"Rules, Rules, Rules!"

A few years ago, when I was in Carson-Newman College with Methuselah, part of the course requirement for public speaking was to register as pulpit fill for the local churches. For some reason, probably due to my church sounding name, I was asked to speak at a church that was "not on the main road." Seriously, it was, quite literally, well off the beaten path. Upon entering the sanctuary the first thing I noticed was the pungent smell of, for lack of a better term, old. The church was tidy and clean, the carpet and cushions appeared well maintained, but the smell was not only musty but overwhelmingly distracting.

Another thing I noticed were the rules of conduct on the back of the bulletin which laid out the "Thou Shalt Nots". For example, "Thou Shalt Not laugh! Church is serious business", "Thou Shalt Not Forget to give extra in today's offering since we have a guest speaker" (yes, it was really in the bulletin), "Thou Shalt Not sleep in church!" The list was quite extensive.

When it came time to speak, to be honest, I was about to offend a lot of people unintentionally. I began by asking, "How many of you came to church today?" Every hand proudly went up. I then asked, "How many of you brought church WITH you today?" Blank stares! I went on to talk about how church was not a building and it was not a bunch of rules, regulations, and rituals. Church is the relationship you have with Christ!

"For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die." - Galatians 2:19-21

You see, if all we had to do was keep some rules and regulations and perform a few rituals, God would have had no reason to send Jesus Christ to fulfill the law on our behalf. Because, through Christ we have freedom! I must confess that I think a few members almost had aneurysms when I expressed that freedom by taking my necktie off (I do NOT like neckties) and invited the gentlemen in the congregation to feel free to do the same. The elbows and glares from the wives were priceless!

But my point was this: God had a relationship with Adam and Eve, and Adam and Eve messed that up. God, then, still wanted a relationship with us so He has always reached out to us in love seeking that relationship. We continually took His gift and ground it through the "religious" machine and cranked out a list of rules, regulations and rituals. Then God sent Jesus to fulfill all the Law and established that RELATIONSHIP is what God seeks from us through Christ Jesus. Here's the best news of all, through Christ we have true and eternal freedom!

Will you take church with you today? 

One side note, I was not asked to deliver another sermon at that church.