Paul’s Predecessors
Be not as servants who serve the master on condition of receiving a reward; be rather as servants who serve the master without condition of receiving a reward; and let the fear of Heaven be upon you. Pirke Avot 1:3
Fear of Heaven – You won’t find this verse in the New Testament. It’s from the Pirke Avot, a collection of sayings of the greatest Jewish Sages. Designed as a practical guide to an ethical and holy life, this collection stands outside the Bible as a testimony to the similarities in thought between the great rabbis and the authors of the New Testament. In fact, with a little research you can find material here that looks strikingly similar to the words of Yeshua. And we should not be surprised. After all, Jewish consideration of the Scripture and its application to life situations has a very long history, well over three thousand years. All of this serves to demonstrate that our Christian New Testament is hardly new. It is the product of a long line of thoughtful, God-fearing men who experienced God’s grace and wrote about it for those who followed.
Central to the thought of the Sages is the idea of the “fear of Heaven.” This, of course, is a euphemism for “fear of God,” typical of rabbinic speech and of at least one of the gospel authors. If the fear of YHWH is the beginning of wisdom, these men knew intimately that practical moral behavior was the outcome of awe and reverence, something that seems to be in very short supply among churches today. More importantly, the commitment to the fear of Heaven says something about the nature of the whole world; something that we cannot afford to miss.
Our Western culture is the product of Greek Hellenism. Chief among Hellenistic ideas is the kosmos, the orderly world of natural law determinism within a fixed universe. This means that for a significant school of Greek thought, individual happiness was achieved by understanding the natural laws that governed the operation of the world and using them to personal advantage. In other words, if I aligned myself with the way nature works, I had a much higher probability of success. I was going with the grain of the universe. So far this seems quite reasonable (another element of natural law – reasonableness), but then Stoicism (a form of Greek philosophy) introduced a corollary – virtue. According to the stoics, virtue was simply working in conjunction with natural law. This included accepting the patterns of the world and a man’s place within those patterns. Consequently, the reward we receive from following the world’s natural laws is inherent in the action itself. I don’t need an external incentive to do what comes naturally. “Virtue is its own reward” is a direct result of this Stoic doctrine. That means that I should act according to nature simply because nature knows best.
You might say, “So what? I know there are natural laws. What does that have to do with my relationship to God?” Here is the implication. If I convert Stoic philosophy into religious language, then I would proclaim that I should serve God without regard to personal reward because serving God is reward in itself. God is the author of all nature. He designed the natural laws, in fact, the whole kosmos. So my serving Him should be based solely on my love for Him as the highest expression of alignment with His nature. If I serve God because I imagine there is some personal reward in the action, I serve Him with lesser motives, motives not truly holy.
Voilá. Stoicism reigns in the Church. It is simply disguised in religious garb. How many times have you heard someone say that we should serve the Lord out of love alone? How many times have you heard someone disparage personal reward as a motive for serving God, as if such feeling were somehow spiritually inferior? You are listening to Stoics in sheep’s clothing.
This saying from Pirke Avot reflects a certain Stoic position. But does it reflect the Bible? Does God really expect us to serve Him without regard for personal reward? Or does Scripture teach that God intends me to be motivated by my hope of success? Does the Bible teach that I should look forward to His favor as a sign of reward for my efforts or am I to strip myself of these “selfish” desires and serve only for the sake of goodness?
You might need to answer this question for yourself before the next person suggests that God’s plans are indifferent to your plans.
Topical Index: Pirke Avot, fear of Heaven, Stoicism, Colossians 3:23, Ephesians 6:7
I will be speaking at the Christian-Jewish Symposium at the Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico in Ponce on Thursday. My topic will be the role of women in the Body. If you happen to be in Puerto Rico, come along and join the conference.
II Simposio de Enseñanza Cristiana, Las raíces judías del cristianismo: Periodo del Segundo Templo
Not only Paul’s Predecessors (those who cam before) but Paul’s Antecessors as well- of which I am one. (I am one who follows Paul as he followed Christ.) Why? Because Paul’s words were not his own but were inspired (just as every word in G-d’s book) by the Ruach HaKodesh, -the Holy Breath.
Our Bible, the word(s) of G-d, the Lamb’s Book of Life, has survived through the centuries and remains absolutely foundational to our faith. The word of the LORD “endures” forever. It also reads like today’s newspaper,- fresh as today’s news,-only moreso, for not only do I read G-d’s holy, ancient words, this book is not like any other, -this book reads me and tells “my story,” – a story (again and again) of a sinner, saved by grace. (Benevolence toward another at great cost to myself- in this case “self” being G-d Himself). G-d did provide (Himself) a Lamb. “And Abraham said, My son, G-d will provide Himself a Lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. (Genesis 22.5)
YHWH wants (desires) the “all” of me. My heart, soul, mind and strength. He also deserves the “all” of me, just as He deserved the “all” of the first couple. He was their Maker and Creator, -the Artist and the Engineer- He is the ONE who gave them, (and me) our first breath, and He is the ONE who will take away my last. I am His (and so are you) by right of Creation. – But that’s not all!- There is more..(always more)
We are His by right of Calvary. We (all) have been bought with a price. Purchased. Redeemed. Ransomed. Dear friends,- we are blood-bought, with the holy blood of our Messiah, Yeshua HaMashiach, the Lamb of G-d. Want scriptural proof? Want historical proof? Want reasonable proof? -Read the book- “it’s in there!”- We (we) do err, not knowing the scriptures (all of them) nor the power of G-d (He created the world by speaking-remember?).
But wait!- there’s more!- We are (now) part of a new creation of G-d’s own making- the ecclesia- the called out ones, the church, the mystical, majestic body and bride of (the) Christ. We (now) belong to Him and to each other. Good morning family! We’ve got work to do! Each of us has a place and an assignment to do today. Mission 3.16. The Son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. Is our mission the same as His? It is. Tell me the story of Jesus, -write on my heart every word. Tell me the story most precious, -sweetest that ever was heard.
There is an element of reverence, of knowing that if I am Christ’s I have purpose and because of that purpose, service follows naturally.
As I serve, or speak and touch others with Christ, over time I become aware of God’s blessing of energy, enlightenment, revelation…even His smile…stoicism isn’t my thing. His blessing drives me to further serve. Is that OK?
I know that Paul has been shown to have some stoic moments. One that has been pointed pout to me is Philippians 4:11-13, Now that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
It seems to me that in Christ, certain aspects of a stoic mindset can be redeemed. Throughout the history of Israel and YHWH dealings with His people, He used certain aspects of the culture around His people, by redefining them under His kingship.
Oops, ‘pout’ should have been ‘out.’ Shalom!
@Kathy, my thoughts on the subject are very similar to yours. I have learned experientially that in serving God I am being drawn closer to God. This, in itself, is a blessing for me. Will I stop serving God if I do not receive this blessing each and every time? Of course not – why? Because, I also know that through my serving, the Lord is blessing others; and since it is “…I who no longer lives, but that Christ lives in me…” It is His doings and not mine.
“Our Western culture is the product of Greek Hellenism.”
Certainly all the bad in our Western culture can be traced, not just to the Greeks, but to all thought before and after the Greeks, that wants so believe the serpent’s lie that man can become his own god, and therefore the creator of what is true and false, right and wrong. Man now attempts to the the legislator, the all-powerful, the all-controlling, the all0-knowing god of the universe, as he takes for himself the attributes of YHVH in an unholy alliance with the devil
But our Western culture is a confused mixture of Biblical and “foreign” thought. By all means let’s eliminate that which is not from YHVH, but it seems right and proper to keep that which is good.
The book of Job is always a great place to go to get our perspective about YHVH in order. Once that’s in place, we can usually see ourselves in the right perspective, also.
Job’s “goodness” could never become a “demand” on God’s response. It is our faithfulness in all things that is important.
Yeshua has an interesting illustration of the issue of rewards recorded in Matt. 20:1-16. This is YHVH’s world, not ours. He is at liberty to distribute his goodness as He sees fit, not according to how we think we might have earned it. Rewards are an act of grace, not an earned entitlement.
The issue is not just Stoicism: it’s abstractionism, another Greek concept. Socrates idea was to make the Form of Good abstracted from everything else. But YHVH’s language in Scripture makes plain the comprehensive personal nature of YHVH Himself and His creation. So we cannot abstract the idea of service to YHVH from its broader Scriptural context.
This world is Personal, not abstract, which is why Yeshua declared Himself to be Truth. As such, a personal Creator does has He pleases, since He is the Potter and we are the clay. The clay cannot become the potter, it remains the clay, a vessel created for its own purpose.
When Adam was created and put in the Garden, he was allocated a comprehensive task. There was no essential “bribe” or “reward” system to “motivate” Adam to do what he was designed to do: serve YHVH, and in so doing be a created “reflection” of YHVH’s image.
Our purpose on earth similarly is to serve YHWH in all holiness because that is our highest calling.