Psa 119:45 And I
will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.
For many years as a believer and a Christian
leader, my walk was in bondage, not at liberty. Mine was a life of failure,
unmet expectations and even guilt.
I was in bondage to legalistic dogma which dictated
that my dress, my speech, my music, my entertainment, my comportment and so
much more, line up with ecclesiastical pontiffs' dictums.
Then, through a series of eye-opening
incidents, most of which resulted in great failure of the legalistic system, I
began to learn, and still am trying to absorb, what are the clear precepts of
the Lord.
His commands, word, law, precepts,
testimonies, judgments and statutes are not located in the student manual of a
Bible college or in the notes of a high-powered evangelist or in the philosophy
of tyrannical mega-church pastors. They are delineated in the 66 books of the
Bible, and especially in the final 27, and taught by the Holy Spirit to those who love God, who are committed
to His ways and who immerse themselves in His teachings.
I am not at all against rules. A life, a family,
a school, a society must have guidelines to function and secure safety. Those
rules should reflect scriptural precepts. But when the black and white of a
student handbook or a preacher’s sermon notes implies that those rules carry
the weight of Scripture and must follow you throughout life, or when some
preacher indicates not that you
should follow him as he follows Christ, but that you should submit to him as he
submits to Christ, you have ventured outside of abundant life Christianity and
into Taliban oriented religion.
God never meant for your faith to be a list of
regulations, but a lift of relationship with Him. Your walk is not meant to
focus on do’s and don’t’s but on the Author and Finisher of our faith. You are
not meant to live in guilt and fear but to walk at liberty.
When it comes down to it, miserable and failed
Christianity will result from people-pleasing. Abundant, joy-filled living
comes from seeking His precepts and His person.
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