Don't Write on My Slate

I was the class monitor in second grade! Because I I was good, was why the teacher assigned me to monitor the behavior of the entire class was what I thought.. I sat on a high stool by the chalk board. My job was that if anyone broke the rules, the infraction would be written by the student's name. (Little did I know that I wasn't the favored student, but that was the teacher's method of keeping my own mouth quiet!)

Each day the we would start over, cleaning the chalk board with an old dry eraser. Oftentimes one could see the violations from the day before still showing when a student was again assigned to judge the behavior of each person in the class. It was easy to remember who had done wrong and "up" their tallies on another day!

On other days the teacher would wash the slate clean with water. There was no longer a trace of the infractions from previous days. Kids still talked, they still squirmed and still wrote notes, but what they had done the day before was not held against them and old behaviors did not bias the one keeping the tally nor the teacher.

Although demerits were kept there was no punishment for anyone. The "keeping track" of violations was a teaching method and wasn't meant to punish. The intent was for each student to be aware that their behavior did not meet the standard. Even one infraction was posted on the black board and the person with one infraction was as guilty as the one with ten because both violated the rules and neither was punished. That was the way the teacher disciplined because she loved us and wanted each of us to succeed! We tried to do well because we knew that she loved us, and we each had a fear that we'd disappoint her!

Some of us feared her because we'd heard that she had spanked others before and the possible hurt to the seat of our pants instilled fear and respect! Many were quiet and well-behaved because they feared pain; others because they didn't want to disappoint the teacher and others because that was their nature.

For me when I had demerits appear on the board, I felt bad (when others were the monitor). The next day I was normally an obedient child. If I forgot and did something wrong, I felt badly and hoped that no one noticed and put it on the tattle board. Sometimes, out of my nature, I spoke without asking. A demerit went on the board. I felt sorry that I disappointed not only the teacher, but felt sorry because I had failed. The teacher never disciplined me because with time my behavior pleased her. What had been on that slate days and weeks before was forgotten. She had put them out of mind as well as the "Old Larry" that I had left behind.

The example I give is the best way to govern justly and impartially. The teacher had a way to keep us in line with her rules which gave us every chance in the world to change before we were punished for our rebelliousness. Those who failed to change were sent to the principle's office for a "higher reward". There was no extra homework meted out by the man in charge. He wielded a pretty good paddle! Others names were written in a log and at the end of the year the students who were the best behaved and with the most improvement were acknowledged in front of the whole school. The principle would announce their names with pride!

I really felt relieved when I had been bad, but came in and the slate had been cleaned from the day before. I felt joy! I could start over.  I hadn't been "good", but had a change of heart. That clean slate gave me incentive to please the teacher because I had been "bad" even by breaking one rule; as bad as the others because we had all broken them!

My teacher was just and we loved her; at least those of us who became committed to please her. It felt so good. She loved us all the time and only now did us slow-comers realize it. Because she loved us so much, many of us came to love her!

This is more than a childhood story! It's more than what it takes to be a good teacher. It's the same relationship between us and God. The good teacher must have been a Christian because she followed the precepts of God! Although she was certainly not God, she exemplified God's will in her life. God does what she does, but on a far greater scale:

Hebrews 10:16 "This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more."

Let's take a look at the grade school scenario and scripture. The teacher is a picture of God. Her rules were standards for acceptable behavior. They were fair. Anyone who did wrong received a demerit. Most did multiple wrongs. The teacher made no discernment between fighting and just talking. They were all rule violations. Although everyone wasn't caught, at some time everyone did wrong and deserved their names to be added to the slate. The teacher knew that all were rule-breakers, but some loved her and tried not to break the rules. The student who broke one rule was as guilty as those who broke many.

At the end of the day, although I'm sure the teacher was angry with us, she wiped the slate clean. If others did the cleaning, the names could still be seen, but the teacher used water to make sure the board was totally clean and that no violations from before could be seen! That's the same as God does with us! Once we love him, our slate is wiped clean for God chooses to "remember no more". Our slate is totally clean. God (or should others) can't even see a remnant of what we did before. That was grace on the part of the teacher. She started all over again and those of us who were serious never had to fear getting our names written again.

It seemed that some students never had a demerit put on the board although I saw them do wrong. Even I never held the rule breaking against them because everyone knew they were not troublemakers. The teacher knew that they were trying to be good and didn't worry about the infractions because the good student loved and respected the teacher. That's what God does after we're saved. We still do wrong, but if we repent and walk the walk, then God's grace is always there.

I was given the job of being tattle-tale! I was the Pharisee. My rule-breaking was horrendous and I loved catching others. I presented a good picture of goodness when I was the monitor, but I was the worst of all! That's why I was monitor!  The teacher selected me hoping that I would change. Only when I quit looking at others and looked at myself did my record improve. In God's terms I quit judging others more harshly than I judge myself! Even if I had only broken one rule, still I needed to change, and that change was not to fool the teacher because she was wise and could see through that. The "New Larry" had to be a changed person who wanted to please the teacher. That's the way a sinner comes to love God! We desire to please God so we keep his commandments. That's the only way we have to show our love!

I turned out to be a pretty good student and did well. Some still look at the bad I did before the change and hold it against me. Also, I still do wrong although I my desire is not to. It's not out of fear of punishment, but because I disappoint God.  Some people will say "I know Larry and he's a bad student!" Some will say "So Larry's a Christian and he did that!" Although I'm never proud of what I was or my own sins today, they are all covered by grace. God remembers them no more. He cleaned the slate. The chalk-board has no signs of past sins because it was cleaned using pure crystal clear water!

As a Christian, I was baptized. Clean pure water was used to symbolize the New Larry that I have become. Larry became a New Person in Christ. My slate was cleaned. However, many "remember" those sins! Jesus died for ALL our sins, regardless of how many and those who had the most "demerits" love Jesus most. He said that! All my sins are covered by the blood; even the future ones! Jesus died for them all knowing that I would fail him:

Hebrews 10:26 "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins..."

Put forthrightly, Jesus died once for our sins and if we continue in sin there is no more sacrifice for us! We have a choice: we walk in faith or we stop short of finishing the race. That's our choice. God doesn't look at each sin, but once the walk is no longer there, God knows if and when that happens, so man doesn't have to worry about God's fairness.

So now you're a Christian. No one can rightfully bring up your past. You too are to dwell on the future!

Philippians 3:13 (ESV) "Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead..."

Contrary to psychoanalysis we don't have to confront and resolve the past.  Our closure is called "salvation". We take that clean slate and run with it! We have a new chance in life. We should be joyous that a dirty eraser was not used to blur our past, but the slate was washed with clean water! While we're not to look at our own past, likewise others who are rule-breakers, shouldn't even try to see some remnant of sin on that clean board. That's judging to condemn. Why else would one do it?

There's just one sin that even the church still sees on that clean slate! It's a remnant from Catholicism held over even in Baptist churches until this day. It's a man-made rule and is like the Pharisees who see sin in everything:

1 Timothy 3:12 Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.

The rules for deacons spells out a number of PRESENT sins that a deacon should have clear.  Among them is "BE a husband of one wife". "Be" is also present tense. It does not deal with divorce at all. Divorce is not desirable, but it's far from the unpardonable sin!  Custom in biblical times was for people to have more than one wife, especially among the heathen gentiles. Some Christians had more than one wife. They were not to be deacons! That's fair because that's a present sin.

The same rule holds for the office of bishop:

1 Timothy 3:2 "A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach..."

Again, the requirements for bishop are all present tense. It's the same rule as for deacons. However, most Baptist churches allow preaching from divorced men, but not serving as a deacon. A bishop is not an office in a church, it's a preacher of the gospel! Hence, those who preach are required to be in compliance with "one wife" requirement of the deacon. Both bishops and deacons who have been married before and have their sins forgiven have slates wiped cleaned! Why does man bring them up when God has forgotten them?

People... don't write on my slate. Churches... don't write on my slate!

What God had the grace to cleanse is presumptuous for man to rewrite again and again.

After the students became obedient. the tattle-tale system was no longer required because the teacher had an obedient class. They loved and respected the teacher and even loved the other classmates. The demerit system was no longer required because order was achieved out of love and respect. The classroom was a new order. The teacher still saw each infraction, but knew the hearts of the students. They were truly sorry for disappointing such a good teacher. The teacher remembered not the old system of writing on the slate, but judged each according to his walk from thereon. That's grace. Grace is remembering no more and wiping that slate clean!

Those from another classroom should never go in the good teacher's and write bad things about changed students. I'm sure they have plenty to write of themselves! They should never again dirty that board with rules violated long ago! They must never again write on my slate and I won't write on theirs!

With God, what he has forgiven and forgotten is in the past. As we fail in our walk God judges each according to our hearts. God never again writes on that slate, so please people and churches, don't write on my slate! I hope at the end of the class I too get a reward "Well done good and faithful servant!" Please don't defeat me with man-made rules!