Why is faith so often measured according to strictness, rigid doctrines and piousness instead of the Spirit?
Could be because it's more fun spying and keeping tabs on the other guy's sins than it is acknowledging the sin dwelling in our own hearts, repenting, and asking God for forgiveness.
Could be it's the notion that becoming a believer and following Christ means living according to The Doctrine of Don'ts! and The Man-Made Creed of Can'ts that's made so many non-believers not much interested in hearing what the Gospel and being a Christian is all about.
Then why are so many "religious people" so insistent and so stubborn about their beloved rules and restrictions?
Could be that lots of believers learned more in church about following rules than they ever did about following Christ. So they focus on following what they know.
And on creating even more rules and restrictions.
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Sin deceives us because temptation convinces us that sinning is fun, that sin will satisfy and make us happy. God gave us commandments, not man-made rules, to protect us ... not because he hates us, but because he loves us.
And to encourage us.
Instead of ridiculing or condemning a believer who's fallen short, should we instead remind them that by sinning, they've not just turned their backs on God ... in essence, called the Creator a liar ... but also point out that sinning robs us of the joy of following Christ?
If sin is fun, then how much fun does it take to completely and permanently rob us of all our joy?
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Afterwards, dealing with the consequence of sin's not such fun, is it? Sin only looks like fun when we take our eyes off Christ.
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Christ never sinned, yet I don't think he was ever bored a day in his life or that anyone ever labelled him a "killjoy," a stick in the mud or a grouch. (And he scolded Pharisees and "temple people" much more than he did unbelievers, too.)
So is it possible to have fun without sinning? Yes, absolutely.
But it's impossible to have joy, and keep right on sinning.
