Why Does God Make Us Follow So Many Rules?

Why Does God Make Us Follow So Many Rules?

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

Galatians 5:1, NIV

“DO YOU REALLY WANT TO have to follow all those rules?”

I’ve always hated rules. If there was a rule, I wanted to break it. I wanted to be free.

I hate rules in general, and there are some rules that seem pointless. In fact, some rules are pointless. There are some laws that are so dumb it’s hard to believe they’re real. In Oklahoma it’s illegal to have a sleeping donkey in your bathtub after 7:00 p.m. Apparently in Alabama it’s illegal to wear a fake mustache in church or to have an ice-cream cone in your back pocket. In California it’s illegal to have a dog pursue a bear. There’s a US federal law making it illegal to issue a fake Weather Service forecast.^a In Zion, Illinois, it’s illegal to give a cat or dog a lighted cigar. And in Baltimore, Maryland, it’s illegal to take a lion to the movies.^b

Some rules are dumb. But I’ve always been someone who wanted to break any rule because I wanted to be free.

I think a lot of people are that way, which is why people wonder why God had to fill the Bible with so many rules for us to follow.

And it is true that when you become a Christian, you’re deciding that you will obey whatever God says.

We should obey God because he is God and he is worth obeying. But there’s another reason for obeying God, and it may surprise you. We should obey God because he is all about freedom, and obeying him actually increases our freedom.

Captive

When God had the world the way he wanted, there was only one rule. God is not into rules.

You might wonder, Well, why even one rule?

I think the one rule was God’s way of giving people the choice of making him the authority in their lives. The tangible way God did that was by telling people they couldn’t eat the fruit of one particular tree. But at the heart of that rule was the heart of the people the rule was given to. Would they submit to God’s authority, or would they choose to be their own authority?

You might wonder, Why is it such a big deal to God that people submit to his authority?

I’m convinced part of the reason is that God is all about freedom and knew we couldn’t be free apart from him.

We tend to think of freedom as being independent from any restrictions, but the truth is that we need restrictions to truly be free.

Think of a fish. It’s only free if it’s restricted to water. If, in an attempt to experience freedom, it escapes the confinement of water, it will actually lose freedom and die.

Or think of a dog. If you want your dog to run free, you put a fence around your yard. Why? Because if it tries to run free without that confinement, it will likely get hit by a car, thus losing its freedom and dying.

Or think of a child. If a kid wants to be his own boss and therefore rebels against the loving confinements of his parents, he won’t experience true freedom. His life will be a disaster.

We need certain restrictions to be truly free. And living life in God’s love and under his authority liberates us to experience real freedom.

So God gave only one rule, but the first people, wanting to be free, rebelled against God’s authority. They quickly discovered that it hadn’t liberated them; they had actually become confined to a less-than-free life. Their descendants, the Israelites, continued to rebel against God, and they ended up enslaved in Egypt. Finally, desperate, they cried out to God. They were wrong. They wanted him back. They wanted to be free. God heard their cry and led them out of slavery.

And then . . . God gave them rules. It was at this point that God gave his laws, including the Ten Commandments.

What Do God’s Rules Do?

It’s important to note when God gave people rules. Why? Because the rules aren’t designed to lead people into a relationship with God; they’re designed to help people who already have a relationship with God to experience freedom within that relationship.

This is one of the biggest theological mistakes people make. Surveys have been done asking people, “When you die, will you go to heaven?” Most people say, “Yeah, I think so.” When asked, “Why?” they often reply, “I do pretty well at keeping the Ten Commandments.”

Well, the truth is you probably haven’t done that well at keeping the Ten Commandments. But even if you have, so what? It has nothing to do with getting to heaven. Heaven is for people who have chosen to love and worship and have a relationship with God. God didn’t give the Ten Commandments to show the Israelites how to get into a relationship with him. He gave the Israelites the Ten Commandments because they had already decided to get into a relationship with him. They were rules to follow within their relationship, not to establish a relationship.

Think of it this way. Imagine you show up at my church in Vegas and ask some guy, “Are you married to Jennifer? The one who volunteers in the preschool class?” And the guy says, “Yeah, I think so.” So you ask, “Why do you think so?” And the guy says, “Well, I’ve always been nice to her. I’ve never lied to her. Never hit her. One time I saw her at Starbucks and I bought her a coffee. I’ve never offended her. So, yeah, I’m pretty sure we’re married.”

What?

No, I’m married to Jennifer.

Keeping the rules with Jen doesn’t make you married to Jen.

Being nice to Jen doesn’t make you married to Jen.

I’m married to her. Not because I keep the rules of marriage, but because twenty years ago I asked her, and she said yes, and we went through a wedding ceremony. And I should keep the “rules” of marriage because I love her. But even if I don’t keep the rules, we’re still married.

And, in the same way, keeping the Ten Commandments, keeping God’s rules, doesn’t make me a Christian, and it won’t get me into heaven. I’m a Christian, and I’ll go to heaven because God asked me to be in a relationship with him, and twenty-five years ago I said yes, and then I went through the ceremony of baptism. And, yes, I should keep his rules because I love him. But even if I don’t keep the rules, we still have the relationship and I’m still going to heaven. Because it has nothing to do with keeping the rules; it has to do with God in love giving his Son, and me believing in and accepting him.

God gives rules to his people because they’re his people. That’s why he puts a “fence” around their behavior.

It’s like the way I set rules for my kids because they’re my kids. I don’t set rules for other people’s kids. (I would like to set some rules for other people’s kids. But I don’t, because they’re not my kids.) And my kids didn’t become my kids by following my rules. They’re already my kids, and I give them rules because they’re in my family, not to let them know how to become a part of my family.

Free

God doesn’t give rules to people to show them how to become his people. He gives rules because they are his people.

And God doesn’t give us rules to restrict our freedom; he gives us rules (like any good parent) to help us experience true freedom. He gives us rules because he knows if we follow them we will be free from regrets, free from shame, free from addiction, free of secrets, free from pain and heartbreak.

God has always been about freedom. That’s why it’s a theme throughout the Bible. For instance, the Bible says, “The Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom”^c and “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free”^d and “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.”^e

So I think the real question isn’t “Do you really want to have to follow all those rules?” It’s “Do you really want to be free?”

Now What?

• Read James 1:19-25.
• This passage refers to God’s rules as a perfect law that sets us free. How have you found yourself losing freedom because of not following God’s rules? How do you think following God’s rules could increase your freedom?
• God wants you to live under his authority, according to his truth, so you can truly be free. Pray for the wisdom and strength to truly live life God’s way. Pray that others who don’t believe will see your freedom and joy and want it, and so be drawn to God.