The churches that I grew up in had a lot of rules about what choices one should make in life in regards to lifestyle. As did my parents which, I guess, was their prerogative. In the current day, many of those rules seem quaint and out of date. Being a Christian can bring with it a great deal of baggage as to what it means to follow Jesus. In fact, it could be argued that many churches do a better job of training new believers to follow their rules and they do to follow Jesus Himself. There are many Christians and churches who love to legislate how you deal with many issues of life, as if the only way to follow Jesus is to be in agreement with those rules.

This is an old problem. In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees had turned a relationship with God into a bunch of rules, most of which you could not find in Scripture. Practices would become rules and rules would become like theology. And soon, to follow God meant that you were following man-made rules. This was the problem in the church of Galatia to whom Paul wrote the letter of Galatians. They were teaching that one had to keep the law to follow Jesus, when in fact, Jesus had abolished the law through His death and resurrection. The problem is that laws and rules and man-made requirements do not help us know Jesus and follow Him more closely.

Jesus came to set us free, not to enslave us. He came to set us free from the law and from our own sin. In John 8:31, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” God’s truth and his commands are the only way to true freedom. Man made rules cannot do that. He continued, “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:36.

It is against this backdrop that Paul chastises the Galatians for going from the freedom Jesus brought back to rules and regulations. He says in Galatians 5:1: “It is for freedom that Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” 

At the same time He further says, we should not allow our newfound freedom be an excuse to sin. We are free to love God and serve one another: “You my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature, rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Galatians 5:13-14.

We live free from man-made rules and regulations. In fact, never allow anyone to tell you how you should live your life if it is not explicitly found in Scripture. The Christ life is not rule driven but relationship driven. If God gives us convictions on certain matters, great, but don’t insist that others treat those convictions as God ordained for them. We are free in Christ. But remember that our freedom should not be misused to indulge our sinful nature. Rather our freedom should unleash us to serve one another in love as we love our neighbor as ourselves.

Father, forgive me for those times when I have substituted man- made rules and regulations for a personal relationship with you. Remind me often that I am free. You have set me free. Don’t let me go back to the rulebook but release me to serve others in love. Amen.