A few things to keep in mind in regard to the rules or law of God. First the fruits of the Spirit (that we discussed in the last section) should always be in accordance with God's truth and principles. In order for you to remain separate from sin this must be checked often. In other words we don't decide for ourselves what thew rules are based on our own morality. For example "For me it is the most loving thing to have 5 wives" or "I find my peace sitting in front of a statue of Buddha while burning incense and sitting in the lotus position". Do you see what I am getting at? This isn't to say the the fruits of the Spirit and their attributes are only found in the confines of Christianity. Many religions have aspects of God's truth. But as we know being a righteous, moral person is only half of the equation. We have to have Jesus to pay for our sin, and lead us to eternal life. Other religions don't have that. So while we have a lot of good righteous people and leaders out there, and this is a good thing, it is not an end to the means which is Jesus alone. Nothing added or taken away. Jesus is "the way, the truth and the life" period.
Now on the other end of the spectrum is the same idea that the devil had in the first place. "God is just trying to control me by all these rules...I'm my own person...I answer to no one...I am the only one that knows what is best for me". This is humanistic thinking. The thought that we all can be our own moral compass. We think that any formed authority is dictatorship. You have to come to the understanding that God is NEVER trying to control you. He has only ever tried to protect you out of His love for you. The trap that we fall into when trying to form our own moral compass is the same trap that caught us in the garden of Eden. Sooner or later we will fall into sin. Now whether we acknowledge that it is in fact sin is a different matter.
You see humanism says we can each make our set of rules. So if I decide that it is alright for me to have sex with a child, that is fine because I am only answerable to myself. This sounds extreme I know, but this is the same attitude that has gotten us to abort babies and engage in other sexual deviations. Humanistic consensus seems to rule the laws. So if enough people think that a sin is OK, I guess it is OK. WRONG! Rebellion against God will always result in sin. Sin will always brings death either emotionally, spiritually or sometimes even physically.
Now none of these sins are anything new. Any sin or deviation that we have going on now was also going on in ancient times. That is part of the reason that God made the rules in the first place. He needed to counter act the "I know better than God" or "no one can tell me what to do" attitude. So the argument that God's truth and principles are too old school and don't apply to this post modern generation is crap! Every sin has been tried and tested for the last 5000 years or so. So we don't know better than God! He has seen all the sin and he has seen all the results of sin since the beginning of time. So he know what rules need to be in place to protect us.
This isn't to say that everyone who is living in sin is miserable. If that was the outward appearance of sin no one would do it in the first place. Remember the "trauma blog", the devil bleeds you out slowly. Many people become so deceived that they have talked themselves into thinking that their particular sin is OK. Some people do this while leading some what happy, productive lives. The problem is the party doesn't last forever. Sooner or later sin will take it's toll. Also keep in mind that Jesus is the only way to the Father and they only way to root out the sin in our lives. Jesus is also the only way to do both those things in a loving Spirit of grace no matter what sin you have committed. This is your only hope for true wholeness in your life.
Now I know that the thought of conformity goes against every grain of your rebellious spirit. At least that is how it was with me. You want to be different and unique. You will never find your uniqueness in sin. Remember how we just said that every sin has been tried, rehashed, and reinvented for the last 5000 years? On the other hand there has never been one of you for the last 5000 years. No one that has looked like you or talked like you. No one with your personality. No one with your combination of talents and gifts. So if you trust that God lovingly created you, you must trust that He would never do anything to stifle your uniqueness. Life in the Spirit of God will ALWAYS enhance your uniqueness that God especially created in you. Don't be tricked into joining a group of played out sin. Sin will only give you a shell of false identity with no spirit in life.
So we have to have the rules. We need to follow God's truth and principles as our moral compass. We must humble ourselves and yield to the boundaries God has set out for us. This is the only way we will be protected from the plots of the enemy. This is the only way we will gain life in the Spirit which in turn brings greater intimacy with God and grace to live righteously.
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