I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.
That quote attributed to Ghandi is not new. Unfortunately, it often rings true. We sometimes don’t give off a very good “air” to those who are far from Jesus. To make matters worse, we often try to force our rules and regulations on others as well.
When I was in college, I decided not to play basketball my senior year. I had married over the summer, but that was not the issue because wives were welcome to travel with the team. It would have been my 3rd coach in 4 years, but that was not the issue. The issue was my grades. I had been an average to slightly above average student my first three years. I could not study on the bus due to the motion and concentration issues. So during basketball season, my grades took a dive. But I set a goal to make the Dean’s List one time, which was a 2.3 since our school was on a 3 point system. My average grades were about 1.8 so I had my work cut out for me. I had one class that was dicey- Advanced Biology-taught by a woman who had been there for eons and who wasn’t crazy about giving breaks (showing grace), especially to guys. I worked hard, but science was like Math to me-not a good fit. I needed an 88 for a “B” and the Dean’s List. I got an 87…both semesters. I begged. I pleaded. I offered to do extra work. But to no avail.
GRACE WAS NOT IN HER VOCABULARY. STICKING TO THE RULES WAS.
What I couldn’t figure out was how anyone could refuse a cute face like mine! Probably a good thing I didn’t have a child at the time. I would have used him/her. 
Seriously, in her mind no teacher worth his/her salt would ever bend the rules and offer grace!
Sounds like a lot of preachers and others who claim to follow Jesus. But in all honesty, I have to question what or who they do follow. Jesus’ harshest words were reserved for the religious leaders. John 8 is a classic example of that. His reaction had to fry their bacon…extra crispy. Fans follow rules; followers follow Jesus. Rules might help define boundaries, but living by a list of do’s and don’ts is not the way of Jesus, or of grace.
Now you know the point of my message for Sunday. Rules or Jesus? I’d appreciate your prayers. And while we are there…do you find yourself a victim of rules and the boxes used to “contain” people? What are you doing to break out?
As a University professor for nearly 10 years, I fully agree with what your college professor did. Providing clear statements about expectations and grading in a class and then sticking firm to them is essential. Showing favoritism or giving some students “breaks” (what you call grace) is unfair and can lead to chaos and confrontation and hostility. O.K. I feel better. Now, when it comes to following Jesus, it’s about the rhythm, not the march. (smiles)
Oooh you broke my heart Daniel.
But I see your point. Reckon I ought to let go of the bitterness after 38 years? 
Rules. To show us that we are incapable of rising to their perfect demand.
Grace. To us us that God is for us, in spite of all that we do to try and impress Him. (He is unimpressed by all of it).
His Son is the only one He is impressed with.
Very true Steve. No way can we impress God by our imperfection.
But Bill, Jesus believed in rules. Remember when those Pharisees drug the woman caught in adultery to Jesus and how he said to stone her according to the Law…oh yeah.
Isn’t it amazing that God made these rules (the Law) and then when he invaded Earth in human form chose so often to look at those breaking them to say, “Go and sin no more.”
Good point.
“Not one jot or tittle of the law will be removed until the New Kingdom is put into place.”
We still live under the law (just try running red lights for a few days and you, and others will feel the wrath for the disregard of that law).
But for faith…for righteousness sake, “Christ is the end of the law”.
I know there are laws (rules) for our good but when it comes to commitment to rules vs. Jesus…I’ll take Jesus every time.
Yes, I’ve been suffocated by rules, and likewise have been the stickler and soffocator about rules. Children live what they learn, and that is what I learned.
From personal experience, rules never made me a better person – generally a worse person because I spent so much time trying to find loopholes and trying to bypass them where I could.
No rules, no regulations, no church program, no guilt trips can change even one life for the better. Only Jesus, living his life through us, can change us.
I can’t respond any better than you have with this Susan. You get the essence of my post.
I guess I follow rules that make sense. I am enough of a rebel to ignore rules that don’t make sense. So I guess I don’t ever see myself as a victim of rules. Although I do get a ticket every year or so for not wearing a seat belt.(One of those rules I think is dumb)
All religions have their rules, dogma, doctrine or whatever you want to call it that members are supposed to follow. As do workplaces, military organizations, political parties, etc.
Grace seems to me to be the thing that allows you to be a member without following the rules. Sort of an admission that the rule wasn’t all that important anyhow.
As for me I would say I am a Fan in that Jesus was credited with saying a lot of things I agree with.
I think this is more about “What label would I like people to give me” I think a lot of Christians may be following one day and gossiping(or whatever) the next. They may not want to be judge but they sure like being on the jury.
Chuckled about the ticket Jeff.
Sadly, your last paragraph is all too true.
Hi Bill,
The quote “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
I think that it takes the Holy Spirit to balance out rules and Jesus. If we as humans try and get a system down for these we
often end up either as legalists or lawless.
We must live by the Spirit as Christians. I am thinking that many Christians do not even know who the Holy Spirit is. We do not want to emphasize the Holy Spirit in our teachings to excess but his work is not generally endorsed or acknowledged in the church.
It’s too weird by many leaders standards to pray over people at church, or to function in many of the giftings of the Holy Spirit in a church setting. If leaders want to have these giftings operating, they want this to happen in a back room somewhere so that people attending the church are oblivious to this going on.
In other words, church leaders are ashamed of the Holy Spirit. He’s not political enough, he’s not conservative enough, he doesn’t necessarily abide by church leaders’ rules and practices when he works.
Not sure how the rest of the comment follows the quote but maybe you left out a comment or two. You must really have it in for church leaders.
I, for one, would be part of your group that doesn’t go along with the “function of the giftings” in a church setting. But I don’t think it has anything to do with being ashamed of the HS.
Hi Bill,
When the disciples of Jesus met to gather together, the giftings of the Holy Spirit were open and operating in a church setting. This is a way to minister to the saints in the church. This was how the saints ministered to and encouraged one another when they gathered.
This is what church is all about. Ministering to and encouraging the people of God. Church leaders today have made
‘church’ something else. It has not gone well, and ‘church’ continues to decline, and church leaders keep supporting a broken system.
If this isn’t opposition to the Holy Spirit I don’t know what would be. Church leaders are deceived, I believe, and stubborn, refusing to make any needed changes in their practice.
We disagree on what gifts are still operating today and which ones aren’t. We could go round and round on this Linda. But my failure to agree that “tongues” and healing (the miraculous gifts) is still operating is not deception and opposition to the HS.
breaking out of the boxes is a daily prayer for me. God, what can I do today that is out of the norm for me? Do whatever You have to do to transform me!
Praying the Spirit moves through you on Sunday!
I like breaking out of the box also Craig. Thanks for the prayer.
The legalists give Christians a bad name for sure. I’ve been one of those people that have never fit inside a box. One of my faults is to fight against those who try to place people in them. Some truly amazing Christians were the founding fathers who would be considered non conformists… now our society seems dead set on making the masses into drones…
Yeah, I got a little off topic I guess… but what do you expect from a guy who struggled with math and science?
Praying for you and your people this Sunday. God bless, Bill.
Just for the sake of being factual…The men responsible for building the foundation of the United States were men of The Enlightenment, not men of Christianity. They were Deists who did not believe the bible was true. They were Freethinkers who relied on their reason, not their faith.
That is what I have heard jeff.
Thanks for your prayers fellow math and science buddy.
But aren’t you in construction?
Things change with time… and it’s not exactly rocket science!
Calculators were my best asset!
But you still gotta know math for construction. That’s why I’m a pastor. The only math is counting on Sundays. LOL
I think the rules are still important. We need to remember that they’re there and that we break them ALL THE TIME. But coupled with that, we need to remember that Jesus has already fulfilled the rules and that we have his righteousness through faith in the eyes of God.
That’s something that most of us know. But I think I tend to leave it out of the conversation on rules and grace. And it does change the way we look at things.
I am not saying rules are not important. God gave them to us. But too many man-made rules have taken the place of a relationship with Jesus. Maybe I should have clarified myself better.
Praying for you and your congregation this Sunday! It blesses me to get this behind the scenes look at sermons in the making.
Thinking and praying about the rules or Jesus question!
Glad you like this behind the scenes look. Thanks for the prayers.
We have never been a part of a ministry yet that did not have rules. Everyone will do what is right in their own eyes without them. When Jesus came he called us to a higher rule…grace. Grace is the standard we are to live by while obeying rules.
I think when I get bent out of shape is when rules are used to judge spirituality. It’s not what version of bible I carry or how many times a week I go to church, it’s if I am following the standard Jesus sit for us. He told us to love God with all our hearts and love our neighbor as ourself. I find I can love God better because He loves me. But what about that neighbor or other christian who doesn’t love me back? Thats when the higher rule must be obeyed.
I know, this are simple thoughts…but I know if you think I am simple you will exercise grace and not tell me…blessings
You hit on the point I am trying to make Betty. I realize rules “do keep us in line” or let us know the boundaries. But when they are used to judge spirituality we have a problem. Simple thoughts=good ones.
True post, so many “Christians” make Christianity look bad because of their rules and regulations.
I’ll be praying to you and the services.
Sadly you are right Dan.
I came out of an organization many years ago because of some of the ridiculous rules they had. Now I’m not talking about things the bible spoke against, but what they as an organization thought was right and wrong. It was all about control, and money.
I bet you hate being out of that organization. (tongue-in-cheek with a lot of sarcasm attached).
I have heard people say, “I won’t be a christian because there are too many rules”. It’s sad to me that some think this way. We, the people and we, the church prayerfully need to work on our attitudes/perception of others. Grace.