I was reminded the other day when I was having coffee with a friend.
I once preached this line, “Sometimes I wish I could rip everyone’s bible in half to make it clear, that the Old Testament, and the New Testament are actually two separate things.”
One ex-missionary lady still never speaks to me ☹️

Maybe the “rip” word was poorly chosen.
I was just saying that I wish we had kept them as two separate documents. To make it clear that one is for Christians, and one was for Jews, important, from God, but primarily for Jews.
So Christians should get their ideas more from the New Testament. From the new way Yahweh deals with people.
But so many Christians get their quotes for life from the Old Testament. From a time when Yahweh dealt with people in a completely different way than he does now. Back then he did make rules, and you did have to keep them. Or else.

And what that showed was that even when you have direct, daily contact with the god of the universe. The god who made everything. The god who knows what you’re thinking, let alone sees every single thing you ever do, and knows why you chose to do it. And the god who has shown time and time again that he has your best interests at heart, and will do amazing things to protect you and your people.
Even when you know he’s there all the time, and you know he’s told you explicitly don’t do X, (put your worst sin here). Even if the penalty is death. Everything in you seems to want to do X, and eventually you do. And do. And do.

So if the Jews, who knew they were being watched over by the one and only true god, couldn’t keep the rules, why do we think we can!

And we have the New Testament. Which has whole books like Colossians about rules vs spirit, and lines like Romans 7:6 “But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.”
So why do we even think we have to keep the rules, why do we even think we have to have rules at all?
They don’t work. In fact, having them makes sure you’ll break them, so surely the best idea is not to have them at all.

More outrage. More people looking for unsubscribe, never going to listen to this guy again.

But I’m not suggesting we live licentiously, or selfishly, or even worldly. Just that we don’t have rules.

How would your personal Christian life look if you were really 100% open to Yahweh having full control of your life?
Letting him have true free rein to change anything about you? If you really were willing to let go of any part of your life?
Wouldn’t that see you on an amazing journey to becoming a better and better person? More and more like Yeshua.
Isn’t that what you want for your life?
Would that be different to what you struggle with now?

And how would the church look if everyone in the church was living like that?
Wouldn’t it be fantastic?! No more judgement and rejection because they broke some rule, but getting alongside them, helping them see what Yahweh is doing in their life, helping it become a reality. Less judgement. More love.
Sure, they’re not perfect, but hey, have you looked at yourself lately? You know you’re not either right?