Grace vs. Rules

[restored]

I think it's so interesting that so many people make the "law" the center of their faith, when if you look at anything Jesus ever said, it was about love, or for love. The greatest commandment is about love. So, in reality, even the law is about love. In the last couple of months, I've gotten the opportunity to see that system of beliefs for what it is...I think one of the best analogies would be the Cain and Abel story. Cain brought the things that came naturally to him - he brought what was easy. I think so many of us do that. Humans come by rules and regulations quite naturally. If we can create for ourselves a system , then we can retain control. If we can make exact guidelines, it will give us the right to be judgmental and let's face it, humans generally like to be that way. But what God really wants from us is our heart. He doesn't want the way we dress, the music we listen to, the kind of entertainment we watch. he wants our hearts. He wants our love and adoration. And giving our hearts and accepting the fact that we'll never be able to be perfectly godly will always be harder than making rules. Rules are easy, grace is a lifelong pursuit.

[encourager]

It makes it rather hard to have a relationship with Jesus when we are under law. Rules and regulations end up separating us from God. Grace gives us freedom. Grace makes a way for us to have access to God. Jesus made a way for us through his shed blood. We are no longer strangers and aliens from the promises and the blessings of God. "From the fullness of his grace we have received one blessing after another." (John 1:16)  This is not based on how well we keep a list of "dos" and "don'ts". It is all based on His great love for us.

The law is meant only to remind us of how sinful we are and to lead us to Christ. It is not meant to be a solution to make us improve or be better. We are helpless without Jesus. We need the Holy Spirit to produce anything good. In order to have our lives change we need to be a receiver of God's abundant grace. Following the law is not going to do it.

[setfree]

I remember when my i felt i was drowning in the religious shame and condemnation that came from well-meaning but deceived people who were so strongly invested in making other people come under the rules they had to live by. A thought flashed through my mind, "where there is love, many rules are not necessary." There seemed to be so much hatred coming from them, the women even seemed to hate themselves, they were so harsh on themselves - and other women, especially those still capable of any degree of dissent.

Roles and rule, roles and rules. Gender roles were so extreme and polarised, yet personal gifting and calling had to be subordinated to God's 'order' for your gender role (which basically means, if you're a woman don't you dare think that anything other than glorified servitude can be for you!) But the Bible says, "for His love compels us ...." women do very amazing things far beyond the proscribed "role" and rules set by legalism when they are compelled by God's love and empowered by the Spirit (men too!)

[Independent Guy]

Agreed. So much of this type of black-and-white legalism will only set us on a spiral in to self-loathing and depression or total apathy because we are trying to attain God's love which we can't ever do on our own.