God of rules

"So why are you now trying to out-god God, loading these new believers down with rules that crushed our ancestors and crushed us, too? Don't we believe that we are saved because the Master Jesus amazingly and out of sheer generosity moved to save us just as he did those from beyond our nation? So what are we arguing about?"- Acts 15:10-11 (the Message)

Why do most churches fail to reach new believers? I think Peter captured the essence of that question in these 3 sentences.

Many of us who came to Christ came when we knew we still had some work to do. We understood we weren't perfect, but someone, somewhere told us about this free gift of grace from God through His son. So, we took it. Then we start going to church and building our faith. Then, we learn that there are certain things we need to do if we go to church- rules that we need to follow, ways that we need to act, times when we need to sit and stand, ways that we need to pray and other things that God cares little about but that mean a whole lot to some people.

In Acts, we get the pleasure of seeing poor Peter (the Feste of the Gospels) finally get it. In the past, he's shown moments of brilliance and moments of Lloyd Christmas.



But with this paragraph, at least in my mind, he is completely redemed. In one swift and smooth oration, Peter illuminates all that is wrong with the church. Our rules.

See, God is not a God of rules. He put rules in place only after he recognized that we could not live in His perfect world without screwing it up. But, His rules are there not to be tyrannical or dictatorial, but because He is crazy about us and knows the best way for us to live. He knows that if we live His way, our lives will be a blessing, and if we don't, then, not so much.

But when we (as church people) impose rules on people that have little or no relation to God's desire for His people, it turns people off and repels them from Christ instead of attracting them to Him.

Don't get me wrong here, I don't think the Church is beyond repair. But, we need to focus on introducing people to Christ, making disciples out of them (from the Greek word "maqhteu/w" meaning "to learn"). Then, God's holy spirit will infiltrate them from the inside out, and change their lives. This kind of change is deeper and longer lasting than anything we can do anyway. Why don't we just let it happen that way, then? I can think of two reasons I want to tell people how to live:

- Similarity- I like to be around people who think how I think, believe what I believe, and act like I act.
- Pride- If I get them to stop doing something, I can take credit for it, rather than giving the glory to God, where it belongs.

So, I'm on the lookout now. No new rules. I mean it. Seriously.

Stealing Glory

God said to Gideon, "You have too large an army with you. I can't turn Midian over to them like this—they'll take all the credit, saying, 'I did it all myself,' and forget about me. Make a public announcement: 'Anyone afraid, anyone who has any qualms at all, may leave Mount Gilead now and go home.'" Twenty-two companies headed for home. Ten companies were left. - Judges 7:2,3

Amazing that so many years ago, people were still in the business of stealing God's glory, isn't it? In this story, Gideon is called by God to go defeat Midian. But God wants to make sure that his army is so small that they couldn't possibly do it on their own. Only by making us small can God show he is large. Only when we are weak can he show his strength.

See, I do this kind of thing all the time. Something happens in my life that is so great, so powerful, I know it had to be God. Yet, I somehow manage to find a way to try and take credit for it. It's happening in my life even as we speak. In his book, Humility: True Greatness, CJ Mahaney explains that he has made a habit of, instead of just confessing a pride issue, saying, "In that moment, I was trying to steal God's glory." What a powerful statement that, when said out loud, sounds ridiculous. But it's really true fairly often, at least for me.

One of my favorite pastors and speakers, Francis Chan writes of ways to stave off pride. He says:
- Humbling comes when you stand before the One who knows everything about you
- Humbling comes when you envision Him as the potter and yourself as clay
- Humbling comes when you compare your age with God who is eternal
- Humbling comes when you remember He can take your life before you read this verse

Many people think being humble means thinking (or at least saying) you're not very good at things. Being humble just means that you recognize and understand that all the great gifts, talents, abilities, and passions you have come from God and from God alone. When you give Him credit, you can't help but be humble. And judging from the story of Gideon, that's what He wants from us.