More Than Rules

I am just going to come out and say it

I am just going to come out and say it

Christians can be so fake

I don’t know about you but that caused me to pause and take a long look at this article when I read it

I though here is another article by someone outside of the church that is looking for another reason to explain why they don’t go to church

We have all ran into that person

That snuck in the church after service had started and then sneaks out during the altar call and then says I am never going back to that church because no one even said Hi to me.

But as I read further I realized this was someone who was inside the church

It was someone who could belt out all the old hymns favorites

Someone that could quote scriptures

How could he write this?

He goes on to say that I am tired of watching people in the church try to outdo each other in their quest to be the best

He said I am tired of watching other Christians pretending they have it all together

Making sure that every good deed the do doesn’t go unnoticed

His next sentence really made me think

He said whenever we try too hard to convince others of something, I worry that we are trying to convince our self

He then goes on to encourage Christians to stop worrying about others and trying to convince them you are a Christian and start focusing on your relationship with Jesus

Start focusing on having a genuine loving relationship with the savior and everything else will work itself out

And he is not alone on his assessment

Gandhi the great Hindu prophet once told a group of missionaries that were sharing the gospel with him the following

“I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Gandhi

These stories remind me the story in John Chapter 8.

John 8:1–11 NASB95

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people were coming to Him; and He sat down and began to teach them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. “Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?” They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground. But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court. Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”

john 8:

Jesus is teaching in the courtyard one morning.

And as he is teaching a mob burst of angry fans bust onto the scene

The mob is made up of the religious leaders of His day.

Being pushed along on the crest of the mob is a woman, as she is shoved to the dirt on the ground in front of Jesus. One of the religious leaders gives the accusation to Jesus and says, “We found this woman in bed with a man that was not her husband. The Law says we stone her.

What do you say?”

What a move by these religious leaders.

They use the rules to try to trap Jesus.

Rules can do that to us; turn us into an angry mob of sorts.

We might not form together and parade a sinner around town, but we’ll huddle in whispering circles and drop someone’s name to everyone we talk to.

Please understand:

God’s Word provides both guidance and commandments.

And those commandments, those laws, they are here to protect us.

But if we are really honest none of us can follow those laws perfectly

Every one of us has fallen short some of us in more public settings, and others in more private ones.

WE are not perfect

But we don’t want everyone else knowing that do we

So, we tend to overemphasize the rules

We try to act like we have it all together

Here is the thing when we overemphasize following the rules, we can get people thinking we’ve got it all figured out.

We can get people thinking they shouldn’t share their struggles with us, because we’re perfect.

And that’s what I want to address this morning.

I heard something from a good friend of mine this week that broke my heart but was eye opening at the same time

On a side note before you try and figure out who it was he is not a member of our church

But He said I don’t feel at home in my own church because I have to always pretend like I have it all together

He said I can’t be myself and share my struggles with the church

I am afraid that if I do they would run me out of the church

And you know the worst part is what he is struggling with is not really that bad but he feels as if he can’t tell anyone

Even though we are called to share our sins with each other and lift each other up

Sometimes, Christians can be a lot more like the Pharisees and religious leaders than our Messiah, and they end up using the rules to rationalize how they treat others in the church, especially newcomers or those whose sins are more difficult to hide.

and in the end, these well-meaning believers end up creating a list of rules that wear out and frustrate new believers.

Rules Can Be Cumbersome

This woman in , she is looking down—humiliated, guilty, ashamed.

She’s been caught breaking the rules, and this may be the day that breaking a rule costs her everything.

Jesus kneels down and He begins to write something in the dirt.

We don’t know what He was writing.

Some commentators speculate that perhaps He was writing the sins of the accusers in the dirt.

Meanwhile, the religious leaders wait for an answer.

They know they’ve caught Jesus by surprise, and they’re ready to hear Him submit to the letter of the law.

They’re waiting for him to shrug his shoulders and say, “Well, those are the rules.”

Finally, Jesus looks up at these spiritual leaders and says, “If any one of you is without sin, he can cast the first stone.”

And one by one these bullies drop their stones and walk away; and Jesus is left alone with this woman.

And perhaps, with a little bit of a smile, He looks up at her and He says, “Is there anyone left to condemn you?”

Maybe she thought, “There is still one. There is still one who could condemn me.” And then Jesus says with tenderness, “Neither do I condemn you. You go now and leave your life of sin.”

Notice Jesus did not say to her it is ok to live in that sin and to carry on

He said go and leave your life of Sin

But he knew that it is not about rules but a grace

It was about a realationship

The Rules Don’t Inspire Grace

chemistry teacher, Mr. Hollingworth, did something a little unusual –

he wanted to teach His students a lesson about God’s grace.

He handed out a test that was sure to be difficult

And the students knew it

In fact, while preparing for this test he had warned them several times that they better really prepare

When he handed out the test, he instructed His students to read through the entire test before they begin to take it.”

As they read through the test – most of them realized they were in trouble – they should have studied more.

But when they began to get to the end of the multiple page test,

These words were found “You can try and get an “A” by taking this test or you can just put your name on it and automatically receive an “A.””

one of the boys in the class named Patrick, didn’t read through the test – he just started taking the test – though most of the class turned their test in after a few seconds and Patrick never caught on

And then there was Makayla – and apparently she got quite upset because she had spent so much time studying – and what kind of teacher gives an “A” for nothing

she stayed and took the test on principle. If she was going to get an “A” she was going to earn it.

And a fan says

I’m not taking any handouts

I can do this on my own.

And so fans spend their lives carrying around the burden of religion.

And the grace of Jesus, that same grace that saved a woman from being stoned, calls to those who have been hauling around a long list of rules and rituals and obligations

Jesus calls to those who are tired of pretending to be more than they are.

He calls to those who have had the guilt and fear of religions wear them down and he says “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Maybe you grew up in a home where you were taught all about Jesus.

You went to church on the weekend and church camp in the summer.

And you learned to fear Jesus…so you kept as many rules as you could, hoping you wouldn’t go to hell.

And when you would sin you would feel guilt wondering if you would be good enough.

And you were taught to observe different religious traditions and rule keeping.

But some how you never really fell in love with Jesus.

You became a fan.

Because when you come into a situation in which rules take precedence over love and grace, it’s hard to fall in love.

Think about it this way: when I got married to my wife there were some rules that I said I would live by – some of them are written, some unwritten. But I understood when I said “I do” that I would:

1. Be faithful to her. As long as we both live I am going to be hers alone.

2. To provide for her. I’m going to meet her needs.

3. To be committed to her. For better or for worse.

There are other rules I didn’t know about that have since been established…

1. I am to keep my closet clean.

2. Pick up after my self

2. I am not to make fun of her before 10 a.m.

But in all seriousness

If I saw our relationship as a bunch rules I had to keep, I wouldn’t be very happy.

But because I love my wife I find joy in being a good husband.

I would do anything for her, and so doing the dishes, or putting the lid down on the toilet, or other extravagant acts of sacrifice are a joy for me—most of the time.

In the end, the grace and the love of God frees us and inspires us to live for him.

Augustine said, “Who can be good, if not made so by loving?...Love God and do as you please.”

He could say that because he knew that when you love God, you will want to please God.

But your priority, your emphasis, your focus must be on loving God.

It must be about a relationship with Jesus, otherwise it won’t work.

[View sermonette 5]

The Rules Don’t Keep Us Around

I want to say this very carefully and clearly. When our kids grow up and they define Christianity as keeping a moral code instead of defining Christianity as being a follower of Jesus Christ, then they will walk away from both.

We think, “Well, I’ve got to make sure that they understand these rules and these moral obligations of being a Christian.”

And while that’s true, I’m telling you, if they define Christianity that way instead of defining Christianity as following Jesus, they will walk away from both.

They will walk away from Jesus and the moral code.

We must define Christianity, first and foremost, as the following of Jesus Christ.

We cannot expect to recruit the world to a set of standards that we would never live by or follow if it wasn’t for a love relationship with Jesus Christ.

They’re not going to get on board with that—unless it’s because they know Jesus. So, it must, first and foremost, be about following Christ.

Where do you stand?

Are you a fan or a follower?

Is it about rules for you or is it about a relationship?

Listen I don’t know your past

I don’t know what you are struggling with

But there is one who does

And this morning Jesus is saying come to me and I will give you rest

If you have never accepted Jesus as your lord and savior would you do so this moring

It’s not about a set of rules or having to be perfect

Jesus is asking you to come as you are

Other here you have already accepted Jesus but how is your relationship?

Listen I understand that as Christians we should be different than the world and there out actions that we cannot be a part of but it starts first with a relationship

You cannot do this on your own you need Jesus

You need that relationship