This past Sunday our pastor gave a sermon titled “More than Rules”. Following the scripture Matthew 16:24, that says, “Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” To sum up the message, he talked about how many Christians base their faith on rules found in scripture, and over time we tend to set the standard for others based on the rules we know and live by. The problem arises when:
#1. We start straying from the rules ourselves (which is inevitable).
#2. We decide it’s okay for us to judge others because they aren’t following the rules.
This entire message made me really start re-examining myself. There’s so many things in the world today that aren’t black and white like they used to be (or like we thought they used to be). We’re facing issues of racism, sexism, gender equality, terrorism, etc. I’m not saying that we haven’t faced this issues in past generations, but it’s blasted in front of us daily through the news, social media, and in our relationships with other people. Where are we supposed to stand on these issues as Christians? What does the bible say about it?
With each of these issues, there is 1 passage I keep going back to. It’s very popular (probably not as well known as the 7 verses before it) but still extremely relevant.
“Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” – 1 Corinthians 13:8-13
With every single issue, if we refer back to this passage, we find a solid answer: love. Instead of going head first into these issues with rules, let’s face them with love. Let’s realize that those who are homosexual, pregnant out of wedlock, Buddhist, or murders are people. And not only are they people, but they are God’s children.
I asked myself 2 questions at the end of the message. #1: When is it okay to judge those who are rule breakers? And I found my answer in John 8:2-11
At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
It’s okay for us to judge others when we ourselves are without sin. We know that we cannot be without sin, and only Jesus Christ is without sin. However, when he was in a position where he could pass judgement, he chose to show grace instead. And the second question I asked my self was this: When is it okay to show grace to others? As often as Christ shows his grace and love to us.
If being a Christian means following the rules, I want to be a rule breaker. I want to be known for the grace I showed someone, and not the judgement I passed on them. I want to show love before I show hate. And I want to be known for accepting someone and their faults, just as Christ has done the same for me.
