At first glance, laws, rules, and boundaries may seem interchangeable or synonymous, as they all describe a limit and the consequences if that limit is exceeded. However, upon closer examination, there are differences between the three. I stumbled upon this realization while exploring some interesting trains of thought and did not intend to write about it, but here I am.
To clarify, a law is like a political or social rule. Both laws and rules aim to control behavior or actions for the greater good of society. Meanwhile, a boundary is created for safety rather than control. It exists to keep people safe, even though it may appear to be a rule. For example, the speed limit is a law, considered a rule, but should actually be a boundary by definition.
It is important to note that the terms “law,” “rule,” and “boundary” are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference between them. Also, it is not safe to assume that a law, rule or boundary will have a uniform consequence; there can be a law with a light consequence or a boundary with a severe consequence.
Why bring this up, and why make the distinction? Well, as we talked about life as a covenant relationship and living as a free person in Christ, as we addressed self-control, we came across the definition of a rule or boundary. A rule would be in place for control, but if we are under self-control and as Paul states “All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.” 1 Corinthians 10:23. That would imply we do not live under rules, but instead under boundaries (and grace when we cross those boundaries). That then would also mean that the boundaries that God has given to us through the Holy Spirit are for our safety, and not for God to control us. Now let that soak in. Can we back that up with scripture? Yes. We can go back to Genesis and see that God did not give Adam a rule about eating the fruit, He set a boundary. Eve came up with her own rule about touching it (Genesis 3:3). But the Bible is called the “Law”? Yes, but take a close look, those “laws” were all set to keep God’s people safe, they were not there for control. Paul goes into great detail on how the Law is good, and necessary in Romans. Does this change anything about the boundary or consequence? No, but it does change perspective. Instead of viewing God’s boundaries as a limitation, they are now viewed as safety, even if they are not understood. Just like you set boundaries for a child and they do not understand why, God’s boundaries may not make sense, but you must trust they are good. To me that makes them easier to follow, even if I don’t understand at least I know they are there for a good reason.
Now we can stop here, but I am going to take this further. As we peel the layers of covenant, relationship, self-control, freedom, and now boundaries, we get to a very core element. If God offers freedom to follow His boundaries through the Holy Spirit, and that is a perfect plan, then why “religion” and why do we set ourselves up with rules? One can be communication and the fear of not getting it correct, but I offer another reason. Critical thinking.
Critical thinking is defined as the “Intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and/or evaluating information gathered from, or generated by, observation, experience, reflection, reasoning, or communication, as a guide to belief and action.”1 . Now, how does that fit in? Boundaries require critical thinking to accurately assess them, a rule is just memorized and followed. It is just easier to follow “don’t kill” other than to have to process “respect others”. Although in more recent years there has been a decline in the emphasis on fostering critical thinking (you can’t teach it, but you can produce an environment that helps it grow), I believe this issue has always been there. Israel needed God to list the rules, they could not employ the critical thinking required just to exist using God’s boundaries. To this day it’s even more prevalent in “religion”. People in general just want to be told what to do, do it, and then be told they are good to go and not have to apply critical thinking. But that is somewhat twofold. Many of those in leadership will want to suppress critical thinking because those under them will then discover that some “rules” are not what they appear to be and may question them. That is especially true with “religion”. Step back from theology and apply critical thinking to scripture and you get exactly what we have been talking about, and it does not match current theology that is taught. It’s hard to pinpoint where the breakdown is in critical thinking, social, education, and religion, but it’s attacked from a lot of positions. That would lead me to believe that God fosters and encourages it, whereas the world tries to suppress it. I believe God wants us to live our lives always in a critical thinking mode, and apply it to everything. I know that the more I engage in it, the easier it is, but it’s still more work than just following a rule. Could that mean being wrong sometimes? Yes, and I am willing to admit that, but that is where you learn. Critical thinking is also a skill, and some people are better at it than others. Just like any skill we tend to listen to or hand over the baton to those who are better at it, but that is not what we are called to do. Each of us has the ability through the Holy Spirit, just as the fruits of the Spirit demonstrate, to use it and exercise it. And just the same as the fruits of the Spirit we have to exercise it, it is just not something that just comes naturally and you don’t have to practice.
To clarify, I am not saying not to follow any rules or laws, as those are necessary and you can’t get around that. But when it comes to things that are not obviously for our safety or because we live amongst others, apply critical thinking to them. Do the research, especially with belief and theology. What a pastor is saying is a rule or something that needs to be followed or observed may not always be the case. The Holy Spirit may be guiding you in a different direction. Paul in 1 Corinthians 8 describes this very thing with eating food sacrificed to idols. He describes using critical thinking, even his own process in doing so when it came to that specific rule. That is a good example to follow.
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