Church rules - rules for the church

Do you have any rules in your house?  When people come over, it is pretty likely they will have to abide by some of the rules you have in your house.  Maybe you like guests to take off their shoes when they come in.  Or perhaps you ask guests to use coasters for their drinks.  As a kid, one of our household rules was, "No throwing balls in the house."  You may have some rules in regards to what music is played, what TV shows and movies are watched, or something else along those lines.  What are some of the rules you have in your household?  Whatever the rules may be, when we have people over to our house, we expect people to abide by our rules, just like we respect others' rules when we go over.        When we look at one of the main verses of 1 Timothy, we see the main thrust of why this book was written, "...that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God..." (3:15).  As Christians, it is important for us to know the rules God has for us to follow.  1 Timothy 1:4 is telling Christians not to pay attention to myths, speculation, and other types of imperfect information, but to pay attention to the "administration of God."  When this phrase is translated literally it is telling Christians to pay attention to the "house law of God."  In a very real sense, when we come to worship the Lord, we, the church, are His house.  Therefore, we must also worship Him according to the laws He has established.        It is truly sad there is so much religious division alive today.  When one takes a step back, the main reason for religious division is not lack of tolerance, or stubborn people, but is because some people do not want to truly commit and follow God's laws.   So many individuals, groups, and entire denominations all seem to have their own interpretation and opinion on what to follow, and what to do in God's house.  However, it is totally irrelevant what we think or what our opinion is about God's laws.  When we go over to someone else's house, we do not make our own interpretation of their rules, or decide our rules are better.  We recognize we are guests in their house, and we treat their rules with respect and obedience.  So then why should God's house be any different?  When we come to worship the Lord, we are in His house, and in a similar way we must follow His rules.  Nadab and Abihu decided they wanted to make their own rules instead of following God's and they lost their lives because of it (Leviticus 10:1-2).  Let's be more diligent to put aside what we think, feel, even what we like, and only abide by God's rules in the Bible.  After all, when we come to worship Him, we are in His house.  God's house; God's rules.

Brett Petrillo

 

Get a wide variety of Bible commentary and Bible study materials at http://www.abiblecommentary.com today.  There are even FREE text sermons - http://www.abiblecommentary.com/freesermons, FREE  audio sermons - http://www.abiblecommentary.com/audiosermons, and a FREE on-line commentary on the book of Romans:  http://bit.ly/3MRU5I.  Now there is a new commentary on First Corinthians; this may be purchased securely through PayPal - http://bit.ly/9hyC7M