Rules, Regs, and Relationship. by Merwin Severtson
Rules, Regs, and Relationship.
Have you ever imagined planning the perfect road-trip vacation? The
journey, taking in days of beautiful scenery and activities culminating
with your arrival at a lovely spot with all your best friends and family
members there to greet you?
You have created a very realistic scenario; having generated
expectations of difficulties and have prepared the needed funding for
the Murphy's Law of possibilities.
And, you have allowed for the length of the journey and provided plenty
of time for those surprise adventures, "Oh that looks like fun! Can we
go do that?" and you know with these time allowances that you will
arrive when you should.
Now, tweak your mental scenario just enough to flip the coin of some
abstract possibilities.
Side one. Let us throw in your total disregard for speed limits, traffic
lights, any kind of road courtesy and while were at it, leave out any
common sense.
What has happened to the beautiful plans you started with? Take it a
step further.
You leave your driveway taking out about five feet of hedgerow
scattering debris for a block as you force your accelerator to the
floor. Not only you break the speed limit you more than double it!
Instead of seventy on the freeway as posted, your doing a hundred and
fifty! You have heavy traffic all around you and you're weaving in and
out, it starts snowing and you don't slow down!
Cops are on your tail and you can't seem to shake them! Then it happens…
some jerk, who could not tell there was crazy activity coming up from
behind, him cuts you off by changing lanes right in front of you!
"Oh no! This jerk has ruined everything!" you scream aloud. You smash
into his Hummer with your RV at a hundred fifty miles per hour and the
ensuing chain reaction of destruction brings the certainty of your
capture, thereby ensuring the rest of your journey at least, to be very
unpleasant and your careful scheduling shot.
Okay, let us look at the other side of this abstract coin.
Again the trip is planned perfectly. This time your concern is for best
driving behavior. Proper attention is given to landmarks and lights.
Proper lane management for your turnoffs and excursions are observed.
You have your GPS dictating optimum possibilities for travel and you
have your spouse making adjustments there as needed.
Soon you have left your town and are beginning your journey with
gladness. But before long you start to obsess about your perfect
performance on the road. The speed limit must be observed perfectly! You
have heard that there is a little four mile an hour buffer that the
authorities allow for, but "No! I would rather maintain the speed limit
exactly, so I do not have to answer questions from an over zealous
police rookie!"
Now you begin to encounter those on the road who have no respect for the
laws of the land, or common courtesy. "Where is a cop when you need
them? Is there nothing to be done about these speeders and tailgaters?"
Worrying begins to accelerate, "Is my scheduling allowing for this
construction? My temptation to speed is compounded by this traffic jam.
Will I have to take out one of my planned stops? I need an antacid; did
we bring any? Whoops! I just missed my lane change better do it now.
Slow down, how long has it been thirty-five through here? It used to be
forty five!"
The next few days follow sleepless nights; "Those last two stops were
hardly worth taking a shower for much less including them on a perfect
vacation! Who am I kidding? This stopped being perfect, the day I left
the driveway! Slow down! I need to remain courteous even if these jerks
are rude! Is that tanker leaking something? Oh… I would love to tell
that guy off!
I hope the destination turns out better than the trip. The family seems
like they have had a good time, I just feel sick! I hope they aren't
putting on a happy face just for me, my headaches are terrible and my
stomach won't stop hurting!" Etc, etc, etc.
Rules and regulations have value that can only be ignored at your peril.
They provide structure for all, dependable wise guidance that, if
followed promises a safe journey.
But they can never promise an abundantly joyful trip.
Our walk as Christians, like the analogy, is to arrive at a fine
destination and to have an "abundant life" getting there. And in both
sides of the abstract coin the destination may be reached, but neither
provides the "abundance" that was planned.
The first side of the coin was bad because of obvious reasons, the
second… not as obvious; so let us consider the obsession with rules.
Too often we confuse the observance of common sense and structures with
our self-definition of what it means to be Holy. We have been
conditioned and reconditioned with, do this and don't do that, so often
and over such a long period of time that it is easy to lose sight of the
reason the rules were provided.
This type of constant exposure to our own failures, shortcomings, and
things to be careful of, is an eye opener at first. It is a continuation
of sorts, of our conversion truths, educating us concerning our need
for salvation and an introduction to Holy behavior.
The information is there as guidance away from unhappy results, but
cannot assure us of abundant life.
Rules and regulations, if followed, at best can only provide one with
contentment that his or her behavior has not brought misery. People who
pride themselves with good moral conduct are capable of that!
A moralist who is also a believer might reply, "But it also reveals
one's heart and is a display of good fruit."
True… in a sense. The ability to follow the law, to "Do this and don't
do that" are the fruit of good morals, and in some respects are a
revelation of heart status. But this, taken into "innocent" legalism can
reveal a heart similar to a good Pharisee, such as Nicodemus or Saul of
Tarsus. Both of which were shown the errors of their heart's
conditioning by Jesus.
Keeping the law merely reduces the occurrence of sins, of either
omission or commission and thereby renders the trip relatively free of
despair. This is something that even the unbelieving moralist enjoys. As
a result of pride in doing well he might say, "Of course I am going to
heaven if there is one… I am a good guy!"
However misguided he may be, his assertion will not give him entry into
heaven. And, as worthy an effort as "following the rules" is, it is not a
description of a joyful, abundant life.
The joy (and true Holiness) can only come from His nature within us,
which is there when He took up residence in our hearts.
Our flesh struggles with this gift that seems too good to be true. Our
fleshy pride tries to force us to feel we must somehow earn it. But it
is that perception that taints our motives and stifles its flow.
The perception declares, "This wonderful acceptance of us just as we
are… must require something of us. It must have performance criterion as
we proceed along. Once we are saved then we must conduct ourselves just
so and display our good fruit." And the favorite, "He is not giving us
license to sin."
He is not giving us license to sin? Very true, but he has given us the
knowledge that we have more grace and mercy as believers than we did as
his enemies at the time of our conversion…
Romans 5:10 For if, when we enemies, we were reconciled to God by the
death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his
life.
This verse essentially means that we have more forgiveness for sin and
more empowerment from His nature to avoid it after becoming a believer
than we did before.
What follows is the description of why the "perception" is tainted and
not healthy. And why the "flow" of abundance is stifled by that
perception.
Why should our Bridegroom share the credit with any of us… for what his
sacrifice accomplished?
His obedience to death removed the barrier that prevented the Father
from living within us through the Son. It allowed Him to give us the
faith we needed to follow Him. It opened the floodgates of his manifold
gifts (grace) to run through his vessels (you and I). It allowed His
children to actually experience what the angels and previous saints
could only talk about.
And, should our pride (flesh), seek to gain some personal equity from
the property that belongs solely to God, then the error will be
corrected by the Spirit.
James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and
cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning.
This means every good thing that we do… ever! Is performed through us by
Him. And when sin is avoided… either by doing the right work or not
doing the bad one, it is Jesus working through the Holy Spirit in us to
accomplish that.
When we grieve the Spirit and interfere with its operation by the sin of
non-sanctification, we are forgiven and re-directed.
Allow me to repeat that with emphasis.
When we grieve the Spirit and interfere with its operation by the sin of
non-sanctification, we are forgiven and re-directed.
The sin of not sanctifying the Lord is probably the most common of all
sins. Similar to Moses at Meribah, who in disobedience struck the rock
twice, also did not sanctify God when he said "Hear now ye rebels; must
we fetch you water out of this rock?"
Instead, Moses could have appropriately said, "Thus saith the Lord… rock
bring forth water!"
These things stifle the flow of abundant grace because it diverts the
sanctification… the credit for the good accomplishment, to us rather
than the Lord.
If this happens even a little, it would warrant the slowing of the
progression of events, for the flow of grace into infertile fields of
pride shouldn't continue. Keeping of the law, the doing of righteous
deeds, trusting the Lord with all our hearts and minds… is not within
our capabilities to perform. When it is done through us, it is
accomplished by God's Spirit.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance (self
control) against such there is no law.
Self control? Something as small and normally thought of as "us"
territory… self control why would that be fruit of the Spirit?
Romans 8:7 Because the carnal mind (the fleshy mind) is enmity (make
itself an enemy) against God: for it is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be.
One could rightly say, "Well, what again of the moralist? Why would they
exhibit self control in having good morals having supposedly no Holy
Spirit?"
Because their flesh who is "making itself an enemy against God", is
providing a realistic counterfeit.
Then it could be countered "What then of the believing moralist? Your so
called legalist, why would he be able to perform good self control?"
The answer to this is more complex…
Galatians 1:6-9 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that
called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not
another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the
gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any
other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him
be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach
any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be
accursed.
These are providing a much worse counterfeit, for they use the name of
Christ to lift and support their position. And the fleshy, prideful
motivation is a misappropriation of what is due only to Him, the credit
and praise for the right thing performed.
It remains a not so obvious distinctive difference as one who knows the
rules and regulations of the road and travels in joy on his journey to
his destination in peace and abundance of Spirit. And one who is
obsessing about his performance and making others obsess about theirs.
Either out of ignorance or intention, the legalists are preaching
"another gospel" and need to repent.