WALKING WITH GOD BY FAITH OR BY MAN'S LAWS

Faith. It is defined by the Oxford American Dictionary as “reliance or trust in a person or thing.” It is the key to living the Christian life since it is the foundation of Christianity. Our whole belief system focuses on God and his love for us. His son, Jesus, is the intercessory for mankind. He is the one and only way to salvation. He is our “go between” with God and He has provided a way to come to the Father. II Corinthians 5:7 states “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” Colossians 1:23,28 “If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard…that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.” This faith does not make us perfect or without sin; it allows Christ to present us before His father, redeemed and perfect before God because we chose to believe. II Thessalonians 1:3 in Paul’s letter to the church at Thessalonica gives another insight since Paul tells them “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren…because that your faith groweth exceedingly and the charity of every one toward each other aboundeth.” There are many other verses throughout the Bible that mention “faith” and its importance in our Christian life.

Many Christians busy themselves with trivial details from the Bible and focus on them rather than on the actual message from God. I know that many people study the Bible in depth and some people actually enjoy reading about little known facts about the Bible. They love to make a challenge of testing their knowledge of the Bible with other friends. They may actually find a Bible game that they love to play. Some of the following questions are ones that could be something interesting to learn or know: How many books are in the Bible? What is the exact center of the Bible? What are the books of the Bible, in order? Name the ten plagues that were from the Old Testament when Israel was under Egyptian bondage? Name the disciples of Jesus? Or perhaps you challenge yourself with memorizing Scriptures. I enjoy challenges like that, too. It was a fun part of my early Christian days as a young person. We had Bible challenges between different churches or quiz teams that tested our ability to recall details. But this is not what I am referring to here.

I have been in churches that focus on so many little details about things that it seems there is always a new rule to follow. I was to be at church every time the church door opens (which in itself is not a bad) but I started doing it for the wrong reason. I went because I was expected to be there. I also taught in a Christian school and rules were to be followed exactly. One day I was one minute late and it was brought to my attention. One minute late??? I had four children and a host of other things to do just to get out of the house. As anyone knows, children sometimes take a little longer than expected. I got up at 5:30 am to start my day and left around 8:00 to complete a 20 minute drive to the church. To think that someone could not understand my delay and mentioned one minute late is certainly somewhat absurd. A friend of mine was in a church similar to the one I had attended. She decided to join the choir and on her first night of choir practice she received a list of 20 things that were expected of her. At the very bottom of the list was something like this: Enjoy singing and sing your praises to the Lord. What? This was the last thing on the list?? I think it should have been at the top of the list. Everything else was something that man had decided was necessary.

The longer I attended this church the more I became judgmental of others who didn’t follow the little details. I became judgmental of others who didn’t see things exactly the way I did. My focus slowly changed so much so that I thought less of salvation and the gift of grace and mercy. I become worn out emotionally from trying to do what someone else thought I should do. I had forgotten about accepting God’s salvation freely. I really had lost interest in serving God. Since my focus had changed so that I started to believe that if I didn’t do things exactly right, God would punish me and that I would have to try even harder to pull it all together. It took me a few years to recover from being in a church like this. Although many people would use this excuse as a reason to stop attending church, I had to find my way back to God. I had to relearn that acceptance of God’s grace/mercy is the true basis of Christianity.

A Christian is one who believes the Word of God and has faith in Him. He understands that he is a sinner and needs the Lord. God loves us and accepts us just as we are. (John 3: 16—For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life). God is not a God who punishes us if we don’t follow every letter of the law. It is not rules that guide the true Christian but God alone. He guides us along a path that focuses on His love for us. He accepts just as we are and loves us and shows us one step at a time how to serve and love Him. Ephesians 2: 8,9—For by grace are you saved, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Not of works lest any man should boast. I Timothy 2:4—tells us “That God desires that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth..”

Now exactly where do you stand? Do you follow man’s laws and restrictions or do you try to follow God by walking with Him? “For the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil” (II Thessalonians 3:3). Our human mind can find ways to lift up ourselves but “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?” (Proverbs 20:6). Galatians 3:9 shows us that “the just shall live by faith” and again in Proverbs 29:23 “A man’s pride [pride in following details/restrictions] will bring him low but the humble in spirit will retain honor”. So, do you follow man’s law and restrictions or do you try to follow God by walking with Him?