Rules: Helpful But
Hazardous To The Christian Life
Sermon Review
20 August 2000
Reading - Phil 3:1-16
It would seem that human beings are really legalists at heart. When I first joined the Churches of Christ, and told others, many of them said to me, ‘oh, I know that denomination – they don’t drink, smoke, or dance.’ Somehow, when it comes to Christianity we tend to produce sets of laws or rules to define it, and then try to live by them eg. Dress codes, smoking, alcohol, music, buying or selling on Sundays, purchasing lottery tickets; or really religious things like church attendance, daily devotions, ministry involvement, even the 10 commandments etc. Some of these are good and helpful, some are quite questionable, but all are dangerous when they become the things which are supposed to define spirituality. The truth is that you can try to meticulously do all of these things and still be very far away from God. Worse, rule keeping can actually keep God at arm’s length, hide what is really important, promote a works-based mentality, give distorted messages about Christianity, evade grace, and substitute for faith! Jesus came to free people from ‘law-keeping’ so that they would be free from the condemnation of the Law, and be able to progressively fulfil the intent of the O.T. law, including the 10 commandments, without actually focusing on keeping them!
In the Philippian passage, Paul warns of Jewish legalists promoting circumcision and adherence to the Mosiac Law for salvation. Paul reminds them that it is those who know Christ that are truly circumcised (cf. Rom 2:28), and the Philippians are not to trust in ‘the flesh’ ie. law and badges of merit (eg. Circumcision) as the basis for acceptance with God.
Paul then gives his own religious reasons for acceptance prior to conversion v.4-6, and then scathingly categorises them as ‘rubbish’ or ‘dung’ v8. , in comparison to ‘gaining Christ’ and a ‘righteousness through faith’. He strongly endorses what he continually preached, that acceptance with God comes through faith in Christ Jesus, and no other eg. Rom.3:21-26; Eph.2:8-10.
His alternative, the only alternative, to law keeping, was to receive Christ’s righteousness through faith, then to know Christ more & more, to experience His resurrected power, to suffer, and to ultimately know the mystery of his own resurrection! Cf. Phil.3:10.
What is not noticed is
- Paul’s answer to the Judaizers was not to escape law simply for salvation, and then institute a new set of laws to obey post-conversion. Instead he promotes continued effort to know Christ & His power etc., more and more!
- He says that he still hadn’t found the fulfillment of those things in his life even at this late stage in his life, so he just kept forgetting what was behind and pressing on to take hold of that ‘for which Jesus Christ took hold of me’! It would seem then that one of the key reasons Paul saw Christ had taken hold of him was in fact to get to know Jesus, experience His power, join in His suffering, and to ultimately experience his own resurrection.
- Paul avoided legalism like the plague, and resisted it wherever he found it eg. Gal.1:6-9,2:11-14; Gal.3:1-5. Paul’s answer to problems in the post-conversion Christian life was not reversion to law, but faith in Christ and the ongoing work of the Spirit! He also stressed to the Galatians that they were redeemed from the law, and instead of slaves to it, were sons who relate to God now as Father, in a personal relationship Gal.4:4-7. In the same vein, healthy Christianity avoids the tendency to use rules as a basis for the Christian life, however subtly.
Points to Consider
- If Jesus wanted his followers to live by law he would have given us laws to live by. Instead he gave two broad-ranging principles to organise our lives around – to love God, and to love ones neighbour. Applying these principles fulfilled the intent of all of the laws in the Old Testament. Matt.22:37-40 This means that the 10 commandments are only a guide for conduct. It is the principle of love which will at once fulfil and surpass them.
- However, strangely enough, the principle of love will not be fulfilled by arranging it in sets of laws or rules to live by. Rules will never be comprehensive enough, or flexible enough, and tend to encourage people to look for loopholes. eg. The Pharisees & rule of Coran. The principle of love will ultimately be fulfilled in our lives by doing just what Paul did: seeking to know Christ, experience his resurrection power, accept suffering as part of growth etc. The reason is that it is a changed heart that God wants, and law keeping will not do that, only the Spirit of God can do it eg. Lk.6:43-45; 2Cor.3:18; Gal.5:22,23 etc. The fact is that only a changed heart can live out the principle of love!
But can’t rules help provide a sense of security, a sense of satisfaction, and a gauge to measure spirituality? Yes, but…
- Unfortunately, they are an unreliable guide, and as such, promote a false sense of security and satisfaction.
- They too often lead to pride, competition, judgementalism, works- orientation, guilt, masks, denial, and ultimately hypocrisy.
- Rules can also be used to keep God at bay, whether dress, religious activities, or even the 10 commandments!
- Law always seeks to extend itself further and move into extremes eg. Jewish Sabbath laws
- Rule-keeping ends up focussing on trivialities and overlooking the important issues eg. Pharisaic extremes of tithing garden herbs, yet avoiding justice, mercy etc.
Conclusion: The Christian life begins by faith and the work of the Holy Spirit. To turn the Christian life into a new type of legalism is to reinvent Pharisaism. God brings us into a relationship with himself. We in turn try to change relationship into rules. Instead of rule-keeping, what we need to be asking God for is to be more loving so as to fulfill the moral intent of all of the O.T. law. But not so we can be more acceptable to God, Jesus has already provided for that, but more like God Col.3:10.
Christians need to memorise these three verses: Gal. 3:21 "if a law could be given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the Law." 5:6 "For in Christ Jesus nether circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love". 6:15 "Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation." And Rom 14:17 "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of (rules about such things as) eating and drinking, but of righteousness (goodness and acceptance before God), peace and joy in the Holy Spirit". Instead of more rules, we need to be asking God to change our hearts and stop letting rules get in the way of loving others.
Blessings