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Rules, rules, rules… Is TRUE religion all about RULES?

— To start, I want to share two areas in which we find some confusion as we discover other Christians and their ideas of church doctrine…

1/ People wonder if you must be baptized to be saved as they read Acts 2:38  And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

They seem to forget what Jesus said in Matthew 26:27-28  And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you,  (28)  for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
— Forgiveness and His salvation is given to us as we turn to Jesus and accept His death on the cross as payment for our own sins. Baptism is a very important TESTIFYING BY YOURSELF TO THAT FACT. However it does not save, and is not a requirement to be saved, for many saints have died without ever been able to be baptized, and yet they will certainly be in heaven with all God’s children.

— We should indeed wish to follow all the commands of Jesus, and He told us we should grab the first opportunity to testify through WATER BAPTISM that we have given up our past sinful life and now LIVE FOR CHRIST.

ALSO… We read in Mark 1:4-5  John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  (5)  And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

And yet look at the answer John the Baptist gives to those Pharisees in Matthew 3:4-12  Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.  (5)  Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him,  (6)  and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.  (7)  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?  (8)  Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.  (9)  And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.  (10)  Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  (11)  “I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.  (12)  His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

— It is very clear from these verses that God states repeatedly that He sees the heart…

IT IS NOT ABOUT whether you fulfill a bunch of regulations and ceremonies, it is about your heart’s thoughts toward God and your fellow man. Empty ceremonies and cruel obediance will never gain you God’s rewards.

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2/ God gives us another lesson in faulty human understanding from the woman at the well… (Can you spot her failure to comprehend what Jesus is talking about?)

— SEE John 4:5-19  So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.  (6)  Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.  (7)  A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.”  (8)  (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.)  (9)  The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.)  (10)  Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”  (11)  The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water?  (12)  Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.”  (13)  Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again,  (14)  but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”  (15)  The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”  (16)  Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”  (17)  The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’;  (18)  for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”  (19)  The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.

— Jesus promises a water that when received will satisfy your thirst forever. (Do you think He is talking of a thirst of the human flesh?)

— The woman thinks Jesus can somehow give her a MAGICAL supply of water so she will not have to come and work to draw water every day.

Please note how Jesus proceeds to gently and cleverly correct her misunderstanding…

(Vs. 16-19)  Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.”  (17)  The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’;  (18)  for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.”  (19)  The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.

— By showing His knowledge of her intimate and hidden life, Jesus switches her thinking from the temporal and earthly to the lasting and heavenly.

— This is exactly what He is still trying to do for you and me today.

— His Holy Spirit also knows our past and our present struggles.

I am saddened when I hear on the news channels how many followers of Jesus (Those who desire to be known as Christians) are giving way to believing in magical manifestations of some sort or another. Statues that cry blood, or charms and designated saints that are supposed to watch over us in certain situations we face in life. Others might preach seeking to know the angel that is assigned to watch over you, or the name of the demon that afflicts.

— Some also are deceived into thinking Christ’s salvation is reserved for one denomination of believers.

None of this is BIBLICAL and therefore is only going to hinder your effort to follow God.
— Just as this woman at the well had baggage from her people’s doctrine.

— The GOOD NEWS is that God will show Himself to those who truly seek Him. ~ Then it is up to you and I to either accept His Holy Spirit’s prompting, or reject it and stay in our religious pursuits of chalises and charms.

— I BEG OF YOU… Please find yourself a Bible rooted fellowship, and pray that God’s Holy Spirit will open your mind and your eyes to understand what is the TRUE GOSPEL, and help you to discern the FALSE.

It is definately NOT ABOUT RULES, RULES, RULES…
It is about God working in you.

If you have any questions, or would like to share your searching, just drop me a note on the comments and messaging section of the home page of our site… I would be happy to hear from you. …KK