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Athletes
are required to compete according to the rules in their respective
sport. Paul penned, “if anyone competes in
athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the
rules” (2 Tim. 2:5). In this article
we will consider some areas in which we must compete according
to the rules.
In
Obedience.
Spiritually, to compete according to the rules is “
to obey
God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Jesus declared,
“Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the
kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in
heaven” (Matt. 7:21). To teach or believe anything
contrary to the Doctrine of Christ is not competing according to the
rules. Jesus is “the author of eternal salvation to
all who obey Him” (Heb. 5:9). Moses commanded
Israel, “You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him,
and keep His commandments and obey His voice; you shall serve Him and
hold fast to Him” (Deut. 13:4). The rules for
obedience today are revealed in the New Testament (Rom.
1:16-17). We, too, must “walk after the
Lord.”
In
Worship. In worship
Christians must worship God according to the rules. Jesus
ordered Satan, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You
shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall
serve” (Mt. 4:10). To worship something or someone
other than God is to violate the rules. A reading of John
4:24 reveals, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must
worship in spirit and truth.” To worship in spirit
is to do so with meaning and understanding. To worship in
truth is to worship according to God’s revealed
commandments. Concerning the Pharisees Jesus said,
“These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me
with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they
worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men”
(Mt. 15:8-9). Are you worshipping God according to the rules
revealed in the Bible?
In
Living. To live
according to the rules is to live “denying ungodliness and
worldly lusts” and “live soberly, righteously, and
godly in the present age” (Tit. 2:12). The wise man
said, “Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's
all” (Eccl. 12:13). Many folks live any way they
want without regard for God and His righteous ways. To live
this way is not according to the rules. A reading of
Acts 17:27 reveals man is to “seek the Lord, in the hope that
they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each
one of us” (Acts 17:27). To live according to the
rules is to “abide in the doctrine of Christ” (2
John 9). Are you living according to God’s rules?
In
Salvation. Contrary
to popular belief, not everyone will be saved. Many will be
lost as “wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to
destruction, and there are many who go in by it” (Mt.
7:13). God has made known what men must do to be
saved. The divinely revealed plan consists of men hearing the
Gospel (Rom. 10:17), believing in Christ (Jn. 8:24), turning from sin,
repentance (Acts. 17:30), confessing Christ as the Son of God (Acts
8:37), being baptized, completely immersed in water for the remission
of
past sins (Acts 2:38) and living faithful until death (Rev.
2:10). To follow some other rule or plan is to not compete
according to the rules.
In
The Home. God has
spoken to the husband “Husbands, love your wives, just as
Christ
also loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Eph.
5:25). To the Father, God said, “And you, fathers,
do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the
training and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).
God instructed the wife, “Wives, submit to your own husbands,
as to the Lord” (Eph. 5:22). The woman, as a wife
and mother, is to manage the home. A reading of Titus 2:4-5
reveals women are “to love their husbands, to love their
children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their
own husbands, that the word of God may not be
blasphemed”. Is your home being guided by
God’s rules?
In Marriage.
With reports that nearly half of all marriages are ending in divorce,
some folks are breaking “the rules”. The
Bible says that the following have the right to marry: 1)An
individual who has never been married (Gen. 2:18-24); 2)One whose mate
is dead (Rom. 7:3); 3)The innocent party who puts his or her mate away
for fornication (Mt. 19:9); And 4)Those reconciling (1 Cor.
7:11). These individuals are the only ones who have the right
to marry. A reading of Matthew 19:9 reveals,
“whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and
marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is
divorced commits adultery.” The Lord’s
“rule” states that the party innocent of
fornication can put away their fornicating mate. To get a
divorce for any other reason is to not “compete according to
the
rules.”
Men understand the importance of competing according to the rules when
it comes to football, baseball or basketball, but willingly refuse to
compete according to God’s rules religiously.
Let us strive to always do as God has commanded!
~Keith N. Welch
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