How Much Can I Get By With?

How much will God let us get by with? When I worked as a chaplain with the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Department, I would regularly do ride alongs with the deputies while they were on patrol. When it came to enforcement of the law, they were concerned for the safety of the drivers as well as others on the roads, but they actually let people get away with a lot. They had a speed that was well above the posted limit that they would allow the drivers to drive at. Now I am not encouraging drivers to ignore the posted limits, but I do recognize that our human nature wants to push the limits as far as it can.
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Perhaps that was part of the motivation for a question that Christ was asked in Matthew 22:36, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” Christ’s answer was quite simple: “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:37-40).
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So does that mean that as long as you are loving God with your all, and your neighbor as yourself, then you can get by doing whatever you want? Well, actually if you do really love God with your all, you will already be doing what He expects and will be treating your neighbor right as well. You see, if you love God that much, instead of seeing what you can get by with, you will be looking for ways to serve and honor Him.
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Notice how Christ said that on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. That means that all the commands God gives us are based on our love for Him and others. No doubt a society that follows the rules of God treats their fellow man much better.
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Instead of showing us what we can get by with, Christ’s response shows us the importance of all of God’s commands. Consider what James wrote, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” (James 2:10) In other words, if you violate the least of the commands, you are guilty of violating the most important command of loving God completely. No wonder we are told that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
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There is good new though. Christ came to pay the penalty for our sins. By believing on Him, trusting Him for our salvation, realizing that He died and rose from the dead for our sins, we too can have eternal life. “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
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Once we really believe in Him and trust Him, our love for Him motivates us to want to obey. It is no longer about what we can get by with, it is about believing that His way is best. You see, it isn’t about cleaning up your life so that you can trust Him. It is about trusting Him and letting Him clean up your life because you love Him.