The Wicket Gate

This week we examine Ecclesiastes chapter 7:15-18 found in chapter 11 of Don’t Waste Your Breath by Brian Borgman. The text involves proper application of wisdom and encouragement to avoid extremes in life. 

“I have seen everything during my lifetime of futility; there is a righteous man who perishes in his righteousness and there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness. Do not be excessively righteous and do not be overly wise. Why should you ruin yourself? Do not be excessively wicked and do not be a fool. Why should you die before your time? It is good that you grasp one thing and also not let go of the other; for the one who fears God comes forth with both of them.” Ecclesiastes 7:14-18

How much is too much? How far is too far? The text this week charges Christians to examine our motives and actions, considering their consequences. Extremes in both directions are compared and equally denounced. 

I want to begin with the overly righteous path.  For example, creating extra biblical rules or regulations and holding them on level with scripture, or exacting levels of behavior from others above and beyond scripture. Especially unacceptable when those exacting the behavior are themselves not abiding by their rules. “The perfectionist, often, sanctimonious, conceited, and scrupulous, is convinced that his formulas will produce the Christian life, the Christian family, or the Christian business he wants” (121).  Especially when dealing with those outside the household of faith in a business setting, “Righteousness and wisdom cannot straighten what God has bent, and in the final analysis, attempting to be excessively righteous nor wise” (121). Application that includes forced worship or excessive moral behavior is by the Teacher’s standard unscriptural. 

Much like Paul’s instruction on giving financially, we are to give as our heart compels us to. Likewise with our behavior. While it may seem counter intuitive, the only person that can stop you from doing wrong things while no one is watching or otherwise is you. Rules themselves do not stop people from doing wrong. The only way you can stop you is by a new nature rightly ordered toward God and the indwelling Spirit. Again, I get it, everyone wants a checklist, it makes us feel better as we check off our to dos, it makes us feel better to have more rules we can see and recite. Service and obedience to God from the heart, an overflow of love in God that meets the needs of others, is not something that desires a checklist. The joy from service to others, including raising families and maintaining businesses, is never satisfied, it blows past the checklist joy and surpasses the elation from scratching out to dos. We need not write more rules down… if we do, we lose the simplicity of the covenant of grace and the freedom from ceremonial laws, we should not return to slavery, it profits Christians nothing. “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1). 

So we must discuss the extra biblical rules we place and enforce on others. An example of proper rearing, which may not work for everyone. Child misbehaves in church, asks constantly when it is going to be over, keeps asking time. When family arrives back the parent is clear, the child must take worship seriously, the next infraction will include removing entertainment options for a week. The Christian parents must take time to be clear with the child about the reason for worship, everything we have, and hold comes from the Father of Lights, a couple hours of mentally unhurried focused corporate worship and study each week is the bare minimum we should be giving to such a merciful God. Now let’s think for a moment about the extreme paths that could have been taken, corporal punishment, confinement, no eating, and darker and darker options. We think with children it should be clear that this type of punishment for not participating in church is wrong, but you would be surprised the disguised monsters that exist in the world. Holding our spouses to excessive regulation or burden is also unacceptable to the Teacher. What your wife wears (past general need for modesty), or how she conducts homeschool (why aren’t my children fluent in Latin yet?) are unacceptable. This may be a strong statement to some, I don’t apologize. There are parental and spousal situations where it becomes evident help or guidance is needed, we need to soberly judge how to approach every situation in a way that ends in further understanding and glory to God. Not an opportunity to berate a woman, man, or children for their shortcomings or trials they are enduring. We are called to use our gifts to lift one another up, overly righteous people don’t stop to help, they wag the finger and run away from or run over brothers and sisters in need. We have been called to show mercy as we have been shown mercy, completely undeserved mercy, in other words grace to others as we have been shown grace. I realize showing grace will not always lead to a soft response or a change of heart by the offender, the Lord will do His work on hearts on His time (Eze. 36:26), sometimes our mercy is a part of God’s plan, sometimes it is not. 

What about holding ourselves to a personal standard beyond what is scripturally warranted? I won’t type out that those in ascetic situations are not doing the Lord’s work in many cases today and have greatly benefitted the church in the past. I will however say that this vocation should be carefully, prayerfully considered. We need more Christian families in the world today, less Christians walled up in convents. That is the typical line- I don’t agree with it completely, I have seen and heard discussed great social work within communities, especially children by these ascetics. My line is that we need more Christian children, and that takes reproduction. In the case of those who cannot, there are many children that need homes and Christian parents. This is quite bold of me to write- I have not adopted a child yet, yet it is encouragement that needs to be written. Paul was quite clear, to remain unmarried is admirable (1 Cor. 7:8), but to be married, and raise children (biological or adopted) in love and admiration for the Lord through the scriptures is a higher and greater calling. We spread the gospel just like Noah- to our children and their spouses and their children first, then to the rest of the world. We raise our children to love and admire the Lord, to fear Him from the scriptures, not from our yelling and misguided punishment. 

There are also those who are ascetic by nature toward themselves while still in the world and in some cases raising a family. They know how many weeks of service they attended in a row, how many consecutive weeks they have hit their daily bible reading goals, or how they served x amount of people in their lifetime. They want to feel successful, be recognized, and perhaps even have power or be revered. Disorder to say the least, last example is the furthest extreme on the Christian’s personal level- Opus Dei(There are some who deny this happens or that it happens only in the movies). Harming oneself to be nearer to Christ or more devoted is unfounded scripturally and is an extreme. Self-harm, placing devices on the body to exact pain is unscriptural. Being zealous in accordance with truth is fruit, but this type of mortification or any excessive punishment is not in accordance with scriptural truth. Being overly righteous does not bring glory to God.  

^“Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God.

If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as, “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!” (which all refer to things destined to perish with use)—in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.” Colossians 2:16-28 NASB95

Enjoy God by glorifying Him forever, Christians can’t do that from the extremes. One side would be continuing in sin that grace may abound, the other is misinterpreting and erasing other’s joy by means of rules and regulations past scripture. Borgman hits the point on the head “Avoid the kind of scrupulous life that reduces righteousness to self-righteousness” (122). This perfectionist lifestyle ruins life as God intended, we cannot force sanctify ourselves. Reminds me of the show where the man wants to speed up his cooking so he turns the temperature twice what is prescribed and thinks it will cook in half the time. His turkey was tasted only by the trash bag. Creatures do not dictate progress in sanctification any more than we will dictate the terms of glorification, the Creator was, is, and will be in control. Speeding up the process is not our place, attempts at premature perfectionism will only lead to loathing and depression where contentment and joy should be overflowing in joy.  

We must also discuss the Teacher’s statement “be not overly wicked.” This text is not condoning living in moderate sin intentionally. The teacher must be real though, sin will happen, Christians must deal with the flesh. Perfection is not an possible, but the other extreme which could be summed up in Antinomianism is disordered as well. Going on sinning with the idea that God has handled it all and we need not strive to do good is an extreme equally wrong with perfectionism. First, we know that those who are truly saved will produce fruits in keeping with their newness of life. We have died with Christ and been raised to the newness of life, no longer slaves to sin but now slaves of righteousness (Romans 6). Sin no longer! Or as best we can, sanctification is God’s process not ours, he is working all things until we have shed the flesh and perfection has come. We bow the knee to Christ the King, so we abide by his authority by the power of His Spirit He has placed within us. Flee from sin! One of the oldest stories in the book “sin is crouching at the door, and its desire is for you, but you must master it” (Genesis 4:7). Sin is a ferocious beast ready to devour, do not be overly cautious, strive manfully onward against it. I must add that it is important not just to flee from sin, but to pursue righteousness. By that I mean that we must not just do the wrong, Christians need to pursue good works of all sorts and pray for God to provide escape from opportunity to sin. Idle hands are the work of the devil, fill time with good works. That may mean putting the phone down (I am not without sin in this regard). 

“Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.” Colossians 3:5-11 NASB95

Moderation then? Balance? I am not sure it’s my place to say, scripture says live life in patient endurance, we are commanded multiple times to soberly judge our situations. We should also be zealous in accordance with truth. And yet, as the Teacher has made clear and Borgman states at the very end of the chapter (123) we will fully rely on a righteousness completely alien to us. Christ’s righteousness will be imputed to us, and our sin to him, and by faith in what Christ has done, will do, and is doing for us, His righteousness will carry us through. Perhaps the teacher is accepting that we will commit sin, and we will strive onward for Christ, both of which are never ending. Every sin turned away by the Sprit is gain, every person that confesses Christ and becomes a member of the church is gain, and yet sin will continue to crouch at the door, and we will never be done building churches until all the elects are brought in- at that point Christ will return. The Teacher’s comments seem to accept these facts and encourage rightly ordered life considering these facts. 

I want to end this on a positive note, contentment is key to a joyful life- I do not mean stagnation or laziness. Some of the previous posts explored the attitude of those in tumultuous situations lived among plentiful situations, joy comes in knowing that Christ’s alien righteousness will cover and carry us through. We strive by the Spirit out of love to further the kingdom, to build up the church, to strengthen our families, and conduct business. However, in the end, we will still wholly rely on Christ and the Spirit of God to bring us perfect into glory.  Regenerate man hears what Christ has done for him and strives onward, not in extremes but in patient endurance, Godly contentment, a living sacrifice holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12). 

Let us glorify God by enjoying Him Forever. 

“For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.” Colossians 1:9-12