Only One Rule: Love

Matthew 23:13 New International Version (NIV) 13 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.

When Jesus was criticizing anyone, it wasn't the mainstream people. He criticized leaders of the church and called them hypocrites, snakes, brood of vipers. The leaders of the church were supposed to be showing everyone the love, knowledge and wisdom of God. Instead of being a light on a hill that shined God's light and provided a light to climb out of the darkness, they shunned those in the dark and hid it behind their back. These actions indicate that they thought these people weren't good enough for the light. They might not have said it in words, but actions speak so much louder.
So many people i meet want nothing to do with God, Jesus, the church, because they don't want to be judged. They want to be accepted as they are. It is not our job to judge them or to convict them... that is the job of the spirit. God accepts everyone just as they are, so should we. Then when the spirit of God is in their hearts, it is that spirit that will lead them to all truth and will convict them of sin to where they feel led to change whatever the spirit is leading them to change. It is not up to us. Only those who are fully mature in Christ, which is very few i might say, have any right to say anything to anyone. That is a slippery slope. Much like when strangers walk by and make comments about how they think our children should act like and we or our children are offended, that is how others feel when even the most "righteous" of christians open their mouth to criticise the actions of someone. Those criticisms are not welcome. There must be a relationship, and agreement between both parties that they will be accountable to each other and accept criticisms in order to grow in Christ, otherwise those in the body of Christ should hold their tongue and just pray to our Father in Heaven that HE will shine HIS light on them and bless them with HIS knowledge.

Nothing... i repeat... nothing we have DONE has gotten us in the good graces with God. We are all sinners. When you sin against the law, you are guilty of breaking the whole law. Everything we do from birth is meant to satisfy the flesh, babies cry when they are hungry, sad, dirty, lonely. From birth, we are driven to take care of our fleshly needs and desires. So each and everyone of us has been there, done that. Therefore, just because we might have seen the light doesn't mean we now walk away with the light in hand and leave the darkness behind us and those who walk in it. On the contrary, we have that light now... we shine it on those still in the dark so that they can see and find their way out of it. With compassion, because we were walking in the dark, we help them in love. We are not in a race against them where after we cross the finishing line we stand up in pride at our achievement. The only time i MIGHT be proud of my achievement.. is when i hear HIM say to me... "Well done, Good and Faithful servant". Then, it really won't be pride, but I will fall on my knees and cry thankful to the one who led me and showed me HIS love when i didn't deserve it.

If a large sinkhole opened up in the earth and 100s of people fell into it, while you were trying to climb out would you abandon everyone? Or with compassion, would you help them to climb out also. When you finally got out of the sink hole, would you walk away and go back home? Or would you go find materials so that you could help others to climb out too? I say the latter in each circumstance. I would help them, and that is Christ.

Absolutely nothing we DO makes us righteous, because we were born to think of our flesh, our desires, our emotions, our goals, our hurts. We were born to take care of those things and focus on those things, it is human nature. It is what HE did that makes us righteous. So, no one can brag or think they are better than anyone else. Only Christ. Only Christ. He perfectly kept the entire law, and paid the penalty for all our sin. He is the only example of perfect love.

So i say church, enough with all the rules that drive people away. Enough with all the finger pointing, yelling, criticizing, talking out of both sides of your mouth.

Like Jesus said in Revelation 3 to the church in Sardis:

I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

or to the church in Laodicea:

15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. 17 You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Let's be on fire with the Spirit for God.. the fruit of the spirit that sums up all other fruits.. LOVE. The fruit of the spirit the sums up the law and the prophets, LOVE.