Fewer laws and not more laws are the solution as Jesus Christ demonstrated. He reduced all the laws to just two: Love God and love your neighbor.
God gave 10 Commandments, but the Israelites broke all of them. The Bible declares: “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” James 2:10. With good intentions the Pharisees expanded the 10 Commandments to over 600 just so that everyone is clear of all the requirements for each of the laws. The problem is, their additional laws were not inspired. Secondly, people who could not successfully keep 10 Commandments had no chance of keeping the 600 plus. Thirdly, some of the new laws promulgated subverted the inspired commandments.
With good intentions, mainline independent and non-denominational churches have Constitutions and Bylaws that members are required to adhere to from a legal and an organizational perspective along with all that is commanded in the Bible. They no doubt provide the framework from which the church organization exists and operates but when they conflict with the inspired Word, we must be ready to let God’s Word stand. Fewer laws and not more laws are the solution as Jesus Christ demonstrated. He reduced all the laws to just two: Love God and love your neighbor.
If we live by the Spirit, we will love God and our neighbors and as Galatians 5:23 concludes, we will not need any additional laws. May the good intentions of our laws not yield bad outcomes. Amen!
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