Rules Stifle Relationship

The world system in general is a rule and regulated society. These rules and regulations are imposed on people in hopes that people will adhere to them so as to maintain order and control. 

Most religious systems exist because of this rule and regulated mentality. This is borne out by the do and don't rules and regulatory controls religion have in place to keep people from sinning and within the concepts of the system. This system of rules is the way the religious institutional church determines what is sin and who sins and the way to deal with the people who sin by breaking the rules. The more sin they see the more rules they make to try and curb the sin. The more rules they make, the more rules there are to break thus, causing more of what they deem to be sin. This rule breaking and rule making to curb sinning results in a defeated lifestyle of lifelessness that is impotent, frustrating and mesmerizing. Establishing laws governed by rules and regulations will never establish a relationship with God.

The religious system not only emphasis the keeping of the Mosaic Law as a measure of one's spirituality, they have also added denominational laws. There is the Pentecostal Law...The Methodist Law...The Roman Catholic Law...The Baptist Law...The Lutheran Law...The United Church Law...Word of Faith Law and the non-denominational, interdenominational Laws, all of which are as binding as the ordinances (Mosaic Law) Jesus fulfilled by His going to the cross.

Just because the institutional churches may be steeped in religious rituals and ceremonies does not mean they are operating in the life of Christ.

Whenever we try to justify our spirituality by our actions by caring out do's and don'ts in obeying the religious rules, we are operating in the flesh manifesting self-righteousness, instead of operating in His Grace appropriated righteousness.

Do's and Don'ts have nothing to do with the righteousness of God and when they are used to determine righteousness they obscure what Jesus accomplished on the cross and His plan for the Community of the Redeemed in the Community of Humanity.

- Glenn Regular