Guidance or Law

Ted Gossard asked whether the Bible is God's guidance or a lawbook. My response is as follows.

We must be careful that we do not confuse laws and rules . The question is really asking if we should treat the Bible as a rulebook. I think the answer to that is No. Jesus never gave the impression that he was living by a set of rules. He focussed on doing what the saw the Father doing.

Nevertheless, there are plenty of rules in the NT. The reality is that rules can be helpful to new Christians. Do not lie, may be a useful rule for a new Christian who was a chronic liar. However, every Christian should quickly move beyond rules and onto doing what the Father is doing and following the voice of the Spirit.

I do not play golf, but it provides a useful analogy. A new golfer may focus on staying out of the rough. Avoid that tree. Avoid that lake. As the golfer increases in skills, their focus will move to going up the centre of the fairway, getting well placed for the next shot and landing on the green. Playing along the edge of the rough will not make you a good golfer.

Likewise, a new Christian may have a focus on avoiding doing things the things that controlled their old life. This may help them to make quick progress, but living on the boundary of the rules does not make an effective Chrisitan. They should quickly move to a more positive focus on seeing what God is doing in every situation. They should move to being motivated by love of Jesus, rather than fear of failing.

On the issue of law, the Bible is not a law-book, but it does not contain law. Christians do not live by laws, but society does need laws. The Bible provides the laws that society needs. However, Christians should not be in the business of imposing God's laws on people who are not Christians