I can’t tell you how many time have I followed man’s law only to find myself behind others that do not. It seems as though just getting by is worth more than following of man’s law. And as I have studied and written in the past, that is true even in following God.
“2Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law.” – Galatians 5:2-3 (ESV)
Paul is writing to the churches in Galatia and is making it clear that the way to Christ is through faith in Him and not through the following of the law, specifically the law of circumcision here. I can see in the above verses that once I have caved to the law of man I am obligated to fully obey the law of man and become a slave to those laws throughout life.
Now I want to be clear, following Christ does not give me the freedom to ignore the law of man and I am still accountable to the consequences of breaking those laws. But what I am saying is that I am to keep my faith in God and allow Him to guide me in all that I do. If that guidance places upon me to take a position contrary to man’s law, then I should take the position God has for me and accept the consequences from man. I follow God and not man. I am not a slave to man and only accept the authority of man as provisioned by God.
The following of man’s law gives me no advantage in life. I gain nothing from it other than avoiding the punishment of man for not following the law of man. That punishment is temporary and is something that can and will be endured with the comfort and protection provided by God as a condition of my faith in Him. Take Paul for instance. He is writing to the churches in Galatia about keeping the faith and not following explicitly the law of man as he sits in prison for not following the law of man. He is content with his position as he knows that this punishment is only temporary and will fade as and when he goes to be with Jesus in heaven. He is not caving to the law of man to gain some advantage in this life as there is none to be had.
When you look out at what it is you are following, what reasons are you following them? Are you looking out to be sure and avoid the consequences that come for going against the law of man, or are you looking to simply follow through faith the law of God? What if you simply followed God and accepted that there is no advantage for following exclusively the law of man?
Trevor's Thoughts 