Why All The Rules?

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Why All The Rules?

Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Dec 31, 2000 (message contributor)

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Scripture: Deuteronomy 6:1-9

Denomination: Methodist

Summary: The laws of God provide order, blessing and transformation.

Recently, Vince McMahon, chairman of the World Wrestling Federation announced the beginning of the XFL, the X-rated Football League. McMahon said, “The NFL has become too conservative, too corporate with too much regulation. We’re bringing back old-fashioned, smashmouth football but with cutting-edge marketing and production values.” Much like the WWF wrestling shows, it will be football without the rules. If the popularity of the WWF is any indicator, the XFL will be a huge success.

People seem to like things where there are no rules. We eat at the Outback Steakhouse where the motto is: “No rules — Just right.” Ozzie Osbourne sings his song “Breakin’ All the Rules.” Howard Stern pushes the envelope with shock radio and now shock TV. Television lunges to break the rules of decency and pours out its programs of obscenity and gratuitous violence. The American Family is being reinvented so that almost anything qualifies as a “family.” The recent airing of the tawdry TV special “Who Wants to Marry a Multimillionaire” certainly broke all the rules of the sacredness of marriage and loving commitment between a man and woman. Regis and Jesus might ask the same question about who wants to be a millionaire, but have very different responses to the issue. Jennifer Lopez broke all the rules of modesty and good taste at the Grammy Awards. Art is no longer valued for its ability to inspire, but for its ability to shock and offend. We are a culture that insists on coloring outside the lines.

Is it any wonder that we want to tear down the Ten Commandments posted on school and courtroom walls? Is it any wonder that there are those in our culture complain about people “trying to cram their values down other people’s throats”? In a valueless society, anyone with values is seen as unusual at best and judgmental at worst. So what do we as Christians do, who believe that we should live by the Ten Commandments, as well as the other laws of Scripture? What do we do when we believe that these laws apply not only to us, but that they are universal laws which apply to everyone? These are universal laws, because everyone has been created by God and lives in the world which he has made. How do we help our friends and neighbors to understand the importance of these laws without sounding judgmental and uptight? The key is understanding the purpose of God’s laws.

There are three points which I think are essential in understanding the laws of God and their purpose for our world and personal lives. The first is: The laws of God were meant to provide order. Think about what it would be like to live in a world without any rules. No one would stop at the stop light. People would drive in any lane they felt like. (We got a taste of that in Haiti.) There would be nothing to stop people from taking anything they wanted from stores. No one would be arrested for breaking into your home or abusing your family. Banks could lie about your interest rate and falsify your balance. There would be worldwide anarchy. No one would be safe on the streets. Only the strong and brutal would survive. The only reason we have peace and order is because our world is governed by laws. We may question those laws, and even break those laws, but the fact that they are there are the only thing that makes it possible for us to survive. Law and order are two words we often use together because order comes from the presence of law. Anarchy is a Latin term meaning “without rule.” We get a pretty clear picture of what anarchy looks like when law and order completely break down during the riots in a large metropolitan city. Chaos is the order of the day, and it is every person for themselves. It is impossible for business to continue. Whole sections of the city are destroyed. We have seen what anarchy looks like when an entire country is without law in a place like Bosnia.

So the next time you hear someone complaining about the laws we live under, remind them of what it would be like without those laws, as imperfect and unfair as some of them may be. The apostle Paul wrote to the people of Rome admonishing them to obey the civil authorities because of this very principle. He said, “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience” (Romans 13:1-5).

But the laws of God are not just for order in the society at large, but in our personal lives as well. Look at what happens to the people who ignore God’s laws in their lives — whether they admit they are living away from God or profess to be a Christian. In a very real sense, you do not break God’s laws, they break you. You are free to break God’s laws, but you have to be willing to accept the consequences — and the consequence is that you will be broken. You are inviting chaos in your life when you go against God’s laws which say that you are not to lie, gossip, be unfaithful, steal and covet what others have. You will self-destruct if you ignore God’s laws. But submit to God’s laws and order and peace return. Relationships are set right and harmony prevails. David wrote in the book of Psalms: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.... Your statutes are wonderful; therefore I obey them. The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:105, 129-130). The Word and laws of God are the biggest blessing we have, for they are the secret to life. It only stands to reason that if God made the world and designed life, then he should know how this life is to be lived in the best and most fulfilling way. Find that way, walk in that way, and you discover life at its fullest.

But, secondly, The laws of God were meant to provide blessing. What if God designed the world and then did not tell us how it was supposed to work? Have you ever bought something and when you got it home and opened the package you realized that there were no instructions inside? You have no idea of how to operate what you have just bought. The instructions were meant to help you get the most out of your purchase. Now men, be honest, how many times have you brought a purchase home, and even though there were instructions inside, you ignored them? You got part way through assembling the product only to realize you had left out an important piece, and you had to tear the whole thing apart and start over again. The instructions were there, but you ignored them. They were meant to help you and make your task easier, but you decided you did not need them. Am I talking to anybody here? We ought to be grateful that God has not only designed the world, he has included the instructions.

Laws bring freedom. The Olympic ice skater practices long hours learning the fundamentals and rules of skating. Every day she learns to skate by the rules with more precision. Weeks, months and years are spent learning techniques. There is boring routine as the techniques are practiced over and over and over again. But the more she dedicates herself to the fundamental rules of skating, the more freedom she has to skate with beauty and poise. There is joy and grace in her art and she is blessed by the talent she has developed. Musicians discover the same principle. The more attention a musician pays to the rules of music the more freedom she experiences and the more joy she finds in her music.

You have all seen the Nike commercial with Tiger Woods bouncing a golf ball off the face of his 9-iron. He does it under one leg and then the other, and then he hits the ball in midair. His skill and coordination did not come without paying tremendous attention to the rules of his sport. His sport is a blessing to him because he learned the rules and practiced them meticulously. The same thing could be said of other gifted professional athletes, race car drivers or doctors. No one would want to go to a doctor who just wanted to do his own thing and did not believe in, and follow, the rules of medicine. The laws of God were intended to bless God’s people. Moses said to the Israelites: “Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the Lord your God gives you for all time” (Deuteronomy 4:40). The laws of God are a blessing because they make life work. You ignore them to your own peril.

The laws of God were not meant to take the joy out of life, they were meant to put joy into life. The closer we live to God and the more we follow his laws the more blessing we find in life. God’s laws do not limit us, they empower us and give us freedom. When we ignore them we find we are in bondage. The deliverance of Israel from Egypt was symbolic of their deliverance from the bondage of sin. Sin enslaves us. The world gives the false promise of freedom, but the Bible sees through that lie when it says, “They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity — for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him” (2 Peter 2:19). It is not a coincidence that this culture, which is intent on discarding the laws of God, is also one of the most addicted groups of people in the history of the world. God’s laws are a blessing because they allow us to live life with dignity, honor, joy and freedom.

The only difference between a river and a swamp is that one has boundaries and the other does not. One runs confined by its banks, the other stagnates without anything to guide it. The one has direction, the other does not. One is a blessing to its surroundings and the other is a nuisance. The banks of the river are not restrictions, they are what give the river freedom and make it a blessing. Jim Holm, writing for The Mennonite Brethren Herald, says: “When I was in third grade, I was condemned to live under a law — the law of near-sightedness. My eyes went bad, and today I am considered legally blind. I am not free. I am in bondage to this law. There is no escape. But one day I discovered an even greater law that can overcome the law of near-sightedness. It is called the law of corrective lenses. When I submitted myself to the law of corrective lenses, the law of near-sightedness was overcome. Did it go away? No, it is still there. But it was overpowered by a greater law, which enabled me to see. Now here is the ironic thing: You would think if I want to be free, I’d throw the glasses away. But that is not freedom. Only by submitting to the law of glasses do I become free.” His glasses are a blessing because they give him the freedom to see. Before, his vision was distorted. When a person realizes they need the Word of God in order to see life clearly, they are not restricted by the Word of God, they are given the freedom to see life the way it really is, and life becomes a blessing.

The final, and most important point is that: The laws of God were meant to provide transformation. What is the real purpose of the law of God? It was meant to provide order in the world and in our personal lives as well — but that is not the most important purpose of the law. The law of God was meant to provide a blessing to our lives and the world around us — but that is not the most important purpose of the law. The law of God reveals the character of God — it reveals his heart and shows us what he is like. As we follow the law of God we become like God because we imitate his character. When God said, “Be holy, because I am holy” (Leviticus 11:44), he was asking us to be like him. If God does not lie, then we are not to lie. If God is faithful in his relationships, then we are called to be faithful. If God shows mercy toward his enemies, then we are called to do the same.

If there is anything the law shows us, it is that we were created not only to follow God, but to be like God. The Bible says, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son” (Romans 8:29).

Lately, people have been seeing Jesus in some bizarre places. People claim to have seen his face in a flour tortilla in Texas. Some said they saw him show up in a photograph with Willie Nelson. One of the most interesting has been in Atlanta, Georgia where people are seeing Jesus in a Pizza Hut ad for spaghetti. A fork is lifting up a mass of pasta and sauce and people are seeing his face in the spaghetti. The oozing sauce provides his hair, and even his eyes are outlined by the oregano and Parmesan cheese. One person, commenting on the phenomena said, “The world is very boring. Everyone is sort of miserable. And suddenly you see a face in a spaghetti sauce ad and you think, ‘Hey, maybe there’s something more out there’.” Maybe there is. People are seeing Jesus in some strange places, but there is one place where they should be seeing him clearly — in the faces of his people. When Moses came into the presence of God on Mt. Sinai his face was still aglow with the glory of God as he came down the mountain and returned to the people. People should see the glow of God in our faces and in our lives. That’s where they should see him. When the law of God comes into our hearts it transforms us inwardly and begins to mold our character into the image of God. When the image of God is in our hearts it transforms who we are, and the love of God begins to shine from our lives.

There is a legend about a mythical kingdom where their entire stock of grain became poisoned by an enemy. Anyone who ate the grain would become insane. Only a small amount of grain which had been stored from other years was left unpoisoned. The king and his advisors could not decide what to do. Should people eat the grain and go insane, or should they starve to death? There seemed to be only two options. Finally the king decided to feed the people the contaminated grain so that they would live. But he reserved the unpoisoned grain that had been stored to give to a handful of people so there would be some among them who would know that the rest of them were insane. The untainted laws of God restore our moral sanity. When people are feeding on the poisoned philosophy of the world and rejecting the laws of God they lose touch with reality. They stop reflecting the image of God. Those feeding on the Word of God and Bread of Life have their sanity restored, and it is their responsibility to witness to the truth with their words and with their lives.