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by Katie Erickson

Today’s topic is a question that we at Worldview Warriors have been asked, so we want to take some time to answer it this week. That question is: “Why should I follow the rules of Christianity?”

To answer this question, we must first determine what the “rules of Christianity” are before we can look at why someone should follow them. Being a Christian means you are a believer in Jesus Christ (unless of course you’re a Christian in name only). If you believe in Jesus Christ, then you acknowledge Him as the Son of God and as the Word of God. We know the Word of God because it has been revealed to us through the writings of the Bible. So, the rules of Christianity are what we find in God’s Word, the Bible.

Why should we follow these rules? The simple answer to this question is one that some people may not like: because the Bible says so. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17, the apostle Paul writes, “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Bible teaches us, the Bible corrects us, and the Bible trains us. It fully equips us for the work we should do in this life. In short, it gives us the rules of being a follower of Christ and commands us to follow them.

In John 14:23-24, Jesus Himself said, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” If we claim to be a Christian, then we love God. If we love God, then we will obey what He has taught us - the rules of Christianity that we find in the Bible.

The fact is, though, that not every person is a follower of Jesus. Why should someone who doesn’t even believe in God follow the rules He gave us? The answer is again a simple one: because God is God and we are not, regardless of whether you acknowledge Him or not. If I tell you that the sun does not exist, does that make it true? If I tell you that Barack Obama is not currently the president of the United States, does that make it true? If I tell you that God does not exist, does that make it true? The answer is a big NO for all of these questions. Just because I may think something is true does not make it so. God is still God and He is still reigning on the throne over all of the universe, whether each individual human being believes that or not.

Whether you believe this or not, God created the world and everything in it. Because God created it, God sets the rules for it. One major rule that God has set in place is His natural law; you can read more about that here. The basic idea of God’s natural law is that you will reap the consequences for your actions, whether good or bad. If your actions go along with what God wants you to do (i.e., the rules of Christianity), then you will get good consequences and be blessed. If your actions go against the rules of Christianity, then you will receive negative consequences. These consequences may or may not be immediate to your actions, but you will receive them.

But the thing is, Christianity and being a follower of Jesus Christ is not all about rules. It’s not simply a set of rules that you have to follow; do this, don’t do that. Yes, we have rules as guidelines to teach us how to live and show us when we’ve messed up. But being a follower of Jesus Christ is about being in a relationship with the almighty God, the creator of the universe. In order to stay in right relationship with God, we need to hear His voice and obey it and do what He calls us to do. We show God that we love Him by doing what He wants us to do, and by not doing what He doesn’t want us to do. That is how God has set up the workings of this world, whether we like it or not.

So why should each of us follow the rules of Christianity? Following what God wants us to do shows that we love Him, and it strengthens our relationship with the almighty creator of the universe. If that’s not a good enough reason for you, what is?

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