Read- May 6, 2020
Scripture: Matthew 5:17-18
Read this excerpt from “Why Do Christians Love Rules?” by Trillia Newbell. How does this article challenge your faith? How does this article affirm your faith?
My hope cannot be found in my rule keeping or performance before the Lord. So, why do we love rules?
The days I wake up and make a list of items I want to accomplish for that day are typically great days. I feel accomplished. I’ve completed my tasks and there is peace. Those days when I don’t have my to-do list can seem chaotic. I can stare at the clock anxiously wondering what to do next. I enjoy schedules because they give me a framework and rules to go by through the day.
Rules provide comfort. I know when I am aware of what needs to be done and what is expected out of me, I am comforted. I don’t fear—I know and understand what will be required of me for the day. I’m not surprised at the end of the day if I’m tired because I knew that for that particular day I’d have much to do. There’s security in my schedule. There’s security in having the rules.
My security and my hope are misplaced. There is never a day where I fully complete my list. Every day has trouble and every day brings with it more that needs to be done. So even when I check things off of my to-do list my satisfaction is short-lived. My hope cannot be found in my rule keeping. And neither should our hope be found in our performance before the Lord.
Justification by faith alone secures our salvation in Christ without an ounce of our effort. There is nothing we could ever do to save ourselves. Only the finished work of Christ on the cross can satisfy the wrath that we deserve.
And some of us simply prefer to be told what to do. There’s no problem with that. The problem is when we obey God’s Word as a means to earn His already [given] favor. The declaration “It’s finished” for the rule keeper is hard to believe. They must mean “it’s finished but” or “it’s finished when” us rule keepers want to add. Nope, it’s finished. Period. Nothing left to add. It’s finished and you can’t earn it. You can’t obey God enough to earn His favor because it’s already been earned through the blood of Jesus.
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