, and try to find out what God has

revealed. Or when they like the professor get unreasonably wordy

and complex about the simplest matters. Or when like the Mexican

they convey just the opposite impression than what their intentions

are because of their ignorance of the language. These were the kinds

of problems that Paul faces at Ephesus, and he asked Timothy to

help him with these problems. Some of the Gentile Christians were

taking it upon themselves to become experts on the law. The Jewish

law was, of course, precious to the Gentiles who became Christians,

for it was the Jews who brought the Gospel to them, and it was the

Jewish Scriptures that would be there source of knowing God's will.

Some wanted to spread the word and teach it that others might

know what God has spoken. The problem was that they had zeal

without knowledge, and this leads to more harm than good. These

men were teaching without adequate understanding, and they were

corrupting the purpose of the law. Paul asked Timothy to try and

curb these self-ordained scholars. Their motive was all right, and

Paul does not condemn the desire they had to teach. This was good,

but they just did not have adequate equipment to do the job. They

were not trained and so they didn't understand. Anyone who thinks

that just being a Christian is all that is needed to understand the

Bible understands neither the Bible nor history. Training is just as

essential in Bible knowledge as it is in any other realm of knowledge.

There has never been a great Bible expositor who was not well trained,

either formerly or self-trained, as was the case with D. L. Moody.

No matter how committed and sincere a believer is, God cannot

use him as a teacher if he is ignorant. However sincere a man is in

getting people healed, I do not want him treating me unless he has

some knowledge of the body and medicine. A man has got to have

knowledge and understanding to be used effectively in any area of

life. Ignorance has never qualified a man to teach anything, and

least of all the law of God.

Paul is bothered by these teachers, for their very earnestness

and zeal make them all the more dogmatic in their ignorance. When

a man knows he loves the Lord, and knows his motive is the glory of

the Lord, his ignorance is all the more dangerous, for he assumes