… there is one God.
Summary: One of the rules that rulers have to follow is that they are supposed to make the rules. But what happens when we ignore that rule?
Satan’s deceptions are not limited to whether or not we should believe God. He deceives us about all kinds of things. For example, along with being our king comes the idea that we can be our own ruler, too.
What is the difference, you ask?
The “king” is the person in charge. A “ruler” is (a) “one who rules,” or (b) a measuring stick. The important thing about being a ruler is making the rules.
So who doesn’t want to make their own rules? Satan has been selling that lie for as long as there have been people to buy it. He wants us to believe that there really isn’t a God.
Marriage? Who needs that? Make up your own rules! Honesty? Another unnecessary burden. Decide for yourself what you want to say and when you want to say it. If they say you are lying make them prove it! Promises? Go ahead and keep them… if it is convenient. If not, meh…
In fact, there are rules, and more importantly, they are needed.
Imagine for a moment that everyone has their own ruler. We each take a stick and make marks on it and call them something. Maybe I call my “inches” and you call them “flibberjibs.” Now let’s say that you own a store and I need a board 96 inches long. I send someone to your store to pick up the board and you send me a board 96 flibberjibs long. What are the chances that a flibberjib is exactly the same length as my inch?
Zero.
Whatever you send me will be wrong. Without a common “language” of measurement, architects and engineers could not talk. Buildings couldn’t be built, roads couldn’t be made, and bridges would never be built. Society would revert to a primitive level.
Just like building a house or a city, building a society requires rules. For that society to work, we all need to be using the same ruler. For that to happen, we all need to obey the same rule. As James points out, “You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” (James 2:19) It is not enough to “believe” there is a God and that he is King. We have to follow his rule, too.
Application: Learn what God’s rules are and obey them. (They are not hard!)
Food for Thought: What kind of rules should we follow today?
11-23-2022, What kind of rules should we follow today?
Live by faith!
The Christian is justified by faith in Jesus, Galatians 3:10–14; Romans 4:3; Titus 3:5
Progressively made holy by faith in Jesus, Galatians 2:20; Titus 2:11–15
Glorified because of faith in Jesus Romans 8:1, 28–30.
All praise, honor, and glory are given to Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world 1 John 2:1–2.
Thank you, Rich!
The Titus passage gives a helpful perspective:
” live self-controlled, upright and godly lives.”
It sounds easy, but I find it still to be challenging.
Great devotion again brother.
I think you may have answered your own question. God’s rules are not hard and they guide us into a healthier, more harmonious life.
Hi Ron,
I think that God’s rules can seem hard, but like anything else, putting God first makes them easier to conform to.
I will stick with the easy answer here, we should follow the rules in the Bible. Since they are God’s rules to us, it might be a good thing to do, I know it is for me anyway.
If you asked me 10 years ago, I would’ve said the law (not mosaic) and the Bible…… I’m not sure about that answer now. The Bible always, but either by change or by learning about our country (not in school mind you) I don’t know that I could in good conscience advise to follow the law as a good guide. I also don’t think we have a good grasp on what the laws are….. How many times I hear that the police are never going to enforce certain laws, because they shouldn’t exist….. How many people actually think that wearing a mask the last 2 years had anything to do with laws. Hint, it wasn’t a law.
Everything is so wonky now a days, if you follow any rules other than the Bible, you have a moving target.
👍