Q: How should a Christian respond
if their church insists on following rules that are man-made instead of
Biblical? How does one know what church
rules are Biblical and which are not?
Throughout the History of
Christianity, this has been a problem which has plagued churches. Often people have a hard time separating the
biases and preferences of their culture from actual Biblical law, often with
the result that the pastors and churches begin enforcing man-made rules and
making them equal with God’s law.
We can see this beginning even during
the life of St. Paul, as he writes to Timothy (1 Tim. 4:3) condemning those who
forbid marriage and require abstinence from certain foods, as Peter is
criticized for exercising His God-ordained freedom to eat non-kosher meat and
dine with gentiles, and as Paul has to correct the Galatians after they are
misled by false teachers to think they must accept Circumcision to be true
Christians.
Over the years, the details change
repeatedly, but the tendency remains the same.
Fewer than 600 years after Jesus resurrection, a movement gained
traction which forced priests to remain celibate and unmarried. 150 years ago, my own denomination was known
to superstitiously forbid the purchase of insurance with the accusation that it
was a failure to trust God to provide and protect.
Early in the 20th century, the
movement for a ban on alcohol consumption overtook many churches and for a time
the laws of our nation, and to this day new and different ways are being
introduced to override God’s Law with rules of human origin.
How one reacts to these demands
depends on how and why they are being made.
Governments, for example, are free to make laws not found in the Bible,
and according to the Fourth Commandment and Romans 13, Christians are obligated
to obey them, unless that law would command them to sin. When spiritual leaders or church bodies make
the laws, however, the situation is different.
If a command cannot be supported by an honest and accurate reading of
the Bible, a church or a pastor have no right to demand it be followed.
When something has neither been
commanded nor forbidden in the Bible, the Christian is free to follow His own
conscience in the matter and ought not attempt to enforce his choice on
others. Examples of issues where this
might apply would include such things as alcohol consumption (in moderation),
tobacco use, dancing and styles of dress (within certain boundaries of
modesty).
Although I haven’t been able to find
the reference in print to provide a precise quote, I heard a story from a
professor in college about Martin Luther responding to such a demand, saying
something like, “If any man tells me I may not drink Wittenberg Beer, I shall
drink a second for him.” The idea behind
this is that if the demand is made out of pride, the Christian should be
deliberate in boldly displaying His Christian freedom so that the other person
would be freed from their bondage to the man-made law.
On the other hand, when another
Christian fears out of weakness that something is a sin, (not out of pride and
trying to mislead others), or when an act may be harmful to a person (such as
drinking in the presence of an alcoholic) the Christian ought to voluntarily abstain
from that act in the presence of that person so as not to cause them
unnecessary guilt or temptation in their weakness. The Apostle Paul discusses this at length in
Romans 13 and 1 Corinthians 9.
Ultimately, a simple way to know
whether a rule is Biblical is to know the Ten Commandments, and see if the law
can be connected to one of them. If it
can, it is most likely Biblical. If it
cannot, it is most likely man-made.
Churches and their pastors ought not
ever be hesitant to declare a law that God actually has made, and cautious
never to demand obedience to a law that He has not, while Christians in their
lives ought never be ashamed to obey a law that God has given, and at the same
time careful to discern whether their neighbor with a different position needs
to be comforted in their distress or confronted for their pride.