Ask a Pastor Column

Q: In church we always get the line that we’re supposed to “obey the rules” but there are lots of rules that nobody obeys, including Christians. Do we get to pick which rules we obey?

A:  It might be a bit simplistic to say that Christians are always supposed to follow the rules. Daniel’s three friends broke a rule when they refused to bow to the king’s statue (Daniel 3:1-18). The Apostles were told that they were no longer to preach in the name of Jesus, a rule that they promptly disobeyed (Acts 4:13-22). Jesus also mentions David as a “rule-breaker” who ate the showbread (a special bread used in Israel’s Old Testament worship) which only priests were allowed to eat (I Samuel 21:1-7; Matthew 12:3-8).

Believers are given a general instruction in Scripture to honor authorities and their rules (Romans 13:1-2), and this truth lays a foundation of submission to governing authorities. That submission is not optional; we can’t obey only when we feel like it, otherwise we probably wouldn’t be obeying at all!

       Even though following the rules isn’t based upon feelings or preference, some situations do require us to take a stand against bad rules or authorities. If someone exceeds their authority or is contradicted by a higher authority, then we are free to ignore their instructions (Acts 4:19). This is what happened in our first two examples; Daniel’s friends and the Apostles chose to follow God’s rules over men’s rules, and that was the right decision!

We are also free to use sanctified common sense. Exceptional circumstances may make it necessary to violate the letter of a law, and we may do so as long as the intention behind it is preserved. This is what happened with David; he was hungry and on the run; and there was no other food available. The worship of God was not served by allowing David to go hungry, and it did not dishonor God to allow David to eat under those circumstances. The priest Ahimelech considered the situation and decided to allow David to eat what was normally forbidden, a decision that Jesus affirms in the New Testament (Matthew 12:3-4).

       Now I’m sure that many of us (Christian or non-Christian) are guilty of ignoring rules that we find unnecessary or inconvenient (those speed limit signs are just suggestions, right? ...right???). The Bible does not justify this; Christians are called to be models of submission to governing authorities, only setting aside the rules when forced to do so. Which may be something that we could all do a little better!

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