Are You a Rule Follower?

Rules are necessary in life. I have been to several countries over the course of my adult life. One of the main differences I found through my travels was driving, and not just which side of the road people are driving on. I found that many of the rules of the road really seemed to be optional. I was on a bus in a country and people simply ignored red lights. It was more than a little nerve racking to ride on that bus. I have ridden in some taxis that the driver just seemed to make up the rules as he or she went. I think this anxiety is magnified when there is a language barrier. I can’t yell slow down or watch out. After these experiences I am more appreciative of how well people in the U.S. obey the rules of the road.

The desire to follow the rules is also a big part of Christianity. I was working on a small group video yesterday that really made me think about this. We want to please people around us from a young age, and we please them by following the rules when we are young. Clean up your room, finish your food, stay in line, raise your hand, and be quiet are just a few of the things kids are told over and over. This continues throughout our lives. Rules are a part of everyone’s life, but should rules be the be focus of Christianity?

I know that rules are the focus for many people in their spiritual lives. They feel the need to check off the boxes for what they have done right that day. That’s not the heart of Christianity. The Old Testament Law which was based on rules could not be kept by the Israelites. They failed over and over. They couldn’t keep the Law because they were sinful people. The law did a couple of things for them. One of them was that it made them aware of what sin was. Romans 3:20, “For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.” God gave them the rules of what was acceptable and what wasn’t acceptable so they would know. The next thing is that the Law made them aware of their inability to keep it. That idea is expressed clearly in Romans 3:20. You can’t be right with God through the Law. The reason we need Christ is that we can’t live up to the standards of a holy God.

The need for Christ is for me the ultimate reason for the Law. It made us see our inability to obey it. That means I can’t be right with God by what I do. I need Christ’s grace and forgiveness to make me acceptable in the eyes of God. This relationship with Christ and the Holy Spirit changes me from the inside out. Not only are my actions changed, but the actual desires of my heart can be changed by God. We will never be perfect in this world, but Christ becomes the driving force behind how and why we strive to obey when we are saved. It becomes not about a set of rules, but about a changed heart that now wants to seek holiness.