Whatever game you play, the rules are the means by which it is made fair for all. All of us have known those who want to make up the rules as the game goes along.
A well-known country singer living in Central Texas owns his own golf course. When he plays golf with his buddies, he makes up his own rules. Even if you don’t play golf you know something is fishy there:
- RULE 1: The owner decides what par is on each hole.
- RULE 2: There shall be no such thing as a “lost ball.” It is somewhere on or near the course. No penalty.
- RULE 3: If a putt passes over the hole without going in, it is deemed to have gone in because the law of gravity supercedes the law of golf.
You see where that set of rules is going—just where the owner wants it to go, right or wrong! Maybe that’s all in fun. Yes, the rules of golf are subject to change by man because man made them in the first place, but if God is truly just—and He is—then His rules cannot be modified “as we go along.”
RULES GOVERNING AUTHORITY
Those rules of golf were “modified” because on his golf course he was the authority. But in man’s life, God possesses the ruling authority. He has declared that His rules cannot be amended by man, and that He is not going to arbitrarily change them Himself.
Our actions will always be responsible to God’s rules, whether we agree with them or not. When we violate them (God calls that sin) we will be held accountable for such violations.
We must be subject to those in positions of government “for the Lord’s sake,” 1 Peter 2:13. Our behavior before our neighbors and family must be in accord with our commitment to God. That is one of God’s “rules.”
RULES GOVERNING MARRIAGE
Marriage, as God ordained it, has taken a few big hits lately. If it is not the problem of divorce, it’s the problem of “gay” marriage. The courts of our land and others have made our secular laws, but God established marriage in the first place, and He is the ruling authority over marriage. That rule is simple:
ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN, FOR LIFE. ONE EXCEPTION: ADULTERY, MATT. 19:9
Man has “changed” that rule to say that, as one man states in his “enrichment” lectures, “Everyone has a right to one good marriage.” If his point is correct, God needs to modify His rule on marriage to allow every person at least one mistake, one divorce, and not be held accountable for it. But reading Jesus’ comments on this subject we find a very different principle:
“Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her. And if a woman divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery,” Mark 10:11-12
Only God has a right to change this “rule,” and He doesn’t change the rules “as He goes along”.
RULES GOVERNING MORALITY
A wishy-washy, go-with-the-flow morality has always appealed to man. The last thing some want is a rigid standard of morality. We have several “new” moral codes, each with very “fluid” applications. That which was once quite forbidden is now very tolerated—even flaunted.
Today’s philosophies tend to seek ways by which “rules” can be altered, modified or eliminated altogether. Maybe Elvis should have been born in the 80’s instead of the 30’s. His gyrations would be mild compared to what “entertains” us today.
But again, Jesus anticipated these ‘modifications’, giving strict decrees against fornication, lust, immodesty, adultery, homosexuality and dishonesty. He doesn’t change His rules in the middle of the game.
RULES GOVERNING DOCTRINE
Following the thought of today’s ethicists, religious doctrine must also be adaptable. The cry of some of our own brethren is that our “world has changed; the church must be brought into the 21st century; change with the times.” If it works for marriage and morals, surely it must work for authority and doctrine. But, wait—2 Timothy 3:16-17 says:
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
No room for “revising” the rules there. If you found such instruction in the rules of a ball game, you would know that the rules were made prior to the game, and that they must be respected. Doctrine, instruction, correction, completely equipped—does that not settle it?
Men’s rules are often made with built-in means of amending them. Our Constitution has been amended twenty-seven times, the last in 1992. And if our nation continues, there may be more. But God’s “rules” are not made to be amended, but to be respected, to be obeyed, and they are profitable:
“This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” 1 John 5:3
God’s commandments reveal His love for us and are for our benefit. If we are wise, we will respect God and abide by His rules.
