Not a law to observe
but a grace to receive
Words from the Hill:
An Invitation to the Unexpected
Author: Stu Garrard
Publisher: NavPress
(www.NavPress.com)
Pages: 219
Has the gospel
become too Pauline? Those who think so see the Christian life being
shaped to its detriment more by the teachings of Paul than those of
Jesus. Others see it as essential revelation: “You can judge any
man’s preaching or teaching by this rule―Is
he Pauline?
Does his doctrine start
and finish according to those statements of Christian doctrine
uttered by the Apostle Paul? No matter how wonderful a man may seem
in his gifts and apparent consecration―if
his gospel is not Pauline, it is not the
Gospel and we might
as well get our minds settled at once as to that.”
Michael
Card, perhaps best known as a recording artist, but also an author
who
has extensively studied
the life and teachings of
Christ, might take issue
with the preceding statement. A gospel that is strictly Pauline,
might be deficient in both content and application in relation to
Christ. “Word of the
Father, now in flesh appearing.”
How can the message be complete if in
form and outworking
it does not make
visible that
Word of
the Father?
I’ve
read enough to think that
a Paul versus Jesus dichotomy is false. Despite apparent
contradictions there is harmony. We need not put the teachings of one
against the other, just like some do when they pit Paul and James
against each other in relation to saving faith.
What
something meant to the original hearers may differ in how it applies
today, which brings me to the Sermon on the Mount. Some today teach
that only Paul’s teachings are formative for Christians. They say
the Sermon on the Mount is part of the gospel of the kingdom, a
message to the Jews, not to those who have been justified by faith in
the gospel that Paul preached. How then are Christians to apply the
Sermon on the Mount?
This
was my impetus for turning to Words
from the Hill by Stu
Garrard, best known as the guitarist for the British band Delirious?
A number of music artists
have shared their stories
in recent years, and I
have enjoyed some
of them, but I can’t help thinking that few of the many available
can rival this in importance. It’s due in large part to the subject
matter―the
teachings of Jesus―but
also because Stu G, as he is known, approaches the text with an
honesty and humility that is vital to rightly discerning and applying
the truth. I’m not saying that it makes him right about everything;
just that his approach as a learner is not only necessary but
refreshing. All of this
makes this book one of
the best by a rock star. I
call him that lightheartedly because I’m sure that he sees himself
more as a follower of Jesus. His gospel is assuredly not too Pauline.
What
he shows through his own life, and the lives of the many friends that
we meet through him, is what the outworking of the Beatitudes might
look like today. His theme is a noble one: Jesus “tells us, when we
find ourselves at the end of our rope, at rock bottom, God is there,
God is on our side” (xiii). You could say that this is a refrain
that he sings over and over again.
Those
who look to Paul are sensitive to the division between law
and grace. I think one of the unique aspects of this book is
Garrard’s seeing the
sermon on the mount on
the grace side of the ledger: “When I look at the story of Jesus
and the message of the Beatitudes, I’m struck by how confronting it
is to my comfort level. I really have to fight the feelings of trying
to attain something or of not ‘doing’ enough. The temptation to
keep measuring myself against others
who ‘do’ awesome things is always with me, but it’s such a
distraction. It’s so easy to fall into ways of attaining, which
completely misses the point. This is about who we are and not what we
do; it’s about being and not doing” (43-44). This emphasis alone
makes the book
worth reading.
Garrard
makes the Beatitudes not a law to observe but a grace to receive.
It’s more or a description of who we are than something that we
should strive to attain. Even so, there
is a balance between
comfort and challenge. It’s
from that place of rest from our strife that God can use us to
multiply his family.
Has
the gospel become too Pauline? The problem may be in creating
division where it doesn’t belong. These words from the hill are
incorporated into Paul’s words. There may be a progression of
revelation but there is no reason why they need to be at odds with
each other. Paul said, “Be
imitators of me, as I am of Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV). The
line that begins in the Old Testament, which culminates in Christ,
runs through Paul to us
today.
