Rule-Keeping and Transformation

I'm in a familiar place right now--at the same desk I've used for the past four years in my dorm room while Five Iron Frenzy plays on my stereo, sitting down to write a long-awaited blog post while most other people are out carousing and engaging in the beginning-of-the-year ritual of scoping out the freshmen girls. I decided that I'm too old and creepy to partake this year. Besides, I can do basically the same thing on facebook while I write, all from the comfort of my own room. Like I said, I'm getting way to creepy.

I really like the Bible. Which is a good thing, because if I didn't, I probably wouldn't enjoy Ozark very much. We're all about the Bible. I know, however ,that there are many people in the world who do not like the Bible like I do. There are a lot of reasons for this, of course, but I think that one of the main ones is that they see the Bible as a giant 1142 page rulebook (if you have the Zondervan thinline edition, like me). They think that Genesis begins with "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and he said, "Don't track mud into the church building." And then at the end of Revelation: "Then Jesus came back and said, "Now I can keep a better eye on you, so you'd really better not mess up. Amen."

I wouldn't like a Bible like that, and I don't think I would like a Christianity that functioned like that. I don't think Jesus would like it, either. In his day, the Pharisees put a lot of emphasis on outward rule-keeping without seeming to care much about the inner state of the heart. They were zealous about ceremony and washing and sabbatical minutiae, but they paid little attention to whether or not a person's character was reflecting that of God. And there was not a group of people that takes more heat from Jesus than the Pharisees. Jesus said that they "clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence" (Mt. 23:25). He also called them "whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean" (Mt. 23:27). Harsher words than you find in your normal Palestinian clown-session.

Sadly, many today, both within and outside of the church, approach Christianity in the same way as the Pharisees understood Judaism. The first priority is being sure to strictly follow all of the commands in the Bible, plus some more that we throw on top for good measure. The Christian life means that we work really hard to clean ourselves up and get our acts together. Discipleship means crossing all our t's and dotting all our i's. This is how we get God to like us; this is how we prove to the world that they should be Christians too--by keeping the rules.

The problem with this mindset of rule-keeping is that same as it was for the Pharisees. We end up washing the part of the dish everyone sees but leaving dirt on the parts they eat from. We splash white paint on the outside when we're full of dead things inside. Jesus seems to have been much more concerned with the inner state of people than how good they looked on the outside. He knew that we can have really clean hands but still hold on to a collection of vices that "come from inside and make a man 'unclean'" (Mk. 7:23). He knew that abstaining from adultery (outward rule) wasn't that impressive if we were still lustful (Mt. 5:27-30). He knew that not murdering (outward rule) isn't the main issue when we are still angry people (Mt. 5:21-22).

What needs to change, then, is our self, not just our behavior. Who we really are--our inner thoughts and attitudes, our being--this is the problem. A rule-keeper doesn't see this. He believes that the aim of Christianity is first and foremost behavior. The biblical picture, however, is that our inner being must first be transformed. Not that behavior is unimportant, but that behavior is a result, not the aim. Our actions are an outflow from our new, transformed nature. Christ changes us from the inside out, but rule-keepers focus only on the "out."

There are many passages in the New Testament that speak of how we should behave. However, in many of those passages, behavior is not isolated as its own subject, but is rather linked with discussion with transformation. A believer's new identity is Christ is the impetus for a new lifestyle. So Paul does not write, "Now remember kids, don't sin! You can do it if you try really hard!" Instead, he writes, "We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" (Rom. 6:2b). Here are a few other examples of how Paul shows how holy behavior begins with inner transformation:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature..." (Col. 3:1-5)

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore each of you must put off falsehood..." (Eph. 4:22-25)

Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 'Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!'?" (Col. 2:20-21)

Over and over again, the New Testament seems to say, "You are made new in Christ, so live like it." But the newness comes first. Our nature is different; we are not who we once were. And because of that, we don't act like we once did. Transformation enables obedience. Obedience doesn't stand alone.

Many times, a question arises in the church about whether or not morality should be legislated. In our culture, this discussion usually focuses around the hotbutton issues of abortion and homosexual marriage. Understandably. many Christians are against these actions and adamantly push for legislation to enforce Christian ideals. They think that, if we can keep homosexuals from getting married and can stop women from getting abortions, then we have won, and we can high-five each other and run into the locker room and starting popping open bottles of champagne. I think there is a problem with such a view of this issue because it still only focuses on behavior. If conservative action wins out, the root of the problem hasn't disappeared. The truth is that homosexuals do not need to be unmarried, and women do not need to give birth. All of them do need Jesus, however, because only he can save them and transform their lives from the inside. Laws can only change what happens outwardly, but Christ changes the heart. Now, don't misunderstand me. I am against abortion and gay marriage, but not just because of behavioral implications. I support legislation that stands against these actions, but I do so because I believe it creates a society where more people can hear accurately about Jesus. And he's what they really need.

Sixteen days until National Elephant Day. I hope you're all as excited as I am.