Rules vs Principles

John 7:11-15

                   “Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and

                   said, Where is he?  And there was much

                   murmuring among the people concerning him:

                   for some said, He is a good man: others

                   said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. 

                   Howbeit no man spake openly of him for fear

                   of the Jews.  Now about the midst of the

                   feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. 

                   And the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth

                   this man letters, having never learned?” 

Here in John 7:15 the theologians were amazed at the knowledge Christ possessed of spiritual things.

These leaders were surprised & said: “How does this man know so much? He has never been taught!”

When Jesus graced this earth with His physical presence, the religious leaders of the church didn’t consider Him a theologian.  He didn’t go to the rabbinical schools of the day. Jesus was home-schooled by His Mom & Dad, and this didn’t set well with the Rabbis and Theologians.

The child Jesus did not receive instruction in the synagogue schools. His mother was His first human teacher. From her lips and from the scrolls of the prophets, He learned of heavenly things. The very words which He Himself had spoken to Moses for Israel He was now taught at His mother's knee. As He advanced from childhood to youth, He did not seek the schools of the rabbis. He needed not the education to be obtained from such sources; for God was His instructor.  {DA 70.1}

The question asked during the Savior’s ministry, "How knoweth this man letters, having never learned?" does not indicate that Jesus was unable to read, but merely that He had not received a rabbinical education. John 7:15.

Let me ask you……   If Jesus were here today, not having gone to the seminary, or not having received His degree or PhD, how do you think He would have been looked upon by the church?

Jesus’ teaching astonished the doctors of the law……  You see, He did not deal in abstract theories……

His instruction was PRACTICAL and DOWN-TO-EARTH.

His main focus was on character development……The enlargement of a man’s capacity to know God.

Jesus taught principles that applied to daily living.

God’s plan is for man to live by PRINCIPLE…  Not by RULES.

It doesn’t require a great deal of intelligence to obey rules.

Your pet dog or cat can be taught to do that.

But applying a PRINCIPLE requires intelligence of a higher order….

It requires mental, spiritual, and moral courage…

What I’m about to say will no doubt seem unbelievable to most of you….., but I think it needs to be said:

          I know it sounds strange, but men & women would rather live by RULES than by PRINCIPLES……

Yes, you heard me right…..

Because to live by rules takes less effort, Less thought, and no decisions are involved.

Before the entrance of sin into this world, there existed only ONE (1) principle in the mind of man:

LOVING SERVICE

After sin, the opposing principle of SELFISHNESS came into existence.

God has inspired the scriptures as VISUAL AIDS to help us better understand right principles and how to apply them to our lives in order that we may become loving servants instead of selfish rebels.

God must be first in our lives… first before our labor, and first in every activity of our lives.

The first full day that Adam spent on this earth was the Sabbath……..

We all know how the 4^th commandment reads concerning the first 6 days of creation: “Six days shalt thou labour………..”

But we must remember that for Adam, his first complete day was the first Sabbath. Do you think that our loving Father arranged it this way to teach the eternal principle that God must be FIRST?

You see, God is to be first…. 

First before labor and first before every activity.

Adam was created with time for Sabbath preparation.

He was to forever remember, as a principle, that he was to spend his week preparing to meet and commune with His God on the Sabbath.

The Ten Commandments which God gave His people were ten (10) great principles, given for their guidance and protection.

Deut. 6:24 – “And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as [it is] at this day.”

The commandments were not meant to be RULES, but they were meant to be living PRINCIPLES operating in the hearts & minds of His representatives on this earth…..  PRINCIPLES borne out of tremendous love for their Creator.

As I have stated…. Dogs can be made to obey RULES……But PRINCIPLES are a way of life that need not be dictated.

The issue here is not “What you must do or not do”, but “WHO YOU ARE”, and “WHO’S YOU ARE”.

Heb. 8:10=

“I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts”

One of the situations that didn’t help Ancient Israel was that they lived by oppressive rules under Egyptian bondage for 150 years.

As a result our Lord gave them the laws of Moses which were practical illustrations of these concepts.

But the religious leaders took these instructions and made RULES out of them, rather than the intended application of a PRINCIPLE.

They had intricate rules for Sabbath observance…  For example………..

A Jew was not to carry on the Sabbath even so much as a pocket handkerchief, except within the walls of the city.

These rules were numerous & confusing…

Jesus attempted to lead the people out of this theological & judicial jungle into the simplicity of living by principle.

Mt. 5:20   For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed [the righteousness] of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. 

  5:21   Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 

  5:22   But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment:

Jesus was telling them that they were not to look at the 6^th commandment as simply an act, but a PRINCIPLE. It was not just a matter of action but one of PRINCIPLE.

In other words, if you hate your brother, it’s the same as killing him, because it is in your heart.

There are many ways to kill a person without taking his life. He can be destroyed by gossip, or slander, or hatred.

THE THOUGHT IS EQUAL TO THE DEED.

The Principle must be written in your heart & mind, borne out of divine love for your fellow man.

Jesus revealed the depth of the principles involved…

He exposed the fatal concepts of the Jews in following an outward show of rules & regulations, while neglecting the true PRINCIPLES involved.

All Law is based upon 2 Biblical PRINCIPLES:

{l.} And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. (Deut. 6:5)

{2.} thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: (Lev. 19:18)

Jesus revealed the eternal nature of these principles in His response to the Pharisee Attorney in…………

Mt. 22:37-40:   “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 

This is the first and great commandment. 

And the second [is] like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I believe that in too many instances, the church today finds itself (individually & corporately) emphasizing RULES rather than PRINCIPLES.  

This is understandable when you realize that people would rather follow rules than principles. It’s so much easier because it does not require study, effort, or application of principle on their part.

Having served in the Literature Ministry for so many years, I have been able to recognize this as I have trained Literature Evangelists to be successful in their ministry.

It’s so much easier for a Literature Evangelist to go thru the written canvass with the prospect by rote, than to come to an understanding of the principles involved in reaching the heart & mind to bring them to decision.

The pen of inspiration says:

“The word of God abounds in general principles for the formation of correct habits of living, and the testimonies, general and personal, have been calculated to call their attention more especially to these principles” (4T323)

Inspiration also counsels us that we should carefully study the life of Christ and His lessons of practical godliness.  (see 3T214)

I believe the reason many today do not understand the contrast between “Rules & Principles” is that they have fallen for the sophistries of the Adversary as he has deceived them by influencing them to reject the counsels of God’s servant to His church….

We read about it in the following passage from “Faith I Live By”:

“The very last deception of Satan will be to make of none effect the testimony of the Spirit of God. "Where there is no vision, the people perish." Prov. 29:18. Satan will work ingeniously, in different ways and through different agencies, to unsettle the confidence of God's remnant people in the true testimony. He will bring in spurious visions, to mislead and mingle the false with the true, and so disgust people that they will regard everything that bears the name of visions, as a species of fanaticism; but honest souls, by contrasting false and true, will be enabled to distinguish between them”.  {FLB 296.6}

     "When the Testimonies, which were once believed, are doubted and given up, Satan knows the deceived ones will not stop at this; and he redoubles his efforts till he launches them into open rebellion, which becomes incurable and ends in destruction.

{FLB 296.7}

James 1:27 -  “Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, [and] to keep himself unspotted from the world.” 

James here in this text gives us a wonderful definition of what PURE RELIGION really is. He helps us to realize that, as God’s people, we live by practical application of the principles of heaven. These principles will not be looked upon as “RULES” by the born-again servant of God. They are not things we “HAVE TO DO!!!”

These are things that are now in-bred in your heart which is derived from such tremendous love you now possess toward God and your fellow man.

It’s a beautiful thing to behold as we recognize the relationship between RULES & PRINCIPLES……………

Let me share with you the difference between a RULE and a PRINCIPLE:   

1. A RULE, (law) (requirement) is a specific application of a principle which can be enforced.

It is impossible to enforce a PRINCIPLE……

            You can follow rules & yet hate your brother.

          The Bible makes this so very clear:

1 John 2:9,10   He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. 

He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.

A RULE is limited in scope & application. For example, laws which apply to the people in one area may not apply to those in another.

Diplomatic immunity allows certain people to do things that are forbidden to others.

2.     A PRINCIPLE is universal & does not allow special privileges or

diplomatic immunity.

This so-called “immunity” is what many professed Christian churches teach when they say the 10 commandments were for the Jews only; Rather than applying a Biblical principle,

{Incidentally, there was no Jew at the time of the establishment of God’s Moral Law}, they are applying a RULE, which is applicable to one group but not to another.

The principles of God’s moral law are forever written in the hearts & minds of those who have been born of the Spirit and who understand that the PRINCIPLES found in the 10 commandments are eternal.

The Apostle Paul made this very clear in Hebrews 8:10

“   I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people….”

Paul is echoing David the Psalmist when he said:

“…thy law is within my heart.” 

And the Lord when He gave the prophet Jeremiah these words of counsel:

“I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts.”

You see, you do not need a rule that says:

YOU MUST LOVE AND OBEY YOUR MOTHER AND YOUR FATHER or

YOU MUST LOVE YOUR HUSBAND OR WIFE…..

This moral precept of God’s holy moral law is in your heart. Your very being wouldn’t even dream of doing otherwise.

This is not a RULE, you see; but a PRINCIPLE. Born of divine love…..

3.    The third difference between a RULE and a PRINCIPLE is that a RULE is always subject to amendment or elimination.

A PRINCIPLE cannot be changed or discarded under any circumstance.

RULES are subject to change, but PRINCIPLES never change.

Beloved, there are many within our organization who have been influenced with “new theology” thinking……They are saying that our old ways are outdated and not relevant to mainline modern Christian teaching.

These are living by RULES you see.  If they were enduring “PRINCIPLES”, then they would not be changed or discarded.

They would follow the counsel of Scripture & walk in the old ways…………..

Jer. 6:16 “Ask for the old paths & walk therein. This is the good way……But they said…’We will NOT walk therein’!”

Let me give you an example of what I mean:   

Many of our people are being taught that……

§        The 10 commandments and the Levitical or ceremonial laws are all one law.  They are to be considered as one and the same.

§        We’re not to be so concerned over what we do on the Sabbath day…  such as eating out, watching TV, etc.

§        We need to abandon the pillars of the church as they are not creating “community” with other faiths. In other words, relax our standard in order to get along & associate with other churches.

§         We must relax our Bible-based standard of dress, entertainment & music to bring more to our churches.. Not to be so out of step with modern society.

§         A sadly excellent example of how the standards have been relaxed is in the wearing of jewelry.

I’m speaking of “ALL” jewelry, whether around the neck, ears, or on fingers.

When most believers became part of God’s church, after having been taught the fundamentals of the faith, they removed all forms of jewelry because of sound Biblical & SOP counsel, and that was the standard. They became convicted on the issue. We find some of those people today now practicing those very things which was warned against. They must have felt under bondage all those years. We must conclude that they never had a religion of conviction, but a religion of preference. They must have considered it a RULE, rather than a PRINCIPLE. The only way you would change would be if you considered it a RULE, and not a PRINCIPLE. They are living by works…(doing it their own way). What they are saying is….”God, I have a better way. This issue is no longer important in this enlightened age.”

GC 582-3

"From the very beginning of the great controversy in heaven it has been Satan’s purpose to overthrow the law of God. ……"In seeking to cast contempt upon the divine statutes, Satan has perverted the doctrines of the Bible, and errors have thus become incorporated into the faith of thousands who profess to believe the Scriptures. The last great conflict between truth and error is but the final struggle of the long-standing controversy concerning the law of God. Upon this battle we are now entering—a battle between the laws of men and the precepts of Jehovah, between the religion of the Bible and the religion of fable and tradition . ."Thousands who pride themselves upon their wisdom and independence regard it as an evidence of weakness to place implicit confidence in the Bible; they think it a proof of superior talent and learning to cavil at the Scriptures and to spiritualize and explain away their most important truths. Many ministers are teaching their people, and many professors and teachers are instructing their students, that the law of God has been changed or abrogated; and those who regard its requirements as still valid, to be literally obeyed, are thought to be deserving only of ridicule or contempt."

These are very serious matters beloved. It’s past time we got serious right here on the very edge of eternity. It’s time we let the Lord know and others know that we are serious about the counsels and directives of our Creator God.

From Counsels to Writers & Editors:

“I saw a company who stood well guarded and firm, giving no countenance to those who would unsettle the established faith of the body. God looked upon them with approbation. I was shown three steps,--the first, second, and third angels' messages. Said my accompanying angel, "Woe to him who shall move a block or stir a pin of these messages. The true understanding of these messages is of vital importance. The destiny of souls hangs upon the manner in which they are received." I was again brought down through these messages, and saw how dearly the people of God had purchased their experience. It had been obtained through much suffering and severe conflict. God had led them along step by step, until He had placed them upon a solid, immovable platform. --Early Writings, pp. 258, 259. (1858.)  {CW 53.1}

 The Sanctuary a Point of Special Attack.—“In the future, deception of every kind is to arise, and we want solid ground for our feet. We want solid pillars for the building. Not one pin is to be removed from that which the Lord has established. The enemy will bring in false theories, such as the doctrine that there is no sanctuary. This is one of the points on which there will be a departing from the faith. Where shall we find safety unless it be in the truths that the Lord has been giving for the last fifty years?”-- Review and Herald, May 25, 1905.  {CW 53.2}

Beloved, let’s be true and faithful to the platform of Truth that is based solidly upon Biblical counsel. We are such a blessed people. God has revealed unto His people what is Truth…  and be assured, that Truth and the holder of that belief will always be under attack as someone strange or uncooperative because they will not bend or relax those beliefs in order to become compatible with those around them  (those who have bought into the concepts of false religion, which by the way, is the most popular way.)

Let us not just be following RULES……….

Let us be a people of PRINCIPLE>………

Jesus was a man of “PRINCIPLE” when He refused to succumb to Satan’s temptations……

This was certainly evidenced as He chased the money changers from the temple.

And never was it more solemnly evidenced as He trod that lonely & horrendous path up Golgotha’s Hill.

When you have put on Christ, you have Him living in your heart………..   Think about that for a moment…..

This means that you now have a spiritual mind which will do naturally that which will please Him.

Let us each one not look upon God’s desire for His people as “Rules”, but let us look upon them as “Principles” 

Have you ever prayed earnestly for something or someone and you've wondered why God did not answer that prayer? And as a result of what you feel is an unanswered prayer, do you become a pessimistic Christian?  Do you come to the place where you simply go through the motions of prayer....knowing all along that God will not really hear you, or grant your request? Are you like the professed Christian who can hardly wait for the future so you can look back with regret?......An 'I TOLD YOU SO' Christian?

Or is it possible that you are the Christian who takes the results of your prayers in your own hands. You realize that God is either not going to listen to you.....or He's too busy to take the time to give attention to your prayer? Therefore you decide that you will effect the end result without His help. So you take matters into your own hands.

It reminds me of the man who sat watched a cocoon in the woods behind his house. As he was patiently watching, he noticed it seemed to be moving around a bit. As he looked closer he could see a tiny opening beginning to appear in the cocoon. He was fascinated as he watched the butterfly struggle for several hours, attempting to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed that the butterfly stopped making any progress and had gone as far as it could go. So the man decided to help the butterfly. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then easily emerged. But it had a swollen body and its wings were small and shriveled. The man continued watching the butterfly because he expected that any moment the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body. But neither happened. In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly. What the man did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly to get through that tiny opening were God's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings so it would be ready for flight once out of the cocoon.

There are many tremendous lessons that can be drawn from this story of the man and the cocoon. Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If God allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. We would never fly in our spiritual experience.

Oftentimes we feel that God's plan for the cocoon of our life is not a reasonable plan. We feel that we will have to struggle too much. As we find ourselves trapped in life's cocoon, there's no one who understands my struggle. Ever feel that way? God is too busy, or doesn't have the time to listen to my struggles. I do not allow God the time to work things out in my life; time, that may seem unending to us, but to God it is but a fleeting moment. We never seem to comprehend that the process of struggling in our little cocoon is preparing us to soar higher in our Christian experience....higher than we have ever soared before.

If our loving Lord will do anything that we ask, then why is it we feel that many of our prayers are not answered? "I've prayed for this (or that) for years!" What is it that prevents a favorable answer to our prayer? Maybe this is not the question that we should be asking!!  Maybe we should ask the question: "Is it possible that God DOES answer all of our prayers, and we just don't think so because the outcome is not necessarily what we think it should be? Could it be that you and God are not reading off the same page, and therefore you would not recognize His divine intervention if it stared you right in the face?

What is the prerequisite to answered prayer? We find the answer to that question in John 15:7 - "If you abide in Me and My Words in you, you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you."

So, according to God's Word then, to have God answer that which we have requested, we must be "ABIDING IN CHRIST". When you abide in Him and you make your petition to the Lord, you must not wonder or question whether or not your request will be granted in the manner in which you might think. You have now placed it in God's hands. Why not leave it there? You must learn now to relax. You have now placed that situation in the best possible place.