Meaning in the Advent of Christ: Luke 1:68-80

By Chris Erickson with Ronald Kirk

Christmas time lies under a cloud this year. We live in darker days than the winter solstice can account for. Many events and dispositions of the times give Christians great cause for concern. With unease, we note the unfavorable recent election results, the possibility of real persecution looming, the world’s increasing reduction of Christianity to Medieval superstition, the increasing nationalization of business and socialism, and a prospect for universal, totalitarian civil government.

Men naturally and variously respond to such evil societal changes. Human nature desires comfort and security. It is easy to hate those who would destroy you. Some may merely seek to bear the trouble, hardening themselves to the discomfort and otherwise lying low. Spoiled Americans are prone toward complaining. Some may let fear overcome them.

Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, must have felt similar apprehension to our own, and even greater. The Roman Empire, plagued by slavish rebellion and poor character, increasingly responded with oppression and brutality. We anticipate such trouble, but as a people we have not yet experienced anything comparable. The self-serving and corrupt Jewish leadership offered little comfort, but rather exhibited self-righteousness and condescension toward those they should have served. In this light, Zacharias’ exulting prophecy in Luke 1:68 through 80 at the birth of his son takes on a more pregnant meaning. Listen to his words: 

"Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for He has visited and redeemed his people, 69 And has raised up a Horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David; 70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since the world began:  71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us; 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant; 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham, 74 That He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life. 76 And thou, child (John the Baptist), shall be called the prophet of the Highest: for you shall go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways; 77 To give knowledge of salvation unto His people by the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the Dayspring from on high has visited us, 79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. 80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel."

The blessing of the Advent of Christ is clear. However, we have largely lost the full import of that blessing. Is ours a merely spiritual salvation from the world that Satan owns, or is it also a temporal, national peace?  Clearly, God reserves the complete fulfillment of the promise of peace on the earth for the Resurrection state. However, the Scriptures from beginning to end speak of some degree of national peace brought about first through the salvation of individual citizens.  Then civil peace increasingly comes in the power of Christ through His disciples, as they influence their neighbors unto the virtues of self-restrained godliness. New converts exponentially influence their neighbors in turn until a general community of godliness exerts its salt and light.

Note that the prophecy of Zacharias is written in a rhetorical or literary structure known as a chiasm (for the Greek letter chi (x)). The chiastic structure is a reverse or inverted symmetry between different but related thoughts. Chiastic structure is also known as ring or concentric structures. The double helix comes to mind. Chiastic structure is a common development device in Scripture. For example, the Book of Leviticus is a chiasm. In the beginning, God defines His Law. Toward the end, He identifies the chastening Israel could expect for defying His Law. These meet in the middle chapters describing the holiness of God in His Tabernacle.   Thus, a complex of ideas appear as a single thought development.

The chiastic structure of Zacharias’ prophecy proceeds in this manner:
A.    Zacharias is filled with the Spirit (v. 67)
  B.    God "visits" or notices and attends to Israel (v. 68)
    C.    Salvation comes to Israel (v. 69)
      D.    God spoke by the OT prophets (v. 70)
        E.    God grants salvation from enemies (v. 71)
          F.    God fulfills His promise to the patriarchs (v. 72)
            G.    Central focus: God remembers His holy covenant, performing (poieo) and fulfilling His promises (v. 72b)
          F.    God fulfills His promise to the Abraham (v. 73)
        E.    God grants salvation from our enemies to serve Him (v. 74)
      D.    John the Baptist is the "prophet of the Most High" (v. 76)
    C.    Salvation comes to Israel (v. 77)
  B.    God the Son "visits" or notices and attends to Israel (v. 78)
A.    John the Baptist is filled with the Spirit (v. 80)

Salvation
First, Zacharias speaks of individual salvation. This salvation results in a people able to live in peace. God redeems His people from the wrath of God due to sin. Christ saves the soul (v. 68). Rom. 3:24 says we are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. He gives light to those in darkness, symbolizing the light of the Gospel shining into sinful hearts (vv. 78, 79; cf. John 8:12). This light is hidden from the unbeliever but is revealed to Christ’s own (2 Cor. 4:4-6).

The Gospel brings peace with God because He forgives sin (v. 79). We have peace with God because He justified us (Rom. 5:1). Through this peace, He saves men from His wrath, with forgiveness of sins (vv. 69, 77). The Horn (literally hair here) is at once Christ and His authority (e.g. Deut. 33:17; Psa. 132:17). By His power, Christ saves us from our greatest enemies, sin, death, and the devil (1 Cor. 15:54-57). By His power through His salvation, He makes us able to live righteously and therefore without fear of our enemies (vv. 71, 74, cf. Heb. 2:14-15; Matt. 10:28).

Jesus commanded His disciples, "Do not fear!" more often than any other direct injunction. The man of God need not fear his life because he cannot lose his eternal destiny. While this takes a great deal of faith to live out, with the command comes the faithful and sure promise of well-being to those who abide in Christ.

Peace among Nations
Clearly Zacharias saw beyond mere personal salvation, for He has redeemed His people (v. 68). He purchased those in bondage to Satan and to worldly enemies, such as the foreign and pagan nations. God saves the people from their enemies, “from the hand of all that hate us” (v. 71). He delivers His own out of the hands of their enemies (v. 74). Salvation first frees men from the sin of the internal heart with its eternal consequences. However, such liberty of conscience requires expression—fruit bearing—by command. Christians are to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe (guard from loss or injury), that is, to do all things He has required (Matt. 28:19-20).  To serve in such a manner requires external or civil liberty. To live as Christians, God delivers us from our enemies (vv. 71, 74).

The Promise of the Covenants (v. 72, 73)
God made many promises to Abraham, the father of the faith of Jesus Christ. He promised to make Abraham a great nation (Gen. 12:2). His descendents would inherit the earth (Gen. 17:8). In this vein, Hebrews 11:16 cites a better country to come. Rather than being a better geographical or political environment, the Kingdom of Christ is first an internal kingdom, growing as fruit out of the conversion of many hearts. Here is the promise of a high expression of Christianity, such that God’s people will live as Zacharias foresaw. In this new and heavenly community, all the families of the earth will be blessed (Gen 12:3).

To Moses and the children of Israel by faith, God promised national peace (Deut. 28). God promised that Christ would rule on David’s throne forever (2 Sam. 7:16; Jer. 23:5-6). Isaiah proclaims all the nations will serve the Lord flowing into the “Lord’s House” (Isa. 2:2-4). 

Zacharias declares that Jesus is the light to the nations (vv. 78, 79). Light represents the knowledge of God and salvation (Eph. 5:8). The incarnation of Jesus is the turning point of history. He is the Sunrise or Dayspring from on high” (Anatole, cf. 1 John 2:8).

Have these promises found fulfillment?

Christ's Impact on the Nations
The Fall made us wicked creatures, and unrestrained we would destroy ourselves and others. God instituted civil government to restrain the evil that dwells in men's hearts (Gen. 9:5-7). In the times before Christ, civil government became rather a personal vehicle for power over others.  Wicked men ruled wicked men, and tyranny resulted. Men warred against each other to amass power, centralizing it in the figures of kings, emperors or even gods. The powerful enslaved the weak to do their bidding, and those who resisted died at the hands of their oppressors. Kings were not content to rule their own nation, so they waged war against other nations to form world-wide empires.

Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome—all exemplify the tyranny of man over man. In the absence of God, the humanistic power of the state assumes the place of God. Greece's and Rome's attempts at liberty through forms of democracy and republican government failed to bring freedom to the common man. Greece collapsed under the rampant passions of men. Rome’s oppression was nothing more than the state pushing back upon a debauched and rebellious citizenry. Fallen men apart from the Holy Spirit did not have the capacity to restrain their wickedness, and tyranny uniformly resulted.

The world was in darkness, and "in the fullness of time" (Gal. 4:4), the light of day dawned in the Incarnation. From that time, definite changes brought about an increasing peace on earth and freedom among men. The cleansing of men's consciences by Christ's sacrifice for sins freed men to live in obedience without fear (Heb. 2:14-15; 9:14; 13:6). The light brought by the New Testament explicitly taught obedience from the heart, rather than reliance on external ceremony. The coming of the Holy Spirit and institution of the New Covenant in Christ’s blood transformed the hearts of men. The institution of the local church, governed congregationally without hierarchical authority, but rather with reciprocal authority, the overseers limited in authority, with ultimately each submitting to one another for the good of all (1 Cor. 16:16; Eph 5:21; Heb. 13:17; 1 Pet. 5:5). The radical institution of the church drew violent and mortal persecution from the tyrannical Roman Empire until the early 300s.

The persecution stopped in 313 with Constantine, which was a step toward establishing God’s peace on earth. However, sinful and satanically inspired men did not give up so easily. The Roman Empire assimilated the church, with the church facing heresies and succumbing to the same kind of of unbiblical, centralized authority and tyranny of earlier times. Even among godly men, the urge to control others can be overpowering. The rise of the papacy, not 100 years after Constantine, demonstrates the point. As yet, the church was not mature enough to understand true liberty. However, the Medieval period, recovering from the fall of Rome, slowly began to see an emerging middle class, an ordinary fruit of growing godly influence. Nonetheless, as under pagan oppression, the powerful ruling elite still reserved freedom only to itself, under the guise of a godly mandate to protect the people, but rather creating slavishness among them.

When some like Wycliffe, Tyndale, and Huss refused to follow the Church's errors and attempted to publish the Bible to God's people in the common language, the centralized church persecuted them. The church then began to turn in on itself and kill those who stood for liberty of conscience, the authority of Scripture, and the Reformation of the Church. In these times, the Church itself had become like the Roman Empire, often persecuting God's people. Some separated from the European church and formed an independent church in America. It was there that godly men discovered the biblical truths discovered in the Reformation and applied them to civil government and every human activity. And God blessed the effort. Citizens agreed to restrain themselves according to God's commandments and found they could form a society that granted liberty apart from a tyrannical monarch. The early days of the United States of America is the closest human civilization has ever come to the blessings promised in Zacharias' prayer.

For over 200 years, the Christian theology that made personal and institutional liberty possible has been eroding in our society. Moral behavior that used to flow consciously from biblical principles began to be exercised merely out of old-fashioned custom.  The people eventually threw even the customs aside because no one knew why they existed. Judge Bork aptly captured the heart of this culture in his observations on the 1960s in his book Slouching toward Gomorrah.

Despite the current "dark days", certain godly aspects of our society today persevere because we live on this side of the Incarnation under Christ’s rule from the right hand of the Father (Psalm 110).  We continue to observe a remnant of the rule of law, and a common sense of right and wrong. Interestingly, television dramas typically display this sensibility where the good guys still beat the bad guys. The fact our country is so sensitive about even being perceived as infringing upon foreign nations reveals much about our character (cf. Alexander the Great and Nebuchadnezzar). Though the left increasingly polarizes American politics, the fact is that we held an election in November, rather than a coup. Unlike many parts of the world, where statist tyranny reigns, Americans continue to enjoy freedom to worship God in public on Sunday mornings and throughout the week, without fear of the authorities. With Christians increasingly irresponsible toward the maintenance of justice and free institutions, the window of our blessing may indeed be small. Nonetheless, we may assume that this situation will be temporary, for the church’s well-being is ultimately not dependent upon men, but rather upon God’s power according to His determined will.

We may differ as to the degree to which the prophetic promises of worldwide obedience and peace will be fulfilled before the Second Coming of Christ. The ultimate fulfillment will only be found in the Resurrection state. However, mankind has already seen great progress, and we may expect more in the future as the Gospel grabs hold of men's hearts throughout the world.

Despite the dark days then, take joy in this advent season. Remember that you live on the powerful and effective side of the Incarnation, and God is working out his providence in the events of history. Do not fear what may happen in the future, because the resurrection and your place in heaven can never be taken from you. Jesus defeated all his enemies at the cross, including death. If any would be tempted to fear and to hide in a merely spiritual understanding of these things, withdrawing into a merely personal piety and a distance out-of-reach hope, remember Christ’s prayer: Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. According to Psalm 110, Christ welcomes His volunteers as He rules in the midst of His enemies, until His enemies are his footstool. Upon the sure fulfillment of Zacharias’ prayer, it is time for the victorious side to rise to our duties by faith, and then let the Lord bring the increase.


This article is from a sermon given by Chris Erickson at Grace Reformed Church, Camarillo, on Sunday, November 30, 2008.
 “Chiastic Structure,” The Free Dictionary by Farlex
  The history section is largely taken from Katherine Dang’s Universal History, Volume 1: Ancient History—Law Without Liberty, Adam–50 B.C., available on the Nordskog Bookshelf

Halloween

by Ronald Kirk

Judging by the American marketplace and the major media, in popularity Halloween now far outstrips my own favored holy days of Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Fourth of July. Admittedly, for the past many years, I have watched a dwindling trick or treating. The streets have apparently become far too mean for many parents to encourage their children to collect candy from strange neighbors. Yet the stores testify that many continue to celebrate. Halloween seems wildly popular among adults. Like another “religious” holiday—Fat Tuesday—Halloween seems a grand excuse to party, really party.

On the serious side, I sense that in the absence of a clear, compelling and satisfying faith, our neighbors seek spiritual connection. In light of rampant interest in the occult and Eastern religions, interest in such a spiritual or pseudo-spiritual holiday as Halloween is not surprising.

Scanning the Internet reveals wildly different viewpoints on Halloween, from severe condemnation on the part of some Christians, to jolly indifference on the part of the irreligious—“it’s just fun,” to loving embrace on the part of neo-pagans and some other Christians.

Everyone seems to agree on the general history of Halloween. It was originally a Celtic and Druid religious observance, but later pre-empted by Christianity.  For example, the Eleventh Edition Encyclopedia Britannica claims, “the main celebrations of Halloween were purely Druidical.” The Encyclopedia continues that such emblems as nuts and fruit mark the harvest time, in anticipation of winter.  It is not surprising that the Celtic festival appears so similar to the harvest celebrations of other ancient pagan societies. It is also not surprising that God appointed to ancient Israel a similar, but still unique, observance in the Festival of Booths (Lev. 23:39-43). These parallels make sense when one realizes that world history is quite short, and that the sons of Noah shared knowledge of the proper worship of the true and living God. Sadly true, however, is that men quickly corrupted this knowledge in sin unto the various pagan practices known everywhere to this day, with only remnants of godliness remaining here and there. Though perhaps tritely said, men do indeed share a God-shaped vacuum in the heart until the Savior fills it. Except for God’s providential intervention in history, we would all, no doubt have become murderous pagans.

Present day pagans will take exception to the last comment. Wiccans and others claim to be merely gentle nature-worshippers. What is the harm in bobbing for apples, a practice apparently integral to the Druidical rite?  (Who wants apples! We want candy! But I digress…) The harm lies in the nature of the Fall. From the beginning, man fell into murderous sin and worse, and cannot live well apart from relationship with Christ. At one point in history, Israel, God’s own chosen and providentially prepared people fell to such depths that they would sacrifice their own children to the idols of Canaan. Their practices exceeded the surrounding nations in evil (2 Chr. 33:1-9). These atrocities are associated with soothsaying (fortune telling), witchcraft (spell casting), sorcery (magic) and medium consultation condemned by God’s Law (Deut. 18). The New Testament uses the Greek word pharmakeia, often translated into English as sorcery or witchcraft. This word clearly implies what modern anthropology knows: occult practices often involve the use of psychotropic drugs. In other words, pagans of every culture have long used drugs, as well as introspective meditation and spells, to enter the spirit world for the sake of attaining spiritual power. The 1960s gave rise to a new, general interest in the occult. Exemplifying this interest was the popularity of a series of books starting with The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge by anthropologist Carlos Castaneda. These books pursue with grotesque and disturbing detail Castaneda’s drug-induced “spiritual” journey into shamanism.  

The occult practices are associated with the worst of human atrocity. The human sacrifices by ancient tribal cultures the world over is well known. Present day ritual abuse is more common than most are aware.  Placing God’s condemnation of the occult religions in context, Jesus declares the authoritative principle: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1 and through v. 11). In other words, those who seek to enter God’s heavenly realm apart from Christ, subject themselves to Satan, the great prince and thug of this world. Just before this passage, Jesus had said that He came “for judgment” (John 9:39). That is, Jesus is the watershed, separating those who will truly see and understand from those who make themselves willingly blind and subject to judgment.

Yes, the occult is deadly serious. Satan and demons rule the occult realm. Their aim is death and destruction (John 10:10). But does this demonic world really have anything to do with America’s family Halloween tradition? Christian families are certainly not involving themselves with the occult or demonism! James Jordan goes so far as to claim that Christianity has completely co-opted Halloween, and it is now a Christian holiday! Red devil costumes simply mock Satan, as a silly relic.  What does it hurt to beg for candy? Are demons anything? What good does cranky negativism do? On the other hand, what does the Christian commemorate in his contemporary Halloween celebration? Does it glorify God in light of Halloween as a quasi-religious holiday? Should Christians join in with the secular or pagan Halloween’s celebration often glorifying death, mayhem and Satan even if only as mocking? How does that distinguish God’s people for His glory?

The issue is not always simple. For example, accomplished Hollywood screenwriter and devout Christian Brian Godawa has produced a short film—working toward a feature—called Cruel Logic. Cruel Logic depicts a serial murderer who uses his victims’ own idiotic post-modern beliefs to justify their killing and therefore to relieve him of legal culpability. While many may recoil at the use of the horror genre, and I confess I am not a big fan, the point is well taken.

Paul the Apostle provides an answer for such matters of conscience when he deals with a parallel issue—the eating of meat sacrificed to an idol (1 Cor. 8). Eating meat sacrificed to idols is no big deal, because idols are nothing, though demons be associated with them. However, if someone’s conscience is harmed because of my liberty, I will restrain my liberty for his sake. I will not cause a brother to stumble, Paul says. All things are lawful, but not all things contribute to the good (1 Cor. 6:12).

God has always meant for men to learn wisdom from a close walk with Him. And he has always required faith of His children. God intends for us to be thoughtful, taking every thought captive to Christ. Here we may ask, to what risk do we put our unbelieving or weak neighbors, our children, and ourselves? Do we send compromising mixed signals to our neighbors? Do we test the limits of our character for the sake of fitting in? How close can we go without getting burned? Do we send a diluted evangelical message? Solomon urges the wise man to hide when he sees evil coming (Prov. 22:3). What do we teach our children about holiness in the world? Are there better alternatives? Would we do better to celebrate the day rather than the night?

Alternatives exist, including ignoring the Halloween observance altogether. Some Christians observe a Christ-centered harvest day, All-Saints Day, or Reformation Day. Frankly, in my home of five children, we shunned Halloween. We simply did not wish to encourage the quasi-pagan associations. Our children sometimes enjoyed alterative celebrations. Sometimes, we merely enjoyed a family dessert at a local restaurant.

Whatever one decides, Let His people resolve to live well. Let us enjoy the good Jesus has provided. Let us be thankful for the harvest and life, liberty and salvation. Let us indeed take every thought captive to Christ. Whether therefore, we eat or drink, or whatever we do, let us do all to the glory of God.

Kirk, Ronald: The Importance of Christian Character

Holiness, from the idea of clean in both the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, essentially means whole. In the Biblical languages and English alike, holiness applied to men is a state of moral wholeness, integrity, and purity, as opposed to brokenness, damage, compromise, or pollution.

Individual morality requires structural integrity to maintain wholeness. Character identifies the quality of structural integrity in both moral beings and physical things. Originally, character denoted writing made by cutting or engraving a mark in a medium. Permanence, then, is a key feature of real character. Variable or pliable internal qualities characterize substances lacking structural integrity. The Bible speaks of a man whose character is "unstable as water" (Gen. 49:4). A young child bears such a pliable character, except that his natural disposition inclines toward sinfulness, which uncorrected will harden thereunto. Human character speaks of the qualities resulting from nature and habit that distinguish a person from other persons. Among objects and even the lower creatures, God imposes character. Rocks act like rocks. Dogs act like dogs.

Natural Character

Among men, character may be of either a pure or a damaged quality. Man's natural character is damaged due to the Fall. The Scriptures clearly teach that man's native character consists in qualities of rebellion and wickedness, leading to death (Gal. 5:17-21). Our natural character offends our Creator. Our natural character, separated as it is from God's providence and grace, thus leads to self-destruction, somewhat like genetic mutations in living things. Sin has fatally marred mankind. The potential for ultimate wickedness certainly lies in the natural character of man, as we more frequently observe in the world. For this reason, neglected sin in ourselves and manifest sin and rebellion in our children amounts to great evil.

Sin is infectious, and evil is virulent. Sin never stays put, but spreads by contagion because man's natural moral immune system is fatally weak. Between God's providence to claim a people for Himself for eternity and the natural sinfulness of the world at large, a great moral battle wages.

Cultures resist change due to a moral inertia God planted in man's heart. Man resists change. This is good news and bad news. The good news is that once a degree of righteousness is established, it tends to last. Righteousness passes from generation to generation through parental influence on the children, and through community influences. Early America's profound Biblical Christian orientation established the most free and prosperous nation of the modern era. Many aspects of character — such as love of God and godly liberty, self-restraint, and forbearance, toughness of mind, industriousness, charity, and generosity — served to build America. Many of the practices of Biblical government, ably codified in the United States Constitution, have lasted for a good two centuries. This is so though we have often lacked a general, self-conscious determination to maintain and expand the Constitution's principles. The peaceful periodic transfer of power effected by election speaks to the enduring quality of the principle of the priesthood of believers, to cite just one example.

Entropy

The bad news is that entropy — the force of decline, disorder, and energy dispersion — remains one of the most fundamental rules of physical and human nature. Except where a source of external energy intelligently counters it, entropy rules the universe. And there is a spiritual analogy. Throughout early history, God interjected Himself directly to infuse new life into declining morality. The lives of Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, and Paul typify God's hand in the affairs of men. In the Christian era, God ordinarily provides this intelligent energy by His providence in nature and through men by His Holy Spirit. In entropy, we discern God's unwillingness that His people rest on the accomplishment of past generations. Instead, every generation and each individual must oppose spiritual entropy, participating in the establishment and maintenance of the gospel.

We thus see the essential battle for the kingdom of God laid out. A purer character among God's people is necessary to battle the evil natural character of the world and its influence. Christians must actively exert a benign influence on the character of our communities both to check evil and to help cultivate in our neighbors' hearts a love of righteousness and goodness in anticipation of redemption. God has made us minor partners. Christians must be salt and light. We must inculcate in ourselves a character that resists temptation within and without, one that stands upon principle in any circumstance. Evil exerts its power. Character for good must be stronger.

Godly character provides the moral structural integrity required to maintain holiness while standing fast in the battle. What defines the character God intends for man? It is the character of Christ (2 Cor. 3:18). Such character consists in particular attributes needed to support the ability to resist sin, to take courage through difficulty, and to walk by faith.

Acquiring Christian Character

Historically, the church calls the process by which godly character is acquired sanctification. God saves sinful man by His grace. He sanctifies man by His grace. Sanctification is a sovereign act of God (Jn. 17:17; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:13). Yet, the Scriptures clearly teach that sanctification also comes by acts of faith (Ac. 26:18). Faith imposes a standard for conduct that contradicts the natural human disposition and will. The authoritative Word of God defines the godly standard of conduct that will produce Christ-like character as men respond to God by faith.

The Scriptures declare that the great hope of Christ requires a proven character. In Romans 5:1-5, Paul rejoices in the hope of our salvation by God's grace. He then rejoices in tribulations, because there is a necessary connection between our hope of grace and the character necessary to bear that grace. "Tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope." The Greek word dokime, translated experience, suggests proven character, as if assayed. God providentially trains character through the trials of life. He moreover provides to parents the more closely governed home in which to train childhood character. "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Pr. 23:6). In such child rearing, we find the original meaning of the word education. A true and Biblical education should produce proven character.

Education fills up that which lacks, and corrects that which is wrong. In Ephesians 6:4, Paul commands fathers to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Admonition is the content of education. On the other hand, nurture is the Greek word paideia. Paideia speaks of education from the disciplinary point of view, that is, of directed practice or training, and correction. Paideia finds its root in the New Testament word paideuo. Paideuo also speaks of training, but adds an emphasis on chastening, the infliction of pain for reclaiming an offender. Pontius Pilate curiously applies paideuo to Christ's scourging (Lk. 23:16). In 1 Corinthians 11:31 and 32, Paul says we ought to be tough on ourselves so that the Lord need not chasten (paideuo) us. In 2 Corinthians 6, Paul speaks of his own chastening to prepare his character for a life of service. In verse 9, he cries out "as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed." In verse 10, Paul speaks of his rejoicing in adversity, an important aspect of character. In 1 Timothy 1:20, Paul tells Timothy to turn Hymeneus and Alexander over to Satan that they may learn (paideuo) not to blaspheme. (In this sense Satan is the headmaster of God's reform school, for education on the streets, where the home has failed. Clearly, the relatively gentle discipline of loving parents and teachers is preferable to Satan's hateful and death-oriented punishment. See 1 Cor. 5:5.) From Hebrews 12:6, "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth(paideuo), and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening (paideio), God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth (paideuo) not?"

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance says paideuo likely derives from pais. Pais, in the New Testament, is a child, especially a servant. A servant to a king, as Strong suggests, would be subject to fairly demanding discipline to inculcate the character and skills needed to serve a great superior. Feudal history reflects the Biblical pattern. As well as enjoying certain largess, a feudal noble lord suffered the burdens of leadership in the oversight of his people. At its best, feudalism saw authority as a holy trust before God. In order to fulfill that trust, the lord necessarily prepared a son to succeed him. Therefore, the son of a nobleman received the stricter educational discipline. The son rigorously learned war — both personal skills and general strategy — diplomacy, social manners, and economics, geography, law, and foreign and domestic politics. He hardened his body and toughened his mind. The classic children's story Men of Iron, by Howard Pyle, graphically illustrates the point. Similar responsibility generally rests upon Christians, since we are His vice-regents, His noblemen in the earth.

In a word, God disciplines His children according to perfect knowledge — to be as tough as necessary, as gentle as He may be, and still achieve His high ends in us. Parents and teachers rightly follow the Biblical and best historical examples in training and correcting our children as a holy trust in their preparation for a life of service. A life of faith requires obedience. Faith and obedience require a disciplined and sturdy character to support them — in adults and children alike.

Undertaking Enterprise Toward Character

God provided a principle means for acquiring character in overcoming the difficulty and trials associated with economic enterprise. God commanded men to take dominion over the earth. In the Fall, He commanded men to pursue their livelihood in adversity. Here then is God's plan for economic enterprise. Economic advancement results from the bold investment and hazard of raw materials to make objects that are more useful. As raw materials are worked — whether time, food seed, or minerals from the earth — their raw value is destroyed. Thus, risk is a fundamental aspect of God's economy. Poor skill or external factors may cause an investment to fail. The risk is real and may be fatal. God expects men to trust His providence in an evil, fallen world.

Often, investment requires a great patience as one waits for the growth of the fragile crop, or bores through the ground to find the valuable mineral resource. Setbacks, such as poor weather destroying the crop, producing an unpopular product, or failed research and development cause pain and trouble that must be absorbed. In naturally impatient human beings, the character for patience, and for enduring the pain and trouble of economic setback accrues only through practice. Enterprise simply requires a sturdy character, able to support faith and accomplishment.

Furthermore, finding one's way through the difficulties of life, and particularly those of bold enterprise tends to produce humility as it becomes increasingly clear that God's economy of difficulty seems subjectively more an economy of impossibility apart from His providence. Speculative knowledge not honed by experience puffs up. Humbling discipline tends to produce charity.

As an important by-product, enterprise thus produces strength of character as difficulty yields to faithful workmanship. In turn, proven character provides the foundation for greater enterprise. Enterprise and character necessarily form a reciprocal relationship. Thus, as a primary means to character, bold enterprise should be a way of life for the Christian. Enterprise upon a self-consciously Biblical viewpoint in any discipline should produce fruit for the gospel — salt and light that exerts influence on our neighbors in the world.

Formal Education

God provides the sheltered and heavily governed epoch of childhood to train the basic character, upon which God will build throughout life. This basic character will act as a vessel prepared to receive and carry the grace of God. Proven character of increasing degree becomes the foundation for future growth in character and accomplishment. Faith requires several particular aspects of character. We have mentioned only a few. The Christian educator should minutely identify the qualities of character of Christ for reproduction in the student. In the enterprise of learning, the teacher must then enforce the practice and habit of conduct appropriate to the child's present development that will produce the desired character in due season. The teacher introduces a measured difficulty that the child must learn to attempt by faith. The teacher then guides the child in appropriate responses to this difficulty, particularly to trust Jesus.

Apart from providing opportunities to overcome difficulty in a hardy spirit of enterprise, education cannot be counted truly Christian

 

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Ronald Kirk is a long time friend of the VCCLC editor/publisher, former Headmaster of the Master’s School in Camarillo, currently  is engaged in research and development promoting Chalcedon's work to the Christian education market. Please write! Ron would enjoy receiving your feedback, with any questions, dialog or request for educational topics, at ronaldwkirk@goldrush.com.