Rules

I have been witnessing extensively to a fishing buddy of mine who is a non-believer. His concept of Christians is all too common. He thinks most Christians are hypocrites and he dislikes hypocrites immensely. No doubt the reason for his disbelief is, in part, a result of some unfortunate incident in his childhood with someone who purported to be a Christian whose poor non- Christian behavior subsequently let him down.
He mentioned to me that I am an example of a good Christian because I “walk the walk”. I got a good laugh out of that one and replied that I am continually disappointed in my behavior. I constantly make mistakes and I warned him not to judge Jesus who is perfect in every way or Christianity by me or any Christian or he will continually be disappointed. I am simply one of Christ’s imperfect servants and instead of leading a life that is perfect in every way like Jesus, I sin just like everyone else on the planet and continue to make mistakes daily, but when I do, I regret them. I went on to tell him that Jesus has forgiven my sins though and it is what “He” does, not what “I” do that is important.



He jumped on that like a “chicken on a June bug”. His comment was that he felt sorry for me because my “religion’s rules” made someone “like me that leads a good life” go around feeling bad because I broke another “religious rule”. “Hey buddy, don’t feel sorry for me!” is my message.
I feel bad at times because I let my Father down, but the overwhelming majority of the time I am filled with joy. I told him it is similar to the situation I have with my sons. I love them very much and try to teach them rules of conduct that if followed will lead to happiness and success. They want me as their father to be proud of their accomplishments at all times and try to follow them as best they can.
Occasionally they might do something that does not make me proud. They will experience some regret and feel bad about it, but the majority of the time we have an excellent loving relationship. In the same way I feel bad when I let my spiritual Father down. Whether I might do something that is mean spirited, use profanity, experience lust, or whatever sin I might commit, I feel bad about it because I know I have let my Father down as well as myself and I know from the Bible that all sin ultimately leads to unwanted consequences. On the other hand the overwhelming majority of the time I know peace that surpasses human understanding because I know that Christ has forgiven me of my imperfections, and my life is blessed continually by a loving Father.



My heavenly Father gives me rules because He realizes that it is a bad neighborhood in which we live and there are real dangers out there. He knows the consequence of sin and like any loving Father wants to protect me and all of His children from it. I told my buddy to check out the Ten Commandments and tell me honestly if he felt that the world would be a better place if everyone abided by these “rules” or not. Of course it would!



No – Christ and Christianity are not about rules. Christ is about love!
He gives us love and the rules and guidelines are there because of His deep love for us and His Fatherly determination to protect His children.



Romans 10:11

As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who believes in Him

will not be disappointed”…For anyone who calls upon the

name of the Lord will be saved.